Hm. I pushed the broken bit back toward the middle of the board, and cranked the retaining ring down past it to contact the ground ring — and the flashlight works again.
So, could I have just filed off the corner of the 7135 to clear the retaining ring?
Obviously I have no idea what’s inside these little black boxes.
It’s a mystery to me why the light still works even though part of this 7135 is broken off. I’d guess I’m just getting the other four 7135 chips working and this one not doing anything.
No magic smoke leaking out, anyhow.
Looks like there’s enough room toward the center of the driver that that 7135 could be positioned further from the edge so the retaining ring doesn’t hit it. But that might disconnect whatever contact is being made by that rectangular piece on the ground ring side, I guess. Fiddlesticks.
Is there a picture anywhere of the innards of a 7135 so I could try filing off those endangered corners on other drivers before I install them, to clear the retaining ring, and know how deep it’s safe to go?