BLF style 18650 1s thrower( poor mans Olight M2X)

http://www.kaidomain.com/p/S021966.58mm-D-x-2mm-T-Multi-Layer-AR-Coated-Lens-1-pc

Not cheap , and a little bigger .

I think a 58mm lens will work without problems, as there is about 1mm space around glass to bezel. Perhaps a little more

I bought this light as a mod candidate (would have been nice if it worked out of the box!!)

So, Mitko, (ET:All) please steer me in the right direction for a (best that can be) quality build.

I'm not sure I want to use the LED that come with the light, so, I'm open for recommendations for the best. Preferably ordered as de-domed.

I want to rebuild the tail cap, new driver, EVERYTHING.

This thing needs to be modded by me to suck me into the light!!

This light has a 100% match to the classic HD2010 reflector, same PITA flat bottom with no clearance for wires. The pill, of course is much smaller though. Mine had the bezel fully threaded down and the LED centered. Got about 1.7A at the tail, definitely not a East-092 driver, but looks like a current sensing or limiting resistor.

The LED though has marks or smudges on, reflector is very clean, the MCPCB is epoxied down and is tiny - ~14 mm, 1mm thick.

ARsee, the first thing to be sure of is that you don’t short out the cell with the base of the reflector touching the two contacts on the mcpcb. That was the first big deal on the HD2010. Use a big file and bevel off those edges so your wires have some room. (or however you prefer to go about it)

You could add kapton tape over the wires as well. First though, I'd remove the reflector and see if the light works then.

Here's the pill along side a HD2010 pill. The LED cleaned up well with isop. alcohol - all clean as shown below:

Thanks for the tape idea, and filing for clearance of the wires.

The LED on mine has brown smudges too.

I use paper towel and isop. alcohol, but should use micro fiber cloth w/alcohol. Try it - see if it cleans up, mine did.

I used an moist eyeglass lens cleaning towelette. It took it right off.

Thanks Tom

That smaller pill could be made to work to your favor by removing the raised outer wall so the emitter shelf would be smooth/flat and then using a 26mm MaxToch copper mcpcb. This would move the contacts as far away from the center as possible. Then a bit of a bevel on the base of the reflector should clear it nicely. Make sure to press the wires flat with the solder when making the contacts and it could help to even file the contacts before assembly. I apply the Kapton tape to the base of the reflector and cut out the hole with a scalpel, sometimes even additionally apply tape over the mcpcb so it’s a tape to tape contact, this can help avoid any tears in the tape when tightening the bezel.

Nice ideas Dale! You're right, I've used kapton tape both ways (on reflector, over wires), but not together - should do that from now on, because with dis-assemblies, I've seen it tear up.

Morning all

I messaged the seller of the light I bought, and spoke of the issues I mentioned earlier. I got the typical, oh so sorry schpeel and was offered $5 refund.

After a couple more message swaps, I mentioned that I was under the impression I was buying a "working" flashlight. That simple.

Seller agreed to refund me $8 so the rear clicky and front spring can get replaced. Done deal. Now to move forward.

Hi Dale.

If I understand you correctly, I file down the outer ring on the threaded pill, then add the Maxtoch copper mcpcb on top. A little thermal paste between?

Then file if necessary, a bevel to the bottom (outer) circumference <Maybe not necessary if the lip is removed from the pill.

Your info gets my thinking in the right gear of comprehension. That sounds like a good plan!

Now I need to get my soldering iron fixed or buy another, and place an order for the mcpcb

One caffeine injection please. Oh, and make it a double.

Any suggestion for a new button assembly?

Wait, maybe I don't understand. The light did not work? In this post: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/45217/50

Granted, looks like some quality issues, but you said the clicky shorted out-- I'm not sure what that means exactly. If the switch is not working, did you try removing the switch, and jump the batt- end to the bare aluminum of the tube? If it works then, could be something loose with the switch assembly, might be the switch itself too Just adding my notes to your list for my experiences/observations:

(1) The LED is not centered. (mine was centered pretty well)
(2) The heatsink is loose. (mine was as well, but could have been loosened from unscrewing the bezel - friction from reflector. It's an easy fix to tighten it)
(3) The bezel can not be tightened down. (mine can, but it's very tight - probably the o-ring is a little too thick, yours may not tighten because the pill is loose?)
(4) The threads of the tube (ends) are not clean and will cut someone. (mine are clean but also sharp edged)
(5) The exterior of the light is missing anodize, chipped. (yes, from your pics, mine is the same)

(6) Battery inserted.

