FW3A Troubleshooting / FAQ

The listing should tell you what LEDs you have. If you don’t see it, try to post a link to where you bought it from and we’ll take a look.

You’re right JasonWW, it was in the title of the listing, as well as in the descriptions, 3 Cree XP-L HI LEDS :person_facepalming:

I got a question about blip at 1x7135 - if I’m ramping from floor and I want to stay on exactly on 1x7135 level - should I stop ramping right at the blip? Or I should go higher, and then ramp back down and stop at the blip?

Anything below the blip is the 1 x 7135 channel. If you ramp up you may go too high, so it’s better to ramp down.

Oh thank you, so when the blip happens when ramping up - it’s already higher the 1 × 7135, that’s what I wanted to know

So I bought 4 FW3 the other day. 2 x grey (different emitters), 1x stainless and one brown/tan (Oh and a HW3a)

The FW3a’s (XML hi) does the following:

Always comes on at the bottom of the range. If I then ramp up and switch off, then switch on again it hasn’t remembered where I was and is always back at the bottom every time. This is straight out the box. I’ve not played with any modes. This is with a short single click. I’m not holding. The other FW3s behave as expected and come back on where they were switched off.

The HW3 (thought I’d mention it here as same UI) also does some funny stuff.

If I switch it on. Then press and hold it ramps up and down just fine. If I press and hold from off then it starts to ramp but with a lot of flicker. Almost like a strobe. And if I don’t ramp far when I let go it goes off. If I ramp quite high then when I let go it drop low and then ramps all the way to the top from low on its own. The other thing is. If I ramp to somewhere. When I switch off then back on (single click) it always starts at a mid point brightness. Any ideas on where to start? I’ve tried different tails on the FW3 so I guess that rules out the switch. I’ve emailed Neal and waiting on a reply. Absolutely love the UI. These are mainly replacements for a gen2 H600 zebralight and an olight. Thanks!

In terms of the light not remembering the level you stopped at, it sounds like manual memory is on.

To turn on automatic memory (where it will turn on at the level it was turned off in), click 5 times and hold the button on the last click.
More details can be found under the Ramping/Stepped Ramping Modes section in the Anduril guide.

No idea what’s up with the flickering, though. If you’re talking about the HL3A headlamp, it could be a driver or a switch issue, but I don’t know how you’d narrow it down.
(I’d probably send it back for exchange, unless you’re pretty confident you could replace the driver yourself if you were sent a replacement.)

Here’s a little thing I learned last night:

Problem:
Flashlight not working properly.
It always turned on from low to high every time a battery is inserted and cap is tighten. Driver not responding to switch operation.

Finding:
If the retainer ring was too tight, it will scratch the coating layer on board (either driver or switch board) and expose the metal/circuit path. Then, the inner tube might touch this exposed part and contact to signal pad is occurred.

Solution:
I had an idea to cover this scratched board with either paint, tape, or nail polish. But I end up scratching the outer part of the board with cutter to remove the circuit layer outside the signal pad.

It’s working now.

Thanks Serlite. You’re 100% correct. That sorted the FW3 out. Much appreciated.

Now I just need to get the HW3 sorted and I’m up and running. That’s a strange one though with the behaviour being different In ramping properly when on. Yet not ramping properly from off with press and hold.

Was it a defect from factory? Did you manage to light up your light after finding the solution?

It was working fine, Sir.
The problem occurred after I opened the switch board and put it back several times for various purposes.

Yes it’s now operating normal again.

Noticed something similar.

With my FW3A with tailcap retaining rings I noticed that if the retaining ring was full snugged down the switch operation was spotty. I think this was because the ring was forcing the switch board into a position that isn’t quite flush with the inner tube, resulting in an insufficient contact between the edge of the inner tube and the trace for it on the bottom of the switch board. As a result, my second generation FW3As with retaining rings were actually less reliable than my first generation ones without.

Fortunately, this is very easy to fix. The main thing to keep in mind is that the switch retaining ring is just there to keep the guts from falling out if you take off the tailcap. It should NOT be snugged down tightly. loosely screwed in works better as that allows the switch board to float into the correct position.

speaking of retaining rings, I was hoping to reflash my FW3A with Anduril 2 and can’t get the retaining ring out. This isn’t glued is it? wouldn’t make sense to do both, but so far its not budging.

Have you tried 6 clicks from off to make sure you are not in muggle mode?

Thank you, is not muggle mode problem, but i have resolved

I think I found the issue. Seems the FET has been wrecked. I measure 1.7kOhms Source to Drain. Should be in the MegaOhm range I reckon… Swapping the FET out now and will report back.

EDIT: Well… I was wrong. Go figure!! lol Removed the FET and it still had the leakage current. Then got super lucky and the first 7135 (U3) I removed was the culprit. Replaced that bugger and now we are back to like new!! :crown:

Hi, i am in trouble with reset.
Any help?
I try 4 times to rotate the head after click and press switch with battery inserted.
The light ramp low to high but it do not switch off.
Any help?

Have you cleaned the threads and all contact points of head and body?

Loosen the head and make sure the tail is very tight then reattach the head.

What does it do when you try to switch it off? Does the led glow very faint or does it stay at it’s set brightness?
If it ramps, that means the switch is working.

I don’t know if i understand correctly but when i choose the ramp mode after the reset i have always my 4 preset levels… not 7