BLF A6 FET+7135 Light Troubleshooting and Mod thread

I read through all BLF A6 threads, but did not find anyone with the “problem” I have. Banggood made it right, just want to share, maybe someone else will get lights like mine.

The tail cap of my A6 does not screw in fully to the body tube. There is always a small gap, which I think should not be there. I can touch the O ring with my nails in the gap. Actually I thought the body tube was too long, but after ordering an Astrolux S1 which has an even bigger gap, the culprit must be the tail cap incorrectly machined. It is even worse on the Astrolux, which interestingly has a slightly different machining at the end of the body tube, and a smoother anodisation.

Did anyone notice something similar?

Or Keeppower 2900 mAh 18650 protected. It’s protection circuit is designed to step in not under about 10 amps.

Is the PCB retaining ring completely screwed in?

I think it is, can’t move it easily.

Can you show a picture of the inside of the tailcap?
Did you try different cells? Perhaps the used one is too long.

Thanks for looking into this.

First one is the A6, second is the Astrolux S1: http://imgur.com/a/2Jdf9 (sorry for the crappy pics)
Actually, the rubber switch of the S1 protrudes a little from the button guards. Maybe it is overtightened.
I am using Samsung 30Q flattops, they are standard size AFAIK.

The pictures look ok, I checked the tailcap of my Astrolux (don’t own the Blf A6) and even after loosening the retainer ring the tube fits - my retainer ring has a smaller diameter than the inside of the tube. But what I see in your first picture: the knurling of tailcap and tube looks different, with my Astrolux it’s the same. Are you sure the parts belong together?

Did you try to turn the tube by 180 degrees (clip end of the tube to the head of the light)?

Good question. Never noticed the different knurling, as it is not so pronounced in real life than on the photo. But it makes sense as the tail cap has a bit different anodizing than the body tube. I received the light like this. Maybe the tailcap is from a different unit, switched at the factory.

I have one more thing. Does your light have the small ridge between the clip groove and the O ring?

Yes. The head can be screwed in only halfway :slight_smile:

No, my Astrolux does not have this ridge. But I would like to have one to prevent slipping of the clip onto the threads during battery change.

Interesting. I have never seen it in any review pictures either.

I came across a similar problem in the head of one of the original A6 anodized lights. The threading in the head for the retaining ring was not cut far enough into the head for the retaining ring to press against the driver and resulted in a weak driver ground with only spring pressure creating contact. Since I couldn’t change the threads I soldered two shims to the driver for good contact. To fix the gap just sand the end of the tube until you are satisfied with the looks. Don’t go too far or that lip will act as a stop before contact is made.

It might also just be a cocked switch pcb.

Will try sanding the end of the body tube, thanks for the suggestion.

Known issue. The driver tends to reset under very high load. Specifically, at the end of a full-power FET pulse, the FET closes so fast that it creates a ripple effect, and if the amps and voltage were high enough, it can make the driver reboot. It’s being fixed in future BLF driver designs, but that’s totally unrelated to what Banggood sells.

Mine is the same. Kind of disappointing. The front piece is a slightly smaller diameter than the rest of the body and I can’t swap some of the bare parts with anodized parts due to different threading. QC issues like this are one of the big reasons people have been unhappy with Manker.

Can anyone recommend a good soldering iron for a newbie. I want to try doing some of the basic mods in this post.

Thanks,
Caleb

A Hakko or one of the clones. The one I bought had a cold joint inside the wand and fixing that was the last time I used my old 20w Weller. The variable temp and different tips take care of all my basic needs. Hot air reflow would be nice to have but if you don’t assemble boards it’s not necessary. There are several threads on this topic.

Is it similar on the short tubes (fitting the early BLF A6) on the head-side. The slot for the O-Ring is too wide and the part with the bigger diameter ,on the opposite side to the thread, is too small. Thats why the O-Ring is only half covered.