HE2? or HG2? in case of HG2 how do you perceive the light output or the heat compared to the 30Q? Which tint do you have (sorry i'm sure if i re read the whole thread i'll find out myself, but still...)
I have LG HG2, sorry I left the g out earlier. I also have a couple of ebl 18650s since before I knew better and tried one in my D4 last week. I had same step down issues. I have an xpg2 version and if the ebl battery can’t run it, I know it won’t work on the xpl hi version and certainly not on the nichia version. As far as differences between the hg2 and the 30q on my light there is no difference but there probably will be on the other versions. The hg2 easily puts out 20a continuous and the 30q can also but in reality it’s only rated at 15a continuous. In practice these lights get hot so quickly that difference in turbo will only be for a matter of 15 seconds before step down. My xpg2 version with high drain battery goes 25 to 30 seconds if I am holding the light before its first step down. I am going to order an xpl hi version as soon as Richard gets more in and I’ll post my experiences then. I hope that answers your questions
Thank you Joey. I was just curious about the differences between the HG2 and the 30Q as the 30Q sags a bit less under heavy load as per HKJ comparator. But i guess 0.1V difference in 15 sec burst is very negligible in reality and much more to the perception of the eyes, with that kind of briefly visual shock...
The D4 has low-voltage protection which activates whenever the cell drops below 3.0V. When this happens, it steps down to half of the current ramp level, which is visually more like a quarter of the current brightness.
If voltage rises above 3.0V again, it’ll stay at the brightness it stepped down to. Otherwise, if voltage stays low, it’ll drop again. If it gets to the lowest level and voltage is still low, it’ll shut itself off.
On a cheap battery, it’ll probably pull current so hard on turbo that even a fully-charged cell triggers LVP. Only good quality cells should be used, preferably high-amp ones.
BTW, if LVP is activating, it should blink before it steps down. If the thermal regulation changes the brightness, there is no blink.
Are 219C that much less efficient than Xp-G2? Is the same true for Xp-L or Xm-L2? Any thread on the subject?
TK wrote:
Recommend pointing this distinction out in the manual writeup, if it’s not already there. Useful troubleshooting info.
The light steps down after 5 seconds with a fully charged Samsung 30q that I purchased this morning.
When it steps down are you seeing a blink? or does it just step with no blink.
Toykeeper said that if it is stepping down due to low voltage there should be a blink. If that’s happening with a 30Q then you might have a bad ground connection. Make sure the battery tube is fully-screwed down at both ends. If you still have a problem, you may need to disassemble or send it back for repair.
If it’s stepping down without a blink, then the temp sensor may be reducing output too quickly for your tastes. Try recalibrating the temp sensor to a higher setting (click 10x and hold. Continue holding until the light is about to get too hot then release).
I just received my shipment of D4s from Richard. All 3 of my D4s work fine on 30Q.
It’s blinking before stepping down. I tried tightening the head. Sometimes when I unscrew the tailcap or head and then screw it back on, the light turns on and immediately (without me pressing anythnig) starts ramping up and won’t turn off. This happens if the head is very tight. If i loosen it slightly, the button on the light still works.
Since it’s blinking before stepping down it sounds like a bad ground connection. The ground connection is the connection from the back end of the cell to the driver. Try the following, in order:
- you mentioned this was a new fully-charged Samsung 30Q. The battery is probably not the problem, but just to be sure, test the battery in a different light to verify the cell is operating normally.
- The D4 comes apart in 3 sections: the head, the battery tube and the tailcap. Make sure both connections are screwed down fully (head-battery tube, and battery-tube tailcap). If one end is slightly unscrewed that might cause problems.
- Tailcap check: There might be a problem of the tailcap not getting a good connection. To determine if the problem is in the tailcap, remove the tailcap and insert the battery. Without the tailcap on, use a knife blade, screwdriver or other metal object to bridge the back of the battery and the end of the battery tube. Turn on the light. If it works normally, your problem is in the tailcap.
- If that doesn’t work your problem may be in the head. Perhaps the battery tube isn’t pressing hard enough against the back of the driver. This shouldn’t happen, but one way to be sure is to try adding a conducting spacer around the edge of the driver, between the driver and battery tube. you can make this spacer out of a piece of paperclip, or solder braid bent into a ring. Before inserting the battery, double-check that your spacer hasn’t come out of position into the center. If that happens you might get a dangerous dead-short. This technique can also be used on the tailcap if the tailcap check failed.
- Unlikely to be the issue, but it’s possible oxidation is causing a bad electrical connection. Apply DeOxit Gold to the battery contacts and ends of the battery tube.
Toykeeper is much more familiar with this light and its driver than I am. Perhaps she has some additional suggestions.
If nothing works, perhaps try sending the light back to wherever you purchased it for repair.
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If it’s stepping down without a blink, then the temp sensor may be reducing output too quickly for your tastes. Try recalibrating the temp sensor to a higher setting (click 10x and hold. Continue holding until the light is about to get too hot then release).
Thanks
I shall be recalibrating mine in spring,summer,winter and autumn.
Having received a grey and green D4, I must say I’m quite impressed with the absolutely flawless anodizing. It’s completely even with no defects. Even the extra different sized battery tubes perfectly match in coloring to their head and tailcaps. This is some of the best-looking anodizing I’ve ever seen. Better than Zebralight anodizing.
Also maybe before trying anything, try recalibrating the temp sensor, just in-case that’s the issue.
My D4s all tend to start ramping down starting around 10 seconds or so as the temp sensor kicks in. Try recalibrating to a higher setting.
This light is massively driven, especially on a 30Q. Heatsinking is inadequate for all but brief periods on turbo. You’re not meant to run this light at 3000+ lumens for extended periods. Turbo mode is primarily meant for very brief use. Ramp down for extended use.
So it’s something with the head connection. Now if I tighten the head too much, the light will just ramp up (from off) and won’t turn off. If I tighten it slightly less, the light seems to be operating properly. It’s no longer stepping down.
There appears to be a nick on the top of the battery tube where it makes contact with the driver:
You can see where it’s scraping/getting grease on the driver connection:
I don’t understand why firmly tightening it is causing it to ramp up and stay bright without allowing me to turn it on or off.
Could be a short somewhere that is happening when you firmly tighten it.
Is that battery tube front end not flat and has a small raised up part that cuts into the driver?
Yeah, it almost sounds like the switch wires are being pinched and shorted by the driver board when it’s tightened.
Sounds like a sender backer. Sorry to hear this.
You should be able to see the sharp raised edge in the first two photos. Since I took those, I carefully sanded off the sharp part so it’s flat and no longer digging into the driver & cleaned all the contacts but it hasn’t fixed the issue of it ramping when it’s tight. Maybe there’s an issue on the driver contact now. It wouldn’t be that big a deal but I’m worried it could turn on in the pocket or something if it tightens a bit more. Here’s what the cleaned area looks like (notice all the scrapes… not sure if that could be a problem):
Btw, it doesn’t seem like it’s as bright as it should be, even on full output.
What’s a sender unit?
Is it just me, or is the spring attached to the driver flattened? It might be an optical illusion but it looks like it got hot and lost form and just stayed in the compressed state. If the battery tube has a raised spot, maybe try to sand or file the edge down until it’s even all the way around. It would not hurt to try before boxing it up and shipping all the way back. Sorry to hear that you are having issues. I am really enjoying this narsil ish hybrid firmware. I would enjoy having every single flashlight i have running it.
I really would like to get the same data for the xp-l hi v2
I believe that the xp-l hi v2 would heat less at the same lumen level as the thermal resistance is rated at 2.2°c/watt.