I need help with my 1.9W 445! Please!

[Jollyrajer73]

So I'm really unsure what is going on. I need help figuring out exactly what is going on and what I need to do to fix my laser. I think that there are one of three things happening... one that battery is shot, two the driver is done or three the diode needs to be replaced.

I've fully charged the battery and then checked its voltage with my dmm and it reads 4.0V. The battery is a 3.7V 18650 2600mAh Li-ion battery so im not sure if it should be at 4.0V...?

Here is a video i just made to show what happens.



What usually happens is it does one of two things. It either dims immediately or just as in the video above it will lase bright for a good 15-30 seconds then after an additional 15-30 seconds will become very dim at this point begins to pulse bright then dim and so on...

NOTE: A dual flex driver was used in this build. So I think that the pulsing flash is because of that; meaning that the driver isnt getting enough power diode due to a bad battery??? So this could either be a battery problem or a driver problem.

I doubt that its a diode issue but the possibility remains because I'm really unsure what exactly is going on. haha ugh...

So let me know what you think if you think you can be helpful or if you think you know what might be going on!

Do you think this is either the battery, driver, or the diode???
Please! Any advice could be a great help!

Thanks and all the best to everyone!

- Raj Rohila :thinking:

 

[DTR]

The battery should come out of the charger with 4.2V when fully charged. 3.6V is the nominal rating. My first though would be a current issue. Can you try a different battery? Also I noticed it looks like either your lens or diode window may be a little dirty.

 

[jimdt7]

The diode should be fine, also the 3.7V 18650 batteries can reach 4.2V, without a problem, i think the drivers have a problem or a bad battery contact. Put some alchohol on a que-tip and rub it on the contacts.

 

[Wolfman29]

Are the drivers well heatsinked? If not, I would expect the flashing/dimming.

 

[Eudaimonium]

Yeah I'll definitely bet on driver overheating. If the diode was shot you would never get the full power back, which you do every time you let it cool off and start over.

When did this start to happen, ever since you got the laser, or just recently? Where did you buy it?

I'm pretty sure one would need to attach the drivers to some sort of makeshift heatsink, or what DTR usually does (have half-moon sinks to thermally connect them to entire host).

Can you take it apart?

 

[Jollyrajer73]

DTR & jimdt7: I do need to try a different battery but I currently do not have anymore 18650's. Im going to order a new one and first see if that is the issue. I was thinking of getting a UltraFire 18650 unless someone thinks a different brand will be more worth my time and money.
Before I receive my new battery I'm going to check and clean all contacts, then if the same issues repeat then I'll know its not a contact connection or battery problem.
I hope it's just the battery but then if those issues persist then ill know that either the diode is having problems or that the drivers are malfunctioning due to other reasons.

Wolfman29: Im pretty sure that the drivers are fine when it comes to overheating but as i said above if the issues persist ill resort to other trouble shooting to further pinpoint the cause. I will look into making a more efficient heatsink just to better the longevity of the entire unit. It couldn't hurt anything I'm sure of that!! :crackup:


Thank you all
your comments are all greatly appreciated! :beer:

I can't wait to get a new battery now to see if thats all that needs to be replaced! :thanks:


Take care everyone

 

[Jollyrajer73]

Eudaimonium: It just started today and this is the first time this issue has occurred. Yes I can take it apart I bought it from DTR.

 

[Eudaimonium]

Well if that's the case, just see if you can take a peek on the driver setup - are they still attached to their heatsinks, or perhaps they somehow detached and are overheating.

Ofcourse, of DTR approves.

 

[Jollyrajer73]

Well if that's the case, just see if you can take a peek on the driver setup - are they still attached to their heatsinks, or perhaps they somehow detached and are overheating.

Ofcourse, of DTR approves.

You have a valid point! :beer:
Ill take a peak in the morning I need to go to sleep as is lol

 

[Jollyrajer73]

okay so i took her apart and cleaned all contact surfaces and made sure they were all clean. After further inspection the drivers could use some half moon heatsinks though I dont think this is the cause of my problem. Im pretty sure its just my battery because the battery drops in voltage about 0.10V every 30 - 45 minuets just sitting...

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

okay so i took her apart and cleaned all contact surfaces and made sure they were all clean. After further inspection the drivers could use some half moon heatsinks though I dont think this is the cause of my problem. Im pretty sure its just my battery because the battery drops in voltage about 0.10V every 30 - 45 minuets just sitting...

For a dual flexdrive build rated at 1.9W, using a shitty xxxxFire Battery is sort of like putting regular into a porsche...

Grab yourself a good battery: AW 18650 Protected 2200 mAh Rechargeable Lithium Battery

This definitely sounds like strictly a problem with the battery.

 

[Jollyrajer73]

For a dual flexdrive build rated at 1.9W, using a shitty xxxxFire Battery is sort of like putting regular into a porsche...

Grab yourself a good battery: AW 18650 Protected 2200 mAh Rechargeable Lithium Battery

This definitely sounds like strictly a problem with the battery.

Hey thanks for the input and link :beer:

Yeah if I get a new battery and this problem persists then im going to make some good heatsinks for the drivers.

Thanks everyone so much!

This makes me feel so welcome again after being absent for nearly 5 months! It's truly is appreciated!!! :thanks:

 

[BShanahan14rulz]

Jolly! I'm too late to the party, but it is 95% sure that the battery is the issue. Recycle that cell, it is way past its useful life.

AW and Redilast sell good cells.

 

[LKY2009]

I doubt that it's the drivers. They generally don't require heat sinking below 1000mA Since this is dual set up; they would each be set to 900mA.

 

[DTR]

Yes definitely get a quality cell as your current draw can go as high as 3A during the battery cycle and crapfire batteries just won't cut it. The AW's would be my first choice and Sanyo's if on a budget.

A single flexdrive set to 900mA would not need to be heatsinked but I have noticed the more you boost the hotter they get and I do recommend that you heatsink dual flexdrives set to 900mA each. This was one of my earlier builds but I am pretty sure I would have sinked the drivers at the very least back to back.:thinking:

 

[proud2deviate]

My 445 had precisely the same issue before I went to an AW cell. Drove me about nuts trying to figure it out.