teralux

[ocharry]

hi guys,,i have a question for some of you guys,,and maybe Matt from batt junction,, if he is still around

OK here it is

i recently bought one of the TLE-6EXB up grades for a mag of my dads,,when it got here it would flash on and then go out,,i fiddled with it some and sent it back for replacement,,no problem,,in the mean time i sent one i already had to my dad,,,then the new one came and it to did the same thing,,so i tried it on another mag and it works OK,,don't understand whey it wouldn't work on my old three cell,,anyway i got to looking at this thing and i noticed when it first came on it smoked a little bit,, then i compared it to other ones i have and the LED on this one is not glued down to the heat sink,,like all the other ones i have,, it think this thing is going to self destruct,,if you turn it on and watch the beam you can see it get a brown spot in the center as it heats up,,, i don't think this thing is cooling proper,,,it is raised up off the heat sink just a little

so what do you guys think,,,is this thing messed up??? do you think i could use some heat transfer epoxy glue or should i call battery junction to see what the say

thanks

ocharry

 

[dougie]

If the LED is not secured with thermal compound then it is effectively cooking itself every time you use it. This is confirmed by the description of the colour being emitted. It is almost certainly a faulty unit which got passed QC.

if you tamper with it then you may find it wont be replaced under warranty. I'd send it back explaining the problem. I dont anticipate any problems with the retailer who has a good reputation.:thumbsup:

 

[M@elstrom]

So what do you guys think, is this thing messed up??? do you think i could use some heat transfer epoxy glue or should i call battery junction to see what the say?

TBH it's a Terralux Q/C (quality control) issue IMHO, I had the very same 3 Cell variant of the TLE-6EXB and found after some usage (hey Maglites get knocked around a little) the emitter's base had dislodged from the Anodized heatsink, the solution was easy (I already had all I needed) I unsoldered the P4 emitter & placed a layer of thermal epoxy between it and the base of the emitter (to create a thermal pathway), I went a little too far and lapped the top of the heatsink to create a 100% flat surface though it wasn't an issue in this case as the thermal epoxy I used electrically isolated the base (which is positive) from the ground/negative path :thumbsup:

Additionally I noted the PR style base was also loose (under the ano' heatsink) so that got a dose of thermal epoxy (Artic Silver Ceramique) too!

I don't have this drop in any longer (I've moved onto multiemitter DIY mods) but it's still going strong in my Dad's Maglite 2D

 

[ocharry]

thanx guys

i called bat junction today and they referred me to Teralux,,i explained my concerns and the lady told me that they don't glue the emitter to the sink,,i said well the other 6 i have are glued down ,,i think you have a QC issue,,the heat is not getting away from the emitter and in fact with the air space between the two,,it is in fact insulating the emitter letting it over heat and i think it will self destruct,,,her response was that they have very few of these come back for warranty and she would send me another one

i'm guessing it will be just like the one i have,,,we shall see

just in case M@lstrom,,,, where did you get that thermal epoxy?? or would you want to fix one for me??

i really don't think the lady understood what i was saying

thanks again for the come back guys

ocharry

 

[M@elstrom]

her response was that they have very few of these come back for warranty and she would send me another one

i'm guessing it will be just like the one i have,,,we shall see

We are not alone, I remembered coming across a similar issue in a review of this TerraLux module written HERE with rather graphic (56K unfriendly) close up illustrations of the defective module, test data, charting, repairs & additional enhancement modification details :thumbsup:

just in case M@lstrom,,,, where did you get that thermal epoxy?? or would you want to fix one for me??

Any PC store (online or BM) would carry this thermal epoxy as would most 'good' electronics stores, it's a 2 part thermal epoxy kit from a company called Arctic Silver (who also make thermal pastes) the one you require is the non electrically conductive Artic Alumina version, as for where I got it? I believe it was from a seller on 'Fleabay'

I would gladly fix your module for you but unless you live here in Australia International shipping would make this an expensive proposition

 

[ocharry]

LOL,,yep i bet the shipping would be sumpin alright,,,should have looked to see where you were,,,LOL

thanks for the tip,,,i need the non conductive version,,OK,,i will check it out

what the heck,,i mean it is gona fry it's self anyway,,i think i can do this

yes i remember the posts about people having trouble with this version,,and i was real sceptical about getting it,,but it has been awhile and i thought surely they have the bugs out of it by now

guess not

thanks again for the help

ocharry

 

[M@elstrom]

You're welcome... use a variable temperature soldering iron if you've got access to one

 

[ocharry]

yeh i think i can get the soldering iron that will work,,ordered some of the two part epoxy today,,,think it was aluma something,,,made by the artic silver,,,called aluma something,,with the ceramic stuff,,,,supposedly electrically isolating,,,we shall see

LOL,,,prolly go up in a big smoke ball

 

[M@elstrom]

yeh i think i can get the soldering iron that will work,,ordered some of the two part epoxy today,,,think it was aluma something,,,made by the artic silver,,,called aluma something,,with the ceramic stuff,,,,supposedly electrically isolating,,,we shall see

LOL,,,prolly go up in a big smoke ball

Ah yes... my bad, Artic Alumina (epoxy) the other stuff Ceramique is just a thermal paste as used under your CPUs heatsink etc. :thumbsup: