I broke my flashlight!

[letschat7]

View attachment 45490

Thats not American made.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

Thats not American made.

No, it was made in China.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

That looks like it to me, but I don't think the bezel comes off, and I tried to unscrew the head, but it just seemed to turn, not engage any threads. I'll try some more, but, I think bykfixer called it, I think it is dead; I may just let it RIP, at least for now.

I'm betting it's the driver. The LED is pretty well protected by the driver in most flashlights. If you check around ebay you might find an exact match with the company's logo on it.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

I'm betting it's the driver. The LED is pretty well protected by the driver in most flashlights. If you check around ebay you might find an exact match with the company's logo on it.

No, I put it up on the shelf, may she RIP. Not going to spend money to repair a made in China light unless it is with made in USA parts.

 

[letschat7]

No, I put it up on the shelf, may she RIP. Not going to spend money to repair a made in China light unless it is with made in USA parts.

Maybe try those 3xaaa maglite parts.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

Maybe try those 3xaaa maglite parts.

Hmmm! Now THAT is an interesting idea! Now, I just need a victim, er, HOST I mean...

cannibalize...hmmm...cannibal...hmmm...

 

[letschat7]

Maybe a Maglite dealer has just the parts you need cheap.

 

[Dave_H]

One similar 3AAA zoomie sustained damage while testing on the bench with a variable supply; one of the few I've actually damaged. Now it lights at a low level but won't cycle through modes. Fortunately it cost $10 or less.

I'd be very careful if the end cap can't be closed without a lot of force, can damage the cap spring/plunger or something at the head e.g. PCB. Your AAA holder has a plunger pin but I find some of these lights still are too short for 18650. Better to use 18500 if you have one (next time...). BTW does your light use a head-end spring?

PCB inside likely uses a cheap linear controller chip on the PCB. There's a CPF thread somewhere showing something like this (can't locate it at the moment). It was to do with mode "memory" and how to add or remove it at the driver.

Hard to believe that voltage alone damaged the LED or driver as Li-ion 4.2v and below is lower than three fresh 1.5v cells. Linear regulators are usually pretty rugged and usually have over-current and temperature protection. I've put 18650 in several similar lights without a problem. Suspect mechanical damage to component, PCB and/or conductors. It might be visible if you get it open.

I also currently can't get mine disassembled, want to do it with minimal/no damage to the head.

As for possible repair with USA-made parts, good luck on that; especially electronic parts. Even raw chips made in one factory can be sent to another for packaging, which may be in a different country; largely overseas.

Dave

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

One similar 3AAA zoomie sustained damage while testing on the bench with a variable supply; one of the few I've actually damaged. Now it lights at a low level but won't cycle through modes. Fortunately it cost $10 or less.

I'd be very careful if the end cap can't be closed without a lot of force, can damage the cap spring/plunger or something at the head e.g. PCB. Your AAA holder has a plunger pin but I find some of these lights still are too short for 18650. Better to use 18500 if you have one (next time...). BTW does your light use a head-end spring?

PCB inside likely uses a cheap linear controller chip on the PCB. There's a CPF thread somewhere showing something like this (can't locate it at the moment). It was to do with mode "memory" and how to add or remove it at the driver.

Hard to believe that voltage alone damaged the LED or driver as Li-ion 4.2v and below is lower than three fresh 1.5v cells. Linear regulators are usually pretty rugged and usually have over-current and temperature protection. I've put 18650 in several similar lights without a problem. Suspect mechanical damage to component, PCB and/or conductors. It might be visible if you get it open.

I also currently can't get mine disassembled, want to do it with minimal/no damage to the head.

As for possible repair with USA-made parts, good luck on that; especially electronic parts. Even raw chips made in one factory can be sent to another for packaging, which may be in a different country; largely overseas.

Dave

Yes, there is an internal spring at the head. I also suspect physical damage, although none is visible, but since I forced the end cap on, and then tightened it down, I believe a broken PCB is likely the problem.

As far as trying to repair it, it's not a top priority now that I have had time to calm down and think about it. I'm fine just putting it on the shelf, I didn't really need it or expect it when it was gifted to me, but it would be nice if it worked, but if it doesn't I'm kinda like "meh". Maybe someday when I get familiar with repairing flashlights, I might try to fix it, but I doubt that day will ever come. Que sera, sera.

 

[letschat7]

Here is a thought you could always find some smaller sub assembly and make a plastic or wood holder for it and if it ran off say some coin cells or Ns then you could more room to put something bulky inside.

