MTE M3-2i Driver swap

Hello, I do not have many post on here. I mostly try and do research when I can. I am new to this so please bear with me. I have a MTE M3-2i that I purchased from the dealer here in the US. It is not one of the ones from DX. It has a Cree MC-E LED and is 6 mode. It is supposed to put out 740 lumens but I know that is overly optimistic. I have tried searching for reviews of this model but get nothing in the search engine. It seems that there isn't much about MTE. I find that hard to believe but putting MTE in the search engine gets 0 hits. The google one does a little better, but I am trying to find out if anyone has upgraded the driver in one of these and if so how hard was it. The light seems well made to me but I can not tell how to remove the pill. I am not sure if it is pressed, glued, or screwed in. I was considering buying the shiningbeam mc-e 8x7135 3 mode driver that puts out 2.8a on high. Here is what I found out so far for my light.

1) I took the tailcap off and measured the amps at the rear of the battery. with a 18650 laptop cell from an old Toshiba I had. I get 1.78a with a 3.96v charged battery. I tried 2 cr123 primaries and got 2.0a but it quickly dropped down to 1.75 or so as well but seemed to slowly keep falling. Will a high drain battery like an AW make a difference in this scenario?

2) what is the best driver right now for a single 18650 powered MC-E. I really don't understand buck vs linear. my charger charges my batteries to 4.2v. would the shiningbeam be a good choice? I only want to run one 18650.

3) how the hell do I get this model apart without destroying it? anybody do one?

4) how many more lumens should I expect with the 2.8a driver? what is the proper way to test what I have going on now?

Mike

I have that too, from the USA dealer. I bought my first m3-2i in january and after some weeks the modes wouldn't work anymore, i contacted the dealer and returnee it, and got a new one. Great service!
The one i got now has terrible driver board, it isn't glued together. The light worked fine for three days, and suddenly got dim! Much dimmer than it was, it was actually pretty bright when it worked. I've also seen some smoke from the led, so i don't use at anymore. My grandmother (!) also got one, and her is MUCH brighter than mine.
I actually bought the M3-2I just for checking it out, i have never used it that much.

thanks, mine is pretty bright but I do not have an equivalent reference. I am sure it could do better with a better driver. were you able to pull the brass/copper pill out from the body? If so How? Mine doesn't seem to unscrew so I imagine it might be pressed in. The front seems sealed and I haven't been able to tell what the underside of the pill looks like and if it can be taken apart to swap driver.

I don't think that is possible..
Maybe i should try, because i don't use it, because smoke from the led Guess the light wouldn't work anymore if i do that How glued is your driver board?
But my first project will be to shoot the lens, who should be bullet proof.. I'll start with a 0.22 and shot with more power if it works!

BTW, i tried the water underwater and it survived 11 feet!

the front where the LED is seems to have a white material that surrounds the led and seals the front. the back side I can only see from the back with the battery out. It has a spring sticking down but that is all I can tell. f your is busted, maybe you can see if you can remove the entire brass pill to get at the back side. That is where the driver is. No point in shooting the lens because if I can get mine up and running with new board, maybe I can fix yours as well. Try to get it out and be careful it might unscrew or might have to be pushed out from back side. Your drive might be all that is damaged. a new one is $7 and a new led is like $15.

Ok, PM me if you made it! I see that i can pop the driver board out, should i try?

how did you get the brass body that holds the pill out from the flashlight body. did it unscrew or pull out. mine is in very tight and I don't want to damage a working light trying to take it apart. that is what I am trying to find out. it looks as though you have gotten further than me. maybe you can send me some pictures or post them here.

[email protected]

I didn't manage to push the brass out, but the driverboard is easy to take out. It seems like the brass is melted to the body, i tried to use pliers etc, but it didn't work. seems like it wouldn't work. I think we misunderstood each other
You can take the black cover for the LED off, and then you will see the driver board, without damaging it!
If you don't wanna take the glued cover off, i can send you some pics!

my cover on the front is white. yes I would like pics. I don't want to go prying it off and knock the dome off the LED. so you are saying that once the front cover is off, the whole thing comes out the front. are there screws under there or something? mine may be sealed shut. please send pics.

Thanks

Strange..
You will see what's under the cover in the E-mail i just sent! I really hope this was what you were looking for. I guess i can take the driver board from the body, but i have to pop it out from inside the body!

i think it unscrews from front. you may have to use too small screwdrivers or similar to twist it counter clockwise.

anyone else mess with one of these?

update, I installed one fully charged imr 16340 - 2.95a at tailcap. much brighter than my laptop 18650 (1.75a). I am now charging my other 18650 to see what it will top out at. might be the protection circuit limiting it. I also tried an Ultrafire lc 17670 1800mah that I use in a different light. I got 2.60a at tail cap. It would seem this driver is capable of supplying full current to the LED depending on battery. no need for the other driver unless I am missing something.

I really don't know why I can't find more on here regarding this light. I wish I could test its actuall output.

Mike

Can someone of the MTE M3-2i owners tell anything about the beam quality? That light uses an optic, correct? I want to know if there is any donut hole.

I will try that soon!

There is no donut Hole in it, just a large large hotspot, no rings but some artifacts. It's actually a pretty good light for 60$. it feels like it has top quality, bu after what i've have discovered with the dim light and modes doesn't work, i actually aren't too happy with it, and i'm also afraid for it for the smoke
from the led. The beam quality is special.. No rings but some strange artifacts. It's no donu Hole in it, just a little little little dim hole, but that is not visible if you don't concentrate to fond the hole..

mat, what batteries were you using when you had problem. Light is only supposed to run on one 3.7v li-on. or 2 cr123 primaries. two 3.7v batteries = kill driver

Fichtenelch said:

Can someone of the MTE M3-2i owners tell anything about the beam quality? That light uses an optic, correct? I want to know if there is any donut hole.

Click to expand...

I made just now some short video, I have it for one day and I was looking for beam like this! Huge bright hotspot with almost no halo. I like it. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvaudSLKCRY

Does anyone know where to buy such a collimator lens? The Video looks nice, but you can't really tell the brightness, since the camera auto-adjusts. However, i like the hotspot.

mfilippello said:

mat, what batteries were you using when you had problem. Light is only supposed to run on one 3.7v li-on. or 2 cr123 primaries. two 3.7v batteries = kill driver

Click to expand...

Sorry for late answer,
i used the 18650 batteries Greg is selling.

Mathias, just send it back to me if you don't like the driver and I'll swap out the whole module with a P7-D module for free, no problem.

I told you to send it back when you originally said the driver didn't drive as hard as your Grandmother's light and you said you would send it after school was over but you never did...

I have a bunch of P7-D modules and drivers I keep for repairing lights but none ever fail so I have a bunch extra.

Thanks,
G. McGee
:wave: