# [UPDATED] Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification



## Erasmus (Apr 3, 2006)

*Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*

[size=+1]@@@ READ THIS FIRST @@@ Sometimes I get PM's to ask where the photos from this tutorial have gone. A few months ago I was cleaning my webspace and since this thread didn't get anymore replies, I decided to erase them from my webspace. Unfortuntely I didn't have them anymore on my hard disc so I'm unable to fix the photo links. Anyhow this tutorial is still readable without the pics. Good luck with your L1P/L2P modifications  [/size]

Welcome to this tutorial to modify the Fenix L1P or L2P flashlights. I have done several Fenix mods so far and I thought it was time to make a tutorial for my fellow CPF’ers who want to mod their Fenix flashlights. After all, the best Fenix is a modified Fenix. Don’t start this modification when you have to catch your train in ten minutes, it can take a while  Enjoy reading!

[size=+2]Tutorial to swap the LED in L1P/L2P :[/size]

 Choose a modding project. I chose to put a cyan Luxeon I LED in my Fenix L2P : picture.
 Unscrew the head. When you look inside the head (picture), you see the backside of the driver circuit.
 Around the backside of the driver, you can see a golden ring. That is the housing of the driver and the LED, so we have to take this out. First take a tool to have a good grip on the head (this might not be needed if the head is not glued, but in my case the L2P head was glued). This is what I use : picture picture. Take a pair of needlenose pliers (these are mine : picture). On the golden ring, you can see 2 notches opposite each other (picture). Take your pair of pliers and you put them into the notches (like here : picture) and turn the inside unit counterclockwise (left). Turn the unit out of the head. Don’t worry if it takes a while. Take your time because this is the most tricky part of the modification. Be sure you don’t damage the screw thread. 
 Look inside the head again. Now you can see the backside of the reflector : picture. There are two holes in the reflector. Use your pair of needlenose pliers to turn the reflector out of the head.
 Now you have unscrewed the reflector and the LED and driver unit out of the head. The lens and o-ring can be pushed out of the head now. So this is what will come out of the Fenix’ head : picture
 Take your time to clean everything. The lens, o-ring, reflector and head can be cleaned in water with soap. The threads on the LED and driver unit can be cleaned with degreaser or gasoline. 
 Now take the unit with the LED and driver. On top you can see the LED is soldered to the unit : picture. Now try to unsolder the LED. If the LED seems to be glued to the unit (which in fact isn’t, but the thermal compound can become hard when you have used the flashlight a lot), you can put a needle between the LED and it’s lead to lift the lead up when you unsolder it : picture. Once the LED is removed, you get this : picture. Take a tissue with a bit of degreaser or gasoline and clean up the thermal compound. You can only be satisfied when the surface blinks like new : picture. Also clean the backside of the Luxeon emitter so all surfaces are clean.
 Take the naked driver unit, thermal compound and the LED you want to put in your flashlight : picture. Put a little bit of thermal compound on the heatsink. Only on the round spot and just a little bit.
 Now carefully push the LED on the heatsink. The leads will be bended upwards a little bit. Now solder the leads on the unit while pushing the LED gently downwards. I use the cap of a pen for this (picture). This cap fits exactly on the surface around the lens of the LED, so the risk of damaging the LED is minimized. The result will look like this : picture.
 Now everything is ready to be assembled again. Make sure everything is clean and dust free. You might want to put a little grease on the screw thread inside the head, it will make future disassembling easier.
 First put the o-ring on it’s place (at the front of the head). Then put the lens on the reflector (picture) and turn the reflector into the head. Do this upside down so the lens stays on the reflector and if there is any dust left, it will fall out of the reflector. Tighten the reflector well with the needlenose pliers to improve water-resistance. Then turn the driver unit in the head. Your modification is ready now. 
 Here’s the result : picture . A smooth beam of cyan light. 

