Ridgid R8691 18V dual-mode flashlight mod/repair

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
1

Hi all,

I am a relative noob to LED flashlights, and LEDs in general for that matter, so I’m hoping someone here can help me out. I have a Ridgid R8691 18V dual-mode flashlight that recently stopped working. I took the flashlight apart to check on a bulb replacement, and there is an LED/PCB soldered in place. I checked, and there is 18V across the +/- leads soldered to the PCB. The flashlight is about 4 years old now, and I had it on when it just shut off. I was able to get it to come on inconsistently by cycling the power button, but before long it would no longer work at all. I contacted Ridgid, and unfortunately, they said there is no replacement part, and the light has to be thrown away. That seems really stupid to me, and I really like this light since it works on the same battery as all my power tools, and can be used in either spotlight or lamp mode, which is really nice for working on automobiles and such.

So, I’m looking to find a replacement LED for this unit. The PCB has the following numbers on it, none of which I was able to use to turn up anything useful, perhaps due to my ignorance on the subject. The numbers are as follows:

77-187-J01RA11
94V0
E230194
HX-008

The PCB itself is a thin rectangle of dimensions 34mm long x 6 mm wide, with a circular flared portion in the center flaring out to around 11 mm or so. These dimensions are somewhat critical to respect, since in order for the dual-mode function to work properly, the PCB has to be able to be rotated around freely, in order to face towards either the spotlight or the lamp side. There is a keyhole clearance in the spotlight & lamp lenses of the unit of dimensions approximately 8 mm high x 12 mm wide to allow for this rotation and LED light direction. I am including a link here to some pictures that should make things clearer:

[Album] imgur.com

From what little I can gather, the light was spec’d at 150 lumens. The LED itself looks to be 5 mm circle with bubble lens, mounted on a slightly truncated circular substrate of ~8 mm diameter, which is then inserted into the rectangular PCB used to feed the terminals and fix to the rotating lamp rod (~8mm diameter). The metal rotating lamp rod looks to be used as the heat sink for the LED, so I’m hoping this can also be adequate for whatever replacement is used.

I don’t expect to find a direct replacement for this, but was hoping someone here could suggest a suitable replacement that would provide me at least equal or greater luminosity, run off the native 18V already available, and fit within the mechanical constraints outlined (either direct insertion into the rectangular PCB , or being able to mount it directly to the rotating lamp rod itself, while still clearing the lens clearance dimensions of 8 mm x 12 mm.

Any help or guidance is much appreciated!

2

I have one of those Ridgid lights. I will have a look see.
I’ll get back to you. But I hope someone else here will input on this also

3

Here is a picture of mine.

When the light is running, there is a voltage drop across the emitter of 3.6V. This emitter, or an equivalent is easy to come by and they are not very expensive. Try this link.
https://www.fasttech.com/products/1609/10001584/1116600 Warm White
https://www.fasttech.com/products/1609/10001584/1116601 Cool White

I would buy one of each for 2 reasons. I might not be successful soldering the first one and I might like the color of the second one better anyway. Less that $3 total buys both.

EDIT:
I just reread your first post. You said there is 18V across the PCB. There should only be about 3.6V. That means the driver is blown and that 18V across the LED blew that also. You need more than just an emitter. On second thought, it could still be just a blown emitter. I suppose that driver could still be OK. Because the emitter is blown (open circuit) you could be reading 18V open circuit. Perhaps with a working emitter in place, the driver will limit it to 3.6V 0:)
I will go one step further and check out my driver.

A picture of the driver.

The MT7201 is an LED driver, it can handle an input of 7-40V and drive an LED at up to 1A. Probably 750ma in you case. Here is the spec sheet for that driver. No one expects you to build another driver, I am providing it so that someone else here with more knowledge of these things can suggest a replacement for you.

4

Disconnecting the emitter causes the voltage at the PCB of the emitter to go to 18V. You probably only need to replace the emitter.
(Buy 2)

5

Wow, that was fast and awesome information! Thank you so much for that. They are so cheap (and free shipping too!), I think I will buy 2 of each, so I will have a lifetime supply. :wink:

Thanks again, and will let you know how it turns out once I get them.

6

So I did indeed order 2 each of these emitters. It took a long time for them to finally arrive to me, and I forgot to report back once they finally did. However, I was successful in soldering it in place on the first try, and very happy with the results. I won’t bother to try the others until that one burns out. Thanks so much for the excellent help here, I’m very happy to have this unit up and running again, as it makes a great work light with the frosted lens, dispersing light well, but not shining too bright that you can’t see.

7

resolder the 2 jumpers leading to led + and -.bottom joint on f1 looks like no solder.
the joints are very poor.probably the original issue and waiting to come back then you need the light the most.

8

Hey, thanks for the suggestion, and good eye! I might have already done that when I put the new emitter in, but I can’t recall for sure now, since it’s been a while. At this point, I’ll probably ride it until it’s no longer working, then take another look. When it failed, I checked across the emitter terminals and was getting 18 V, so I don’t think that was the original problem, but is one to watch for in the future, assuming I didn’t already address it.

9

18v across emitter?
its open.at least the chip didnt blow up as they often do when the led opens.

10

Yes, probably because I did not leave it on long at all once the failure started. Anyhow, I’m very happy it was a simple emitter swap fix, once I got turned on to the right emitter by you guys here! Thx again

11

Had almost identical issue with 2 year old RIDGID R8692 Flex LED. Got as gift but found out it was bought on Amazon so RIDGID will not warranty. Appears emitter burned out after only 3-4 hours of actual use. Checked wiring and got 18v at contacts soldered to Emitter board. The board and LED are identical to previous posts so will order some replacements as noted. Great help in finding the parts, thanks.

12

This is all fantastic information. I tried the two links for the two emitters and found nothing does anyone have another source for the 3.6 v emitters?

13

A search on web.archive.org shows that the leds at the fasttech links are Epileds 3W emitters, but doesn’t give a model or oem number to cross reference. They are 3500k and 6500k in color temp, other than that no other info. Maybe you could search on that. If @dchomak can chime in, maybe the packaging they came in might have some pertinent information.

14

Had the same problem and searching around the web, so did a lot of other people. Here’s a couple of fixes:

  1. Call Ridgid–I bought my flex light from Amazon and it failed a week after the return deadline (1 year). However, Ridgid has a 3 year warranty on these so after supplying the model and serial numbers, a very nice lady sent me a brand new light. That said…I began to snoop around my broken light and discovered how to fix it.
  2. As many have commented in this thread, it’s not the circuit board that fails, but the actual LED (emitter) light and when this fails, it is not an open circuit but shows the 18VDC at the light terminals.
  3. You only need to remove four star-drive screws from the swivel light itself and remove each half. Next remove two tiny Phillips screws holding the LED/holder. The LED itself is circular so only apply heat to the tab on the distal and proximal sides only to remove (I slid in a very sharp knife tip to allow the LED to spring out.
  4. You can find 10 replacement bulbs from Amazon here: Amazon.com for about $10. These are 3200K warm light which work OK but some may prefer a colder white light.
  5. These lights are 3W however the soldering tabs are slightly different.
  6. When I installed the new LED, it didn’t work and I thought I’d screwed up or the main board would need replacing. As I put my tools away, I recalled that diodes are one-way devices–that is, current will only flow in one direction so there was a 50% chance I’d simply soldered it in backwards. Indeed I had.
  7. The Amazon replacements have two tabs on one side and one tab on the other. The two tab side of the LED has to be soldered to the proximal wiring and the single tab is the distal solder–if this makes sense. (I would post a photo but can’t find the button–OK–posted some photos at: www.dougleen.com