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Wow. "Cool". lol and ROFL.
Now, I want to come up with all sorts of uses for this.... an inverter added would be great. Then, when you give up e-cigging, you could have a 5v "night light" controller by adding some more LEDs instead of an atty. The list goes on........
I'll be here all week. Seriously though,
LEDs are funny things. They act as emitters when current passes through them, and COLLECTORS when receiving light (usually IR). So you can actually use an LED as a sensor, although dedicated sensors (like IR receivers) are better for the task.
What does this mean to you?
Well, I assume that the LED, in your case, is wired to the control pin on the regulator either directly or indirectly via a short. The LED should not be on the control pin. The fix should be to get it off there and have it wired, with a resistor, to voltage out and ground (the ground side of the resistor, not the control pin side of the resistor).
I am guessing that the LED is putting out enough current to pull the control pin high. Just a guess. I can't tell how it is wired from the pics. OR THERES A SHORT SOMEHOW, or other malfunction.
Maybe you can tell us more about how it is wired, without having to destroy it? Or maybe someone else has one of these and has torn it apart and could tell us how it is wired.
Hope this helps. For now, use the master switch to turn it off when you set it down.
P.S. You sure it's not http://www.madvapes.com/5v-510-Box-Mod-Kit_p_2790.html - the DIY one?
Now, I want to come up with all sorts of uses for this.... an inverter added would be great. Then, when you give up e-cigging, you could have a 5v "night light" controller by adding some more LEDs instead of an atty. The list goes on........
I'll be here all week. Seriously though,
LEDs are funny things. They act as emitters when current passes through them, and COLLECTORS when receiving light (usually IR). So you can actually use an LED as a sensor, although dedicated sensors (like IR receivers) are better for the task.
What does this mean to you?
Well, I assume that the LED, in your case, is wired to the control pin on the regulator either directly or indirectly via a short. The LED should not be on the control pin. The fix should be to get it off there and have it wired, with a resistor, to voltage out and ground (the ground side of the resistor, not the control pin side of the resistor).
I am guessing that the LED is putting out enough current to pull the control pin high. Just a guess. I can't tell how it is wired from the pics. OR THERES A SHORT SOMEHOW, or other malfunction.
Maybe you can tell us more about how it is wired, without having to destroy it? Or maybe someone else has one of these and has torn it apart and could tell us how it is wired.
Hope this helps. For now, use the master switch to turn it off when you set it down.
P.S. You sure it's not http://www.madvapes.com/5v-510-Box-Mod-Kit_p_2790.html - the DIY one?
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I knew it was just completing a circuit somehow, but wasn't sure how.
I have the DIY one, too, my brother in law put that one together. This one I ordered from MadVapes pre assembled... Now it's not going past red (the first color) it use to come on red, go to green, and shut off. The DIY one had several colors it went though. Is the pre assembled one supposed to, as well?
As far as I can see one side of the LED goes to the 510 connector (the outer part) and one side goes through a resistor and then to the circuit board which is upside down so I don't know where it goes, from there..
Now, it comes on with a red light, the light goes out but it's still working(when it would have been green), then it goes back to red.. Mine is wired just like the one in the picture on the site, but instead of just having that tiny resistor at the top right of the board it has a bigger one on the top left side.. I can't tell if it's connected to the regulator but the resistor itself is touching a solder joint between the regulator and where the resistor pin goes into the board (if that makes sense?)
Yeah, I'll have to bow out and let someone that has torn one of these apart comment. Without looking at the connections, I don't know what to say. Since you said you are burning atties up, it must be activating, and not just going through the LED, but activating the MOSFET. So check for juice shorts if you can, otherwise you'd have to tear it apart to find out. Hell, who knows, maybe the MOSFET is getting old too.
I'm not sure I understand your description. The resistor body is not conductive, just the wires. Still, make sure it isn't shorting. In post #4, since the LED goes to the atty outer shell, that should be a common ground, and should be isolated from the activation pin with a resistor on the PCB already. So this makes no sense to me. I'd check for a short with maybe a wet connection (e-juice?).
The easiest solution is probably to cover the led with black tape or something opaque to IR/Light and not worry about it too much. If you suspect a short however, be careful with it or have someone look at it. Also, check for button failure just for fun. I'm really surprised that it could collect enough current to activate the MOSFET with just sunlight, but who knows.....
P.S. You might get more responses/ideas in the modders section.....
I'm not sure I understand your description. The resistor body is not conductive, just the wires. Still, make sure it isn't shorting. In post #4, since the LED goes to the atty outer shell, that should be a common ground, and should be isolated from the activation pin with a resistor on the PCB already. So this makes no sense to me. I'd check for a short with maybe a wet connection (e-juice?).
