I finished putting together this light last night and can’t get the light to turn off fully. When it’s assembled the switch works as intended - the light has full function. It just won’t turn off! The LED receives power as soon as the driver makes contact with the battery.
I had to solder new leads on to the driver (stock fw3a driver), and it’s possible my joints are shorting to something nearby. But I wouldn’t expect that to cause such low current at the LED.
I’m hoping to avoid re-doing these connections because I’m afraid I’ll break the driver. Does anyone ever insulate those connections with something like liquid electrical tape, or would I just be asking for problems?
Could be a 7135 chip went bad. When that happens, they tend to let a small amount of current through even when off. Result is a low moonlight than never turns off. Solution is to replace the broken 7135 chip.
However, before doing that I recommend checking all connections and redoing the wires you installed on the driver.
A 7135 chip gone bad seems likely. When I first put the light together I accidentally shorted the negative terminal to the reflector for longer than I’d like to admit. That seems like something that could fry a chip.
Thanks for the advice, I’ll check the connections before I go breaking anything else.
I wonder if it would be easier for me to simply remove a 7135. That should lower my maximum regulated output, but still allow FET right?
