Garden Lights, Disable the multi-function.

[Chris4080]

Hi all,

Here's my issue the fairy lights we purchased (4 sets of) are great, but they come with a solar panel that has a multi-fiction switch and when the juice runs out of the panel the lights revert back to the default sequence instead of staying on the chosen function.

Im hoping that there might be an easy way around this, please see circuit board pictures.

There is also room for two more batteries if I place in connections for them, would this also be an option?
The current single battery is a Ni-Mh 1.2V 1200mAh

The power input from the battery to the board is as follows: Battery positive (red) to B+ on the board, Battery Negative is connected to Solar Negative (Black) and then S- on the board. The Solar Positive (white) goes from the Solar Panel Positive to the S+ on the board.

The rear of the multi-function switch is the two rows of 3 pins (one set is soldered together, the other 3 are separate)

Thanks in advance.

 

[Audioguru]

What is the problem? The juice runs out on the panel every evening then the rechargeable battery is charged and powers the thing all night long. Its power might fail after a few days of bad weather.
Maybe you do not have it in a location that has direct sunshine all day long?
Maybe the solar panel and/or the rechargeable battery are cheap Chinese junk?

If we had a schematic then we could show you how to power the memory with extra batteries when the rechargeable battery is losing its charge.

 

[Chris4080]

What is the problem? The juice runs out on the panel every evening then the rechargeable battery is charged and powers the thing all night long. Its power might fail after a few days of bad weather.
Maybe you do not have it in a location that has direct sunshine all day long?
Maybe the solar panel and/or the rechargeable battery are cheap Chinese junk?

If we had a schematic then we could show you how to power the memory with extra batteries when the rechargeable battery is losing its charge.

That is indeed the issue, the power lasts around 8hrs, but the night is longer than that. So the battery dies and loses the selected function.
It is a cheap ass battery from china, if I put an eneloop battery inside instead would that work for longer?

 

[Audioguru]

If the solar panel has extra power for charging then using a modern Western Ni-MH battery cell that has at least double the capacity of the cheap Chinese cell would work. Most modern battery companies use the Japanese Eneloop method today. They are pre-charged and hold a charge for about one year.

Some of my cheap Chinese solar garden lights have a solar panel with a plastic top. It got sunburned in a few months. The old style Ni-Cad battery cell rusted away in a few months.

The newer and cheaper Chinese solar garden lights have a solar panel with a glass top that would last for many years if they glued it in and sealed it so the rain would not corrode the bottom. The solar panel is loose so I remove it and seal its bottom and sides properly. It comes with a modern Ni-MH cell that does not rust and it lasts for years.

I made some of the newer solar garden lights brighter by using an inductor with less inductance than the original inductor then I replaced the 300mAh Chinese Ni-MH cell with an American Energizer or Duracell 750mAh Ni-MH cell and its charge lasts all night long.

 

[Chris4080]

Thanks i think I might try the larger mAh battery to start with.
The original battery is a 1200mAh, so will it be ok to double that to 2400mAh?

 

[Audioguru]

A 2400mAh battery will be fine to see if it takes more charge to power the circuit longer.