Hi all, just looking for some educated help without researching a lot of threads. I’m sure someone will be able to point me in the right direction for a cure. I have a 1A with level-change function issues , and a 3B without any level-change function issues.
Here is what the 1A does and doesn’t do. Lumin levels 1 thru 5 seem ok, levels 6 and 7 and turbo will briefly flicker then stay on (at what lumin level I do not know but brighter of course) After turbo, when reversing to strobe, it will blink once only and revert to moon. It will not reverse past turbo, if it is a true turbo. A guess would be a short involving one of those really tiny itty bitty thingies with solder everywhere
I hope it is an easy fix I can do with my limited abilities. I’m still very new to this tech but trying to dig in a little more, time permitting I have received some modding equipment but haven’t plugged anything in yet. I guess I have stage-fright and the thought of holding a 400 degree metal pointer in my hand conjures nightmares of solder running everywhere. FYI, Pictures will be posted of my first soldering job when it happens.
Hmm.check inner workings no solder needs
If driver is positioned good and the disc above led is not shorting
Reset bistro and disable thermal management
By “inner workings” do you mean I should perform de-soldering surgery to enter uncharted territory? (Trying to be humorous) I’m guessing that is what it takes to see the guts and glory of the pill?
Thanks for the bistro and thermal suggestions. (The MCPBC floats, no compound maybe?) Any link to the bistro instructions? I’d like to try that first before scrubbing up for any possible surgery! Hell, I’m proud to be able to just disassemble it without ruining it.
But then again I’ve got to learn to solder sometime, if it becomes necessary. :person_facepalming:
I think I will keep checking back with anything I find before I attempt any soldering for sure, unless it looks easy.
Yes thanks George
And for checking of driver seating just unscrew the battery tube and see if the spring comes out in the center
Also the ring covering the led is unscrews
So those important checks can be done by hand no soldering needed
Mine stuttered so I went a little bit further and I unscrewed the ring holding the driver and peeked under it, no soldering just kept the wires attached and took the driver out as far as the wires let me, I discovered some solder on the inside of the pill
I want Banggood to provide me with flexible heat resistant electrical insulating tape.
And asked for that no answer yet.
I have to say I am now hesitant to turn the light on. I disassembled it to look things over with a 9x loop (24 ga wire allowed me to access and view the driver board too, some welds are just too small to assess good work or not, while some “appear” questionably rough.) anyway I see there is a black dot on/in the led. It is about halfway out from center to the edge. It appears to be one of the tiny gold specs gone bad, but it is too small to say for sure. I need more magnification or younger eyes!
With any hardware issues possibly present, is it ok/safe to turn the light on to try the software route?
If you also made a thin plastic washer to fit into the tube, and made sure the threaded black anodized led mcpcb cover was not scraping the solder joints then you should be fine to pop a cell in and check functionality.
The plastic washer down inside the tube for the underside of the pill is paramount. Without it there is a high probability of a direct short on a cell with a wide positive contact.
RMM has recommended always cleaning emitters saying a little speck of anything — when the LED gets hot — will eat right through the dome into the emitter.
Q-tip and rubbing alcohol and lots of time to dry.
Banggood will send me a new assembled pill
I asked CS to whip up a kit with
Washer tube
Washer disc
Electrical insulating heat resistant tape and 2 20AWG wires
For BLF but still no response to that just that they will send a new pill and stuff.
, and a 3B without any level-change function issues.
I have received some modding equipment but haven’t plugged anything in yet. I guess I have stage-fright and the thought of holding a 400 degree metal pointer in my hand conjures nightmares of solder running everywhere. FYI, Pictures will be posted of my first soldering job when it happens.
