ACCIDENTS HAPPEN, AMATUERS INCLUSIVE!!!

I have a budget light called the DQG Tiny Triple XP-G2 26650. I noticed the bezel was loose. Instead of tightening it I decided to check out the LED's. After doing that I put the optic back on and tightened the bezel. Something did not seem right! What happened is when I Put the optic in I did not align the Three stems in the holes they are assigned to! so when I tightened it I partially de-domed Two out of the Three LED'S!


Here are a few pics. w/ my C20Cvn.










I did not get mad,,,I was actually laughing at my lack of concentration and stupidity!:shakehead It's ok,,,,,,,,,,I have a great idea. I will do my best to finish the de-doming the Two LED's that got partially de-domed!

Amateurs have to improvise. So I got my magnifying glass[helpful tool] and my Steak Knife! I went to work very carefully and meticulously scraping away the silicone dome.I am about a minute or Two into this and I said to myself,,,,,,HOLD ON CAPOLINI!!! You need to take the battery out for safety and take the head off so it is easier to work on. So I did this and meticulously worked on getting the rest of the domes off for about 10 minutes. I must say, it did not look too bad! I can't wait to see what Two dedomed and One domed beam looks like!

Well, I put it back together and NOTHING! So I got the magnifying glass out and I notice that the RED Wire was burned!:sigh: No doubt that I hit the exposed part of the wire at the solder joint.


It was Only a $40 light but it was a light w/ decent output[~1300 lumens] that produced beautifully diffused light from its TIR optic lens.

My guess is that I fried the driver. I don't have the proper tool to get to the driver. The beard/mustache trimmer scissors[!!!] that I have that work to take apart the tail cap/switch, will not work for this. It may even be glued?

Would you guys agree or could it be just a resistor or some other electrical component shorted out?


It certainly would NOT be worth it to send it To Vihn or someone like him. I would believe that Two way shipping costs plus repair would at least equal and probably exceed $40!

It gives me an excuse to get another torch! I only have 4 EDC'S left now! I am keeping my EYE on that Nitecore EC11 plus a likely "VN" attached to it!

Yo there matey, urr oops, dont worry weve all had moments like this. By all means send me the light and I will keep it and use it

If not, try directly hooking up a battery to the the led board to see if it lights ( not imr though eh ). If they are good just measure the board size and order a new board from fast tech or kaidomain . I think fast tech do a directdrive five mode which would suit the tripple. Should get a nice increase in top end with that too. They are not expensive.

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/...-5v-5-mode-led-flashlight-direct-drive-driver

Cap, you are a genius. You have invented rapid dedoming! This sounds WAY faster than gasoline!

a Genuis all right!

I just tried hooking the battery to the LED Board,,,NOTHING,,,,,,,,,,,I must have fried the driver!

Even if it worked, I don't have a solder gun, other equipment or knowledge to swap drivers! Thanks for the suggestion.

Must have broken a connection. Whether or not it shorted and ate itself is anyone's guess. Since it's borked, why not hook non-IMR protected lion battery leads straight to the LED, bypassing the driver? Driver might not be jacked up, might just need to reflow the LED.

There's a ton of help on CPF about LED reflow. Not scary at all. Also, solder GUNS (at least the one I have) are wicked overkill for small electronics... I use mine to make clutch and brake cables. A fine-tip soldering iron is to be had for super cheap.

Learning to solder is cake. Being good at it is only slightly tougher.

Best of luck sir. I wouldn't trash that light yet. I would at least finish breaking it first.

How do you hook the battery up straight to the LED? I got all parts off that I could. I got the retaining ring that holds the driver in but can't get the driver out!

Just checked,both my 26650 are "UNPROTECTED"!

Drat. If I were next door, I'd bring over my 0-12v adjustable power supply and we'd direct drive that LED and get to the bottom of this.

Got a AA or AAA x 4 series battery holder? They sell them at Radio Shack (among other places.) You could just put 3 Mcnairs in it, jumper the empty spot, then touch the leads directly to the LED and it'd be safe. 4 cells series probably wouldn't hurt either.

It's a great little flashaholic's tool to have, those black plastic 4 cell series cases. They even have a switch on them. I use a pair of them in series to run allegedly "12 volt automotive" led junk. Man, that stuff is usually junk, too... fries at its rated voltage off of alkalines, for pete's sake.

