From what I can see from your pics, there are four little black screws holding down the ring that is above the led plate, is that correct?
Yes correct, but they are screw holes, I removed the screws but after that still hold in place by the black glue you see there…
iosala, thank you for saving many of us a big headache trying to repeat your steps 
My next high lumen light is going to be a rebuildable one and since it looks like Imalent is never going to go that route, I think Astrolux could have some big winners this year if they are going to do what I hope they are going to do.
To me this is one big advantage of Astrolux/Haikelite compared to Imalent. If you have a problem with your light (usually driver), then they can send you just that part (you need to be able to solder though), and you don’t have to send the light back to China.
Edit:
(OK, Astrolux used red Loctite on their MF01 recently if I remember correctly.)
Finally I am starting to get pretty good at soldering so no problem anymore with that. I was a little naive before, but now I see the huge advantages of having lights easily fixable by us, especially these expensive lights. The only ones who win with them are the manufacturers.
As long as it is not the norm with Astrolux!
Active cooling means it uses a built in fan. So it does make a big difference. If the DX80 had active cooling, it would probably be able to run continuously at 12k to 14k lumen instead of 7k lumen. It may also double the time it runs at 32k lumen.
Not everyone needs this extra performance, but for those who do, it’s a big deal.
I definitely rate Astrolux as a higher quality brand than Imalent. Of course, opinions vary.
As I learn more hanging around BLF, any flashlight that is made to be repairable would be more of a high class flashlight
than one that is sealed everywhere with some form of glue. JMO Think of someone selling a car that can not be repaired? It doesn't make any sense.
I don’t think being repairable makes it a high end light, just a more desirable light. It’s a small, but important distinction.
I tend to gravitate to companies that sell parts (Eagle Eye and Convoy) or lights that I know I can get a replacement driver for (thanks to MTN Elec and Lexel).
It’s always a bit risky getting a light like the DX80 should you have an issue. I’d much rather pay $10-$20 for a new driver than $110-$120 for a new head.
It looks like Lexel might be making a new driver for the MF03 when it comes out. It’s a combo FET/boost design. That’s pretty cool. It makes me less afraid to spend my money on it. Plus you get the cool NarsilM ramping UI which I like.
If Imalent offered replacement drivers for the DX80 I would consider buying one (same for DT70), but they don’t. The risk of getting a defective light just makes me want to bypass Imalent totally.
I know, I was trying to make the point that it's very decent of manufacturers to consider those of us who can tinker with them.
Of course I know what you mean with Imalent, but if you can look past the risks, their DX80 is such a fun light, it's hard to ignore, but yes, it's a huge letdown when you get a defective one and have to pay a high price for it. Luckily Gearbest was very decent to me and gave me a very good credit when they really didn't have to. I was thinking they won't come through, but in the end they were 5 star all the way and I am very thankful to them.
To give these nice people here and their information about the DX80 something back, I just registered here and have images of the disassembly destruction of the battery part.
The DX80 stopped charging and after contacting the support, they send me a new one. TOP!
Later I tried to find out, why the first one stopped charging, to avoid mishandling the new one.
You all know how the battery back looks like, therefore I have no picture of an intact one here :)
First I removed the "do not disassembly" plastic cap, which was the easy part.
After that I tried to use force everywhere, but nothing more came out, besides the battery pack itself moved around a bit, just did not came out.
After some more brute force I got it open, here are the pictures and some notes, which may be help someone else not to destroy it too much in case of service needs :)
Besides my dremel cut, this what it looks like to remove the plastic cap:
I guess, if use some tools to turn flat surfaces, the black aluminum ring should be able to be removed by simple unscrewing it. Since I had no luck , I cut the ring and was able to lift it out with a little force.
That's it. The battery pack then came out.
This is how the electronics looks like. I got some corrosion and blown diodes and stuff there :(
These are the batteries. Maybe I can reuse them for something else :)
So have found with your DX80 and see you :)
Best,
Nox
I can imagine the sudden burst of heat on a freezing night can cause havoc with some of these high output lights.
[quote=JasonWW]
Cool. I cant wait for the mf03 and lexel driver.
[quote=Newlumen]
Astrolux may or may not have chosen to use his driver design. I have not heard anything.
It looks like R8 and R9 are missing or else burned up. I wonder how moisture got in there?
Thanks for the pics. :+1:
Wow! So Imalent sent you another new battery pack or the whole light?
Can you ask them whether the new battery pack has new design that prevent this burn?
With 2 little holes in the aluminium cap you could have opened it. Its a pity that you have destroyed it.
If you would have asked, I had suggested it to you.
Can you make a better picture of the battery-balancing board?
I go a whole new flashlight - exactly the same model - I see no difference anywhere.
I don't know what you all paid for it, but I bought it amazon.de (germany) via Ulanda-EU at 283,88 EUR . https://www.amazon.co.uk
/sp?_encoding=UTF8&asin=&isAmazonFulfilled=&isCBA=&marketplaceID=A1F83G8C2ARO7P&orderID=&seller=AEGCAPSD84TTN&tab=&vasStoreID=
It was within the warranty. So, this was a very nice support case for me :)
But I cannot remember getting it near water.. and shouldn't it be IP67 whatever certified .. :D
@Wieselflinkpro You are right - I should have - lesson learned. Here are some more pics about the whole board, some chips and the damage - have fun.
Nice pics codenox, thanks! I was reading elsewhere that someone said they can actually see the driver through the fins and when they dropped the dx80 for a very short time in water, it died. From what I understand so far, whatever Imalent may put in the specs, I think this light can not be anywhere near water.
In case anyone here hasn’t heard yet, Imalent has just released their newest MS12 model which is 53000 lumen. It’s fan cooled.