Old P6 led upgrade....NOTHING works!

I've searched/lurked here for weeks. Tried every bit of advice I've seen. Tested, re-tested. I can't get ANY LES drop in to work on my old P6s. I've cut springs, removed springs, wrapped foil, meter tested, jumped wires, switched bodies/heads? I can throw the old PJ-3 Laser Products heads in, and they run fine. I've got some cheap LEDs and some good ones. They all run in other, 18650 lights, but not in the 2x123 lights, even though rated to beyond 6v. I'm new to the flashlight tinkering, but not to electronics in general, and the ONLY idea I have is: the ratings on these LEDs are off and they're incompatible with 6V? Need any help. FWIW, these are old weapon light bodies from 351/651 Beretta mounts, but convinced that's irrelevant?

Thanks.

Not an expert on the old weaponlights, but aren't they configured for opposite polarity?
And maybe a related continuity issue ...

If that is the situation, most if not all LED modules will not operate in that config.
Other more informed answers incoming for sure.
And BTW, :welcome:

Kestrel is probably right. If the lights in question are the old Nitrolon bodied pistol mount versions the center contact is the negative side of the battery. I tried to figure out how to pull one apart to switch the polarities but it looked to be way more work than I wanted to spend on. And the batt holder design doesn't allow for the batteries to just be turned around 180 deg.

They're alloy bodied, identical to any other 6P, as far as I can tell. The batteries will reverse... and Holy Crap! That works! Never even occurred to me. Thanks for that idea! I was about ready to hang them on the range. lol

I still can't get them to work in the solarforce bodies i have, but playing with copper tape now.

Reversed. Who knew?

hh4whiskey said:

[...] Reversed. Who knew?

Click to expand...

CPF did, lol.

hh4whiskey said:

They're alloy bodied, identical to any other 6P, as far as I can tell. The batteries will reverse... and Holy Crap! That works! Never even occurred to me. Thanks for that idea! I was about ready to hang them on the range. lol

I still can't get them to work in the solarforce bodies i have, but playing with copper tape now.

Reversed. Who knew?

Click to expand...

I chuckled at that as yesterday morning I spent 2 hours cleaning inside a (different kind of ) light that had so much build up a cell would not fit. (Even started a thread asking which battery does this darn thing take.)

Got down to see-ing nothing but shiney metal and still no light.

Put battery in button backwards and viola!
Like you said "who knew?" And like Kestrel said "CPF knew"...I found a diagram from 2004 here that lead me to try it.

Glad you got yours going.

hh4whiskey said:

I can throw the old PJ-3 Laser Products heads in, and they run fine.
Thanks.

Click to expand...

I didn't know about your particular light, but I have three laser pointers, and all three require that the batteries go in backwards (compared to how we would think), so the fact that your laser heads worked, I suspected that it may be a battery polarity issue.

Glad that some here knew the solution to your problem and that you got it figured out!

Apparently, the laser products P60 lamps are reversed polarity, or made to work that way? The solarforce bodies work with the batteries/polarity flipped from what the P60s require, also.

....and I've got 10-12 of the P3 bodies/heads/lamps and beretta 92F/M9 mounts to find something to do with now? Who makes some multi-mode (bright to VERY dim), colored drop-ins for maybe making some tiny tac lights? Best switches?

playing with custom lights and malkoff stuff, but open to ideas.

Just as well your drivers were reverse protected or you'd have fried them.
I like a happy ending.
P

hh4whiskey said:

Apparently, the laser products P60 lamps are reversed polarity, or made to work that way? The solarforce bodies work with the batteries/polarity flipped from what the P60s require, also.

Click to expand...

Designed to work that way most likely.