GD driver IC question

Two GD1000s that were working properly before suddenly failed and yielded zero output.
One of them yields diminished output with ramdom flickering, while ther other one yields almost nothing at all.
Was told either the ICs got blown, or cold soldering was introduced somewhere.

In case of the former, it would be more economical to replace any blown ICs to resurrect a driver, rather then junking the driver and have a new one slapped in. And I know one tech guy who would promise me such fine repair work -- as long as I could locate the IC and supply him with a few for testing.

Can someone tell me what IC the GD (and BBNG) driver uses?
Which make, model, type, and specs? And where to get them?
Also what special precautions should be taken when installing/replacing these ICs?

Have asked Wayne about this but yet to get a response.

Not likely someone would post here on what ICs they are. Sorry I won't be able to help you with what they are but FYI the ICs used on the GD & BBNG are not the same converter.

I doubt it would be the result of cold soldering of the componets on the those drivers, if anything it would be the lead wires to the emitter. If you do get them replaced, be sure to check the connections from your emitter to the driver as an open circuit with power applied to these boost drivers will fry the IC.

Make sure your tech friend knows what he is doing. These can not be simply replaced by the average guy with just an expensive soldering iron. You must have SMT rework experience in order to replace these and/or with the proper SMT rework equipment. Otherwise you will easily cook the IC or lift traces on the PCB. The center of the IC has a thermal pad that must be soldered correctly to provide sufficient thermal transfer.

Seems like you could pull out the dead drivers and look at them to find out what the ICs are.

darkzero said:

Make sure your tech friend knows what he is doing. These can not be simply replaced by the average guy with just an expensive soldering iron. You must have SMT rework experience in order to replace these and/or with the proper SMT rework equipment. Otherwise you will easily cook the IC or lift traces on the PCB. The center of the IC has a thermal pad that must be soldered correctly to provide sufficient thermal transfer.

Click to expand...

He's not a friend exactly. He runs his own cellphone and portable electronics repair business so he has expertise on electronics stuff, let alone flashlight electronics. It is him who said he has the capability to replace a bad IC as long as I provide him with spares, so I believe he has the necessary equipment, tools and skills for hot air rework. I can at best give him some older dead drivers to play with so that he can familiarize with the situation.

BTW you mentioned somewhere it's a TI IC and that you have successfully replaced them. So you must know something about these ICs.

@JC
The markings on the IC are random and different on each driver (even among the GDs), so it wouldn't help.

The markings are not random. Do you see "BPT" on the GD IC? Have you tried a CPF search for the IC?

Justin Case said:

The markings are not random. Do you see "BPT" on the GD IC? Have you tried a CPF search for the IC?

Click to expand...

I checked the IC on my last unused GD1000.
It's marked "BPT 98W ZF19"
Have Googled this number but came up with nothing.

Does it mean anything to you JC?
Is this the model # or what?
If you know something, please kindly let me know.

I'll give you two easy methods to ID the GD IC.

#1, do a CPF search, which you obviously have not done yet. Perhaps search using the very complicated keywords "GD1000" and "ic". The answer will be readily apparent.

#2, look at some more of your GD drivers and you should see what parts of the markings are the same for all of the GD ICs. That is the marking information that is relevant. I already gave you a massive hint in post #5. Then Google those markings and the type of IC, e.g., boost, buck, or buck-boost. You should find your answer.

Justin Case said:

I'll give you two easy methods to ID the GD IC.

#1, do a CPF search, which you obviously have not done yet. Perhaps search using the very complicated keywords "GD1000" and "ic". The answer will be readily apparent.

#2, look at some more of your GD drivers and you should see what parts of the markings are the same for all of the GD ICs. That is the marking information that is relevant. I already gave you a massive hint in post #5. Then Google those markings and the type of IC, e.g., boost, buck, or buck-boost. You should find your answer.

Click to expand...

I have absolutely no idea why such IC information has to be kept so secretive.
In fact many experienced CPFers already know such information but for some reason they're withholding it in open domain.

No offense JC, but perhaps you knew these search tips wouldn't work?
I knew it. Because I've tried them all beforehand and yielded nothing.
I wouldn't have started this thread in the first place if these searches came back something revelant.

I tested both suggestions first and they both easily lead to the exact IC part that is used in the GD. I don't give out bogus info.

The first method gives the answer in the fourth search hit that was listed by the CPF Google search engine. The second method, using a regular Google search using the mysterious keywords "bpt" and "buck-boost" gives the answer in the sixth hit. Both hits are clearly the ones to click on first, so it's not like you have to sort through a lot of other search hits.

Your Google-fu must be weak.

Justin Case said:

I tested both suggestions first and they both easily lead to the exact IC part that is used in the GD. I don't give out bogus info.

The first method gives the answer in the fourth search hit that was listed by the CPF Google search engine. The second method, using a regular Google search using the mysterious keywords "bpt" and "buck-boost" gives the answer in the sixth hit. Both hits are clearly the ones to click on first, so it's not like you have to sort through a lot of other search hits.

Your Google-fu must be weak.

Click to expand...

Your last comment may be right. Or maybe something did have shown up but didn't get my attention.

Thanks to you, finally found the crucial info but only after you have provided the specific keyword combo and only such combo would work. Including the numbers/letters after "BPT" didn't help a thing at all.

Now the question is, whether to get the "CRG4" or the "CTG4" type? Is there a difference between these two?