DX 1200 Lumen Cree Q5 drop-in help wanted.

The_Police

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:help:

So my DX drop-in (This one http://www.dealextreme.com/p/6-cree...ule-52-7mm-42mm-8-4v-max-65153#open full view) came in the mail today, and I am planning on putting it into a 4D Mag, but I think I may have killed something on it...:shrug:

What I did to it was de-soldered the two springs, then I soldered on a screw (to reach down into the lamp holder on the Mag and contact the positive terminal) and soldered the other large outer spring back on for a negative terminal. Then I tried it in the Mag.... and nothing happened. I know it worked before I started screwing with it. Now I really have no idea what is wrong, I've checked for any solder bridges that may be shorting something out, and I didn't find any. I noticed that the positive and negative terminals, including the screw, get very hot. This is a sure sign of a short, but like I said, I can't find one. So, is it possible something could have melted on the driver that is causing a short between the two terminals?

Could I get a new driver for the drop-in and solve all my problems?

I would appreciate any help to get this drop-in functional again.
Thanks
TP
 

The_Police

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Here are some photos, I have removed the screw before I got to the pictures. I also removed the driver from the aluminum so we could see the other side of it.

I didn't notice anything that looks bad, but I also do not exactly know what to look for either.


http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/740/img7956i.jpg
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/7797/img7960f.jpg
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/817/img7961e.jpg


I was wondering if it would be possible I could have bridged some solder here with all those small holes in the black area.
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9206/img7963x.jpg

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/2167/img7965z.jpg
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/6181/img7967i.jpg



 
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Quest4fire

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What are you powering your drop in with I'm assuming it takes 8.4V (Two Li-Ion cells)? Use a cotton swab and alcohol to clean surface of driver where the springs were attached in case any flux is pooled on the surface. Use jumper wires (insulated copper wires if you don't have jumpers) from the in series batteries' + to center + ring of driver. In series batteries' - to outer - ring on driver. Be careful not to short anything. Don't let wires touch anything on component side of board. If it powers up you might have connection path issue between drop in module and host. If the drop in doesn't work you may have fried a driver board component(s) with excessive heat from soldering/desoldering. Sorry :sigh:
 

The_Police

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I was running it off 4 D batteries from a Mag lite before, and it worked just fine. I'll wipe it down with some alcohol and see if that helps. Otherwise I was beginning to think I may have overheated the driver too, but I guess that's how we learn. :shrug:
 

moderator007

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I agree with Questfire. Driver looks like its been to hot from soldering or shorted. Like Questfire said try the driver outside the mag with the correct voltage to see if it still works. I usually just solder a piece of wire directly to the center pad then to the ground ring and connect the power (with correct polarity) to those two wires with the leds connected to the driver. Doesnt need alot of solder. From the pics looks like you could solder on some wires just by pre tinning the wires and add a little flux to the pre tinned wires and driver + and - then solder without adding any solder to the connection.

If the driver will not work from a direct connection its probably shot. Im pretty sure that this (DX sku 26106) is the driver that they use in this drop-in. There is also a thread on DX sku 26106 for improvements and no modes here.
 

The_Police

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I wiped off the contacts and tried it again... still nothing. I will try to get all the solder removed and see if that helps. Otherwise it looks like I may need a new driver? Would it be possible to run that setup direct drive?
 

Quest4fire

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I hope you get it working again. It puts out a respectable amount of light. You might have to find something else to busy yourself with while that driver makes it way here from China. BTW better ix ney on the ink lay. Good luck!
 

The_Police

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Quest4Fire: I have My aspheric mag to get put together, I'm waiting for my driver for it from DX that I ordered a few weeks ago, and it should get here any day now. I also have another DX drop-in to fit into another 2D Mag as a gift too. It's awesome to see a fellow Nebraskan here on the forums! ;)

jmpaul: Ik right? I was glad it was only a ~$3 fix.
 

Quest4fire

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Quest4Fire: I have My aspheric mag to get put together, I'm waiting for my driver for it from DX that I ordered a few weeks ago, and it should get here any day now. I also have another DX drop-in to fit into another 2D Mag as a gift too. It's awesome to see a fellow Nebraskan here on the forums! ;)

Hope to see some beams shots from that aspheric! Sounds like you have plenty of projects waiting. Same here, more stuff waiting to get done than time to do it lately.
 

The_Police

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Hope to see some beams shots from that aspheric! Sounds like you have plenty of projects waiting. Same here, more stuff waiting to get done than time to do it lately.

I agree, I need time between work and everything else to get them done. I will definitely get some pics up once it's all said and done.
 

The_Police

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Just an update; I got my new driver for this yesterday, and it is the exact same driver that was on it. I wired/soldered the new one in and I fixed my drop-in! All is well again :twothumbs Now i just need to get a tool to open my darn maglites with their new setscrew. :sigh:
 

jmpaul320

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Just an update; I got my new driver for this yesterday, and it is the exact same driver that was on it. I wired/soldered the new one in and I fixed my drop-in! All is well again :twothumbs Now i just need to get a tool to open my darn maglites with their new setscrew. :sigh:

if you buy a magswitch kit it comes with both tools... i will pm you the link

glad u got the drop in working!
 

moderator007

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I bought a 10pc kobalt screw driver set from lowes item #239462 (type 239462 in their search box). They sold it in the store. Torx T8 is what you need. The shaft on the kobalt T8 is larger than the actual T8 head. You will have to grind the shaft down smaller so that it will fit down the switch hole. I guess it could be filed if you don't have a grinder. I also got the extra screw drivers as a bonus.
 
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The_Police

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I got a T8 screwdriver from staples for ~$4, but the shaft is also larger in circumference than the tip of the bit. I will have to turn off with the lathe/ grind off (whichever works better) some metal to make it fit. For some reason, the bit almost looks too big to even fit down the hole in the switch, but it is for sure a T8 bit?
 

moderator007

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but it is for sure a T8 bit?
T8 for sure. Just went and checked mine to be sure. Even though I had read the reports it was a T8 I made sure.
It seems like when I ground mine down that the shaft had to be almost a little smaller than the actual head of the T8 for it to work good.
 
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