NWoodsman
(NWoodsman)
39
I still rule out ground short. The wear in the anodization is the clue, his body is essentially a battery and his touching the head and tail means he is applying a reverse voltage to the deanodized ground which is backtracking across something. If not the FET than maybe directly across the emitters. Do you live in an extra dry place with static electricity? A 4000v static charge can overcome a 100k resistor.
Edit to add: the more surface area he grips the light with, the brighter it gets. Something is turning his body’s milivolts into a nice smooth boost up to at least around 2.3v.