Wondered if anyone can help me regarding info repairing/upgrading my Maratac/CountyComm AA flashlight.
It flickers randomly and mode changing is all weird, so I’m guessing a connection is dodgy…
Would love to repair somehow (I can solder) but no torch knowledge of where best to source parts, and a quick search of AliExpress/Banggood, I’m struggling to find ones relevant…
And I can’t send back to CountyComm as no receipt as bought secondhand off eBay many years ago… And I’m UK based so postage isn’t ideal to US anyways
Hard to know where to measure due to sticky-out bits on led/driver but pill is approx 15.7mm, driver 14.6 - 15.68mm, LED 11.75 - 13.8mm.
Anyone got any info on what would fit if perchance I just went for a new pill/driver/led/reflector etc?
As it got me thinking too… would really love to convert it to 14500 if possible… One of the newer Nichia’s, maybe 519, 4500K, and a really simple no Anduril or 7135 or subsidiary mode bullshit, so just ML, L, H; or L, M, H… and high not a silly draw but something that prioritises runtime for the high.
How was the driver held in to the pill? It looks like it has those tabs to keep it from rotating. Was it glued in the pill or just pressed-in?
7135 has nothing to do with the UI. There’s probably a decent chance the other side of your driver has a 7135 chip.
I doubt you can get a driver that has that exact size and shape, so retaining the driver in the pill might be the tricky part. I’d lean towards a Convoy 12-group driver if it will fit (you’d pick which of the 12 mode groups to use and never have to change it again).
Can you take closer pics of the pill and driver, please?
Thanks for your reply. Lighting is poor and hard to get a decent pic without desoldering it from the led, which I can’t do tonight.
But I can just about read the led, alas don’t have my decent loupe and lighting and tools to hand tonight.
It is merely a friction fit into the pill, likewise the led. And both are held tight by how the wires are just long enough to be soldered to each component and so pull both tight into the pill. Zero glue or threads
I don’t mind replacing the pill, but of course finding one with the same threads…
So the outer diameter of the pill is about 15.7mm (not counting the threads)?
I think you’d be fine gluing a new driver to the pill. I’ll look for some options. Normally I really like the Convoy T2/T3 driver since it can do aa or 14500 and the 12 groups give you a lot of options to find one you like. The problem is it will require reducing the diameter, if it even can fit.
Alternatively you would need to source a smaller driver.
Did you troubleshoot before disassembly? Might be worth cleaning the threads/contacts, then checking tailcap switch is good- if your flickering/switching problem is continuous (and not an annoying intermittent issue), take a wire or paperclip and, with the tailcap off and a cell in the light, connect the body to the cell, bypassing the tail cap.
If the light works with the wire/paperclip method, you’ve established the issue is with the switch/tailcap. Try tightening the retaining ring if the light has one. If that fails, check the solder contacts on the switch. Of they’re good, you might need to replace the switch.
The pill is slightly awkward in it has different recess diameters for the led and driver… The led (excluding its little wings) sits in a recess of 12.5 mm and the driver sits in a recess 14.60 mm.
So the outer diameter of the pill goes from 14.5 mm at the led end, up to 15.80 mm at the driver end.
Thus I could sand off the recess lips and glue the driver and led directly to the pill which would allow the led to be 14.5mm and the driver 15.8.
It’s very annoying, there’s even a step in the head where it gets ever so slightly narrower towards the lens, ending at about 15.20 mm.
The led has very little in the way of recess, while the driver has about 8.5mm of space below it in the pill for the wires to curl up in.
I had a brief look at the 17mm T2T3 4 mode on Convoy’s AliExpress store… But would I be able to slim down a 17mm driver?
That’s the big question. Perhaps not. I have the driver and will try to take some measurements in the next day or so.
Please try to measure the LED base. I can’t tell from the pic if it’s a 3535 or 5050 emitter (i.e. 3.5mm or 5.0mm). I wouldn’t suggest gluing down the emitter board, so perhaps reflowing a new bare LED is best considering the special shape of the MCPCB.
when my Maratacs do that, I clean off all the lubrication in the threads and on the contact surface of the driver
that usually solves the erratic mode switching and flickering. Too much lube interferes with proper contact between the body tube and the driver contact ring
I then relubricate with only a very small amount of lube, mostly on the O ring. I like Nyogel better than Nano Oil, because oil tends to migrate and pool between the body tube and the contact ring on the driver.
