Please help with my epic failure on a simple build

Ok, I'm trying to build a simple 300mw red. I'm using an Aurora kit from Jay, and this diode: LPC-815 20x DVD burner laser lens assembly w/ red laser diode [M0021] - $8.99 : Modwerx Shop

I'm also using a V5 Flexdrive set to 345ma using Flaminpyro's test load set to red, and some of his silicone wire. I'm powering it with a Tenergy 2600ma 18650.

I've killed 3 diodes so far. First time I had the driver set to 475ma (my mistake, I misread the safe current) so when that diode died, I figured it was from too much power. So I set it to 345ma. 2nd diode worked outside the host for awhile (maybe a minute or so) but when I put it together, it died as soon as I turned it on. I took it apart and noticed things were pretty twisted up, and thought something got messed up, so I ordered a 3rd one, and planned to shorten the wire, and do a tighter/neater job.

So I hooked up the 3rd diode, and tried it for awhile, it seemed fine. Left for awhile, came back and tried it again before I assembled it, and it was dead.

I'm really lost here. All 3 diodes were in the heatsink before turning on. I'm seating them with a diode press. This isn't my first build, granted I'm not a pro, but I've built a 1500ma 445, and a 500ma Blu Ray so far (both using the solarforce host kit) and had no problems with either build. Any help anyone can offer would be great. :thinking:

longer wires might actually hellp in some cases. theres more room for twisting with longer wires.. short wires twisting can cause breaks more easily. if your discharging your capacitor and dont have current going during the diode hook-up then you have to have a short somewhere causing them to die. the only other thing i can think of is that you may be killing it during extraction but if the second and third worked for a while then its not likely. it really sounds like some sort of short in you build. make sure all connections and bare areas that conduct current/electricity are covered.

You might have gotten one dud....
The first two died for good reasons, you use good esd precautions?
I made a "static detector" with a FET and a LED a while back so I know when anything around has a charge (it flickers when I brush my hair or take laundry out of the dryer in the other room)
ESD can weaken a diode and it will have a severely shortened life even if it doesn't kill it outright.
How long are you taking to solder on the diode? Heat will kill it almost as fast as static.
Best of luck in the future man, I have killed a couple of 445nm diodes

ndrew2505 said:

longer wires might actually hellp in some cases. theres more room for twisting with longer wires.. short wires twisting can cause breaks more easily. if your discharging your capacitor and dont have current going during the diode hook-up then you have to have a short somewhere causing them to die. the only other thing i can think of is that you may be killing it during extraction but if the second and third worked for a while then its not likely. it really sounds like some sort of short in you build. make sure all connections and bare areas that conduct current/electricity are covered.

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Hmmm, this brings me to another wild theory I had, but now maybe it makes sense. With diode #1 and #2 I tried them both with power hooked up to the driver directly, and they were great. They only both died when I had it assembled. (power going through the pill/pcb) diode #3 I didn't have assembled, but I had wired to the pill/pcb and it died much quicker than the 1st 2. I thought maybe there was some short in the pill/pcb setup, so I tested it by hooking up power through it to the test load, and it measured 345ma fine. Then I set my meter up for conducitivity test and got nothing when touching the outside of the pill and the spring on the pcb. Am I overlooking something? Could this be a problem? Wouldn't the short show up while testing the driver and with the meter? Would a short in power going into the driver translate into something in the output that would kill a diode?

Also forgot to mention, I'm on my 2nd driver here too. After the 1st diode pooped, I used the driver to power my 12x Blu ray. (and its still fine) so I spose that rules out a driver issue.

The first two died for good reasons, you use good esd precautions?

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I build/work on a lot of PC's (been doing it since I was a kid) and I'm pretty cautious about ESD. If I was zapping the diodes, wouldn't they be dead from the start and not ever work at all?

How long are you taking to solder on the diode? Heat will kill it almost as fast as static.

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I'm pretty quick at it, I only just touch it. But like static, wouldn't that kill the diode right away and it would never work to start with?