First Post, choosing between a TR-J12 and FandyFire L1

[Chicago_X]

It's possible that one or more of the leads to (or from) the LEDs has been guillotined during assembly.

I've seen several multi-LED torches now with that problem. The bottom of the reflector, or the body pass-through (depending on torch) has a sharp edge - during assembly, the wiring is twisted across the sharp edge.

The light may even work initially, then fail after just a short while - or it may arrive DOA, as in your case.

Further examination will require complete dismantling of the torch, so time to break out the soldering iron, and some de-soldering braid.....

[Siftah]

@JohnnyMac

That nylon disk is a great way to hide a hellacious soldering job!

Yup, pretty hideous isn't it!

I thought my soldering was pretty ropey, but I'm feeling a lot better about myself after seeing this ;)

@JohnnyMac

Have you tried gripping the top of the reflector (as shown in your first pic) and unscrewing the entire drop-in from the head? Once you have the drop-in out you should be able to unsolder or grind off the solder holding the driver into the pill and pop the driver. Once that is exposed you might find that a wire from the driver to the LEDs is loose or a component on the board is fried/burnt. Have you contacted the seller before doing this process?

I did try that, but I couldn't get it to budge (I was trying to be gentle though as I wasn't sure if it was supposed to unscrew). Having just tried again, either I'm weaker than I thought or it doesn't want to move.

I've not contacted the seller (DealExtreme), I was hoping to DIY fix it rather than go through their painful returns process. But needs must I guess, perhaps need to make a decision now before I start unsoldering things :)

[Siftah]

@Chicago X

It’s possible that one or more of the leads to (or from) the LEDs has been guillotined during assembly.

Thanks - any way to test this electrically? ie: rather than have to dis-assemble the whole thing?

@Chicago X

I’ve seen several multi-LED torches now with that problem. The bottom of the reflector, or the body pass-through (depending on torch) has a sharp edge - during assembly, the wiring is twisted across the sharp edge.

The light may even work initially, then fail after just a short while - or it may arrive DOA, as in your case.

Further examination will require complete dismantling of the torch, so time to break out the soldering iron, and some de-soldering braid.....

I'm happy to do that if I need to, just not too clear on where to start. :)

[Chicago_X]

Removing enough solder from the bottom of the contact disc to allow access to the driver is a good place to start.

[Siftah]

@Chicago X

Removing enough solder from the bottom of the contact disc to allow access to the driver is a good place to start.

I shall give that a go and report back :)

[Siftah]

So I made some progress in that I realised there's actually another part of the head of the light which un-screws. Unscrewing this has given me access to the driver itself.

In doing that, the problem is obvious - the board has been broken when the head has been screwed back on, it looks like a pretty crappy design.

Here's the section with the driver, showing how it was as I opened it: http://t.co/NBa46cKY

And here's after de-soldering the remaining leg holding the two pieces of the driver together: http://t.co/pv6TIp6P

I don't see how I can fix this myself as it looks like the copper tracks on the board are now missing, hence re-soldering it would not work, am I right?

[Siftah]

Ok, so I thought I'd start playing about and knocked up a join between the two sets of boards; http://t.co/J1TqnI2n

I get 12.38 volts at the red/orange wires which I believe I've soldered onto what's left of the pads.

However, I'm only seeing something like 0.38 volts at the black and white wires which should be leading to the LED's.

Maybe I've not got the wires on the right pads or maybe the driver is bust? Either way, it looks pretty b0rked to me :)

[Chicago_X]

The good news is that Manafont has a replacement driver for ~$6

[xed888]

link for that please?

[Siftah]

@Chicago X

The good news is that Manafont has a replacement driver for ~$6

Probably quicker than waiting for DX :)

Link? or place I can read up more details?

[Chicago_X]

@Siftah

Probably quicker than waiting for DX

Link? or place I can read up more details?

Here's the link:

http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/flashlight-component-triple-t6-cree-circuit-board-driver-p-7973

[Siftah]

Certainly looks similar, though not quite the same.

It's an option I guess :)

[2100]

@Chicago X

@Siftah

Probably quicker than waiting for DX

Link? or place I can read up more details?

Here's the link:

http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/flashlight-component-triple-t6-cree-circuit-board-driver-p-7973

Wait...isn't that a driver for triple XM-Ls?

Still don't know if it is parallel to the LEDs for 5x XM-L.

[Chicago_X]

@2100

Wait...isn't that a driver for triple XM-Ls?

Still don't know if it is parallel to the LEDs for 5x XM-L.

Since it's a B&B driver, it should work with 3 cells. I would estimate around 1,6A to each LED in that config.

[benckie]

That's the TR-3T6 driver, that would give you around 1 Amp per led

[Siftah]

@benckie

That's the TR-3T6 driver, that would give you around 1 Amp per led

Hey, Which one is? The one that's pictured in my photos and hence comes with the torch, or the one from Manafont which has been posted?

[Jacob]

This is the cool gadgets i owned.

It is a cheap chinese light.

For more information, see here. http://www.dealextreme.com/p/57096?r=88314923

[antonkochubey]

..just me or the TR-J12 with LED's re-wired in series, equipped with either http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S020077 (cheap, but as it supports only 4 LEDs, center one would have to be disabled) or something like TaskLED Hyperboost (more expensive, but way more functional), and three A123 LiFePO4 26650's would be most lumens/$? :P

Surely it sounds just like a dream, but I'll try to implement that dream in reality as soon as I get it - it's marked as shipped for two weeks already, but China post has some weird randomness factor with delivery times - that KD driver (as well as six 26650's) arrived few days ago, while being ordered same day as flashlight.

[Kajman]

TaskLED Hyperboost - what is that?

[benckie]

@Siftah

@benckie

That's the TR-3T6 driver, that would give you around 1 Amp per led

Hey, Which one is? The one that's pictured in my photos and hence comes with the torch, or the one from Manafont which has been posted?

The manafont one