Did I just kill a side clicky with gasoline?

LED Flashlights – General Info
1

I just did my first de-dome. It was on a cheap C8 from MtnElectronics (Supfire MZ-2). XP-E with side clicky soft switch only. (No switch in tailcap.)
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=80&product_id=491

I just took off the whole head, unscrewed the driver and pill, tried to hang the pill down, and soaked it about 3 hours (about an hour longer than intended).

At some point early on, the head fell over in the metal can. Not long after, I righted it. I figured the gasoline would not harm any of the electronics.

The de-dome went very well (or so I thought)! So when dry, I screwed everything back up, and I noticed the side clicky still had spring, but no “click”.

I put a battery in, and… nothing!

Did I kill this thing?

I can’t even figure out how this side switch comes out (not that I’d know what to do if I did).

I bought this for my parents (hard time with tailcaps, or actually anything beyond on/off), but decided to try some mods on a cheap flashlight beforehand.

PS I did squirt the LED with some isopropyl alcohol per another BLF’er in lieu of toothpicking any dome remnants/goo (75% in my case). Not sure if any got in the head, but I’d think the gasoline to be worse.

2

My best guess… Melted the plastic body of the switch.

3

Sounds like its gone. Usually when I dedomed, I remove the entire mcpcb from the pill. That way the only thing in gas is the led and it’s mcpcb.

4

If the switch plastic isn’t obviously damaged, I’d guess that gasoline has gotten INSIDE of the switch and temporarily affecting performance. Shake out the light, let it dry in the open, a day or so and test again.

5

Thanks guys. Dang, I hope I didn’t kill this thing, I didn’t realize that killing the side clicky would basically ruin the whole light. (Normally, almost everything is expendable/replaceable on these generic C8’s.)

eebowler, I will let it keep drying out, but I’ve noticed the switch ‘feels’ different. The spring is still there (if anything, actually stiffer?), but… “the click is gone” … :frowning: .
I could live with that, if the switch resurrected itself…

All that reading about de-doming, and I didn’t see any warnings like this.
Is there any other electronic that gasoline could damage, that De-Domers should know about? Talking about the driver components, mainly (capacitors, diodes, that sort of thing). The centering ring etc, everything but the side switch seemed to be fine.

6

I’m not sure how I would even turn this into a tail-clicky (if the switch turns out to be gone)?

I might be able to short the side-soft-switch wires? I probably have or could buy a compatible switched tailcap. Would I still be able to switch modes with a regular tailcap and shorted soft-switch wires, or does the firmware rely on the soft switch being there?

BTW, with MTNElectronics’ upgraded metal smooth (real metal) reflector, this little XP-E at just 1 amp was a surprising thrower, although a pencil-beam with either reflector. Weird, interesting, cheap little light, basically sold by Richard for modding.

I was trying to do a de-dome without having to unsolder anything. That would save a big amount of time and effort for me or others who don’t have a proper workbench/soldering skills/time.

EDIT: The light does flash briefly after screwing on the tailcap (like Zebralights do, to show you a connection’s made), but the switch still is just a springy nothing. I bet everything is fine in here except that switch.

7

Yep, the switch is probably a goner. Many plastics will melt from just the fumes of a petroleum-based solvent, and gasoline fumes are of the potency where that becomes a high likelyhood.

Phil

8

It Lives!! “It clicks again!” Il est ressucité!
I shall dub this light “Lazarus”.

Results of my first de-dome:

Throw: improved, noticeably. This is the first time with any of my flashlights that I can clearly(enough) see a tree at the end of my street. Before the de-dome, I could just make it out, but now I can make it out more confidently. I have a Maxtoch 2x coming that should blow this away, but for $12.50 for the light, and $3.50 for the separate/upgrade smooth reflector (plus shipping), it’s impressive for what it is.

Spill: well, it didn’t have much spill to begin with with this pencil-beam XP-E. There may be a little less, but I don’t notice, so the extra brightness of the hotspot, makes it (to perception) “brighter”.

Tint: still not a great tint, still not what I would call “warm” or even neutral. Hard to describe, but like a ‘dirty cool’, with a hint of yellow or green. Overall, to me an improvement over the very cool OEM tint. I think the tint helps discern objects better now, possibly adding to the perception of “brightness”. Before, it was a bright spot, but I couldn’t make much out for cold tint.

On a white wall, I still see evidence of some schmutz on one side of the die (despite squirting it with isopropyl). I may take a toothpick to it after all, but it’s not a big deal. Thanks to a BLF’er in a de-doming thread for suggesting using an aspheric as a substitute for a loupe. My only problem was needing 3 hands to hold lens, torch head, and toothpick.

BOTTOM LINE: overall, I see gasoline/petrol as a great beginner’s method for de-doming. It lets you take your time, and seems to be a fairly forgiving process. I think people who soak 12+ hours may end up getting more greenish tint shift (not confirmed). I soaked 3 hours accidentally, I wanted 2. The dome didn’t fall off on its own (I shook the pill around in the gas before removing), but fell off when nudged sideways with a toothpick. It was good that I covered it with plastic wrap, sealed with a rubber band, and kept it outside. In retrospect, I’d choose a narrower tin can (to prevent the head from falling over), and not forget to push towards the bond wires (but it was okay). Watch out for those soft switches!

eebowler, if we were on SlickDeals.net, I’d give you Rep points. I’m buying you a virtual :beer: