Quick question about substitute LED

[AntiDark]

Quick question - please understand that I'm not very familiar with electronics, I'm ok with mechanical details though.

I have a Ridgid trouble light that runs off of their nicad 18v rechargeable tool battery. So far I've gone through about 5 of its inca bulbs, after the last one I tossed the light into the closet. It seems like a travesty to not use that great power source just because of it's standard fragile bulb. What I'd like to do is get a replacement drop-in LED.

Will this drop-in be a suitable replacement bulb?

3W Cree Drop-in Module (supports Surefire 6P)
http://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6090
$10.14 3V~18V

I'm confident I can fit it in the housing with proper heatsinking.

If that doesn't sound like a good idea, what do you all suggest? Please - keep in mind that I know next to nothing about amps - volts etc. I can mod the thing to take care of heat issues and wiring, but beyond that I'm a bit lost.


Thanks for your help!

 

[Gunner12]

The "off the charger" voltage from the battery might be too high for the driver to work.

Measure the fresh voltage and if it is too high, the drop-in might fry. A resistor might fix that though.

 

[LukeA]

I would buy 3 of the cheapest DX dropins and a 700mA buckpuck. Then I'd take out the stock dropin drivers and wire the LEDs in series to the buckpuck, which can easily handle the battery pack output.