HELP! Driver Problem

I have a mtnelectronics driver; a MTN-17DDm (FET + 7135 Driver - 17mm)
It has an Attiny85 and was ordered with the D4 UI V2 for e-switch.
The UI diagram is here. I believe it is an Anduril variation. Not sure.

I wired up a switch and a mcpcb with emitter to test it. It turned on and off. It ramped up and down and would turn off again.
Good.

I installed it in the project light without having to remove and reinstall the e-switch wires. Just had to remove the test mcpcb and once in the project I soldered those two wires back onto the mcpcb. Installed a cell and turned it on. Okay it worked.

Turned it off. turned on. Ramped up. Ramped down. Turned off. Turned on. Everything was fine.

I THINK I may have clicked 3 times rapidly while the light was on. Or maybe it was 4 times. I don’t know.

Now it will not turn off. The e-switch still works as a click-hold will let the light vramp up or down. It will not turn off.

If I ramp up to some brighter level and 1C the light switches down to a lower level. A second 1C takes it back to the higher level.

? Any ideas? Could it be faulty firmware flashing? Should I simply say “ah crap!” and flash Anduril 2 to the Attiny85?
If so, what hex file? What version? One of these

Thank you.

I will also be contacting mtnelectronics.

I have seen some weird behavior when I put a attiny85 on an older driver. After some research I learned the 85 requires more careful filtering of the MCU input power to prevent voltage spikes. Emisar drivers and others (like TA drivers) have some extra components to achieve this. I don’t think the mtn FET drivers do. Although I doubt Richard would have this option of it didn’t work well.

Has anyone else purchased this driver with the D4 UI from mtnelectronics and can report their experience with it?

Try disconnecting the power and letting it sit for several minutes before trying it again. From what I remember it would work fine for a bit but would start acting up if I played with it (turn off and on and ramp up and down repeatedly).

Thanks EasyB. I tried removing the cell for a short time all the way through overnight and it made no difference.

It just seems to be in Wonky Mode.

I left a message at mtnelectronics about this. It may take a few days to get a reply. We’ll see what is suggested.

I wish I had some Lexel drivers. I had very good success with them. I do have one w/o an FET and only 3 of the 7135’s. (left from a special project that I did not want to use an FET on.) I wonder if I am capable of filling all the empty 7135 positions and if the FET from one of these Mtn DD drivers would be suitable for use on the Lexel driver? I could then flash Anduril to it to replace the Narsil. I have not added 7135’s to a board; I have removed some from a Qlite. Never messed with tiny smd’s much. But give me a hex file and I can flash.

Looking at this from another angle; can anyone recommend a source for a 17mm driver with an FET or high amperage 3 volt output that has decent firmware and uses an e-switch?

By decent I mean simple 1C to turn on or off. Ramping would be nice, but not necessary if there were 4 - 5 modes with a near moonlight low.

Try and hold the power button down and twist the tail cap of and then on so it breaks contact while still holding the side switch that should reset it? wait till the blinks are over once tail cap is back in contact and it should have reset it maybe.

That is not a firmware issue. Either you have a short somewhere and the driver is bypassed with some resistance or the FET or 7135 is leaking some current (happens from time to time).

@everydaysurvivalgear
A reset helps only if you’ve messed up your ramp configuration and are stuck in a single brightness or something similar. It won’t magically repair your broken light or fix software bugs. Also this driver doesn’t even use Anduril.

Did you buy the driver recently? Does it still come with that ancient IRLR8726TRLPBF Fet on it?

A recent purchase. The 4 lines of characters on it are…

3C725L
PBm
1134 C5
1604

That would be a yes to the ancient fet question.

As far as I know, no one else in the world is putting together BLF style drivers for sale. Probably because the $ is not nearly worth the amount of tech questions you would have to deal with.

Tks Hoop.

Manny PCB projects shared on OSHPark, but you have to solder and flash it your self

It happens even with the board removed from the light and not installed in any conductive holder. So, I do believe it is to do with electronic transients as was mentioned.

I have an update on this for whomever may be interested.

1. It took a while but mtnelectronics responded. They stated that it sounded like the 7135’s failed on all three drivers I have; 2 in 17mm and 1 is a 20mm. Identical mcu’s with the D4 V3 UI. We came to a full refund on two and a complete replacement for the third.

The replacement came a week ago and I did a test with it and it does function as it should.

2. Hoop helped me with a 17mm version of one of Del’s drivers with an attiny85 mcu. One of these…… DEL's OSH-Park driver boards. It does what I wanted. I may try building another 1 or 2.

7135’s are in a difficult supply situation and apparently there have been some bad ones. Mtn-E has had some issues with some but were very good to resolve the issue, just as they were in years past.

Now I just need to take the time to complete the project I have partially done.

I am finding it difficult to concentrate recently. One of the early season wildfires is nearing Los Alamos. Near enough to put the county into the “set” phase of the “ready-set-go” emergency evacuation stages.