I got my BLF Q8 in the original group buy, and it has seen some use from time to time. Mostly camping and emergency light at home. I see thereās now Anduril firmware for it. Is it worth learning how to flash / getting the hardware to do it?
I picked up one of these a few weeks ago and it worked great until the most recent time I pulled it out. I donātt see any damage but it is not powering on, even with fully charged batteries.
Okay, with no blink it either means the driver is not getting voltage or the driver is bad.
Letās focus on the voltage. The end of the battery tube needs to contact the driver ring so make sure these contacts are clean. Then make sure you are screwing them together fully. Maybe remove the o-ring to make sure itās not getting in the way.
Maybe try using one charged up battery.
You can feel the spring tension when screwing it together, right? The springs still have tension?
You can also try cleaning the battery ends and the driver contact ring just in case.
Check that the driver retaining screws are tight.
Also check that the driver is sitting flat like below.
The connection is made at the contact points of the metal surfaces. With high voltages there might be arcing through the air which will cause all kind of issues. Thus you can use ābulb greaseā which fills the space with a better dielectric to prevent arcing. But thatās nothing you will find in flashlights. It also seals the metal surfaces against air and moisture to prevent corrosion.
Using a conductive material will not improve the resistance. You would need something like liquid metal and also consider the resistance at the points of contact between the aluminum and this other metal. The biggest issue with any conductive non-solid material is that it will eventually cause short circuits because it will reach places where it doesnāt belong.
Lubrication in flashlights is used to increase the lifetime of the threads and o-rings. Aluminum on aluminum can be very abrasive and tearing on the o-ring can prevent a proper seal. It will also help to seal the flashlight against moisture.
Also keep in mind that aluminum oxide is an electric insulator. When you screw the threads together the forces will break the extremely thin layer of aluminum oxide.
From what I can see, the contacts are clean, springs are clean and tight, edge of the battery tube is clean, o-ring is properly seated and I donāt hear any rattling.
I used a pencil eraser on the main contact ring, cleaned away the eraser dust, then wiped it with a rag and a tiny amount of Ballistol, then wiped clean.
I havenāt taken anything apart besides opening the battery compartment and rear tailcap but donāt see any obvious signs of scorch or anything loose.
I donāt have another 18650 light but I ran the batteries through another charge cycle to full.
It was just riding in my backpack, so Iād be surprised if it suffered any major shock or impact since Iām not rough with the pack since it has a lot of other stuff in it.