Need Help To Stop Christmas Lights From Flashing

[zzmac]

I just watched a Youtube video that explained how to do this but the controller he had was slightly different and I have some questions that I hope you can help with.

In the video he simply soldered together the 4 corresponding pins (don't know correct terms sorry) on the back of the controller as shown by the yellow rectangle in the picture below. In his video he didn't have the 2 extra rows of pins right above the rectangle and I was wondering should I just solder the first row, second row, third row or all 3 rows together? My uneducated guess would be just the first row or the 3rd row.

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks.

 

[Les Jones]

I thing the 4 TO92 devices will be SCRs. Confirm this by finding the data sheet from the part number on the devices. (Use Google to find the datasheet.) If they Are SCRs then solder a link between the anode and cathode of each of the 4 SCRs. (The anodes will probably be the 4 connections inside the yellow box. The cathodes will probably be the 4 connections to the section of track above the yellow box.)

Les.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

Just solder the four connections you have highlighted to one in the next row up, where the pins are all connected.
That will bypass the switching devices, regardless of what they actually are.

Just keep an eye on how hot the power unit gets with all the lights permanently on; the makers may have used something that can cope with intermittent full load but not continuous.

 

[zzmac]

Thanks for your replies!
Please excuse me but I'm a noob with this stuff and I'm unfamiliar with most of the terms so I've numbered everything.

In the video he soldered 5-8 together and left 1-4 alone. The only difference was that he didn't have 9-16 on his controller.

So that this noob will understand which numbers do i solder to which numbers? I understand the potential heat issue.

Thanks!!!

 

[zzmac]

Sorry this just got more complicated. My wife just informed me that there are about 8 settings on this thing and one of them is "continuous on" (so there shouldn't be any heat issue). These are outside lights and they will come on automatically via a timer every day. Then she has to go out and press the button 6-7 times to set it to "continuous on". She wants to bypass the other modes and have it start on continuous so she doesn't have to send me out in the snow to get the right setting everyday. I guess we'd have to know which number in the picture belongs to continuous before you can give me an answer. Any ideas?

 

[rjenkinsgb]

That's good to know!
Just link 5, 6, 7 & 8 to any or all of 9, 10, 11, 12.

That should put them all permanently on.

 

[zzmac]

Thanks a lot!

 

[zzmac]

I have the same issue with a new outside plug for an LED tree except this one has no screws. The black button needs to be pressed about 6 times everyday to get it to cycle through to where it doesn't blink.

Any ideas or not worth the hassle of prying it apart? (I can't think of a way to clamp the button in place without interfering with the plug itself.)