Maybe a combination of the battery and the 1x7135 channel chip being bad?
With a depleted battery the light should turn on in low. I assume if the battery is low enough only the 1x7135 channel is activating. If that 7135 chip is not functioning, perhaps you end up with a situation where the light stops working at slightly higher voltage than it should.
I received my FW3A yesterday. Fortunately everything seems to be working well. The UI took a bit of playing with to get figured out. It definitely has some awesome features (candlelight and lightning storm)
Mine does have one odd thing though. When in smooth ramp mode, starting at moonlight, it seems that it has more blinks than it should.
It blinks just above Moon, at Max Regulation, a bit before Max Ceiling and at Max Ceiling or Turbo. So 4 times, although just after Moon is very subtle.
If I have the Max Ceiling at 130 instead of 151 it will only blink once at the top of the ramp to signify Max Ceiling.
This doesn’t bother me, and it might be normal. Just haven’t seen it mentioned.
I know my D4 blinks only at Max Reg and at Turbo.
Finally received my two XP-Ls, and am sorely disappointed. One doesn’t work at all, and the other is stuck on turbo from the second the threads make contact. I’ve tried swapping components between the two, tightening the tail first and then head, loosening and retightening the driver retaining rings.
Just completely disassembled and reassembled each light and took my time swapping a single component at a time between each body. It looks like the problems follow the heads - the neutral white always goes on instantly to very bright/very hot and the warm white hasn’t turned on at all. In addition, I compared the two switches. One seemed a uniform brassy/yellow color and the other looked silver with a bit of Kapton tape to insulate. The Kapton tape version definitely sucks, with an almost undetectable click whereas the brassy color has a nice tactile click and a little more movement.
Default - as you ramp up from moonlight, the first blink signals the change between the single 7135 channel and the 7 x 7135 channel (about 125-130 lumen).
Then the next blink signals the change between the 7 x 7135 channel and the FET channel which is also the top of the normal ramp (about 1000 lumen).
If you have changed the top of the ramp to full power, then I guess you will get an extra blink to signal the end of the ramp. I don’t think most folks have changed the ramping levels, I haven’t, and that’s why no one has mentioned it.
Hopefully TK can confirm all this.
BTW, TK ran a poll for the FW3A to see how many blinks people wanted and where. This is why it’s unique.
Keep in mind the D4 uses a very different UI and was custom made for Emisar.
I can read you already checked a lot, but …… have you checked if the drivers were properly aligned?
And not inconsequential: my FW3A only works properly if I screw in the body into the head with mild force.
I’ll double check the driver alignment but I did back the rings out, confirm the driver flats hit the notches, and tighten the rings again. I have noticed the driver on both lights looks to be printed slightly off so the switch contact ring isn’t concentric with the head, but it looks similar to others I’ve seen and the switch tube will still make contact at two points at least.
Well, I think I can chalk my lights problems up to something other than the battery. The fact that it ever worked is still a mystery.
Today after appearing to work fine for a day it has started to not work again. Exhibiting the same behavior as before. I just check the battery with a Multi Meter and it reads 4.02V.
Went from working to not working without taking it apart, only messing with lockout, clicking on/off while showing a friend turbo.
Which then the light started not to respond to input as it’s suppose to, but jumping to full turbo then turning off and other odd behavior.
Now won’t even turn on.
One of my six cats throw my FWA3 off a table (1m) and it doesn’t work any more
Does anyone know the driver size and whether is’t replaceable with the Emisar D4 driver?
That has to be it, a tightening issue (retaining ring, head, tail cap). Light isn’t so fragile as to stop working from a simple fall of 1 meter. I’d bet it would survive a 10 meter drop onto pavement. I don’t get how someone can presume immediate driver failure like this… :person_facepalming:
This light is so finicky, took the lens and optic off, wiggled the PCB board with a tiny screw driver. Reassembled, tight, very tight. Working normal again.
Is it possible to select which blinky mode comes up by default, when I go into blinky group?
(I’d prefer to have it go to the bicycle strobe immediately, rather than any of the other options)