Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Thanks to PCBWay.com/?from=atomic for the fantastic PCBs and SMT assembly.
In this video, I take apart a cheap motion sensor night light to figure out why it performs so badly… and whether it can actually be fixed.
Inside there’s a tiny battery, a mystery IC with no markings, and a very minimal circuit. After reverse engineering the board, I test the power consumption, investigate the design choices, and then rebuild it using a radar motion sensor module and a much larger battery.
The result? A night light that actually works properly.
Along the way we cover:
Teardown of a cheap motion sensor light
Reverse engineering the PCB and circuit
Testing current draw and LED behaviour
Upgrading to an RCWL-0516 radar motion sensor
Improving battery life and usability
If you enjoy electronics teardowns, reverse engineering, and practical hardware hacks, you’ll enjoy this one.
And if you want some lights to mod yourself - you can get them here (affiliate links):
Oval lights: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4KK6t4t
Round lights: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c2JvLwPT
00:00 Cheap night lights are… not great
00:17 Opening it up
00:40 What’s inside?
01:22 Tiny battery reveal
01:45 Reverse engineering the circuit
02:40 How the circuit actually works
03:39 Testing current draw
04:18 Trying a radar motion sensor
05:13 Adding a light sensor
05:39 Testing detection + timing
06:39 Adjusting timeout with a capacitor
07:19 Planning the upgrade
08:19 Building the new circuit
09:56 Reassembly with bigger battery
11:13 Final result
11:22 Field test (standing very still 😄)
---
If you'd like to help support the channel and help me buy more nonsense - I have a Patreon page: patreon.com/atomic14
We've also got a shop now! shop.atomic14.com
And if you're shopping on AliExpress or Amazon then if you click on these links I will get a little bit of affiliate money:
Aliexpress - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Ac05mF
Amazon - amazon.com/?tag=atomic14-20
You can also join us on Discord here: discord.gg/h2DDnDdjD2
There's also the Atomic14 newsletter here: atomic14.substack.com
And don't forget about the MakerNews newsletter - makernews.substack.com
Thanks to PCBWay.com/?from=atomic for the fantastic PCBs and SMT assembly.
In this video, I take apart a cheap motion sensor night light to figure out why it performs so badly… and whether it can actually be fixed.
Inside there’s a tiny battery, a mystery IC with no markings, and a very minimal circuit. After reverse engineering the board, I test the power consumption, investigate the design choices, and then rebuild it using a radar motion sensor module and a much larger battery.
The result? A night light that actually works properly.
Along the way we cover:
Teardown of a cheap motion sensor light
Reverse engineering the PCB and circuit
Testing current draw and LED behaviour
Upgrading to an RCWL-0516 radar motion sensor
Improving battery life and usability
If you enjoy electronics teardowns, reverse engineering, and practical hardware hacks, you’ll enjoy this one.
And if you want some lights to mod yourself - you can get them here (affiliate links):
Oval lights: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4KK6t4t
Round lights: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c2JvLwPT
00:00 Cheap night lights are… not great
00:17 Opening it up
00:40 What’s inside?
01:22 Tiny battery reveal
01:45 Reverse engineering the circuit
02:40 How the circuit actually works
03:39 Testing current draw
04:18 Trying a radar motion sensor
05:13 Adding a light sensor
05:39 Testing detection + timing
06:39 Adjusting timeout with a capacitor
07:19 Planning the upgrade
08:19 Building the new circuit
09:56 Reassembly with bigger battery
11:13 Final result
11:22 Field test (standing very still 😄)
---
If you'd like to help support the channel and help me buy more nonsense - I have a Patreon page: patreon.com/atomic14
We've also got a shop now! shop.atomic14.com
And if you're shopping on AliExpress or Amazon then if you click on these links I will get a little bit of affiliate money:
Aliexpress - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Ac05mF
Amazon - amazon.com/?tag=atomic14-20
You can also join us on Discord here: discord.gg/h2DDnDdjD2
There's also the Atomic14 newsletter here: atomic14.substack.com
And don't forget about the MakerNews newsletter - makernews.substack.com
