New emitter for MagicShine HA-III Cree SSC P7-C (SXO)

[outerspacehoppp]

Hi Folks, my MagicShine HA-III Cree SSC P7-C (SXO) (4x 18650 cell battery)has stopped working and I'm after some advice about repairing it.

It has worked faultlessly and almost continuously for 4 years, however this week it started to only light two of the four elements on the led chip and finally doesn't light at all now.

I'm measured a little more than 8V(on full power mode, less on the lower 2 powers) across the LED module and the rear green\red LED is still working, so would I be right in assuming that the LED module has packed up and the driver is still OK.

If so which LED module shall I replace it with? Is one labelled as 3.6V OK to use, I can't find any higher voltage ones, and it seems there are none at any voltage for sale in the UK.

Could I use the LED out of my old single 18650 cell MTE SF-23 SSC P7-D-SXO torch, it looks the same size?

Or is there a better\cheaper solution of just replacing the driver and LED? if so which one and where from.

My dad is handy(and time served!) at soldering so I'll enlist him to help with any solutions you folks can offer!

I like the constant light and wide spill that I've been getting from the magicshine, so if there is a solution that maintains that all the better!

Thanks for a great forum!

 

[rick oz]

Hi outerspacehoppp,

If the voltage at the led terminals is 8.0Volts or above, a replacement led would not survive more than a few seconds, and this higher voltage could be what has damaged the original led.

Have you checked this with another voltmeter? It would be a good idea to just check it with another meter and also make sure the meter batteries are good as some meters can give incorrect readings when it's batteries are low/dead.

Depending on the exact led and drive current, the voltage at the led terminals (Vf - Forward Voltage) should be between 3.2-4.0V.

The led in the torch you listed is the same and if it is on the same size board (probably 20mm) it would be a simple swap. The new led would possibly be a different tint/Vf/output, but would work fine.


I have used the same Magicshine light for a few years now, and some of the newer clones, which are of lower quality than the original. New lights can be bought for as low as $25-30, though they should almost be regarded as disposable if they fail.