Sure is sounding like an issue with the 7135.
I bought 5 MTN-17DDm and 1 MTN-20DDm Bistro drivers last year.
The only issue Iāve had is with the 20mm driver having a very long medium press. But I also add a bleeder resister to them for my lighted switches. Itās strange though that the 17mm drivers are all fine since it appears they share the same components.
Iād do the same with emailing Richard and family. Theyāve always been very responsive in the past with me.
I recall someone else having issues last year with the MTN-17DDm driver and was worried about it. Now Iām worried once again since I plan on buying another one soon.
I have 6 other MTN-17DDm lights, one 12mm FET and one 15mm FET (which I donāt think MTN carries any more), all have been flawless.
I have many more MTN-17DDm drivers too, but I wanted to distinguish between the pre-pandemic and pandemic drivers.
Overall I notice that my earlier drivers have lower moonlight, and MTN explains that on their website, but I havenāt experienced an issue with any of them with their overall functionality and reliability.
Yāall canāt believe how much Iāve bought from Richard. Itās insane!
Yikes! 147 orders!
Obviously I trust the level of his work implicitly.
Only a couple dozen orders for me but I agree, the quality of the components and workmanship is exceptional as is his customer service.
Iām right there with you ā Not lately, but I have parts galore and little brown boxes stacked ā Heās in the family business now ā CBD Oil ā I bought some of that to
I love the taste of his oils but sadly I saw no gains. 
ā¦
You know, itās surprisingly difficult to communicate with only emojis. Iām glad words exist.
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Only 57 for me.
Small yike, singular, all lower case, no exclamations
I find it helps with my sleep ( Some) ā That is If I only use it sporadically ---- Iām like an old motor burning oil in 3 cylinders, Ring Seal Oil aināt gonna make me stop smoking
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147 orders for DB Custom and 57 for MtnDon - Dang!!!
My measly 27 orders is barely worth mentioning. 
I emailed Richard, he got back to me confirming the 7135 was dead. Said heās considering stopping sale of the FET + 7135 drivers due to the issue. Also mentioned the QLITEās and H17F drivers seem to be fine.
He also offered a refund or he would remove the 7135s from my drivers and reprogram them as simple FET drivers. I declined the offer, heās helped me in the past with advice and even took care of an issue with a previous order when it was not his fault. I canāt say enough about the service he provides this community.
That said I pulled the 7135 off the driver I had out of the light and replaced it with one of the NOS 7135s I have on hand. I wasnāt sure Iād be able to do it without damaging the driver but success!
All modes work fine nowā¦but itās definitely tripping the protections circuit on the protected battery on turbo.
Held my breath and put the 25R in, no problem at all but man it gets hot fast!
On mode 5 itās pulling 8.5A, Iād like to check turbo but my Fluke is fused for 10A and those fuses are expensive.
Now I just need to take the other light apart and see if I can replace that 7135.
Thanks for everyoneās help.
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That pic is the dead 7135 you removed?
Two common brands of 7135 chips are that one with the sailboat-like logo, often sold with a 380 mA limit instead of 350 mAā¦ and another brand with a logo like a raptor claw. The raptor claws are usually good, while the sailboat one is sometimes referred to as the āfailboatā brand.
I had yet another 7135 failure, this time the light had no low end and wouldnāt turn off. This on a pretty complicated revision on a TN40S. Most of the afternoon wasted. Again.
Bad run of luck lately.
Yes, that is the one I removed from the driver.
Photo below is like the one I used to replace it. Iām not sure when I bought them but it was quite a while ago.
The new one looks like the style Convoy uses. Theyāre usually pretty good.
I remember stacking those things 4 high on both sides of the board, man that was tedious stuff! Lol
And along came the massive FET! Lol
Edit: Who remembers the first MOSFETās we shoved on Nanjg 105 drivers?
The 70N02 was so big we still had to use two sided drivers.
Tombstoning a resistor under the power leg was effective, but still a nuisance. We wanted POWER though, and look where we wound up !
Does anybody remember Comfychair flipping the big FET upside down on an 105 and air wiring it?
