Can I replace the LED in Fenix T1?

[Ozgeardo]

Search has not been my friend on this occaision :shakehead
So can any of you enlightened people out there advise me on replacing the LED in my Fenix T1. I have "fried" it and it now sports a brown "dead spot" covering most of the LED and only allows a minimal amount of light to iluminate (about the same as an incandesant standard SF6P at 60 lumens).
I compared it with another T1 and it is truley in a poor state

I have dissasembled the beast and can see that the existing LED appears to be attached with 2 soldered wires and a 3rd wire I think is attached by a screw?

Is the LED replaceable/upgradeable, or is this animal now just spare parts?
It was my first "Tactical LED" and I have repaired the tail clicky recently. It has some sentimental value to me and I don't mind spending $20-$50 to fix it as a bit of a project:thinking:.

I swaped over a SSC P4 into my Petzl TacTikka XP recently (thats about my limits technically with electronics).

Help:mecry:!

 

[Ozgeardo]

"bump" Am I being a bit too impatient?

I am heading into the field soon and wondering if I should even be worried about fixing this animal. I have numerous other lights to use but really would like to fix this beast.

Anyone?

 

[dudu84]

It's definitely possible to change the LED on the T1, of course with some basic soldering skills. I think if you manage to get access to the LED soldering on a Fenix, you've done half the work already.

Have a look at this thread (scroll down a bit):
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=168844
It's not the same torch but the process is identical I believe.

Basically, you need to solder the black wire to the -ve LED and red wire to +ve LED. Also, you'll need to put some kind of thermal epoxy at the bottom of the LED to the aluminum part so that the heat generated can be conducted away. You can only use the bare emitter (without aluminum base) which makes the solder work a little tricky. To get the bare emitter, you can order directly from cutter.com.au or buy ones with aluminum base (from sites like DX) but remove it on a stove (should be a 2 mins job, not difficult).

Good luck fellow :thumbsup:

 

[glockboy]

Picture?

 

[Ozgeardo]

Basically, you need to solder the black wire to the -ve LED and red wire to +ve LED. Also, you'll need to put some kind of thermal epoxy at the bottom of the LED to the aluminum part so that the heat generated can be conducted away. You can only use the bare emitter (without aluminum base) which makes the solder work a little tricky. To get the bare emitter, you can order directly from cutter.com.au or buy ones with aluminum base (from sites like DX) but remove it on a stove (should be a 2 mins job, not difficult).

Good luck fellow :thumbsup:

Thanks for the heads up. I started doing some "desoldering" and general poking and prodding of my T1. I looked up various LED replacements and I am at a loss with all the different specs :thinking:
So in the meantime I did a little experiment with the old LED from my Petzl TacTikka XP which I replaced with a "SSC P4" per advise from members on this forum (excellent upgrade, this will be my primary light for my next trip)

I did a quick solder job and put the old "XP" LED in (minus the star) and all seems to be good. I am now thinking can I try using another SSC P4 (I bought a few spares for all my colleagues who will want their XP's modified) but I don't wish to destroy a perfectly good star/led P4 unless this is a viable swap to either give as good as or better performance?

I am not greatly enlightened on the specs of these animals (Voltages, current draw, amperage etc etc could someone recommend a LED I should try (what ever is the most practical upgrade).

I am heading into the field tomorrow for a few weeks (no Internet or phone) with a new TK11R2 to replace the T1, so the T1 is now my test/toy/experiment/project.

Any recommendations? I'll check in again in two weeks.
Thanks (I'll try and remember to take some pics)

 

[tebore]

Order up a Cree XR-E LED with an R2 bin and just do a direct replacement.

 

[dudu84]

If you use the light mainly outdoor, a neutral white emitter could be a great option

 

[Ozgeardo]

OK I am back on deck and about to fix the old girl. I am very confused with all the LED's available and descriptions on all the supplier web sites (it is all too confusing for me )

I have purchased from one supplier before who lists this animal:
Cree 7090 XRE (Q5-WC) Emitter
Is this the animal (or at least something close) that will do the job ?

Your valued opinions please.........

 

[Hack On Wheels]

I'm going to assume that the Fenix T1 had a Cree XR-E in it to begin with. In that case, then it sounds like you are on the right track! However, how was the LED mounted in the T1? Was it on a board or was it a bare emitter? You might need to have the replacement XR-E mounted on a MCPCB (metal core printed circuit board) of the appropriate diameter. Soldering to a bare XR-E is doable, but soldering to a board is much easier. Also, you might need it mounted on a board to put the emitter at the right height for proper focusing of the reflector...

One other thing, WC is a fairly cold tint so it might be a bit on the blue side. I would recommend a WH tint if you want to stick with a cool white LED, or a 5A or 5C tint if you are open to trying a neutral tint...

 

[Ozgeardo]

Thanks Hack On Wheels, from what I can gather the original LED was a CREE Q5 but not a CREE XRE Q5 ?

I am not to fussed about the tint (this is just a project)

The LED is mounted direct to the head of the light via what appears to be thermal paste/glue and 2 soldered wires as a bare emitter.

 

[dudu84]

Thanks Hack On Wheels, from what I can gather the original LED was a CREE Q5 but not a CREE XRE Q5 ?

Don't worry, Ozgeardo! The original LED in Fenix T1 IS 7090 XR-E LED

 

[Ozgeardo]

Thanks for that dudu84Looks like I am good to go. Will order the:
Cree 7090 XRE (Q5-WC) Emitter
Plus a few other emitters to have a play with (I think I am starting to venture into a new hobby here LOL oo: )

 

[tnforever]

Thanks for that dudu84Looks like I am good to go. Will order the:
Cree 7090 XRE (Q5-WC) Emitter
Plus a few other emitters to have a play with (I think I am starting to venture into a new hobby here LOL oo: )

Just to do a quick breakdown for you:

http://www.cree.com/products/pdf/XLamp7090XR-E_B&L.pdf

Cree is the company
7090 XR-E is a particular LED, physically all XR-E LEDs are identical
Q5 is the flux bin, this is basically how efficient the LED is, and is given by how many lumens the LED puts out at a particular amount of current
WC is the tint, the WC is basically a box in a chromaticity graph. Basically, there are different types of white, some leaning blue, yellow, purple, green, etc etc and the tint specifies the range of white the LED falls into.

As with others, if you use your light outdoors, you might want to take the opportunity to change it to a neutral white tint. They're harder to track down, but the change is well worth it imo. Neutral white tints basically brings out the reds and yellows in browns better outdoors, giving a more natural appearance to objects.

 

[Hunter308]

Now that it's February, 2013, is there anything brighter than the "Premium Q5 binned Cree 7090 XR-E LED" that will drop right in (and work in) my Fenix T1?

 

[jabe1]

Yes, an R2 binned XR-E will be about 7% brighter.

 

[Hunter308]

Yes, an R2 binned XR-E will be about 7% brighter.

Thank you! So, this should fit (i.e., drop right in, as they say) my Fenix T1?

http://dx.com/p/ultrafire-cree-xr-e-r2-250lm-white-aluminum-smooth-reflector-silver-180114