Help with modifying Solar light

[deanfourie1]

Hi Guys!

So, I’m not usually a fan of Solar, but in this particular situation I have no real choice!

I’ve got these super bright LED solar lights, and I want to customize them to work with a simple on/off switch, AKA an ESP32. The issue is they have 3 settings of brightness and also they work off motion.

What I want to do is to disable the motion sensor completely, and leave the solar charging working. But basically just be able to turn the light on and off. Ideally from an ESP GPIO but if all else fails, from a relay.

I’ve tried driving the LEDs directly off the battery but it’s no good, they are too dim. I’m guessing I need to go through the MOSFET to drive them at full brightness.

Could any smart cookie here tell me where I need to wire in order to achieve the above. Basically just like + through the MOSFET then I can maybe switch the negative with a GPIO?

I’m not great with electronics at this level so any help with this is much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Harald Kapp]

Like this:

Cut the trace from the MCU to the MOSFET. connect the ESP's GPIO pin instead. Note that you also need to connect GND of the ESP and the LED light (not shon in the image).

 

[deanfourie1]

Thank you! Could you show me where this trace is on the other PCB image?

Thanks

 

[Harald Kapp]

Mhhm,
you should know, or who else created the schematic from teh PCB?
Anyway, here you go:

 

[kellys_eye]

or who else created the schematic from teh PCB?

Looks like a 'BigClive' schematic......

 

[deanfourie1]

Haha pinched it from here.

 

[bancroft]

You mean that the street lamps used to be powered by solar power for lighting, but now it is found that the lighting effect does not meet the requirements due to lighting or quality reasons, so you just use electricity directly, right? It is easy to deal with this situation, that is, to change the 100% solar power supply to solar power + mains complementary mode, and replace the controller or something. If the quantity is large, you can consult the first-line brands in the industry.