tylerdurden
Flashlight Enthusiast
I have a TWAK and BB500 potted in a EN mclux head using an ecan. This head has less than one hour runtime on it, probably closer to 30 minutes. Last night I was checking the inside of a air vent when the light flickered and went out. I turned it off, set it down, and got my arc grey out of my pocket and finished what I was doing, then turned my attention back to the McLux.
First instinct was the battery, of course, even though I thought it should have dropped out of regulation, not just died. Changing the battery had no effect. Not even a flicker of light. My next thought was the switch. I removed it, made sure everything looked OK, put it back together, and still no change. I verified the body/switch with an E1e head, which worked fine. Obviously, the problem was in the head.
To double-check this diagnosis, I tried 2xAA batteries in a radioshack battery holder, holding the lead wires directly to the battery contact and side of the ecan. No light. I then whipped out the ohmmeter. No path between the + battery contact and the side of the ecan. I think this rules out the possibility of a short between the BB500 and the can, right? There is also no path between the + contact and the "led +" hole. There is a path between the "led +" hole and the emitter anode. This path continues unbroken to the emitter cathode (so the emitter is still functioning, I presume), the GND hole, and the ecan side. This leads me to believe that the BB itself is dead. Is it safe to touch 2xAA directly to the emitter while still hooked up to the BB500? I want to get visual confirmation that the emitter is still OK.
I was worried that the exposed copper at the edge of the BB500 might cause this (I don't know for a fact that this BB500 has exposed copper, as I didn't know to look for it at the time I potted it), but I don't think this is the case since there is no path between Vin+ and GND, right?
Any hints would be appreciated, especially non-destructive ones. I'd like to make sure I've tried everything before I rip this head open.
First instinct was the battery, of course, even though I thought it should have dropped out of regulation, not just died. Changing the battery had no effect. Not even a flicker of light. My next thought was the switch. I removed it, made sure everything looked OK, put it back together, and still no change. I verified the body/switch with an E1e head, which worked fine. Obviously, the problem was in the head.
To double-check this diagnosis, I tried 2xAA batteries in a radioshack battery holder, holding the lead wires directly to the battery contact and side of the ecan. No light. I then whipped out the ohmmeter. No path between the + battery contact and the side of the ecan. I think this rules out the possibility of a short between the BB500 and the can, right? There is also no path between the + contact and the "led +" hole. There is a path between the "led +" hole and the emitter anode. This path continues unbroken to the emitter cathode (so the emitter is still functioning, I presume), the GND hole, and the ecan side. This leads me to believe that the BB itself is dead. Is it safe to touch 2xAA directly to the emitter while still hooked up to the BB500? I want to get visual confirmation that the emitter is still OK.
I was worried that the exposed copper at the edge of the BB500 might cause this (I don't know for a fact that this BB500 has exposed copper, as I didn't know to look for it at the time I potted it), but I don't think this is the case since there is no path between Vin+ and GND, right?
Any hints would be appreciated, especially non-destructive ones. I'd like to make sure I've tried everything before I rip this head open.
