Help with AWR Hotdriver

[pertinax]

A while back (18 months?) I purchased an AWR-hotdriver loaded 2D flashlight. I think the bulb is a 1274, but I've sort of been out of the hobby for a while. In any case, the light has had a problem from day one. When you turn it on, it's very dim. If you pump the button ten or fifteen times, it will finally light up in the glorious white beam that it's supposed to have.

Anyway, there's something wrong with the driver. Anybody got a clue about those things? I have not twiddled with the settings at all, so it's possible that it's just an adjustment issue. But before I blow it up, I figured I'd ask the wise ones here.

Any comments would be appreciated. (And please don't pile on about AWR-- I want help, not commiseration.)

Pertinax

 

[JimmyM]

You'd have to get it out onto a bench and measure the voltage drop across the MOSFET as well as the gate voltage between "positive" side of the bulb (The MOSFETs "source" pin) and the MOSFET gate.
The adjustment (potentiometer) may be faulty too. The chip he uses is a Micrel MIC5158 LDO controller. Info can be found on their site.
http://www.micrel.com/page.do?page=/product-info/products/mic5156.shtml

 

[LuxLuthor]

The easiest way to check it is put batteries to get 9-12 Volts. Then break small paperclip and put legs in the bipin holder and see what voltage you measure at the two paperclip leads.

Turn power off, the dial the two POT adjusters and remeasure voltage. You should be able to have it output the ideal voltage for your light, then replace wires with bulb