FW3A, a TLF/BLF EDC flashlight - SST-20 available, coupon codes public

Yeah, itā€™s fantasticā€¦itā€™s done by some flashaholic in Chinaā€¦no other word if there would be some available for the rest of us yet.

:+1:

The fall might have shorted the inner tube making the driver think the button was pressed down continuously.

The tail pcb looks interesting. Iā€™m not sure why it looks burnt, though. That would be due to high current flowing through that trace.

Here is a theory. The fall might have made the battery push hard against the inner tube. The inner tube might have shorted against the outer tube. In this situation the battery current might be forced to flow through that burnt looking switch trace to power the light PLUS the current flowing through the inner tube also triggers the driver to think the switch is being constantly pressed down.

Toykeeper has seen the results of a shorted inner tube. Hopefully she can comment. I canā€™t remember her description well enough.

Inspect the inner tube for any breaks in the anodized finish (outer part of inner tube).

Edit: Toykeeper said that if the inner tube gets shorted, the light acts like the button is pressed.

ok after closer inspection, there is no doubt the small trace had melted to the tail spring, why it happened after a small fall off the night table possibly landing on the tail to cause the short to the trace with the spring.I did check the inner tube, but dont see any scratches or flaws to allow it to short to the body.

( as i mentioned here in the FW3A troubleshooting thread, i will do a quick mod/fix to prevent the spring from shorting to that trace. FW3A Troubleshooting / FAQ - #618 by DBSAR

I was about to order one of theseā€¦ but Iā€™ve dropped my zebralight HUNDREDS of times and never had an issue.

Are you scared? :smiley:

Did you loose the feeling in your hands? I am starting too, I hope it donā€™t get that badā€¦ :person_facepalming:

My wife runs around the house slightly unscrewing all of my tail caps. 2 years ago today(not joking) my zebralight(sc600w iv plus) caught my cotton shorts pocket on fire.

Iā€™m more worried about her finding out that my new light caught the bed sheets on fire

Kawi: I use my flashlight a lot and in hard to reach places. I use it a few hours a day. Iā€™m also clumsy and drop it off my lap at least twice a week. But my hands are getting destroyed from doing repairs on small devices

Kawiā€™s hands are now made up of more metal shavings than tissue

I believe that Japanese/Chinese hands are smaller, better able to reach inside their miniature engineered wonders.
One reason I had my sinus surgery by a Japanese doctor and my proctologist is Dr No.

This is very concerning. I just checked my spring. The end of the spring is about the 2 oā€™clock position from the FW3A stamp. The largest gap is about 11 oā€™clock. I can just barely get a sheet of paper thru the spring at the trace. All three solder pads appear soldered ok. Iā€™ve never soldered before. Do you think it is OK? I have had zilch problems with the light. I have never dropped it though. I do use FT batteries.

I would not be concerned. There doesnā€™t seem a chance the spring could touch the trace. You have a nice gap and the spring is properly soldered.

Seems a piece of kapton tape over that trace would have been cheap insurance. I may desolder my spring and do just that when mine comes in. I like my lights to be as bulletproof as possible. My Olight S1 has been through a lot and refuses to stop working.

Is the head of this light easily replaceable?
Like, if I want a different led, can I just swap the head content, or do I need to unglue and solder stuff?

Mine had the sharp end of the spring right over the trace. Almost touching. :person_facepalming:

The solder job on mine was really bad, too. Just one contact point, and the spring was way off center.

I desoldered it, and did an equally sh*tty solder job putting it back together. But, at least itā€™s centered, the sharp end is 180 degrees away from the trace, and thereā€™s two contact points (couldnā€™t get the third for some reason). I also added some more solder so the spring sits up higher. Thereā€™s a good millimeter of space between the spring and the board.

I hope I did that correctly. Anyway, the light works fine, and the spring seems solidly in place.

This design flaw is not cool.

Great combined info!

My favorite combo for weight vs ability to handle heat - Aluminum outside and copper inside. Iā€™ll do a copper light very infrequently. I NEVER do brass, bronze or stainless steel. Titanium is rare for me, but has been purchased a few times.

It does not have a pill if that is what you are asking. If you want different emitters you will have to take the MCPCB out & either reflow new ones or install another MCPCB with different emitters.

As far as the head being ā€œeasily replaceableā€ ā€¦. yeah, you can just screw one off and screw another one on.

Kawi plays grand piano in a marching band

Niceā€¦ :+1: