Converting SL4 Xenon > LED?

[livewire]

Thanks all to have replied. At this point, I have tried to re-create the issue in a bowl of straight tap water, a bowl of iced water (temp in low 50's), and in air, but can't reproduce the behavior. In a bowl of water on the kitchen counter, there is no movement, so I'm starting to believe it's likely contacts. Heat doesn't seem to be a factor at all (can't really even feel the warmth), and the SOS mode is most likely out too, considering that from the retailer's description this LED supposedly has no SOS mode, but it came from Hong Kong, so who the hell knows what they really shipped me. In any case, I've tested that theory, and rapid switching doesn't seem to make it happen, so I'm apt to believe the retailer's description is accurate. Beach conditions have been lousy for diving the last couple weekends, so this light hasn't made it back in the ocean yet, but on my next dive I may just go with it as is, and if it happens again, I'll get rough and start smacking it around to see if that fixes it. And if not, maybe the soldering iron will have to come into the picture. Still, issues or not, the new drop-in rocks!

 

[aldijo2]

does the polarity on all 4 batteries in a sly have to be inverted?

 

[Mitchell Teeters]

Yes put them in backward.

 

[aldijo2]

thanks!

 

[jjblomquist]

Still just guessing, but your symptoms might still be consistent with intermittent contact. Heating moves something, then cooling re-establishes contact. Don't know if there's a failure mode on the driver board itself that could manifest that way, but mechanical contact somewhere probably could.

I was using 3 SL-4s with Q5 or R2 drop-in modules this last weekend, above and below water. Each has a slightly different 'spacer' solution. One with a pair of welded rings would sometimes flicker at rapid frequency. Twisting the head slightly one way or another would stabilize it again. They all occasionally lose contact and have to be smacked or have the head twisted. With 30 minutes or so continuous use above water, barely perceptible heating of the casing by the head was all that could be detected. Those modules don't seem to run very hot.

Hi Guy's sounds like you are lossing your ground. Reminder at depth your light is compressing. So if you have just lose spacers they may push back at depth and make the light flicker. Also I always crimp the Brass pill in the reflector so it doesn't unscrew from the heating and cooling.