ASTROLUX MF01 Mini - common issues thread

Astrolux got for the light now brass heat spreaders, not sure when they get added to lights that sell

Hi
I dropped my MFO1 mini, a few days later I switched it on and it will not turn on.
Checked the battery and found it was completely drained.
After recharging the battery it still did not work.
When I found the flashlight was getting warmer I left it for 15 minutes and measured the temperature of the flashlight and voltage of the battery.
The voltage had decreased and the temperature increased
Can anyone help?

When you say completely drained, what voltage was it?

Under what conditions was it getting warmer? Turned off?

Measure the parasitic drain. See if it’s still in spec.

I went to use my MF01 mini today after not using it for 3-4 months, and found that the battery (Keeppower 5500) was dead. I tried to charge it as usual but my charger refused, so I tested the battery’s voltage and found it was drained to 1.5 volts.

Did I make a mistake leaving the light sitting that long unused? I read that AUX leds could drain a battery to damaging levels while sitting idle, but the MF01 mini specs say that the AUX leds on the board shut off before they drain the battery too much, so it doesn’t seem like it would be because of that.

Thank you for your update Lexel. And that you sent Astrolux/Mateminco the design and talked them into putting it there. Its great news. I might buy a few more as gifts now.

Normally you should turn the tail cap to break the electrical flow if not using the light for a long time. You will need to throw that battery out. It’s now a fire hazard.

It’s weird it went down that low. The aux leds should shut off at 2.8v. The drivers lvp is only active when the light is turned on, not when off. When off it should be using only a tiny amount of power. Enough to last your years. Maybe your parasitic drain is much higher than it should be. You would need a digital multimeter and turn the aux leds off to test it. It’s also possible the aux led lvp is not shutting down properly. Youd need a battery charged to about 2.6v or 2.7v to test that.

Something definitely seems wrong with your light.

Thanks for the info. I’ll have to look into it more closely then.

How charged was the battery when you left it sitting for 3-4 months? If it was already low then that could be the issue why it was so low

That should not matter.

Way too long for me to remember, but I can say that I only used it for a few minutes at a time whitewall hunting, so I don’t think it would have been drained all that much.

Has anyone got a picture of what’s below the driver PCB (as shown below), so we can see how the driver board is attached to the light body?

The image below was taken from post 6. In this post JasonWW states:

“Actually, the battery tube does not contact the driver so that heat is not being drawn away.”

If that’s the case, then it’s no surprise the board is overheating. It’s just a matter of time. I was about to state that in all the teardown pictues I’ve seen on this light, I don’t see any thermal compound, but if there’s no ledge for the driver board to sit on then … that explains why.

I hope I’m mistaken, otherwise this is a case of very poor design.

There’s not much point in having a copper head\body option if the driver board is practically floating on air. Please tell me this isn’t the case……

Every 7135 board I’ve seen in other lights is pressed\soldered against the flashlight body so the heat has somewhere to go.

[quote=JasonWW]

It is normal for a driver board to be mounted like this. There are components on both sides so it cannot sit flush on a flat shelf. It should not be a problem because the driver board does not generate a lot of heat relatively speaking.

The problem with MF01 mini is that the 7135s are transferring heat directly to the temperature sensor on the other side. Anduril sees a rising temperature and because the algorithm is partially predictive, it immediately takes steps. That is my understanding anyway, I am open to correction.

You are correct in your statement that it is poor design and testing. A single test would have revealed this problem to Astrolux, and almost surely did. They shipped anyway because that it is the Chinese way. They will keep doing it as long as people keep buying their half-baked crap.

Mateminco is the manufacturer, Astrolux is Banggood’s brand name.

And what has that got to do with anything ?

Aren’t I able to chip in? You said it was Astrolux that shipped the light even though there was an issue. I was just simply stating that Mateminco is who didn’t do the testing, not Astrolux.

How can I order these? I am very interested in obtaining at least one of them to try and many more once I see how well it works. Please any help on how to get the brass heat sink would be very much appreciated.

Hello,

My MF01 is still in delivery so I cannot look inside.

If someone with this flashlight would be willing to remove the battery tube and un-screw the two driver PCB screws then the board can be lifted for a quick picture.

If there is a metal ledge below the board then we can engineer our way round this issue. If there is no ledge then the problem is much harder to solve.

We need to know if the designer left a ledge on the inside of the tube.

Thanks.

“How can I order these?”

At the moment you can’t, as no one is manufacturing them.

I posted a question on the Bangood website asking if the manufacturer is including the driver heatsink with new lights (it’s rumoured they are), but no one has answered as of today and the question has been up for a while. Astrolux have a Facebook page. You could try and send them a message and ask the same question. The other option is to find a machine shop and have a batch made…. :slight_smile:

Go onto AliExpress and find the Mateminco page, message them since they’re the manufacturer

Thanks but I already know that. I assume most people do.

It does not change anything, the light is half-baked, it says Astrolux on it and most people posting in this thread purchased from Banggood. Therefore the criticism is directed there, not upstream.

Although Astrolux is merely a “brand” it does not resolve them of their responsibilities.