It takes 2 X 18650. The tricky part is it has a magnetic switch at the head (not too worried about the switch, would be happy to just have the replacement be “on” with battery contact.)
I can’t disassemble the “guts” any more than this, assuming it’s glued?
35mm diameter. 33mm height (to base of spring.)
If I wanted to make this flashlight right, how would I do it? Is there a “drop in” available that would just fit? Or individual components I could try? Please point me in the right direction, any help is appreciated. Pretty noob to this (trying to absorb info from the forums but there is sooo much.) Thanks again!
Hey there The Miller - Do you mean face down on the spring end?
I can’t seem to disassemble this piece any further - would it be normal for them to glue this together? Or am I missing something that should pop / unscrew?
That is why the pic of the underside is needed here
That board the spring is on is called the driver and how it attaches or is held into plave will become more clear.
Sometimes it is a ring (simple) sometimes pressed if, (hmmm), sometimes a bit of solder, or indeed glue.
My only experience with Magnetic switches is that the vF of the LED’s you replace the crappy ones with will have to be close to the originals. If you stay with XM-L2’s, you should be OK. I changed LED’s and the light wouldn’t turn off, but you said that was OK….
The driver ring the driver is soldered on to appears to be brass. Try prying the brass ring up, but be careful not to tweak the mag switch (the black square with three legs) And see if you can get it off that way.
The reflector looks to be glued, or something, try hitting it with a heat gun until fairly warm (not burn your fingers hot) and pry it up off the “pill”
Worse come to worse, just de solder all the driver solder blobs (gonna be a fun one…) and take a peek inside…
Most likely there's a screw inside the pill holding the reflector down. Probably only way to it is to remove the driver. I'd use copper solder wick to remove the 4 spots of solder connecting the driver to the brass ring, then still might need an exacto type knife to cut thru remaining solder. Once you pull the driver out, probably you will see a Phillips head screw - unscrew that, then the reflector comes off giving you access to the LED's.
My best guess anyways... I've modded a few dive lights - yes, the mag switch's are kind of a pain - no known way of getting around them, though in theory, we should be able to write firmware to make use of them.
Ok got it. I’ll attack it from the driver side and de-solder those points.
Also correct ReManG - not worried about the magnetic switch. I’m happy to have no switch if it will turn on just with battery contact.
A couple questions - the “pill” is the aluminum piece everything is inside of. That part we’re gonna keep and put new “guts” in, correct?
The components that we are replacing - are they all “off the shelf” (is there an OTS driver board and 3X CREE board) or is the surgery more involved than that? Can you point me to some of the components we might be using? Just want to get an order of magnitude for this project.
Hey,LumensGuy. Your post headline scares me.If the brand name of this light is not the accurate spelling of “China”, please don’t say “China lied to me! ” I’m so sad to hear that.
I think it’s better to warn us to be careful of the exact brand name if you feel cheated.Thanks.
Hey Orca. Didn’t intend to offend (intended hyperbole) and happy to edit if you would like, just say the word.
I am not aware of a brand name on this torch. It is a generic diving light that seems to be carried by many many distributors. The seller provided no brand. If you have additional information, kindly share.
What would you want for modes in this light LumensGuy?
The components should all be on that board with the spring, the other side of course. The aluminum part is what is commonly called the pill, you do want to keep that for putting the new driver components into the light.
Once you get the driver out, measure the Outside Diameter, you can order a new one from MtnElectronics in up to 26mm sizes if you want for FET drivers. HERE is the page.
If it is 22mm for instance , easy enough to just order another driver with the modes you want, and as it is a 2x18650 battery light, you would need a zener mod to make it work if the batteries are in series. If they are not in series, no need to get the zener mod.
Since this would essentially be a twisty light, you could get a single mode driver, or have Richard program in 2-3 modes in total. A low and high mode are handy and not too inconvenient. A low mode for beachside and a high for swim time, easy enough with a quick twist or two. If you have to get a new driver, this is something to consider.
On/Off for the modes is just fine. I’m a simple guy.
Any reason I wouldn’t keep the existing driver and just replace the LEDs? Assuming that would preserve all existing functionality. The real issue is the LEDs are wrong.
Can you point me to a link that would have the 3X LED setup with the XM-L2 U3s?
Hi LumensGuy, I’m sorry that I cannot recognize this flashlight. Hope my comment not to trouble you. I just wouldn’t people associate all chinese products with cheap and cheating. I apologize for my impertinence.
I went ahead and edited it Orca. Hope that helps. For the record - over 50 purchases from different China suppliers via AliExpress and have mostly been happy. But fairly I have also found especially when it comes to flashlights, the descriptions are often inflated and incorrect on that platform. Hope we can put this to rest. Cheers!
Back to the discussion. Ok, you’re getting me smart enough to start understanding what I don’t know
My understanding right now is that I have the following options once I take the pill apart:
1. Fewest changes. Take the existing PCB with the existing LEDs. Desolder the existing LEDs and reflow some XM-L2 U3s (or whatever I want) in their place. Keep the existing driver, which might not give me maximum light.
2. Easier. Order a 3X PCB from Mtn, and they will be kind enough to reflow some XM-L2s on it if I buy them there. Replace the whole MCPCB with the shiny new one.
3. Either of the above and replace the driver while I’m at it… but then maybe the magnetic switch won’t work unless we do some clever firmware programming.
I can’t tell from your pics of the pill, but your pill appears to be similar to the dive light I reviewed previously, here:
In this case, the driver is press-fit into the pill and should be removable. Mine had a single screw under the driver which held the pill/PCB/reflector assembly together.
My suggestion would be to retain the existing driver, and replace the existing LB clone emitters with something better.
Based on my picture of the driver, it MAY be resistor moddable…
…if you lower the resistance of the two parallel R150 resistors… I haven’t tried this on mine; it might burn the driver or not work as expected, but it’s a thought.
I’ve never modded mine. One of them leaked very badly when I dropped it into a swimming pool to test for water tightness. (It failed.) Ruined the reflector, emitters, and driver. I assume I just didn’t thread the bezel retaining ring in tight enough when I re-assembled the light.
The second one ended up in a box of my other lights. I’ll probably pull the LB emitters out and reflow some surplus XM-L emitters on in their place, then try a light resistor mod on the driver to bump up the power a bit. Maybe someday when I’m bored…
I've modded a few dive lights - yes, the mag switch's are kind of a pain - no known way of getting around them, though in theory, we should be able to write firmware to make use of them.