The easiest solution is probably to cover the led with black tape or something opaque to IR/Light and not worry about it too much. If you suspect a short however, be careful with it or have someone look at it. Also, check for button failure just for fun. I'm really surprised that it could collect enough current to activate the MOSFET with just sunlight, but who knows.....
P.S. You might get more responses/ideas in the modders section.....
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I didn't think the resistor itself would carry any current.. good to know.... I also don't know why one leg of the led seems to go to what should be the connector ground (the outer ring part)..
I don't want to send it back, because I need it... but it's very inconvenient as it is. I couldn't believe that sunlight could activate it, either, and it doesn't seem to take much. I tested it about ten or fifteen times when I realized what was happening. The second sunlight hits that LED it activates as if the switch was depressed!!!
I'm looking at it now, with the light on, and it seems that the LED is grounded to the connector and gets its power from somewhere on the board. Maybe the resistor (between the LED and the board) is there to keep the current low to the LED?
The atomizer connector itself has two wires going to it
Everything up there is sealed with silicone looking stuff real well and there's no juice in there..
I don't want to send it back, because I need it... but it's very inconvenient as it is. I couldn't believe that sunlight could activate it, either, and it doesn't seem to take much. I tested it about ten or fifteen times when I realized what was happening. The second sunlight hits that LED it activates as if the switch was depressed!!!
I'm looking at it now, with the light on, and it seems that the LED is grounded to the connector and gets its power from somewhere on the board. Maybe the resistor (between the LED and the board) is there to keep the current low to the LED?
The atomizer connector itself has two wires going to it
Everything up there is sealed with silicone looking stuff real well and there's no juice in there..
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LED's can be used as light sensors along with being light emitters. So not too surprising your Box mod is turning on in the sun. The LED doesnt let enough current threw to vap off of. It would burn up for sure at the amps atomizers require. Really to me the only logical explanation( same as Atty pointed out) is that it is somehow connected to the control pin on the regulator and activating the PV in the sunlight. So maybe it is wired up wrong or possibly a design flaw. Simple fix would be remove or unhook the LED.
Maybe you should verify it is the led first. Get yourself a few things. Try a bright flashlight, a normal light bulb, maybe a remote control or two - actually, a laser may be the best bet. See if you can activate the box by shining any one of those at the led. If so, it is very likely that that's the problem. If so, then try replacing the led, or maybe try to cover it with something when you'll be in the sun - electrical tape should work well and not leave a residue when you remove it.
If it doesn't activate from any other light or infrared source, that doesn't necessarily mean it's not the led though. Could be you just can't get anything powerful enough to switch it on like the sun does. If that's the case, I would certainly look for shorts and check continuity in various spots inside the box, just to get a clearer idea of what's going on inside.
Does it happen as soon as sunlight hits it? How hot is the unit before it activates? Does it activate the same way if it's cool to the touch and exposed to sunlight? It's possible that heat is warping some internal components to cause a short as well. It's really hard for me to venture a guess, though, as I'm not familiar with this mod.
Also, posting some quality photos of the inner workings will help if anyone is going to try to remotely troubleshoot with you.
If it doesn't activate from any other light or infrared source, that doesn't necessarily mean it's not the led though. Could be you just can't get anything powerful enough to switch it on like the sun does. If that's the case, I would certainly look for shorts and check continuity in various spots inside the box, just to get a clearer idea of what's going on inside.
Does it happen as soon as sunlight hits it? How hot is the unit before it activates? Does it activate the same way if it's cool to the touch and exposed to sunlight? It's possible that heat is warping some internal components to cause a short as well. It's really hard for me to venture a guess, though, as I'm not familiar with this mod.
Also, posting some quality photos of the inner workings will help if anyone is going to try to remotely troubleshoot with you.
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What you need is a diode in series with the led leg that goes to the control pin , this will stop current from flowing to the control pin but allow the LED to still function ( I do not know the direction but one way will work the other will nor ! ) use a 1n914 or so for it
I have one from same place doing same thing......it is definately only sunlight when hits led because I have tried light bulb and other sources of light and only activates when on and in direct sunlight.The box mod works like a charm otherwise.
Sorry I didn't get back on here, sooner... it's definitely the sunlight and it doesn't have to be visibly bright sunlight as it does the same thing if it's overcast outside
That and the malfunctioning LED (does not change color any more, simply goes out when it would have been the second color and stays out" and the cover coming off all of the time because two little tabs snapped off of it is really starting to annoy me
I think I'm going to e-mail them and whine about it ..
That and the malfunctioning LED (does not change color any more, simply goes out when it would have been the second color and stays out" and the cover coming off all of the time because two little tabs snapped off of it is really starting to annoy me
I think I'm going to e-mail them and whine about it ..
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