how do i get to the driver on a Sofirn IF30?

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
1

Hey. I have a faulty Sofirn IF30 (they claim it’s an IPx8 light: BULL!@#$ ) .

So anyway. I’m in the process of disassembling the light to see how salvageable it is. I’ve managed to remove the bezel and the 2 MCPCBs, however I’m now stuck with the driver, no idea how to get to it. The rotary button got broken in the process, somehow.

Photos: Imgur: The magic of the Internet
There are 2 small holes on the battery side, and 2 slightly bigger holes on the LED side. Should I just find 2 sticks and use those 2 holes/sticks to rotate the “driver block”? Should I expect it to rotate out towards the battery side, or towards the LEDs side?

Any help is welcome. Thank you.

1 Thank
2

I don’t own that particular light but:

The driver has been glued in, on all of the Sofirn lights I’ve worked with.
On my SP36 Pro I literally had to hammer it out.
I removed the button and placed a stiff bamboo skewer on a part of the driver that didn’t have any components and tapped on the skewer until the driver broke free from the glue.

IMG_1124
IMG_11241122×1280 321 KB

IMG_1125
IMG_1125960×1280 221 KB

3

Mh. Thanks.

Do you reckon it should extract from the LED side or from the battery side?

4

It pops out towards Battery side.

5

Just to be clear, if it were you, you’d gently hammer the smaller metal “plate” seen on my photos from the LED side?

6

No, the aluminum is all 1 piece in my experience.
I went through the button hole.

7

I placed the cut off bamboo skewer on the PCB.
For the SP36 there was only 1 place on the PCB I could access without components.

See the Green marking:

IMG_1124
IMG_11241122×1280 310 KB

The chip to the Left is the MCU :face_with_peeking_eye:

8

Gotcha. Thanks for your help!
I managed to remove the driver. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s gonna be usable as is: there are 2 vertical PCBs mounted on the driver, one with the USB port, one with the rotary button. The USB one is now slightly broken.
I’ve got time to figure out something cool to do with this light.
The current driver is ~33mm diameter. It has 2 channels but theoretically I could even have 4 channels (throw and 3 groups of 4 flood LEDs).
I guess I’ll slowly hunt for something :smiley: If I can keep a usable USB port that’d be great but it’s okay if not.

1 Thank
9

Sofirn will sell you a driver.

Here’s a few:
Sofirn Flashlight Driver Circuit Board Chip for SC18 Q8Plus LT1S SP40A C8G HS42 HS41 IF25A SP33V3.0

10

Saw that listing yeah but it’s only a small selection of lights. I’ve messaged them to ask. Thanks!

1 Thank
11

Is the glue flexible like silicone or is it a rigid glue?

12

Rigid like Krazy Glue