Hey,
All good.
Not sure why I would need two heads? Just need to get this board out and replace it with another one? There’s another guy on here that replaced his board and bhe didn’t mention needing another disassembled head…
I can post pics but there’s not much point, basically I have got to the point where the retaining cap is removed and the driver board is loose, I can pull it out part of the way but the coil on the side of the board sticks out too far to allow it to fit out of the hole. Either way, not much point removing it until I have another board to replace it with.
Everytime I try to post pics it wants a URL, meaning I have to upload pics to another site then link… seems BLF want to keep their bandwidth usage down… fair enough.
Ahh I will keep searching the forums.
James
If I still had my J18 I’d be able to tell you how to get the driver out. Reading another thread it seems the driver is pressed in by a retaining brass ring that is threaded. If you look at the bottom of the driver side where the spring is, you should be able to see 2 small holes/hollows on the brass retaining ring. If you’re lucky it won’t be fixed with solder or anti-adhesive.
Have you tried unthreading the retaining ring yet? Is there any solder used to bridge the retaining ring to the spring board? You’ll need some basic tools, I usually use SS tweezers. If after attempting this and it won’t budge, and you can’t see any solder bridging then I would use anti-adhesive as it may be glued.
Considering the amount of issues people are getting with the J18, it’s probably a driver issue as I couldn’t imagine the leds being a consistent problem, although I haven’t seen any resolutions yet.
You probably really need to upload some pics. I use photobucket.
Hey JR,
Definitely.
I have already undone the retaining ring etc… managed to pry the driver board out a little bit but the coil on the board is too big/on wrong angle to be able to get it out of the hole. Perhaps I am just being a muppet, but I spend lots of time trying. I tend to agree, it’s most likely the board.
I emailed the trustfire factory, hopefully they will come to the party with a replacement if I pay for postage - that would be awesome!
James
Hi, I thought you had two of the same light. If it were me, before ordering any new parts I would swap the head, then board just to make sure, hence taking two apart.
Good luck getting it apart! It sounds like a pain. :~
Imgur is good if you want quick pic hosting. 
Ahhh, I see what you mean Chloe - swap the boards to check if it is the board or the led’s… yes I have two of the same light.
Problem is I simply cannot get the board out… you would think that it would just slide out but it doesn’t. I have tried on every angle possible. It just doesn’t make sense. i can’t even begin to imagine how they got it in there.
Sorry if I’m a little late on this one but I read so much on your forum and I learned a lot from your experience ,guys !
Now is the time to give something in return…,so many years in electronic and automation !
On this specific subject :
Most of the time ,the components that became defective are the passive ones ,especially the electrolitic capacitors ,used in drivers where the temperature and the frequency are there’s biggest enemy !
I changed , after being defective or even on bright new lights ,ALL THE ELECTROLITICS ,with SMD capacitors , smaller and taughter for sure !!! Dimming the light is coming from there , the cappacitive resistance is increasing with temperature ,and after some time ( related to the effetive duration of use ) this electrolitic capacitors are getting “old ” and loses their parameters.
So ,my advice ,change them from the begining ,the chinesse solution of using these capacitors is ONLY the cost !
But for few bucks you can sur pass this annoing problem . Just give it a a try and you’ll see…