Third boost driver not working....

[Cube777]

Hi LPF,

Currently I'm building a M140 build, and I decided to go the boost driver/18650 battery route. At first I ordered a FMT from Cliff, then a X-Boost, and now a 1W boost driver from John over at Odicforce. All of them provided a output current significantly lower than the advertised output current, and and the current changed as I changed the amount of diodes on my dummy load. The dummy load works correctly and I have tested multiple power supplies (all of them good as well) but still no use... I was also grounded while working with the driver so no ESD problems... I'm thinking it good be the X-rays from customs when importing them (I know a person who's phone got fried by an X-Ray machine at the airport), or am I way off? Anything else I can try? Its also not the solder connections that's the problem... I'm thinking of building my own LM317 driver and using 2X 16340's if I can't get this fixed. Thank you for the reading and any help would be great! :thanks:

 

[Blaster]

Well the xrays may have something to do with it? But as far as the phone that is a definate. I went through the xray machine twice about 15 minutes apart before an overseas flight to Singapore my phone S2 galaxy was perfect ....on putting it to flight mode in the plane for the flight ....it never woke up again it no matter what i did would never come alive again network wise and i claimed insurance and got another phone which frankly was a real pain. I had spent as we all do a ton of time getting it just right.and whammy dead in a coma after the xray machine. Moral of story make sure your phone is turned off going through the xray ..mine over the years had been through many times but twice in 15 minutes was too much ...good luck on the driver issue it can be very frustrating ...

QUOTE=Cube777;1242531]Hi LPF,

Currently I'm building a M140 build, and I decided to go the boost driver/18650 battery route. At first I ordered a FMT from Cliff, then a X-Boost, and now a 1W boost driver from John over at Odicforce. All of them provided a output current significantly lower than the advertised output current, and and the current changed as I changed the amount of diodes on my dummy load. The dummy load works correctly and I have tested multiple power supplies (all of them good as well) but still no use... I was also grounded while working with the driver so no ESD problems... I'm thinking it good be the X-rays from customs when importing them (I know a person who's phone got fried by an X-Ray machine at the airport), or am I way off? Anything else I can try? Its also not the solder connections that's the problem... I'm thinking of building my own LM317 driver and using 2X 16340's if I can't get this fixed. Thank you for the reading and any help would be great! :thanks:[/QUOTE]

 

[NKO29]

Congrats on 1k posts blaster!! And maybe they double scanned the driver and it died, otherwise I have no idea lol. AFAIK the X-ray machines shouldn't damage anything...

 

[Jufran88]

Hmm, that's odd all three of them don't work. Here's something to try - put your test load on its lowest setting or if not use 1-2 diodes. Then measure the output to see if its giving you the right current. Boost drivers can only boost so much and go out of regulation.

What was your original set up when you first tested them? Input voltage, test load setting, etc.

 

[benmwv]

If you measure the input voltage before and while its running, input current, output current, and output voltage it will be much easier to find the problem

 

[andrewb]

What are you using for a power supply?

I've had issues trying to use a bench power supply with boost drivers. There are other threads about this, and I forget the technical reason (something about driving a current source with a current source), but if you haven't done so already, try driving it straight from the battery, rather than a bench supply.

 

[daguin]

Yeah. It sounds like your power supply is NOT giving you the current needed.

I have a small bench supply that WILL NOT supply the rated 2A at lower voltages

Peace,
dave

 

[djQUAN]

Xray shouldn't damage electronics. Special quality checks use Xray on parts to see if they are properly mounted on the boards.

 

[ped]

As has been said, there are multiple issues with using a bench power supply and there are threads about it.

I use 2 18650's in parallel with croc leads soldered on to set up drivers.

 

[Cyparagon]

And to re-iterate those points briefly:

Switching supplies draw large current pulses, and constant voltage supplies usually have trouble responding to the quickly changing currents. This may cause them to drop out of regulation or even shutdown on over-current mode. You can often fix the problem by putting a large filter cap on the power supply.

 

[foulmist]

For the fmt drive you need a good 4A or better power supply to properly test it. or a good high discharge li-ion battery.

Depends on diodes on the test load also. Use 2 or 3 diodes depending on your application and voltage drop.

 

[Cube777]

Hi guys,

Sorry for the long wait, I was to busy to test the driver yesterday. The power supply I used previously is an ATX power supply I converted, and I used variable voltage output I built in (LM338 circuit - should be able to handle up to 8A) so I don't think there was a problem with the current output. Although I tested it with the batteries as well, I got the same results. The driver I tested now (and the one I'm hoping to use) was the one I bought from Odicforce, It should have a fixed output of 1A:

Diodes.....Input A......Input V....Output A.....Output V
1.............0.34A.......3.94V.......0.516A.........1.40V
2.............0.31A.......3.94V.......0.453A.........2.17V
3.............0.60A.......3.77V.......0.450A.........3.00V
4.............0.70A.......3.77V.......0.387A.........3.77V
5.............0.30A.......3.86V.......0.312A.........4.48V
6.............0.30A.......3.98V.......0.173A.........4.92V
7.............0.06A.......4.02V.......0.035A.........5.20V

Hope this helps! :thanks:

EDIT: I see the "table" didn't render well on my PC, hope it is still readable on your browser.

SECOND EDIT: Thanks Cyparagon for the

 tip!

 

[foulmist]

Hi guys,
Diodes.....Input A......Input V....Output A.....Output V
1.............0.34A.......3.94V.......0.516A.........1.40V
2.............0.31A.......3.94V.......0.453A.........2.17V
3.............0.60A.......3.77V.......0.450A.........3.00V
4.............0.70A.......3.77V.......0.387A.........3.77V
5.............0.30A.......3.86V.......0.312A.........4.48V
6.............0.30A.......3.98V.......0.173A.........4.92V
7.............0.06A.......4.02V.......0.035A.........5.20V

is it me or this table makes no sense at all.... :thinking:

 

[NKO29]

Haha I wasn't going to say anything but yeah I can't pick what exactly what the table means :0

 

[Cube777]

The "Diode" part is the amount of diodes in series on my dummy load.... after that is just in input voltage, input current, output voltage and output current of the driver. If I understand correctly that was the info you guys needed? Is it readable in your browsers?

 

[Cyparagon]

You can use [/code] tags around it. This will keep the extra spaces and give every character the same spacing:

Diodes  Input A  Input V  Output A  Output V
1       0.34A    3.94V    0.516A    1.40V
2       0.31A    3.94V    0.453A    2.17V
3       0.60A    3.77V    0.450A    3.00V
4       0.70A    3.77V    0.387A    3.77V
5       0.30A    3.86V    0.312A    4.48V
6       0.30A    3.98V    0.173A    4.92V
7       0.06A    4.02V    0.035A    5.20V

Do you have access to an oscilloscope?