Noctigon KR4 mule issue?

Hi all,

I’ve been getting to grips with my new KR4 mule. Having never owned a mule before I’m not sure if this behaviour is normal.

What I have observed is it doesn’t get as hot nearly as quickly as my other 3 or 4 emitter single 18650 “hot rod” lights. I then decided to measure the tailcap current and it’s exactly 5.4A no matter what battery I use.

This is making me wonder whether mine is somehow faulty, or if it’s by design. I would have thought 8 emitters would get toasty a lot quicker than 3 or 4, or am I mistaken?

Are you double-clicking from on or off? Getting that reading of ~5A sounds like you’re hitting the top of what the CC driver can supply (which I’d assume is the ramp ceiling with stock settings). Try double-clicking while the light is on or setting ramp ceiling to 1-click.

Yep double-clicking when on. Double-clicking when off, or going to the top of the ramp, gives ~4A.

Tried factory resetting as well. And different cells.

Anything else I can try?

Check all connections. Make sure the contact rings on the driver and tail cap are clean. Same for both ends of the battery tube.

Make sure everything is tightened down as much as possible and use only high quality low resistance cells.

Is the pcb bolted down tight? No reflector to at least push down on it, so…

IDK if the driver in that light will function at all without a FET, but if the one in your light is a dud/lost contact that could be a cause of the problem. Or maybe the driver/firmware for the upcoming E21A model was accidentally installed? That only goes to 5A max.

Having just read about this variant, this is sounding like the most logical explanation.

It sounds like it has the no-FET driver… or at least the no-FET firmware. I’m not sure if the driver physically has the part or not, but it’s possible you could get it brighter by installing the other firmware.

It depends on which type of LEDs are in it though. Some can get damaged by running direct-drive.

It has 8 x XP-L HI.

I have a USBASP and some connectors from my adventures in flashing my Q8 and D4S, not sure I’ll be able to hold them onto the tiny pins on the KR4 though! Any advice?

With 8 x XP-L HI, it can definitely handle direct-drive from 1 x 18650. I’m not sure if the driver physically has the right chip on it, but if so, reflashing should fix it.

To do that though, it’s pretty much required to have an Emisar pogo pin adapter. It’s technically possible without one, but very difficult.

So perhaps Hank could send you an adapter, or maybe someone nearby could help. Otherwise I don’t have any useful suggestions.

Thanks TK!

Just done a bit of reading and research. I have this programmer already:

If you look at the photos it looks identical to the Emisar reflasher.

Could you let me know which 6 pins I need to connect to please? And where they need to go on the KR4/D4V2 driver? I can see the driver has 4 out of the 6 pads labelled.

I can probably knock up a “clone” of the pogo pin adaptor with a bit of trial and error. Gives me something to do. If all else fails I’ll have to get Hank to send me one.

Thanks!

Without pogo pins it requires soldering to the driver. So either order an adapter or only pogo pins and make one yourself. That’s what I did.

Btw: All pads are labeled. On each side of the pads are three labels.

Got it. I am going to make something similar. It only needs to be held in position for, what, 15 seconds, so as long as I get the spacing right :slight_smile:

I just need to know which pins on the USB Programmer I need to connect the MO, MI, SC, V+, V-, RS pins to

Look at the 10 to 6 pin adapter you got with your programmer. Just connect the six pins with corresponding label.

Well that was fiddly!

I couldn’t get all pins to make contact with a DIY pogo stick, so I soldered 4 of the 6 on, and used a 2-pin “pogo” setup for the other two.

The end result….

I now have 18 amps at the tailcap… And a slightly melted mouse pad :smiley: :smiley:

Happy days. Correct “normal” KR4 hex file flashed, and we now have full power, searing heat, and 6000 lumens (with Samsung 30Q) in my integrating sphere. Now to wait for it to get dark!

Brilliant result! Nicely done :). Glad it was only a software issue.

glad to hear it all worked out !