first thing that comes to mind, is defective driver, since the specs say 3-4 cell, and ~2x the wattage
second thing is protected batteries
I think hkj tested the tf protected 26650s, and he usually does a protection trip test, right?
but…even if the driver was trying to pull 100W from 3 cells, it’d be less current than you’re already measuring, so that’s probably not it
don’t suppose you happen to have 3 x cgr18650ch unprotected?
anyway, if you determine it is defective and they won’t let you return it, you could buy another, and return this one in its place….of course if it behaves the same, you’re out $40!
I originally thought it could be the batteries protection kicking it, but I’d expect that to happen with 2 battery and not with 3 of them. What do you think of the tail cap readings from my post #96 ?
Hi Sigster, yes they were fully charged, but I discharged them each down to 3.95v each and it didn’t make a difference. However, once it did turn on using 3 x 26650 cells and I was able to get a tail-cap reading of 7a on HIGH mode. The stock driver on HIGH was 4a.
Also, I tried using 3 other very new Trustfire 26650 5000mAh batteries that serve very well in my Trustfire TR-J12 and it didn’t make a difference. It has to be the driver. Thank you for your input and suggestions.
Unfortunately I was getting pretty aggravated due to the problem I was having with the KD driver, and didn’t snap a photo of what the LED wiring looked like with the reflector removed. I’m sure anyone on this board would have appreciated such meticulous soldering using such thin wire.
I will say this much, the person that wired this light had to be a master at his or her craft. The wiring is so thin (wired in series) and so neatly soldered, I could learn a thing or two from this person about soldering.
It also amazes me that even with the super powerful stock driver in this 9x T6, this little wire can allow this flashlight to produce the huge amount of light it does and eat a Trustfire J12 for breakfast.
I have no doubt it would make a difference and seriously reduce the resistance in the existing wiring. If I didn’t love the light so much and didn’t care if I messed it up, I’d give it a try. But there would be a limit to how much larger the wiring would have to be in order for the reflector to seat back down correctly.
Initially when I had the light apart, I was going to replace the stock + and - leads coming from the LED’s down to the driver, but I felt it wasn’t worth it at this time.
I’m thinking this KD driver for the 9x T6 simply requires more power than what any of my batteries can supply. I tried it with my Redilast 3100 x 3, and within about 3 seconds coming on high mode, one cell tripped the protection. Unless someone else is willing to try this driver in their Skyray and verify my findings, I’d say just keep the 9x T6 stock.
I was thinking that too, but at this point, I don’t want to purchase more 26650’s, especially since I purchase these 3 extra Trustfire 5000mAh cells specifically for this light. But thanks for your suggestion.
LOL…okay, I reduced the voltage on my shorai 14Ah battery to 12.5 volts and connected it to the KD driver. OMG, this thing was so scary bright, I’ve never seen a flashlight this bright, as least first hand anyway. After 15 seconds, I noticed a very small bit of smoke come from the driver and then it went out. I removed the driver and can’t seem to find anything burnt, but it will not illuminate anymore.
At this point, I’ll just leave it up in the air as to whether this driver was simply defective only when using 3 cells or not.
Tomorrow I’ll toss the original driver back in, at least for now, until I get a chance to order another KD driver for it. Thanks for all the helpful input. It’s always appreciated
The funny thing is when I tried it with the Redilast 18650 3100’s, for an instant, the tailcap readings shot up to 17 amps, so I yanked the 12 gauge test leads off of it…LOL. I’ll put an order in for another driver this week and give it another shot.