DonShock
Flashlight Enthusiast
JOJOBOS recently gave me a ZebraLight H30 to try to use as a host for a modification. JOJOBOS had already removed the switch assembly but could not get the driver or LED out. Based on what I could see of the construction, I was pretty certain I would have to kill the LED to get it out, but I had hoped to disassemble it without damaging the circuit. I was able to get it disassembled, but due to a misunderstanding on my part about how it was assembled, the driver was also killed in the process. However, I think I learned enough in the process to give others an idea how disassembly may successfully be done in the future.
I'll try to describe what I did, along with my errors, and offer some suggestions along the way. I received the light with the switch assembly already removed. The retaining ring for the switch cover is attached with three small screws which are easily removed. Once removed, you can desolder or cut the wires going from the switch PCB to the driver PCB. After this is done, you will see the heatsink and top of the lens over the LCD. This appears to be epoxied in place. This was where my personal adventure began.
To start with, let me explain my main error that killed the driver. Looking down the battery tube, it appeared to be a solid piece with just the positive contact in the middle. I hollowed the center of a dowel so I could apply pressure to the outer edges and drive the LED/PCB assembly out the switch end of the light. WRONG!!! What appeared to be a solid ring was actually just a cover over the SMD components on the driver board.
By applying force, I broke several off in my attempt to drive out the assembly, thus killing the driver.
After getting no movement when applying force from the battery end, I applied force from the switch end. I knew I was in trouble when something tiny flew out the end of the battery tube as I turned it over. Unfortunately, it was lost in the carpet so I didn't see what it was. Oh well, no turning back now!
Applying force from the switch end did produce a little movement. The LED didn't budge, but I was expecting that since the covering lens protruded through the hole in the case. Since my goal was to eventually swap in a red LED, I was prepared to destroy the LED anyway. I was using a punch in the center of the heatsink to try to drive out the LED/PCB assembly. Since I was getting movement, I kept on going until the entire assembly was pushed out the end of the tube. The LED dome stayed in the light and the LED base was completely seperated from the driver board.
One good piece of news was that the potting compound was not hard epoxy but soft silicone. So I was able to remove it all without further disrupting the assembly so I could get an idea of how everything was assembled. The plastic lens appears to be premolded onto the LED itself. I could never get the metal ring of the Cree LED pulled out of the plastic lens even after digging out the LED die and dome remnants.
The hard plastic lens appears to be either cast or glued onto the LED itself. So any emitter swap will almost certainly have to skip reusing the hard plastic lens.
I think I understand how this was assembled and have some hints on how it may be disassembled. The driver PCB has the LED installed "on edge" with a couple stiff riser wires supporting the LED. This appears to be the first piece installed.
The riser wires not only provide electrical connections but allow the LED to be pushed in slightly to allow the dome to clear the edge of the recess and then pushed back out to insert the dome in the hole. The switch wires will feed through holes in the heatsink and the heatsink then appears to have been inserted behind the LED. This locks the LED in place and probably deforms the plastic dome slighly to form a water resistant seal between the dome and the body. Then the switch PCB appears to be installed on top of the heatsink and the switch wires soldered into place. The final step is putting on the switch cover and retaining ring.
To attempt a successful disassembly, the first step would be what JOJOBOS did, remove the switch PCB assembly. After that, the heatsink needs to be PULLED out the switch end. Straighten the switch wires so they will stay with the driver PCB and not get pulled out with the heatsink. A stiff hook of some type, like this ring that came with some bulbs I bought, needs to be inserted through the hole in the heatsink then hooked under the heatsink.
Care needs to be taken to avoid snagging the inductor on the driver PCB. This should allow the heatsink to be pulled out. I think the heatsink will pull off the top of the silicone potting compound. Once the heatsink is no longer behind the LED, it should be possible to push in the LED dome enough to clear the edge of the hole. Then the LED/PCB assembly should be able to be pushed out the battery tailcap end of the body. Once that's out, the potting compound can be pulled off exposing all the connections for modding possibilities. As mentioned earlier, if the LED is swapped out, the hard plastic dome is probably going to stay with the old LED, so it won't be able to be used to cover the new LED.
Well, my surgery was somewhat of a failure. But I hope this post helps others in their modding efforts. I may still manage to turn this into a direct drive red LED light for use with my telescope. I want to also make sure to make a special thanks to JOJOBOS for sending me this light for free. It made my error in this case a less painful event than my past modding mishaps. I think I'm going to have to pick up another H30 to make a second try at an emitter swap.
UPDATED 3-7-09: Second patient survives surgery, see Post #40 for photos and details.