I’m afraid my good 10x loupe is in my bag at work but I’ll bring it home today. But at the mo with my rather useless older magnifying glass I’m afraid I can’t read any of the numbers of any components particularly well.
By led base - do you mean the emitter itself and the small square it sits on - that is 3.5mm so I guess that makes it a 3535…?
Ah I did do a full clean of the body with isopro alcohol, and I only ever grease sparingly, using Haynes Lubri-film. Tried several diff types of battery too, and my only other thought was that the bottom spring was maybe the barest smidgen not as strong as it once was, but the battery only has lateral movement when really shaken
suggest you try cleaning off all the lubrication on the threads and inside the head, by wiping with a dry paper towel.
just as a test, do not add new lubrication
does the light work normally after cleaning off any old accumulated lubrication?
I hope so
you can add a very small amount of lubrication once you know the light works again… if not, maybe James C can help you find a new driver… I have no experience
Yep, that’s a 3535. So if you want to reflow a new led into that board you could a 519a like you mentioned in your first post. Reflowing is probably easier than you might think (that was the case for me anyway).
Jon has some good tips on cleaning the light. If you can’t get it to work with the stock driver then a replacement would be in order. It’s possible some little component has worn out. Troubleshooting and potentially fixing it may be more trouble than it’s worth.
Upgrading the LED can be done independently of the driver situation in case you get the light working again (if you do need a new driver it may make sense to order it with a new LED(s)).
I did a little searching online and sub-17mm drivers are pretty uncommon as standalone parts. I’ll look again and maybe someone else can chime in.
I don’t own a Lumintop Tool aa, but the driver is available. I think it supports aa/14500. I believe it’s smaller than 17mm. I did a quick search and saw one source saying the ears are 16mm across. So this might be perfect. You may have to modify your pill if the ears are not the same size.
Ahh I’d forgotten that the heads were interchangeable with Lumintop, and didn’t know they made them even.
I’ve tried cleaning everything and adding no lubrication and shimming the battery to so there’s as little movement as possible (I could hear a tiny shift before) and I’m still getting some flickering, not every time, and 70-80% it’s good.
It’s a bit dispiriting to realise that it’s a very awkward size for modding, so perhaps I’ll have to relegate it to a backup/pair it with another light
Totally up to you of course, but IMO it looks like a nice host and is worth a shot at repairing/upgrading. I’ll admit though, I’m biased towards repairing it since I enjoy modding.
One thing you could consider is getting a Tool aa. They’re about twice the cost of just the driver. Then you could have it in hand to see if the driver swap is feasible. If not, perhaps you’d find the Tool useful. I’ve never had one, but it seems like a good light.
We’re here to help if you decide to tinker with it.
Edit: one other thing, if you’re having flickering issues and you’ve cleaned everything, perhaps there’s a loose component on the driver. You might try desoldering the LED wires to remove the driver and search it with a magnifying glass for anything that looks or feels loose. If everything looks ok then it could be a component itself going bad. There are probably ways to test them but I’m not too knowledgeable on drivers.
James C are you perhaps UK/EU based, would you perhaps be willing to mod it for a fee?
As like you, I’m very keen on repair and not just binning things.
And as I have found I am not particularly in many flashlights anymore, too many modes, buttons, complicated UIs, for me, I am fond of the Maratac. I really like a nice tint, something around 4500 I think, probably just 3 modes, ML, L, H or L, M, H. Sturdy, simple, elegant, an Okluma for instance. Or one of my Malkoffs. I also like a sensible high so it has a longer run time than a silly super max turbo for 1 min then drop off.
I looked at the Tool, have actually had a soft spot for it for a long time, surprised I never ordered one years ago or one of the AAA ones. But now, I wish it didn’t have any branding on the body (I really really dislike branding/logos), and don’t like the RGB switch, and no idea about the new 3.0 led version, reading quickly about it, it sounds like it will be cool white?
Still I need to order some workshop clamps so might add one to my basket to reach free postage maybe.
I’ve been following that thread for about 3 weeks wondering if I should buy it with another of the lights for sale… I honestly don’t need more lights though