The clicky shorted out.

Just so you are aware, budget lights like this typically need some extra TLC many times to even get them working, or optimized for use. For example, the threads and o-rings are bone dry, so should be properly lubricated first thing. Yes, frequently things are loosened, so all assemblies need to be checked. Going further, all solder joints of LED wiring and the switch assembly should be checked and corrected.

This has been pretty much par for the course here on BLF dealing with these budget lights. This light is selling for 1/2 the price of many "budget" lights of this size, so expectations should be very low.

Also note the light I received seems to have the same body/host as Mitko's in the OP, but definitely came with a different driver, and different setup for the LED/MCPCB from what he describes. Mine has a small thin black centering piece that matches my last bought HD2010's exactly, he describes something larger, "huge centering bracket".

Again with these budget lights, no guarantees any two lights received will be exactly the same.

Love the listing on this light: "High Quality SupwildFire" That should have been a clue...

Pretty much, yep. Depending on how the pill fits into the head of the light… if there’s room for the larger mcpcb to shift around… I would probably use Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive to glue the mcpcb onto the pill. And then yeah, take off whatever was needed for clearance on the reflector, wouldn’t be much with the radically larger mcpcb installed. The base area on that reflector is pretty wide though, so it might still be a pretty good bevel required. Easy enough to see by mating the loose pill to the reflector and eyeballing where the contact points fall…

I’ve got mini Omten switches working in excess of 23A, so there’s not much to fear using the little mini Omten and they’re readily available. I like to hold the silver tab coming out of the switch body with tweezers or such to give some heat sinking when I’m soldering the switch to the pcb, this helps prevent overheating the switch inside and getting a gummy action or even killing the switch. :wink:

“WhasUp?”
“Wildfire!”
Distributed by Runforthehills, a subsidiary of tuckyourhead inc.

The comparison photo was before doing anything else with the light. After the photo, I popped a fresh 30Q battery in it and hit the switch. The light flickered a few times, then nothing. I put another fresh battery in, and nothing. I took the end cap and looked in towards the head of the light. The spring was partially blue and collapsed on itself. Then I took the tail cap apart. The brass cap over the spring was sunken into the threaded retaining collar, and the spring was also blue/collapsed into itself. I then pulled the tube, and grabbed the driver spring with my needle nose. I held the base of the spring and pulled the center coil, to extend the coils back out. Put the tube back on, put the battery back in, then jumped from the NEG to the body. LED was still working. The whole light smelled like burned electronics. I'm pretty sure the button internals were the culprit.

Here's the front spring after pulling on it a little. The button spring looked a lot worse. I wasn't expecting what happened.

That usually happens when the reflector shorts out on the positive contact on top of the mcpcb.

Very unlikely for the short to be in the switch itself as it’s only a breaker for the negative contact, it’s not in touch with the positive end of the cell.

I’d be checking the reflector to pill area…

Edit: To be clear, rainbowed and collapsed springs are a result of a direct short to positive, the springs overheated and failed. This is from the top end, the positive end of the cell, not the bottom or negative end. If the pill wasn’t screwed down tight and you tightened the bezel, you may have forced the reflector down onto the positive contact. This is inherent to the HD2010 design, the reflector is made wrong with that wide contact base, it should have been tapered and the pill should utilize an mcpcb with wide enough contacts to clear the reflector.

I'll have to get some calipers I guess, and look around where to get the needed bits and pieces to rebuild. I have a few places that were mentioned bookmarked.

I appreciate the tips and tricks.

Ohh - ok, a full short, ouch! The switch cannot cause a full + to - short as you had there because Batt+ or LED+ don't come down in the tail. I think Dale could have been correct - the reflector grounding out on the LED+ solder joint. -- this could cause a full short.

Now if you stretch out those springs that are blue, chances are they lost a good deal of conductance. Sometimes they work ok, sometimes don't work at all - believe me, I've experienced this and worked on a few lights with this happened. What I would do is wire bypass the springs, but you have to be absolutely sure the original short problem is fixed/addressed, because bypassing the springs means even more power being shorted. Before, the springs basically act as a fuse, a fuse that was blown.

If you have a DMM you can check that the switch works or doesn’t. If the springs collapsed from a direct short there’s a good chance the switch is still good. Replace the springs and correct the short circuit, should be good to go.

Edit: Most of the time, if the switch still clicks freely then it’s ok. If it feels mushy or like it’s hanging up inside, then it may be ruined.