This light takes 18650 also. I tried that to the LED board and nothing. I don't know how to get it directly to the LED like your talking about. I have the LEDS EXPOSED by taking off the lens and optic. I have the retaining ring off to get to the driver,,,,but I can't get that out of the light!

Can you see the terminals the wires are soldered to on the LED star? Touch voltage there. If no dice with 3-4.7 volts, then the LED needs a reflow or you've got a broken wire to the star.

No idea if that light is LEDx3 in series or parallel or 3 channel. Unfamiliar with that model.

ok,,,,,,,,,,I will try that. I will be back in a minute!

ZILCH!!!! NO VOLTAGE!

I want to make sure I did this right!! I used my voltage meter like I was checking my 3.7v L.ion batteries. Nothing registered

Edit: Battery in, switch on, no voltage at LED... broken connection somewhere or driver fry.

more_vampires said:

Did you try swapping the polarity? LED wants its polarity one way. Positive to positive negative to negative.

If so, the driver is out of the picture and it's something about the star, the connections to the star, and possible broken connection at the LED itself.

Were I a betting individual, I'd say since the LED itself received enough mechanical force to dedome the led, that the led needs to be reflow soldered.

Click to expand...

YES! I think!!! I put RED W/ RED, BLACK W/ BLACK,THEN I REVERSED that,is that what u mean?! Nothing registered either way.

I don't think your driver is fried, I think there's a broken connection at the LED itself. You might try getting in touch with your local amateur radio club because there is an almost 100% chance that at least one of them has the gear to fix it.

Call for backup!

Upon further review,,,,,,,,I think I DESTROYED THE BOND WIRES!! :laughing: Also as i mentioned in OP the RED wire was singed a bit! :shakehead

Thanks for your help more vampires

I have come to the conclusion that several things were damaged/destroyed!

Two of the Three LED's no longer have bond wires!!!! The RED wire was singed/blackened a bit by me shorting it out w/ my special "Filet Mignon" knife!!!

ALL of this is beyond my skills to bring it back to life!

Anytime, Cap! :thumbsup:

Yep, It's done, stick a fork (or knife ) in it. Not many could redo the tiny bond wires on the led die itself, that's like major brain surgery. It's beyond me, personally.

Sounds like it's down to a full rebuild now. Driver status unknown, 2 confirmed dead LED. Shame to throw away such a nice-looking host, though.

more_vampires said:

Anytime, Cap! :thumbsup:

Yep, It's done, stick a fork (or knife ) in it. Not many could redo the tiny bond wires on the led die itself, that's like major brain surgery. It's beyond me, personally.

Sounds like it's down to a full rebuild now. Driver status unknown, 2 confirmed dead LED. Shame to throw away such a nice-looking host, though.

Click to expand...

It really was a nice light,,,,,,,,,,,and for only $40. Mine was V2,,,,,V1 had problems that apparently were resolved.

Supposedly the SMALLEST 26650 light. It is/was basically a mini TN36 which I got a few weeks ago!

I won't throw it away. I will probably send it to Vihn and he can have it. As I indicated earlier b/w shipping and repair cost it would be cheaper to get a new one. Mt. Electronics where I got it is selling it for a few dollars less now!

Lack of concentration happens to the best of us! I have taken that TIR optic off about a half dozen times and carefully placed it back in. Not today!

The BOND WIRES!! I have a hand held magnifying glass which I was NOT able to hold during my operation!! IF I had one on a tripod I would have seen the bond wires!!!

ALL IN ALL,,,,,,a good learning experience. I am grateful it was not one of my high powered modded treasures!

may be you can contact whoever you bought the light from to see if you can buy the circuit for cheap? IIRC the LEDs and the circuits are on the same boards...Might be expensive either way...

vinhnguyen54 said:

may be you can contact whoever you bought the light from to see if you can buy the circuit for cheap? IIRC the LEDs and the circuits are on the same boards...Might be expensive either way...

Click to expand...

Thanks,light now costs $38! I was thinking of just giving it to you,,,,,you fix up and keep it!

I got it from Richard[Mt. Elec.]