Problems w/magnum mod

[b00stzx3]

Hey guys, got probs. with my Magnum. Thought I got everything I needed, got a Dorcy (Dorcy International - Flashlights, LED Flashlights, Flashlight Batteries, Flashlight Bulbs) 9-led AAA flashlight, CR2s with charger, Napa 1/8 tire valve and 1/2 inch tubing to make my Magnum. My dad and me are trying to put it together and ran into some problems. I hate to waste space with problems, but we can't figure it out. The flashlight is different than Madogs, but we follwed both of his videos. Check out the pics to see what I'm working with. How do we connect the power to the tire valve connector? Its the 1/8 inch Napa one, exact one Madog suggested. First problem is the LED board is sperate from the bottom peice, and how to connect the tire valve to the power. We watched the video and are still clueless.

 

[nicowolf]

The pics didn't show up.

 

[Ripley]

If I'm envisioning your dilemma correctly, here's how the light works. There should be 2 rings on the circuit board, one inner and one outer. The outer ring "grounds" to the flashlight casing/body. The inner ring contacts the positive.

You should be able to get away with just soldering one wire to the inner ring, one wire to the outer ring of the PCB. Once you've done this put it together as best you can with a battery inside and test the circuit with a voltmeter. Don't put the lens in because it will be difficult to get back out, use a plastic spoon or something insulated to hold the PCB inside the flashlight and pressed against the battery.

Once you've verified the circuit, solder your switch into the positive side of the wiring. Connect the outer ring to the "outside" of the tire valve, and the switched positive to the to the screw. Verify you don't have any shorts (OHMS) once your "adapter" is soldered to the PCB.

Hot glue/epoxy everything into place, put everything together and again test your circuit for shorts, then with a battery with the switch activated. The center screw should be positive, the outer part of the tire-valve should be negative.

Hope this helps.

 

[Laredo7mm]

What Ripley is saying is true, but that only works with a metal cased flash light. Following the link that the OP provided shows that the lights in question have a plastic case. So there must be more going on than what is the norm.

Basically you want to connect the battery neg terminal, to one side of the switch, and from the other side of the switch to the outside of the tire valve. Then connect from the positive terminal of the battery to the pin that you put inside the tire valve.

Once the atomizer is in place, it finishes the loop, and once the switch is pressed, current flows.

Could you post a picture of the light's internals? That might help us to envision what you are working with.

 

[b00stzx3]

Thanks for the advice guys! I've been having trouble with my digital camera connection, I might've jammed it too many times. Camera phone sucks to. My sis is coming home from Virginia tonight, I'll borrow hers.

 

[nicowolf]

One plastic flashlight I bought had long metal pieces attached to the inside of the plastic casing, running almost the length of the casing. That is how the negative contact was made. You could use that same concept. Use epoxy to affix a piece of conductive metal to the inside wall of the flashlight so that the metal makes contact with either the negative end of the battery or the spring once the tailcap is on. If there is a Harbor Freight in your area, they have a couple of flashlights for $8 each that work beautifully for this mod, then you wouldn't have to modify the flashlight in order to modify the flashlight. Just a thought.

 

[b00stzx3]

 

[mjp808]

You will get it to work. Keep your multimeter handy to check continuance. Make sure you have a good circuit and solid, precise soldering. As long as you understand the basic circuit, you can improvise and deviate from the video a bit--I know I did. The 2 main problems I had were short circuit/non-isolated flow and bad soldering. Hope that helps.

 

[b00stzx3]

Thanks for the tips everyone!!! I've been drawing this thread out, I'm sorry. Midterms this week/last week so vaping hasn't been on my mind. Anyways, there was a Harbor Freight store in the ghetto so I went ahead and bout the exact flashlight maddog had, shouldn't confuse my dad as much. I have very little electrical knowledge compared to him so I need him to help with this. I'll post up when we finally get it done, and maybe even my first youtube video haha. Thanks!!

 

[Laredo7mm]

Nicowolf called it right about the long metal strip in the flash light body. The tail and the top both have metal strips on them, plus the part attached to the LED has a metal ring (on the battery side). Basically all of these metal parts are the negative side of your circuit.

All you have to do is get that negative attached to the outside of the part you are going to connect your atomizer to, and then have an insulted positive lead inside that piece that connects to the positive end of the battery.

By the way, it might just be the picture, but it looks like the piece you are intending to use as the male thread for your atomizer, is the wrong size. It looks like a 1/4 NPT and I think you need a 1/8 NPT thread. Or what ever a tire valve is. Still not a perfect fit for the atomizer, but good enough, just don't over tighten.