BLF Q8 never completely shuts off

Hi,

Just got 2 Q8s and one of them never completely turns off the LEDs. They stay on at a very low level even if I turn off the switch LED via the UI. All this is in ramping mode and everything else is working fine.

Any ideas?

Thx,
Frank

What happens when you unscrew the head a quarter turn to disengage power and then screw it back in again—still on?

This is due to a bug in NarsilM V1.0.

Upgrading to NarsilM V1.2 fixed the issue.

I have to unscrew it several turns before it turns off, but yes, tried that and both the switch and the front LEDs come back on when I screw it together again.

Both the Q8s I got are 1.0 if I checked correctly and only one of them exhibits this behavior, but I’ll try to update the firmware if that is possible.

If you want the simple way to fix it, I would advise to buy a new driver from Lexel which includes NarsilM V1.2 along with some goodies like 2000 regulated lumens using the triple channel driver.

Here it is:

Otherwise, flashing V1.2 would be your best bet.

Hopefully installing the Lexel driver does not involve soldering or anything like that. I’m good at construction with 1x lumber and up but not so much with electronics.

Upgrading the firmware is not like a BIOS upgrade on my computer either I presume?

How much drain on the battery is there if I do nothing? It’s a very low light level, less than 1 lumen if I had to guess.

Installing does involve soldering, but only switch wires and power wires.

Very easy to do. No soldering tiny little components.

Otherwise? It is way less than 1 lumen, probably lower than even 0,01 lumen, or even lower. The BLF Q8 is designed to have almost no standby battery drain, even with the LED on.

Considered sending it back on warranty?

There are pictures on the Q8 modding forum that show innards:

Driver Pics

Here is a video with basic soldering tasks and assembly. He makes it look easy, and he knows exactly what he is doing. Replacing a Q8 driver have some of those steps, but not nearly as small. Just something to show you types of tasks that you might have to perform.

Flashing chips:

You could try a factory reset. It’s a “shot in the dark”, but it’s something you can try right now and for free…won’t do any harm…