BLF A6 FET+7135 Light Troubleshooting and Mod thread

It is orange-peel but not quite as pronounced as my Nitecore. I see by some quick searching that DC fix is quite popular (although I don’t know if the Tim Allen in me can let the few extra lumens go :slight_smile: ). Even saw one of your threads with posts from SC52 comparison with and without. May look into the other options too. Do you have a particular recommendation of where to get the DC fix from or a particular brand/style? Or just google and get?

Thank you very much for the quick reply! I feel honored to hear back from the great Toykeeper. :wink:

I have read where the use of a paper clip will fix the gap in the tail section until a new tube can be shipped. It’s nice to have a working light in the meantime.

Have there been any posts saying it was the tail cap and not the tube? I just received some more A6’s with one not working and finally isolated it to the tail cap. After testing with the multimeter to confirm it wasn’t the switch, I then tried it on other A6’s with the same results, the tubes are fine but not the 1 tail cap.

I’m just wondering if this is an isolated case or the expected occasional hiccup that occurs.

I was checking thread depth very crudely with a small flat head screw driver after I had more than one a6. I seem to remember the issues were with the tail cap and not the tube. I was trying to Lego my bare with my anodized. So compare thread lengths male and female. and see what you come up with. But imho it’s really how far the retaining ring gets threaded down vs tube length.

If I recall correctly, it’s easy to get from the manufacturer in Germany, if you’re near there. I just got some from Amazon, I think. Ebay might be good too, or there are some forum members who sell it in pieces smaller than a full roll.

The “sand” variety is probably what you want. It’s still somewhat coarse though, so it’s not as nice as a frosted lens or a frosted optic. The artifacts aren’t usually visible, but if you rotate the light around its beam axis it’ll be clear that some areas are brighter than others.

If I could find a good source of arbitrary-sized glass lenses with one side frosted and no AR coating, … um, well, I can’t say it’d be life-changing, but it’d at least be pretty cool.

At first I thought the same but decided the tube end actually contacts the tailcap itself and not the retaining ring. At least I “think” I am correct O:-)

A paper clip from the end of the tube to B-. If it works then the problem is in the tail cap, either a loose switch retainer, a bad switch, or, as with another post, the wrong switch pcb was installed. Pre amounted switches are available from Fastech and sometimes MtnE. If the paper clip trick doesn’t work the the problem is in the head.

Oh ya! I forgot about the “shelf” in there. It’s the head where the retaining ring touches the tube. Either way I’m thinking that’s the part Manker cut too deep. I mentioned in this thread long ago that my bare tail cap wouldn’t make contact with an anodized tube end when trying to Lego. And had my bare been anodized it would have been doa.

It’s funny how minute the gap is between the tube and the shelf that renders it non-functional. I took a length of .015 silver solder and laid it around the shelf similar to the temporary paperclip fix, and it worked fine. However, the solder disintegrated after the first removal of the tail cap. It’s not a permanent fix for sure but confirmed the contact problem. Waiting to hear back from BG about it.

hallo.i try to open this flashlite.i unscrewed the ring over the driver.but how to take out the driver?is it possible?

i there any glue?

The driver has wires soldered to the led board.

friends,please,how to do the memory ON/OFF? i cant help my self…

My two A6s arrived today. One wouldn’t power on, but worked if I shorted the tail to the battery. The retaining rings were tight and the connecting surfaces at the tail looked fine. On a whim, I took the o-rings out and the light worked great.

It seems that the tailcap o-ring is being squeezed out of its groove and brought flush with the light’s body along ~1/4 of the diameter. Cleaning, greasing, and testing the spare o-rings didn’t help.

With o-rings installed, the tailcap must be very tight to get a good connection.

I may try a thinner o-ring since the tailcap is just a small fraction of a turn from lockout, but both lights are working so I’m happy! I hope this might help someone troubleshoot their new light.

And a big ‘Thank You!’ to everyone involved in making this custom light happen. I love it!

EDIT: It’s still acting up. After more reading and a test with the “paperclip mod,” I’ve determined the issue is the tube length. I’ve contacted Neal’s assistant at BG and will hopefully receive a replacement tube for one of my A6s.

To change settings in config mode:

1. turn on the light and shine it at a wall
2. half-press the button 15 times rapidly, until light stops shining
3. light will turn off for 2 seconds
4. light will blink twice for group mode setting (turn light OFF to change 4 or 7 mode setting)
5. light will blink twice for mode memory setting (turn light OFF to change mode memory setting)

To change a setting, turn the light OFF during the two blinks in either step 4 or 5.

If you do nothing during step 4 or 5, the light will return to normal operation.

I usually need to press more than 15 times in order to reach config mode. If you do not click fast enough, the light will simply continue to cycle through modes.

I hope this helps!

goshdogit-thanks a lot.i tried and its working.thank you very much:)))

My a6 switches modes if it is tapped or tips over on table. In fact I couldn’t tail stand it earlier without modes changing. Or flickering.
As an edc it has been no good. The clip feels cheap as well it’s sharp and does not hang on good enough.

A few things can cause this. Loose retaining ring on either the driver or tail cap switch, tail cap milled slightly too deep for the switch and the rubber button is already pressing the switch(not enough slack), anodized version barely makes contact at bare metal ends of the battery tube. They don’t seem to do much QC before shipping but fortunately most of these group buy lights are easy to disassemble, diagnose, and reassemble. It usually doesn’t take much to find the problem and fix it. It’s part ’n parcel with the whole cheap light with free shipping deal.

Mine is sensitive to bumps as well. In my case it’s the springs (a known issue). Mine has also popped off the clip in outside pocket carry several times at work but I’m pretty rough on things there so I don’t think it is too bad overall.

It’s still a great light but the inconsistent execution lags far behind the totally awesome design. For the money you can’t complain much- just the way things go in a “budget” world.

Phil

Cleaned up contacts it is better. But I think you are right the spring is way to soft it still changes modes with a slight bump. For sitting living room it’s a great light as long as no one tips it over or places it down to hard.
It is severely lacking as an edc for someone that uses their tools daily, and does not treat them like fine China.
Maybe I can swap out tail spring for stiffer one.
The led choice, and the driver are great I know it was difficult to design this . Far better than most lights. But manufacturing has made this light not so reliable my threads don’t seem tight, and ano seems lesser than some of my other lights. It also does not seem to be water tight. My s2+ can be relied on. My s30 was solid ( driver and led were not nearly as nice as a6)Maybe I can gut the heart out of the a6 and put driver and led in the new tan s2+

Hi everyone, new guy here. I’ve been a lurker around here for a while. I received the BLF A6 in the mail a few days ago and the switch is bad. It won’t turn off, I have to loosen the tailcap to shut it off. I have sent an email to Banggood about it and now waiting for a reply. If I’ve read correctly the switch is a Omten 1288. Is there any US suppliers of this switch? I have searched but no luck finding any as of yet.

I love this light but I don’t want to wait for ever for a replacement switch from Banggood. This is no bash to Banggood, I have made several light and battery purchases from them and have been very happy. If any one has a suggestion of a replacement switch I greatly appreciate the info. Thanks!