If you’ve ever owned or currently own an Aerogarden, you’ll understand how important the lights are for the growth of your plants.
The lights provide most of the light your plants need to photosynthesize (supplemented with a little natural daylight).
If you’re having issues with an Aerolight not working, you’re gonna want to have a quick way to fix this problem so you can save your plants continue their growth.
There are a number of different things that can go wrong with an Aerogarden’s lights, but many are easy fixes. You may find that your model is slightly different, but most of the information below should be useful for different variants. If something doesn’t correspond to your model, simply skip it and move to the next step.
Step 1 – Unplug Your Aerogarden
First thing you gotta do is make sure the power switch is off, and unplug the Aerogarden.
You should make sure to break the power source before touching any electrical devices, especially when you get a little zap.
This way you know for sure that it is safe to test the garden.
After you complete each of these steps you have to plug the unit back in and check to see if you solved the problem.
If you haven’t, just make sure you unplug the unit again before the next step so that you don’t have any potential for accidents.
Step 2 – Check The Power Cable
Check the power cable. Look for breaks, bends, or anything else that looks damaged.
Look at the plug socket, and where the Aerogarden has a connection point. If the cable is damaged, there is a possibility you will be able to replace it.
Consider using a Q-tip, and clean out any dust from the connection point on the Aerogarden, and plug it back in, but use a different power socket (it is possible this outlet is faulty too).
If that does not help, think about getting a new cable, to see if it is your problem.
Action To Be Taken: If your Aerogarden is working in other ways and there is not a cable problem, you can skip this next step.
Step 3 – Check The Timer
Most Aerogardens have timers. These on/off timers are great because you don’t have to keep turning them on and off manually all the time.
If the Aerogarden you’re working with has a timer switch, just check to see if it got bumped or damaged when moving it. If it did then the timer may be keeping it off when you think it should be on.
If you’ve got the ability to bypass the timer, try doing that and then plug the Aerogarden in again to see if you fixed it.
A timer in failure though can keep the unit off even if it appears to be working okay!
Step 4 – Reposition The Post And Hood
Sometimes there is an issue with the position of the light post and LED hood.
To check this, take the light post off the base and disconnect the unit from the light hood.
Check both parts for any damage and dust and/or spillage that is possibly causing the problem and clean the parts if needed.
When you’re finished, connect the light post back to its position in the base and make sure that the USB connector is in the right position and fully plugged in.
You can then connect the LED light hood back on top of the post making sure that it is fully plugged in.
There are two black lines on the face of the light post and you should not be able to see these when the light hood is in position, so double check this.
Once everything is connected and back in position, plug the Aerogarden back in to a power source.
Press the button on the control panel to power the lights on and see if this fixes the problem.
If not, you need to check the power cables going to the lights.
Step 5 – Check The Light Power Cables
So if your Aerogarden has two LED lights on top of it, there has to be four plug in cords going to each panel.
Then make sure each coded is connected – they provide the power to the LED lights and appear to be a culprit area. They plug into the top of the controller and should hang straight down.
The single cord then splits into two, and goes horizontally across the unit in opposite directions to reach a corner of the LED panel.
On top of the LED panel where the cords are in each corner, there is a small rubber bung. You will need to pull that bung out before you plug the cord into the LED, and put the bung back in afterwards.
So take the bungs out and make sure all four are in place.
Then unplug the cords, plug them back in and check that none of the wires have become shagged or jarred.
Make sure the bungs are put back in so you don’t lose them!
Plug the unit back in, turn the lights on and see if they turn on now. If you do not see any lights, you will have to move to the next step.
Step 6 – Check for Corrosion or Pin Breakage
You need to unplug the arm sections of the Aerogarden to check the contacts.
It may vary a little, but there are metal pins in the arm sections, usually on the top a bottom of the unit.
Carefully take apart the unit so you can check the metal pins.
If any of the metal pins are bent, broken, out of line or corroded, you may then need to look if you can buy a replacement section, or turn to the manufacturers for some advice.
If you can’t get them to help you, you could try to fix the pins yourself:
First, if the pins are corroded, you might be able to clean the corrosion. You will have to be careful, as you will need an electrical contact cleaner, and you don’t want to get any liquids inside the Aerogarden.
Using a toothbrush, you can brush the connection pin to get any surface debris off, and then spray the contact cleaner on the pins. Once done, give it a few minutes and then brush again.
You can repeat as necessary.
You can also use vinegar to clean off any corrosion, but it may be more difficult to apply if they are set inside the frame. If you can access this area more easily, you could use a Q-tip or toothpick to clean in called off spaces being careful not to break them off.
If they are bent, you can use a nice sized pair of pliers, and straightening the pins. You need to go slowly so you don’t break them.
Alternative: If they are snapped off, you cannot safely fix the unit. Look for a broken “for parts” version online and buy replace part that way.
Step 7 – Contact The Aerogarden Manufacturers
If you’re still having issues after checking all above areas, you should contact the manufacturers for advice.
They may be able to provide you with more suggestions for what to try next, or they may send you replacements or a replacement unit!
Or check out some Aerogarden forums for suggestions on your specific model.
Conclusion
Aerogardens are an awesome product, but they do rely on their lights to work well.
If you’re experiencing the problem of an Aerolight not working, hopefully our guide has helped in resolving this problem, so you can start enjoying eating your freshly grown food again.