ok… one more update…… I messed up the order (my fault) and shipping took a LOT longer than expected…… anyhow, new driver came in today and…
the KD driver I ordered was a dud… I re-ordered a IO driver (looks the SAME as the KD driver) and the light works.
I didn’t get a chance to put a meter on it yet… but it is bright… crazy crazy bright… wow!!
The light does get very hot on high, I mean I had it on high for about a min and it was fairly warm to the touch.
I don’t think I can do too many wall shots of it either, the flood is so wide, and it has so much power that it washes out all my other lights… haha……
This light was a bit more trouble and expense than expected… but it’s soooo worth it… if anything is considering this mod… do it… (or go the cheaper route and mod the j12).
In summary….
Ordered J18, full set (4) of TF flames 18650…. one marginal cell that would trip protection early and shut down the light… eliminated the flaky cell and light worked great… for a week…….
Factory driver then blew… light was very dim… it would work… but would be very dim… (driver toast?)
Replaced with KD driver… no luck… light would not turn on… only a quick flash… (batteries not good enough? tripping protection?)
Ordered full set (4) TF flames 26650 + xstar charger for the new bigger batteries… (no luck… DOH….)
Re-installed factory (blown) driver… same as above… really dim….
Modded factory driver (resistor mod…put a pot in it)… light was better… but only 20-30% of factory….
Finally replaced driver again with IO driver…. bingo… it works : )
somewhere in there I also upgraded the contacts a bit… Driver spring was doubled up (I just added a second spring and wound them together…. tail cap has copper braid in it.