LED for solar light

I have a duff LED in a series solar light units in my garden. This particular model of light unit has gone out of production so I'm trying to avoid the cost of a new set.

The LED is a surface mount type but, unlike other types I have seen, it seems to have a inductance coil on its reverse side.

Firstly, out of curiosity, what does this coil do, and, secondly is it possible to buy anything like this so that I can attempt a repair ? Ive has a scan on the web but cant see anything resembling this but I may not be using the best/right terms.

Gerry

Edited By Frances IoM on 18/05/2023 21:18:08

I repaired a couple of these solar lights (not so nice as yours). I assume the battery is a rechargeable NiMH cell (~1.3v) or similar. The circuits used a yx8018 chip and a tiny inductor the size of a small resistor. as to the LED, any white LED should do.

Google "Joule Thief"..

I have several sets of garden lights, and each one seems to run at a different voltage. I use a 12 vdc supply from a solar panel and a 'buck converter' to set the appropiate voltage, also where possible I converted the units to 12 volt, as 12v LEDs with a resistor are reasonably cheap and available in several colours..

Thank chaps. Those points have opened a few new lines of investigation.

Francis, yes Im 99% certain the fault was the LED. If I squeezed it in a certain way with tweezers it worked perfectly which to my simply mind was like I was remaking the junction.... of course I may be totally wrong again A miniature G clamp would have been perfect if I'd had one in the tool box.

Gerry