This is a first time for me. I am trying to remove the driver from this Crelant 7G1. I've taken everything I could out of the head. I had to desolder the LED from within the head. That didnt work out so well. The solder just would not melt, so I just snipped the wires. The driver is dead anyway, and I'm going to use a different LED.
My problem now is how how to get the driver out of the head. I've picked and poked and pounded. (Carefully though, as I really don't know what I'm doing)
Ive twisted, using needle nose pliars inserted into the wire holes from through the front of the head. Im not sure how it comes out, so I'm afraid to force anything. I can't tell if the pill is supposed to pop out, or screw out, or something different.
Any help would be appreciated.
I would like to thank CarpentryHero for the light, and a chance to prove to myself how little I know.
Hey, sorry I never got back to you, it looks like the head is one piece from the pictures so I’m guessing you need to push the driver out through the wire holes.
Okay. I whacked it out of there. Now what? I guess I have to look for a new driver. Does anyone recognize this one? I probabally should try to get one with the same profile. I'm thinking 1.4A - 3 mode - 17mm. I don't know what the max voltage is for this one, it was for AA/14500. I'm jut going to be running 14500. This is a pretty small light, I may have to go 1.0A.
first, I’d inspect/test the driver - maybe it isn’t dead but a lead disconnected.
I just took a “dead” driver out of a 7g5v2 pill last night - I’m not sure how it happened, but the positive lead was burned where it was formerly soldered to the battery board (I bought the pill separate from a light and seller stated pill was “dead”).
I reconnected that and was good to go.
It has been awhile since I looked at <2A drivers, so I won’t be much help there.
But, I don’t think you’ll have any problem going higher than 1A (as far as heat). I can see in the pictures that the emitter mouting surface is part of the body (very good heatsinking) and that’s probably why you had trouble unsoldering the leads.
I’ve had the same problem before, and I try to get anything I can under the emitter before unsoldering. Even a little slip of paper can help a lot.
Ok, it looks like that battery contact board is a press fit brass cover, for want of a better word, can you measure the diameters and take a picture of the lower board? I’m wondering about a 1.4 ish amp nanjg, retained by the gutted brass contact board.
As dthrckt says, try to get something to isolate the star, solder then remove and thermal paste it down, I assume the reflector holds the emitter in place?
The contact board is 17mm. The lower board is about 15mm (I need to invest in a better ruler) I've already removed the star. I won't be using the same emitter. The head is now completely empty.
I’ve been looking around for a driver to replace the factory one, and am thinking of this. http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-134/3-dsh-Mode-Perfect-Regulated-Circuit/Detail
It doesn’t have the brass collar of the factory model, and I’m trying to figure out how the circuit in the flashlight is completed. Does the outer ring of the driver need to be in contact with the head, or does the tube thread in to make contact? If it needs to be in contact with the head, can I just solder around the edges? I’m also assuming that the battery just needs to make contact with the center ring. If needed can a small spring or pil be soldered to the center ring?
Have you tried getting the lower board out of the brass ring? If you can get it out, you could use one of your nanjg drivers to check size, if its a good press fit, then yes that driver you linked would be nice.
If the 17mm driver fits, that shining beam one would be nice, what emitter did you decide on in the end? Nichia or xp-g2?
If its xp-g2 this one would make for a little pocket rocket and looks like it’ll fit in the head.
Since you will be using 14500 exclusively, I would recommend a Nanjg driver at whatever current level you want to run at. This is the one I would probably use with either XR-E/XP-G type of emitter - drives at 1400mA:
I’m going with Nichia 219. I figure (hope) the shining beam driver should press down into where the old driver is. I just don’t know how the circuit gets completed. With no outer brass ring like the original, would soldering the outer ring on the driver to the head be what I need to do? The SB driver also has longer looking leads. The head is one piece, so I’ll need lots of wiggle room to solder the LED inside the head.
You’ll struggle as your trying to solder to aluminium, read up on prep first, what’s the od of the brass ring around the contact board? Can you not romove the old driver from that brass ring? That’s what I’d be looking to do tbh.
The original is not pressed into the ring, but glued on top of it. The outer dia. of the ring is the exact same as the driver.
If the circuit is completed by the end of the battery tube connecting with the outer ring of the driver, then I think I could just press the SB driver into the head.
If in doubt, blow lamp that sucker outta there! J) 0:)
Once its removed, you can solder the new driver to it, sand the soldering back to nice and round then press the completed “pill” back into the head.
That’s definitely how I’d be looking to do it. Soldering to alu, whilst possible, is a right bitch tbh, unless you get all the prep just so. I’ve not yet been successful at it and most just avoid it altogether.
Hence why many dremmel a p60 pill into 20mm spaces - easier to solder too.
See above pics.
A 17mm driver will not press into a 17mm collar. I could cut the collar, so it would would fit between the two boards and glue it to the underside of the bottom board like the original, but I think there is circuitry in the way that it would short. If all I need is for the body tube complete the circuit against the driver, and don’t need the driver completing contact with the head, then it shouldn’t be any problem. I’m just not sure how the circuit is completed.
Got a picture of the head end of the body tube? I think I see where your going, how does a 17mm driver fit in the head?
Will the tube but up the the shelf in the head that the driver sits on? As that brass ring will space the contact board up a little, is the ring glued or soldered? If its soldered, you can un-solder/cut with an exacto type knife then ring in, driver in, tube makes contact, if soldering to ring is possible, do it.
Sorry, its hard to see from a couple of pictures, in hand, I’m sure its relatively simple. Just me being thick. :party:
