The reason your current flashlight isn’t working may be because of the PCB erosion. The cells aren’t making good contact.
(If you have the tools)
One solution could be to try flowing some solder onto the battery contact ring. Try to build it up again. If it’s already broken it could be worth the try. Breaking it more wont hurt it.
Yes, i tried, but it seems that some electronic component is fried. I tried taking it apart, but i cannot do it (i do not want to damage it further).
I can remove the front bezel with the crystal, but the lens is glued. And from the battery/pcb side, there is no way to move it (only two very small holes, i can put pictures if you want).
Up to you.
Just a thought I had for a possible solution.
If the problem is something other than the battery contact I personally wouldn’t try fixing the driver.
You could post pictures. I might not be able to help you. But there are tremendously knowledgeable people on this forum. Perhaps the hive mind can help.
I don’t mind if i don’t get right know the highest lumens.
It’s impossible to find 30Q batteries here. When buying li-ion cells via air mail was cancelled due to regulations, it’s very impossible to buy them. That’s why i still stick to my old’s panasonics NCR18650.
They are button top, are capable of outputting 15A, and since they can be put inside of the flashlight, these are not only much cheaper, but also, they can actually be shipped
Aliexpress won’t ship the batteries, they treat that as 2 different products. I asked them (and many others) to please, ship the flashlight with the batteries inside and they denied to do that. This was a year ago.
Do you think they can do that know?
Yes, Sofirn has done that before, multiple times even for people who could not get good 18650s for acceptable prices.
The advantage Sofirn has over other sellers is that not only are they very friendly, but since they are the OEM for the lights, they can easily put in the cells inside of the Q8 before they ship.
I’ve asked them before about this, and they said that it was okay to ship inside of the light, but not separately.
In my opinion you can easily avoid buying new cells, and use those you have. you won’t notice a big difference, especially if you don’t have other cells to compare. It’s plenty bright even with 18650b. I have 30q’s and 18650B’s and use whatever cells are charged when I need them, can’t tell which ones I’m using. save some money and the trouble