One of the LEDs turned yellow (it was a CW TN30 XML2 version). I sent it back to be replaced but it came back the same plus I think another one is turning yellow too! Sigh
I wasted postage and have sent them an email asking for an explanation but I was wondering if anyone knew of any fixes?
No i haven’t written anything on Amazon but you’re right. It sounds like a prevalent problem. It’s annoying as I have just wasted the time taken for transit and postage! I am currently waiting for a reply from them.
I wonder if they’re over-driving the emitters by design to get performance - the “bubbles” comment sounds like the domes on the emitters melted. Have you been running the light for long periods, and have you ever smelt something burning?
My lights are usually shelf queens so i dont use them often. Just once in a while.
There aren’t any bubbles and the dome is in perfect condition. It’s just that a diagonal half of the LED is yellow when current passes through the LED, thus giving it a yellow tint.
I have seen XML2 turn yellow from too much heat, too. The old XML didnt have that problem. Can be really annoying if you notice a tint shift after reflowing..
Those are good pictures for a camera phone! It looks like the silicone of the dome detached partly from the die, which results in the same effect as dedoming: tint shift and some output loss. Interesting that it happens easier on the xml2, this will also be the reason that the dedoming is easier with those newer leds.
Anyway, that is very annoying if it happens in such an expensive flashlight, I hope they come up with a proper solution for you.
I hope that they can fix it, and esp., I hope that this is not a latent defect in the XM-L2 emitters, because I have several lights incoming that have XM-L2 emitters in them, and I’ll be ticked off if they all start doing that (dome de-laminating partially) :(!!
If it’s only happening in TN30s then it probably has something to do with the way Thrunite reflows the XML2s on. They might be using temperatures way too high. Perhaps a worker slipped and pushed a knob?
I don’t think it’s a problem with the XML2, but rather the manufacturing process of the TN30. Otherwise we’d be seeing other XML2s having this effect.