alanmalk
Newly Enlightened
Went backpacking over Easter weekend. Wacked my head on a low tree limb and knocked my Yukon HL onto rocky ground. One of the 5mm leds went out and the two remaining went dim. When I picked it up, it flickered between two dim and three running normally, depending on how I held the unit. (Luxeon high worked OK)
Ok, I killed it. From the symptoms it appears to be a short circuit. Totally useless for backpacking, so like any good CPF'er, take it apart. Since the parts are glued together this took a hacksaw. The cut was shallow enough ( 1/8 inch ) not to damage the inside sealing ring. After making the cut I used a flat blade screw driver to pry the two halves apart. The first photo illustrates this fairly well.
The surprise was that I did no damage at all - but - by dropping the unit on the ground, exposed a manufacturing defect! The next two photos show a "herniated" ground (black) battery wire. The insulation is split and a number of copper strands exposed and lying near the circuit board solder points. Hitting the ground just brought the exposed wires closer to the solder. I duplicated the shorting and dimming by touching the wire to the solder, just like on my hike.
The final photo shows the split insulation fairly well. Since this is clearly not a result of a fall or wear and tear, I suspect Princeton Tec will be called upon to make good on their lifetime warrenty.
I did think about doing a mod on the 5mm leds, but what the heck, Cree headlamps are coming! Maybe I'll just tape the wires and glue the shell back together and give it to someone too young to appreciate the necessity of having only the best!
Ok, I killed it. From the symptoms it appears to be a short circuit. Totally useless for backpacking, so like any good CPF'er, take it apart. Since the parts are glued together this took a hacksaw. The cut was shallow enough ( 1/8 inch ) not to damage the inside sealing ring. After making the cut I used a flat blade screw driver to pry the two halves apart. The first photo illustrates this fairly well.
The surprise was that I did no damage at all - but - by dropping the unit on the ground, exposed a manufacturing defect! The next two photos show a "herniated" ground (black) battery wire. The insulation is split and a number of copper strands exposed and lying near the circuit board solder points. Hitting the ground just brought the exposed wires closer to the solder. I duplicated the shorting and dimming by touching the wire to the solder, just like on my hike.
The final photo shows the split insulation fairly well. Since this is clearly not a result of a fall or wear and tear, I suspect Princeton Tec will be called upon to make good on their lifetime warrenty.
I did think about doing a mod on the 5mm leds, but what the heck, Cree headlamps are coming! Maybe I'll just tape the wires and glue the shell back together and give it to someone too young to appreciate the necessity of having only the best!
