Anything obviously wrong in these photos?

light doesnt work

what do i do/try to fix it?

I see what looks like an adjustable potentiometer (the round thing with an x coutout in the middle of it). Is it possible this got turned one way too far? What light is this out of? I would suggest a straight down from the top photo of the PCB with a little less exposure. I'd be looking for broken traces or solder shorted across a gap. Did this light ever work or did it come this way from dealer/seller?

Also the solder joints to the LED look like possible cold solder joints in the photo. You might try resoldering them - just give them a quick hot iron enough to flow the solder.

Well the circuit board doesn't look very healthy in the first photo. There seem to be signs of damage and scuff marks. In the second photo the black wire seems to have been pulled almost off the solder pad -- it seems to be "hanging by a thread".

What have you been doing to it?

Suggestion: buy a new light to replace the broken one, and don't try to take it apart.

Sorry, what else can I say?

i got it used,

when i first tried it i got nothing, used some 'deoxit' and fiddled with it and it came on for a brief moment,

then nothing

also i can rotate the led inside the brass housing?? should it be held firm??

id like to try making it work, i like the size and battery 18650.

and i want to learn how to 'modd'

it was cheap and has potential imo.


i tried touching wires from either end of the battery directly either side of the led = nothing

maybe just throw a cheap driver/led in there?

where do i buy a cheap p7/driver combo that will fit? :devil:

The solder joint on the black wire seems to have a little hole in it and it looks like what you get with a cold joint. That one lone wire wandering over to the emmitter is also a sign of a bad joint and could cause a short.

no go so far,

i have even tried the

"hold the light in one hand and tap it repeatedly with a screwdriver handle while switching it on and off"

technique..... not even a single lumen

can i bypass the driver, and make it direct drive by simply connecting the wires to the emitter?

i can get a new 15mm p4/q5 ? emitter from *ahem* for $6.

or anyone know where i can get a 15mm driver/emitter fo cheap?

pm me if posting links is a problemo

Have you even done the troubleshooting to know it's the driver or LED? Have you eliminated faulty contacts, or a faulty/loose switch?

Do I see cracks in the tops of those black transistors or rectifiers? (the two smaller rectangular black things). It almost loks like the one that's closest to the camera exploded from overheating.

PhotonWrangler said:

Do I see cracks in the tops of those black transistors or rectifiers? (the two smaller rectangular black things). It almost loks like the one that's closest to the camera exploded from overheating.

Click to expand...

I was noticing the same....looks like what happened when one of my sharks went bad

As for buying cheap parts....remember, you get what you pay for, and nobody wants to pay for a headache!

Pony up the cash and buy something decent.

Go to the marketplace and check out what photonfanatic has in the dealers section.

heres my thoughts at first glance

thanks all, i took it apart and the emitter works when connected directly to the battery. ill keep playing with it and see if i can make the driver work, if not, direct drive, if not new driver.

thanks for all your help...........:thumbsup:

really basic electronics (photo), what am i missing?

i can get the emitter to work when directly connected to the battery.

i have a simple tail clicky light im trying to run direct drive.(no driver, just host/led/battery)

the +ve wire from the led runs thru the 'brass'? 'emitter housing' directly to battery +ve.

the negative wire from the emitter i can attach anywhere as its about 12" long right now

if i assemble light and use the tail clicky i get nothing.

if i remove tail switch and touch the negative emitter wire to the battery negative the emitter works.

im sure its a simple solution but im asking for help

ive never done this before?

im guessing i need to attach the negative wire from the emitter negative to the right place, but where?

Re: really basic electronics (photo), what am i missing?

I love the picture of flames on the UltraFire battery. Let's hope it's not a portent of things to come, eh?

I am not familiar with that exact light, but the normal arrangement is that the tail end of the battery connects through the tail cap and makes the circuit up through the tube wall of the light, where it typically contacts a ring on the outer circumference of the light head. The top end of the battery (often the positive end but there are exceptions) makes contact through a spring or metal disk of some sort in the center of the light head. In the normal way there is no need for any wires outside the light assembly.

Re: really basic electronics (photo), what am i missing?

im thinking now i need to isolate the +ve, right now its soldered 'to' the brass emitter housing, im guessing i have a complete short?

mebbe ill cut some plastic sheet or something and see if i can make the current from the battery +ve run to the emitter without touching any other part of the light?

or wait for my $4 driver from 'ahem' to arrive

im having fun, and learning.

no fires yet:naughty:

Re: really basic electronics (photo), what am i missing?

Sounds like a bum clicky.

Re: really basic electronics (photo), what am i missing?

Marduke said:

Sounds like a bum clicky.

Click to expand...

d.m.m. proves clicky is good.

Re: really basic electronics (photo), what am i missing?

One question:
Any particular reason you didn't simply continue in your original thread on fixing this light? Was an additional thread on the same topic really necessary?

Re: really basic electronics (photo), what am i missing?

Marduke said:

One question:
Any particular reason you didn't simply continue in your original thread on fixing this light? Was an additional thread on the same topic really necessary?

Click to expand...

original thread was about the driver,

i have since ditched the driver and now trying to figure out direct drive?

different enough to warrant a different thread i figured?

feel free to close/ edit/ combine threads if you need.

Re: really basic electronics (photo), what am i missing?

waddup said:

im thinking now i need to isolate the +ve.

Click to expand...

turns out i was right

the whole light is the ground (circuit completed with the clicky), the positive needs to be isolated from the whole light (battery to +ve on emitter only.not touching anything else)

borrowing my wifes reading glasses and some tiny soldering and its working perfectly.

its damn bright similar to my jetbeam ibs 3 (250 lumens?) with a similar beam profile, not quite as throwy, but not far off.

$4, 3 mode driver (low med high) is in the mail on the way to me, i may take it all apart and instal the driver when it gets here if i get bored.

bad news this, it means im no longer unable to mix n match leds/drivers/hosts.

the possibilities.....


:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Re: really basic electronics (photo), what am i missing?

waddup said:

original thread was about the driver,

i have since ditched the driver and now trying to figure out direct drive?

different enough to warrant a different thread i figured?

Click to expand...

No. Threads merged.