Costco LED Porch Lantern Repair 2

How to fix and repair to Costco or Altair Outdoor LED Lantern that is suffering from the blinking LED of death, strobing, or has failed completely. Second video in this series.

Check out my first video for details about picking a replacement driver.

The outdoor LED Lantern that I fixed had a Espen Technology constant current driver, model number VEL12035120H-3, which was rated for 120V input and 350mA, 18-33V, output. For my previous LED Lantern, I did contact the manufacturer, but I never heard fromthem again. But I also went ahead and purchased a new constant current driver from LED Supply.

My new replacement driver is a Mean Well APC-16-350, which is probably overkill for this purpose but I figured a more robust driver may last longer than one that is an exact replacement (since the OEM unit failed and all). Anyhow, I wired it back together and everything is working great. Please note that during the video I decided to bypass the built-in photo cell because I've switched to a timer that controls all my lights. If you want to keep your photo cell operational, be sure to wire it back as original.

Other parts I had to add:
Two orange wire nuts
One M3x8mm screw
One small washer
One mounting tie zip tie (it has a screw hole built-in)

Links:
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♫♪ Credits ♪♫

Thanks for watching.

[robertrogala]

Rich. I have 13 of these on my house. They all started malfunctioning, you saved me a lot of money and I am very grateful, Thank you

[motiongate]

Hey Ricardo. Good video but what about replacing the LEDs. I did your tutorial and only 3 of the LEDs are working. Is there a fix for this or a replacement LED PCB board

[JJYSGYAJY]

Thank you. I recently experienced the blinking LED light of death with both of my Costco Altair Coach lights. Both issues presented themselves within weeks of each other and each required a different solution. Both lights blinked as if they were sending Morse Code.

The first light required a new LED plate. The second light was resolved with a replacement of the LED driver (purchased from ledsupply.com) as explained in your video. FYI - It you order a replacement LED plate from Altair, their new design completely eliminates the need for a LED driver. So if you can troubleshoot the LED plate being the source of your issue you will not need to purchase a LED driver.

Again, your quality, well explained and video taped YouTube video gave me the confidence to tackle this project on my own. Thanks for saving me the cost of new coach lights. This video embodies what makes YouTube great. Kudos!!!!

[scottsimpkins]

Thanks Ricardo! You helped my fix 3 of these darn things! I even gave one to my Neighbor! You're amazingly generous for sharing this!

[crispy]

Thanks for making this video. I have three of these lights on our home, and one of them stopped working over a month ago. I knew the photocell was still working as I would hear a click when I covered the sensor. I found your video and ordered the replacement part. Then the light started working again on its own. That didn't last. Finally got around to doing the fix today. Thanks to your easy-to-follow video, I now have three working lights again.

[marksetzler]

As I sat there an looked at the different colored wires from the original LED driver and the new one, I wasn't sure what to do. Thankfully, you provided exactly the information I needed about which wire goes with the other ones. Let me summarize that in case anyone else has the same issue (Working with the same driver recommended by Mr. Moreno):
From the LED driver to the LED plate with lights:
Red to red.
Yellow to black.

From the LED driver to the light sensor and house wiring cluster:
Blue wire to the white neutrals.
Brown wire to the black wires.

[coolhandluke]

Just changed my 3rd one out of 3 over the last three years and this video is such a good refresher. Thank you Ricardo! 👍👍👍

[nicenurse]

Wow thank you ! Our neighbor and i were competing with the same lights to see whos would last the longest
.. Mine won.... I had to actually replace one other whole light because i did not know what was wrong with it... Thank you now both mt neighbor and i can both fix our lights... Ill definately buy other ones of these defusers to fix any other ones of my lights... Im so excited to fix it ... Thank you so much!

[roystonkempton]

Great video Ricardo. My front porch lights have been flashing for a while now. I came across your video and gave it a try. 4 new drivers and an hour of work and now I have 4 porch lights that work properly. I bypassed the light sensor like you suggested and I am very happy with the results. Thanks again. Cheers!

[johnscarano]

Ricardo, - Thanks for providing a great public service. I never knew these lights were purchased at costco. I only knew they were Luminaire/Altair products. Luminaire sold their lighting division off a few years ago. I bought 2 new drivers and will install one tomorrow. I'll keep a 2nd as a spare.

[zythepsary]

I used your video to help me replace the constant current driver in my lantern. The driver failed less than 2 years after purchase. I even used your links to purchase my replacement driver: thanks! The only change I would recommend would be to use water resistant wire nuts so that water penetration into the light doesn’t compromise the connections. I was able to reuse the mounting point on the light to attach the driver with the old screw: it is only attached in one spot but this isn’t a moving fixture so I’m not concerned about it coming loose. Thanks again!

[rayprice]

Thanks for your great videos and detailed parts listing ! I just repaired a Lantern light (altair/costco) that had been collecting dust in the garage. Now to repair the other lights (I have 5 outside). Thanks Again !

[kallinbenson]

Awesome! I have 6 of these fixtures on my house, and I love how they look, and the light they put off, but 4 years after install 2 of them are flickering. I bought 3 of the drivers you listed (make sure you select the correct options because the link doesn't auto fill to the exact one). It took me about 35 minutes to do the first one, and about 10 minutes to do the second one. They work perfectly now! I ordered a spare cuz I'm sure another will fail someday, and now I'll be ready!

BTW... I wired to include the photocell so the brown wire from the driver goes to the red wire coming off the photocell.

[tonzellia]

Great video. I had both Costco wall sconces look like s strobelight. Your video was the best informational on YouTube, It took me step by step replacing the driver. Great video Ricardo. Your the man.

[nguathanhtroy]

Thank you for your video. We have the same Costo LED Porch Lantern that went bad. I ordered the drivers and replaced them today. I watched your video couple times and had no issue replacing them.

[nicoleg.]

Thank you! I always feel good when I can fix something without calling a repair man! I did it myself.

[KraknDfx]

Continues to be a great video for this issue, have 4 of these lights in the front of the house, and I've had to change out the driver on 3 of them over the past couple of years.

[Iamwaitingforjesus]

GRACIAS. Vi los dos videos y fueron de mucha ayuda. Tengo la misma lampara y empezo a destellar. No encontraba el driver correcto, pero ahora si voy a pedirlo en Amazon. 5 manitas arriba.

[motleypixel]

Fixed mine, thanks, BUT! After about 2 months half the LED's went out, now only 1 LED is on. Can you recommend an led cluster I can swap out? Even if it means drilling out a sizeable hole in the AL reflective heatsink plate? Anything that would work with this new LED driver I just installed? Thank you.

[scottbeale]

Awesome video, I see your previous has many views, I was pretty bummed that this burned out and you cant just replace the led bulb... I have an old light bulb receptacle lying around, im going to cut a hole in the aluminum housing where the led is mounted and add my can you tell me If the red leg of photo cell goes to my receptacle or is it the black one?

thanks