Surefire A2 Aviator LED Upgrade...FYI

Well i ordered some 40k LEDs from KevinL in hopes that i could get rid of the angry blue leds in my A2.

So i gather all of my soldering materials and commence to it. I removed the first LED and then soldered in one of the 40k LEDs. Just for grins i wanted to put the LED assembly back into the A2 and illuminate it to see the difference the new LED would make before proceeding.

I'm glad i did because i found that the 40k LEDs don't slide into the holes in the head of the A2. The base of these LEDs have a small lip that are just slightly wider than the stock Surefire LEDs. Hmmmm what to do?

I'm not sure what to do at this point? Is there a way to shave the lip at the bottom? Are LED casings glass or some composite material i could somehow get rid of the lip?

Any ideas? I know the LED replacement has been done before. Just not sure if it was done with these LEDs. Visually they almost look identical but its a no go at this point.

Suggestions?

Michael

I read somewhere before that certain LEDs such as the 40K and SMJLEDs would not fit without some modification. I'm pretty sure the built-in lens on the LEDs are made of plastic, so it would be fine to just sand them down until they fit. I haven't tried this... but an X-Acto knife might work to get the lips off.

Just sand off the lip. Go slow; careful not to scratch the rest of the dome. You don't really need to polish the sanded areas later, but you may do so if you want.

Or get some 26K leds, like mine is modded with. Slide right in.

Wonder how wquiles got his 35Ks to fit the A2...

Ok i successfully upgraded the LEDs to the 40Ks. The problem now is for some reason when i press the tailcap or twist the tailcap to the position to turn on the incandescent bulb, the LEDs stay on.

I'm not sure why. The LED swap was very simple. I'm very pleased with the white temperature of the new LEDs vs the angry blue of the old ones.

I also measured about a 30% increase in lumen output which is exactly what i was shooting for. I'm just stumped as to why the LEDs stay illuminated.

Any suggestions?

EDIT: As a test i removed the incandescent bulb and screwed the head back on. Now if i press the tailcap slightly i get the LEDs to light but if i press the tailcap fully to simulate the incandescent mode the LEDs get slightly brighter where i would expect them to turn off since i want the incandescent mode. Does that help with diagnosing whats going on?

The LEDs are supposed to stay on when the incandescent lights. That's just how it works on the A2. I hear the same happens on the K2 Kroma when you push the tailcap all the way in for the central Luxeon.

carrot said:

The LEDs are supposed to stay on when the incandescent lights. That's just how it works on the A2. I hear the same happens on the K2 Kroma when you push the tailcap all the way in for the central Luxeon.

Click to expand...

Carrot you are correct. I just double checked Surefire's website and read the following:

"Tailcap switch: press for low beam momentary-on, press further for high beam momentary-on low beam, press further for high beam, twist for both low and high constant-on."

I guess it IS normal operation. It seems like from a battery standpoint that if you decide to use the incandescent mode you wouldn't want the LEDs staying lit. Considering the LED circuitry is not regulated and the incandescent is.

Can other A2 users chime in that their LEDs stay on when in "incandescent mode" as well?

:rock:

No doubt about that, the LEDs stay on in the A2 when in incand mode.
for red LEDS, you can even see a faint red "ring" around the hotspot when pointblank against a white wall.

I would want the LEDs to stay lit even on high. Supposing I dropped the A2 while running it on high... If the lamp were to break, in the very least I could still see it with the LEDs. Also, it provides a more elegant "step down" from when the batteries can no longer power the incandescent. But that's just my opinion.

Son-of-a-gun. Live and learn. Here I am with two A2's, and I never noticed that before. Mind you, I'm usually pointing them away from myself.

A little late to the party, but I did written a post about modding leds in the A2 a little while ago(soon I plan to put in the SMJs :devil: in my A2...), and hoped it will help future fellow modder as a reference:

Dummy reference guide to SF A2 modding with high output 5mm leds
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/92993&page=1

AuroraLite, nice writeup on the A2 mod.

Here are the before/after pics of my upgrade. I apologize for the lousy picture quality.

BEFORE


AFTER


The "angry blue" is definantly gone and the overall pattern is tighter. I'm happy with the results. The only unknown is how the 40Ks will affect the stock 33 ohm resisters over the long haul. I know they're overdriven but longevity wise i'm not sure. Time will tell. :candle:

Also both photos were taken at 2ft and the lux reading was 68 lux on the first picture and 110 lux on the second picture.