overriding the low-light switch on a “lidl” solar outdoor lamp

I bought a solar lamp at “LIDL” a few days ago. at €9.99 this was a steal. it even includes a pir movement sensor. (see the LIVARNO LUX LED-Solarstrahler)

sadly, the lamp had an integrated low-light switch: the pir mode would only be active when the light shining on the solar panel was low (night). however, I planned to use the light in a fairly dim environment (carport extension). at the same time I wanted to keep the panel outside (sun!). this wold switch the light on at night only (and not in the late afternoon, when I’d need it inside because there may be enough light shining on the panel, outside.

so I opened the enclosure and looked for a way to remove the low-light sensor circuit. spoiler: you can do this by removing one resistor!

the livarno is a beast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

after opening the case, unscrew the circuit board. on the back side you will have to remove resistor R2 as shown in the pix (blue circle):

 

as you can see, I kinda “parked” the resistor in case I may want to restore the low-light function at a later point in time.

et voilá: solar powered battery led light with a movement sensor and working just the way you’d expect it to.