Banggood BLF X6 driver not programmable any more

Just got a couple of new Banggood BLF X6 drivers and it appears they are not programmable any more.

AVRDUDE reports “target doesn’t answer”. It appears they messed up the fuses (or did it intentionally) and disabled serial programming. The layout is also altered, this might also be the cause for the programming error. I guess the manufacturer of this drivers changed.

I fear we can’t use this driver currently for own firmwares.

Meanwhile I replaced the mcu with a new one and was able to programm now. So I’m pretty sure wrong fuses are the cause of the problem.

The BLF drivers from banggood are broken. I ordered 4 and the last two modes don't work. They flash bright then go back to moon mode. I'm not very good at diagnosis of drivers, so I don't know which part to replace. All lower modes work.

What about ATTiny25V-based and FET+7135 version?

This is a completely diffferent thing. The driver needs some modification for high currents with PWM. Check this post and thread for help:

This is exactly the driver I’m talking about.
Btw., the pictures in your link still show the old layout, the drivers I received yesterday have a slightly different layout.

Argh... And I've just ordered a bunch of them hoping to be able to get my own firmware on there. That kind of stupid behavior is just so annoying. :-(

If you know how to solder SMD components you could order some Attiny25 and replace the existing ones on the driver.

Mike , can you post picture of the driver please ?

Currently not. To recognize the new version look at the off time cap and the 4k7 resistor which are placed side by side. They are rotated by 90 degrees compared to the previous driver version.

Fortunately, I know how to do it and I do have a hot air reflow station (although a cheap one...). But still, one Attiny25V is 1,80 at Reichelt.de plus shipping, I need time and patience to unsolder and resolder it. Just because somebody messed up (on purpose?!). :-( That's just a waste of time and money for no reason...

Do you care to share how you removed the chip? I've tried various ways from cutting the existing legs, hot air, massive solder to heat up everything and clean up afterwards. I like the hot air variant the most...

Best regards

Dang a pic or two would be so helpful :frowning:

Edit: Pic is the A6, Not X6
Is this the culprit? Maybe Mike can confirm USA warehouse had a deal a few weeks ago. I got a bunch for $3.63ea

That is the BLF A6.

This is the BLF X6/X5…

… the difference is that the BLF X6 / X5 has R3 (471 = 470Ω), next to the red wire.

Sorry bout that. Had the A6 in my mind whole time reading the thread.

But thank you, learned how to ID them if I get some mixed.

The A6 driver you’ve got there , is from the old batch , the same that was used in Blf A6.

In the x6/x5 driver the “R3” is just the bleeder resistor.

Latest A6 drivers i have , are on X6/X5 boards , with place for the bleeder resistor.

New BLF X6 driver at the left, old one at the right:

They changed the layout.
R1 / R2 marking is wrong , but the resistors are in the right place.

Massive solder.

Just use your iron with a small chisel tip set to the highest temp. Heat each leg one at a time while gently prying up with a small slotted screwdriver. As soon as the solder melts that leg will pop up and you can move to the next one. Install the new mcu one leg at a time as well. Heat each leg till it squishes down into the solder from the old mcu that should still be on the board. If there is not enough solder left on the board, add a little bubble of solder first. For both removing and replacing use LOTS of flux with a little bit of wet solder on your tip. If your tip gets oxidize from the high temps, cool it down, wipe it of, and add a bit of new solder to wet the tip. At least this is what I’ve found to work well. Trying to get all legs at once is hard to do without destroying the rest of the board. That said, you can do all legs of one side at once by using a hot tip and laying it on the side. Slide it back and forth while lightly prying the mcu with a small slotted screwdriver and slide the iron back and forth till that side of the mcu pops up. But again, FLUX FLUX FLUX!