convoy 17 mm drivers keep getting their memory wiped . this is the third driver i have with which this happens to me, i dont understand what im doing wrong, they seem to get corrupted after reflowing the led, i have no idea whats wrong with it, anyone has had this happen to them ? did you manage to fix it ? it seems to happen randomly and i dont want to waste more money on more drivers.
I can’t tell what’s going on in the video.
What do you mean by memory wiped?
no more modes, just blinks on half press, in the video im repeatedly half pressing the switch with nothing happening, set the whole thing up with croc clamps to make sure that the tube isnt the issue
I have seen that after a reflow when the negative pad is bridged to the Center DTP pad.
You lose all modes because it’s bypassing the driver and going DD(Direct Drive)
To test for this, I use a continuity tester after every reflow to ensure there is no continuity between Neg & DTP or Pos & DTP.
haha just checked with my tester, youre right it is bridged, i didnt think the thermal pad was connected to anything, thanks
The negative pad being bridged is better than the positive pad being bridged!
Note: Use less solder paste on your reflows, especially when reusing MCPCBs or Emitters that already have solder on them.
what happens if the positive pad is bridged ? also i dont use solder paste i just use regular solder, do you recommend using solder paste ?
It creates a short.
I highly recommend using solder paste.
With solder, the flux will be burned off before you drop the emitter onto the pads of the MCPCB.
With paste the flux has a chance to work on both surfaces as it’s being heated.
i dont understand, i have continuity between both + and - wires and the DTP on my pcb, how is this possible ? nvm i just understood, i didnt realize the dtp was connected to the copper pcb
yeah no idea, i fixed the bridged pad on my reflow but the light still behaves in the same way
Try with another pad and/or hold it for few seconds on liquid tin and give it some light tweaks. Just to get rid of tin shortening the pads.
I’ve experienced similar issues and usually either LED or MCPCB required replacing.
If you have a multimeter with led testing option - this could also tell the truth. When shorted you’ll get a warning signal / reading.
So you no longer have continuity between the MCPCB & - and MCPCB & +?
my led is fine, the pcb too, but the wires of the driver are electrically connected to the brass pill, which makes no sense to me is there supposed to be continuity between the negative terminal and both positive and negative leads ?
The pill is touching the MCPCB if the pad(s) are bridged there will be continuity.
but the pads dont show continuity when testing separated from the light
It’s possible the previous short(solder bridge) damaged the driver.
That wasn’t the case for me.
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Check the driver leads for damage. I’ve pinched a wire between the driver and pill before.
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Try it again with everything removed from the pill.
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Try the driver with a know good working MCPCB/Emitter.
behaves the same way with known good pcb, i think that driver is toast
Bummer
i think im gonna order a 5 pack then, since these are so easy to kill
5 pack is definitely the way to go, you can always use a few spares.
Are these the Linear or Buck?
Mine was a Linear.