I'll try to describe what I did, along with my errors, and offer some suggestions along the way. I received the light with the switch assembly already removed. The retaining ring for the switch cover is attached with three small screws which are easily removed. Once removed, you can desolder or cut the wires going from the switch PCB to the driver PCB. After this is done, you will see the heatsink and top of the lens over the LCD. This appears to be epoxied in place. This was where my personal adventure began.
To start with, let me explain my main error that killed the driver. Looking down the battery tube, it appeared to be a solid piece with just the positive contact in the middle. I hollowed the center of a dowel so I could apply pressure to the outer edges and drive the LED/PCB assembly out the switch end of the light. WRONG!!! What appeared to be a solid ring was actually just a cover over the SMD components on the driver board.
By applying force, I broke several off in my attempt to drive out the assembly, thus killing the driver.
After getting no movement when applying force from the battery end, I applied force from the switch end. I knew I was in trouble when something tiny flew out the end of the battery tube as I turned it over. Unfortunately, it was lost in the carpet so I didn't see what it was. Oh well, no turning back now!
Applying force from the switch end did produce a little movement. The LED didn't budge, but I was expecting that since the covering lens protruded through the hole in the case. Since my goal was to eventually swap in a red LED, I was prepared to destroy the LED anyway. I was using a punch in the center of the heatsink to try to drive out the LED/PCB assembly. Since I was getting movement, I kept on going until the entire assembly was pushed out the end of the tube. The LED dome stayed in the light and the LED base was completely seperated from the driver board.
One good piece of news was that the potting compound was not hard epoxy but soft silicone. So I was able to remove it all without further disrupting the assembly so I could get an idea of how everything was assembled. The plastic lens appears to be premolded onto the LED itself. I could never get the metal ring of the Cree LED pulled out of the plastic lens even after digging out the LED die and dome remnants.
The hard plastic lens appears to be either cast or glued onto the LED itself. So any emitter swap will almost certainly have to skip reusing the hard plastic lens.
I think I understand how this was assembled and have some hints on how it may be disassembled. The driver PCB has the LED installed "on edge" with a couple stiff riser wires supporting the LED. This appears to be the first piece installed.
The riser wires not only provide electrical connections but allow the LED to be pushed in slightly to allow the dome to clear the edge of the recess and then pushed back out to insert the dome in the hole. The switch wires will feed through holes in the heatsink and the heatsink then appears to have been inserted behind the LED. This locks the LED in place and probably deforms the plastic dome slighly to form a water resistant seal between the dome and the body. Then the switch PCB appears to be installed on top of the heatsink and the switch wires soldered into place. The final step is putting on the switch cover and retaining ring.
To attempt a successful disassembly, the first step would be what JOJOBOS did, remove the switch PCB assembly. After that, the heatsink needs to be PULLED out the switch end. Straighten the switch wires so they will stay with the driver PCB and not get pulled out with the heatsink. A stiff hook of some type, like this ring that came with some bulbs I bought, needs to be inserted through the hole in the heatsink then hooked under the heatsink.
Care needs to be taken to avoid snagging the inductor on the driver PCB. This should allow the heatsink to be pulled out. I think the heatsink will pull off the top of the silicone potting compound. Once the heatsink is no longer behind the LED, it should be possible to push in the LED dome enough to clear the edge of the hole. Then the LED/PCB assembly should be able to be pushed out the battery tailcap end of the body. Once that's out, the potting compound can be pulled off exposing all the connections for modding possibilities. As mentioned earlier, if the LED is swapped out, the hard plastic dome is probably going to stay with the old LED, so it won't be able to be used to cover the new LED.
Well, my surgery was somewhat of a failure. But I hope this post helps others in their modding efforts. I may still manage to turn this into a direct drive red LED light for use with my telescope. I want to also make sure to make a special thanks to JOJOBOS for sending me this light for free. It made my error in this case a less painful event than my past modding mishaps. I think I'm going to have to pick up another H30 to make a second try at an emitter swap.
UPDATED 3-7-09: Second patient survives surgery, see Post #40 for photos and details.
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Anyway, I did the standard tailcap measurement and I'm reading 475mA on high, 55mA on med, 15mA on low. The 475mA means about 400mA to the emitter, which would be a bit high for the Nichia to handle. On the bright side, since an MC-E is something like 320lumens at 350mA, that's a heck of a lot brighter than the XR-E while still maintaining the 2.5hr runtime. With the H30's flood beam, I would hate to be your caving partner if you were using a MC-E H30! Looking forward to your successful swap!
