My flashlight needs a new bulb. Which is the best one for my flashlight?

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
1

Hi everyone.

I purchased the Ultrafire C8 Cree-XM-l T6 5Mode a couple of months ago. The bulb is supposed to last for something like 50,000 hours, but it has already stopped working properly. It still works, but the light is very faint.

Here is a link with more information on the flashlight I purchased: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370484544741&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

Here is the flashlight description which I copied from the link:

"Water Resistant

Shock Resistant - Hard anodized finish for extreme corrosion impact

Made by High Quality 6061T CNC aluminum

100% Brand New

Cree XM-L T6 LED Bulb - 900 lumens

Save 40% power compare with Xenon and Luxeon Bulb

Digital Regulated for Constant Brightness

5 Mode operation - Hi > Mid > Lo > Strobe > SOS

Water & Scratch resistance glass lens

Durable aluminum reflector

On/Off button at bottom cap
Working Current:450 - 600mA
Operate Voltage:3.7v

Handstrap and Holster included

Size: 15.2cm x 4.5cm (bezel) 2.4cm (tail)

Weight: 180g

Compatible batteries:

1 x Ultrafire 18650 3.7v 2400mAh batteries (not included), burn time 2.5hrs"


So which bulb should I get for this flashlight? Which is the best one available yet affordable?

Thanks everyone.


EDIT: I have checked my battery voltage and have tried like 5 different fully charged batteries. I'll try to open the flashlight and see if there is anything that might look odd to me. I'm not very good with wires and what not though. I know very little about that, but I'll give it a shot.

2

chances are pretty good there is nothing wrong with the "bulb". it is more likely a wire come loose, a switch going bad, a battery that is crap, or a driver not working.

I would suggest you find a flashaholic that lives nearby and have them diagnose it with you.

3

I don’t know any flashaholics, but my father does work at a repair shop (he doesn’t do the repairing though) and over there his colleague told him that the bulb wasn’t working right and that I needed not just a new bulb, but the part that is attached to the bulb as well.

4

Do you have a DMM? I would check your cell first and make sure its voltage is okay, and then check tailcap current through your DMM. That will confirm that your cell is okay and remove possible tailcap switch issues from the equation.

Next, I would remove the pill and insure that the solder joints on the emitter are okay and the make certain the isolation disc is in place and okay. Also check for any obvious discoloration/issues on the emitter while it's apart. If that all checks out, I would assume the issue to be a defective driver or broken wiring on the pill itsself.

Other BLFers will be better suited to recommend a replacement driver if you wish to swap it yourself. I would probably go for a KD 8x 7135?

5

Have you tried the obvious stuff?

Check the battery voltage - a fully charge 18650 should read around 4.2v

What is the general state of cleanliness of contacts?

Is anything rattling that didn't used to rattle?

6

All good suggestions and the obvious first step in diagnosis is disassemble, visually inspect for loose wires, clean all threads, reassemble then check the voltages. When I have dim or flickering, it is usually really dirty threads or loose pill/tail caps or low charged cell.

7

I just opened up my flashlight, but there was nothing to see. No visible wires. The bulb is attached to some metal part that can be screwed and unscrewed into the flashlight.

8

For the record, anybody who tells you it needs a new bulb doesn't know enough about LEDs to be the one to troubleshoot it as the light has no bulb,nor is the emitter replaceable in the same fashion an older style bulb would have been.

That is a bit like someone telling you the needle in your DVD player needs to be replaced.

9

There should be a removable isolating ring around the LED to protect the connectors from being shorted by the aluminum reflector. It would be the black ring surrounding the die on this C8 emitter module sold at MF:

http://www.manafont.com/imagelibrary.php?src=ns3W19DJ2JHo7M6jn5OfrJ6Wk5Sn5NXZ&w=600&h=600&f=jpg&q=90&hash=30cc2b167a4e07c42212e2f90caffb29

Just make certain you do not damage the dome on your emitter; the dome on the XM-L is very soft and can be damaged easily.

Underneath the isolating disc, you should see the wires coming through the pill soldered to the pads on the XM-L emitter board.

10

Hm… I will destroy my flashlight. I’d probably torch if I’d attempt to unsolder the thing. The thing you linked me to, is that thing also available as a whole? I might just purchase that instead of trying (and most likely failing) to repair the flashlight myself.

Also, are there any better emitter things for this flashlight, or is the one it came with the best one available?

Thanks :).

11

The XML that came with your is the best (brightest). Manafont has the assembled module available but only in an XR-E emitter. I did a quick check and found a replacement XM-L module for your light at intl-outdoor.com for $15.99... It looks like a decent pill with the 8x 7135 driver and what appears to be the connections for selectable mode groups. Maybe somone here can comment on quality?

http://www.intl-outdoor.com/c8-module-xml-t6-led-amc17358-driver-p-261.html

12

And that might fix it if and only if the problem is in the pill and not in the switch. First test should be take the tailcap off and short the battery to the body with a paper clip and see if it comes on full bright or is still the dim. If it comes on bright using a paper clip instead of the switch, the problem isnt in the head, its in the tailcap and you need a new switch.

13

Where do u live , u never know who lives near u from here:)