 

[M@elstrom]

To remove that stubborn bezel, I would find a suitable piece of scrap hard wood (for the bezel to bite into) and whilst applying "Herculean" downwards force use a strap wrench to break the threaded bezel free... remember to eat your Weet-Bix 😉

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

I'm kind of sorry I even made the thread now. You guys are so wanting to help me fix this light, ...I'm kind of ...overwhelmed, I guess? I don't want to harm it anymore by trying to fix it before I am confident about working on it, so I'm "okay" with it just sitting on the shelf for now. Sorry I pulled the fire alarm. Thanks everyone for your advice, I appreciate it.

 

[mrfixitman]

Yep, I messed up. I took a 3xAAA zoomie that one of my kids gave me, and put a SF 18650 in it. Turned it on, it lit up, then went out. I put the 3xAAA's back in and it won't light. Tried taking the cap off and shorting the negative contact to the case, no go, nothing, nada. If I had acquired this light some other way, I wouldn't really care, but it is a company marked souvenir from my kid for this last Father's Day. Help! 🆘

Please explain to me how a cell with less voltage than 3 triple A's in series blew it? Are the AAA batteries in parallel? Series is 4.5 v parallel is 1.5 v. That would blow it.

 

[alpg88]

He cracked the driver board

 

[letschat7]

There is also resistance in the design and in general.

 

[alpg88]

I'm kind of sorry I even made the thread now. You guys are so wanting to help me fix this light, ...I'm kind of ...overwhelmed, I guess? I don't want to harm it anymore by trying to fix it before I am confident about working on it, so I'm "okay" with it just sitting on the shelf for now. Sorry I pulled the fire alarm. Thanks everyone for your advice, I appreciate it.

Well, the cat is out of the bag now, you have to fix it now, or we wont stop posting here, lol

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I'm kind of sorry I even made the thread now. You guys are so wanting to help me fix this light, ...I'm kind of ...overwhelmed, I guess? I don't want to harm it anymore by trying to fix it before I am confident about working on it, so I'm "okay" with it just sitting on the shelf for now. Sorry I pulled the fire alarm. Thanks everyone for your advice, I appreciate it.

No worries. Posts like this offer a springboard for modding ideas that we all benefit from hearing about.

 

[Terrywhite]

Pull the head as far upwards as it will go like you're zooming in.
The keep pulling upwards while turning the head and it should unscrew and you will see the pill as soon as you get it off.

If it's on super tight you may have to turn it very hard and fast at the same time. Most it's not that hard usually.

I cut my teeth on these lights and every spin off from them years ago. They are actually very easy to take apart and reassemble once you've done it a few times.
There are several variations of the light even shaped different but, they all work identically and the parts at least in the dozens I've tinkered with are the same size and can be interchanged.
I ordered boards and even higher quality LED's from Mountain Electronics.
I have some lying around somewhere.
It would take me weeks to find them. This was 10 years ago and I've learned a great deal and moved on to much more complex lights.
Best of luck. Just remember it's the zoom feature that makes it tough to get the light apart. Pull it to full zoom and turn it really quick and like you mean it. Once you get it off you will see it the pill it's screwed into and it's turning as your turning.

 

[Monocrom]

No, I put it up on the shelf, may she RIP. Not going to spend money to repair a made in China light unless it is with made in USA parts.

That's the best solution. Put it up on the shelf.
Even if you somehow find Made in USA parts, they likely won't be compatible with the rest of the parts already in the light that still work.

Also, dirty little secret of the flashlight industry.... Quite a few Made in USA flashlights contain tiny components inside sourced from China. It's like buying a flashlight made out of Titanium, but the company making it says it's Made in USA. Well, all titanium comes from China. Literally all of it. So, you can see the problem right there. Thing is, with tiny components needed to operate flashlights, no clue which of those components are sourced from America or China.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

Pull the head as far upwards as it will go like you're zooming in.
The keep pulling upwards while turning the head and it should unscrew and you will see the pill as soon as you get it off.

If it's on super tight you may have to turn it very hard and fast at the same time. Most it's not that hard usually.

I cut my teeth on these lights and every spin off from them years ago. They are actually very easy to take apart and reassemble once you've done it a few times.
There are several variations of the light even shaped different but, they all work identically and the parts at least in the dozens I've tinkered with are the same size and can be interchanged.
I ordered boards and even higher quality LED's from Mountain Electronics.
I have some lying around somewhere.
It would take me weeks to find them. This was 10 years ago and I've learned a great deal and moved on to much more complex lights.
Best of luck. Just remember it's the zoom feature that makes it tough to get the light apart. Pull it to full zoom and turn it really quick and like you mean it. Once you get it off you will see it the pill it's screwed into and it's turning as your turning.

Thanks for the info. Regarding Mountain Electronics, I wondered where you guys got all the parts from!