My Rigid Flex Light R8692 went kaput about 6 hours after Amazon’s return deadline (one year) and at first I was stymied about what to do. So I immediately called Ridgid and they have a three year warranty and after supplying them with serial and model numbers, they are sending me a new one. This is good company policy lacking today in America.
But, I like to fix things, especially things that are new, expensive and easy to fix. This one qualifies at $47 on Amazon and hey, it’s only a lightbulb. The internet–full of forums and YouTube tutorials–tells me there are essentially two electrical parts: the driver (MT7201) and an LED emitter (3W). I get out my volt meter (which I had also previously fixed) and get 19VDC at the bulb terminals. Normally one would expect a blown bulb but this led draws only 3.6VDC so why the difference. An internet voice says it should be an open circuit with a blown bulb; so it must be the driver board which should provide 3.6VDC at the LED emitter terminals. However, this is a diode, not a lightbulb and diodes behave differently.
Amazon has a package of 20 bulb replacements here for only $10. You’ll also need this star driver:
Now I had to buy this because my handy-dandy multi-tool didn’t have a long enough shank (this is 4″). However, if it’s just a blown bulb, a short shaft-star (T-10) will do and there are only four screws to remove. If the driver board is kaput, then Ridgid put in one deeply set screw to thwart the home repairman–but not me. After removing all the screws on both the light end and the battery pack end with the driver board, I figured things out. Here, the swivel light case has been removed exposing the bulb:
Two more small Phillips allows the LED to separate from the shaft. There are four solder joints here–two at the terminal plate (where I got my 19VDC) and one on each side of the LED itself–the proximal terminal is on the right. These two are the ones that need to be released. Now–here’s the trick–diodes are an electrical device that allow electricity to flow in one direction only and this light has two possible ways to install and yes, I at first didn’t figure this out right away. I started putting my tools away in defeat, then remembering this fact about diodes, reversed the polarity of the LED and it worked!
The old LED is on the left but the right one has this extra separate tab at the 6 o’clock position–this is a hint there is a polarity to these LEDs. This double tab needs to be soldered to the proximal terminal above–I got them backwards at first. So, now I’ve got two functional lamps and 19 spare bulbs (and a soldering iron kit–$19 at my local ACE Hardware). By the number of these inquiries on the internet, methinks RIDGID should focus on quality control. Stay tuned….