[size=+2]Additional tutorial to swap the driver board in L1P/L2P :[/size]

 Follow the tutorial above upto step 8. The unit with the LED and driver is called head unit from now on.
 Desolder the driver wires (picture) and push them into the head unit.
 Take something to push the driver board out of the head unit. Don't take something sharp-pointed because you can damage the driver. I have bended a paperclip so both ends fit into the holes and I can put pressure on it to push the driver board out (picture).
 Put the head unit upside down, so with the end of the driver board pointing upwards (picture). While unsoldering the driver board from the head unit, put pressure downwards so the driver board is being pushed out. If this doesn't work well, you can also try to lift the driver board out at the notches of the head unit. 
 When the driver board is out of the head unit, you get this : picture.
 Take a cutter and cut away the soldering tin on the head unit (picture). Probably there is some device out there to suck away the soldering tin, but I don't have it and with a cutter knife it's not difficult to cut the soldering tin away.
 Time to clean everything. Clean the head unit in degreaser or water with soap, to make sure all conductive little pieces are out of the head unit. Also clean the table your working on. Do this to prevent small conductive pieces getting into the head unit, which can cause a short circuit when using the flashlight. Here's what I've collected : picture. That's enough to cause a serious short circuit in the flashlight  This is what the head unit should look like when it's cleaned : picture.
 Take your new driver board (picture). I have chosen a custom built driver of MillerMods. Gently push the driver board in the head unit : picture. As you can see, the wires are way too long, so cut them to a decent length : picture.
 Get the driver board back out of the head unit and strip the ends of the wires : picture. Then put the driver back into the head and make sure the backside of the head has an even surface : picture.
 Take your soldering bolt and connect the outer ring of the driver board to the head with soldering tin.
 Follow step 8 and 9 from the tutorial above. The result will look like this : picture
 Solder the wires of the driver. Result : picture
 Continue from step 10 from the tutorial above.

[size=+2]Some remarks concerning modification of the L1P/L2P :[/size]

 The unit with the driver and the LED is usually glued into the flashlight’s head. With superglue indeed. Now you can start to fill the head with any kind of aggressive chemical products and in the end the unit will come out, but you risk to harm the inside electronics, LED or reflector. I once used a very aggressive degreaser. The only result I got was that the LED and reflector were screwed (picture). Since that moment, I prefer muscle power and the right technique. And you should do it too because it hurts a flashaholics’ heart to see a dead LED and peeled off reflector.
 While getting the driver unit out of the flashlight with the needlenose pliers, create a turning force and not a pressure force with your pliers. Creating too much pressure force will damage the screw thread. The quality of the screw thread is very poor in my opinion, so be very careful with this! So turn your pliers and don’t push too hard on them.
 It’s not necessary to get the reflector and lens out of the head, but I recommend it because while disassembling there are always little particles getting into the reflector. So it’s best to disassemble the whole head and clean everything before putting it back together again.
 Adhesive thermal compound is not strictly needed for the L1P/L2P mod, non-adhesive compound will do the job too. 
 Some people think you can’t use enough thermal compound, but that is NOT true. Just use as little as needed. After all, thermal compound has a thermal resistance and you have to minimize this resistance to distribute as much heat as possible to the driver unit, which is the LED’s heatsink in this case. Put just enough thermal compound to cover unregular surfaces between the LED and the heatsink.
 Don’t use too much degreaser or gasoline where needed, otherwise you can damage other parts of the flashlight (driver, LED). 
 Don't put too much soldering tin on the top of the head unit (at the LED and the driver wires). If you put too much on it, the reflector can touch the soldering tin when you assemble the flashlight. This will cause a short circuit.
 Be carefull with the reflector. The reflecting surface is not the bare aluminum. It is a coating which makes it more reflective than the bare aluminum. Don't touch it too much, because this coating is very sensitive to scratches. Certainly don't clean it with degreaser, this will destroy the coating. Instead, clean it with water and a little soap.
 If you want a smoother beam from your Fenix, you might want to look here : about L1P/L2P reflectors.
 Always remember to keep all parts clean. Greasy things can be cleaned with gasoline or degreaser. All the rest can be cleaned with a tissue.

[size=+2]Things you can possibly damage, and how to fix them :[/size]

 It is possible you have damaged the screw thread inside the head while disassembling. You can fix that by turning the reflector in and out the flashlight multiple times until it goes very smoothly. Don’t force anything, the screw thread is very poor quality and very fragile. After every time you screwed the reflector in an out, clean the threads (of the head and of the reflector) with a tissue.
 It is also possible you have damaged the outside of the driver unit a little bit. The notches might be bended a little to the outside of the unit. You can see it clearly on the spot with the red arrow : picture . Take a pair of pliers and gently push the notches in their original place.
 You have to be sure the driver unit fits perfectly in the head. First be sure it fits in forward. Then backwards, to be sure you have pushed the notches back well as described above : picture. Clean the threads again with a tissue so be sure there will not be a single speck of dirt in your flashlight’s head.

English is not my mother tongue, so there might be spelling mistakes in my text. Please advise any corrections, I really appreciate it. 

Any other inputs concerning Fenix mods are welcome too of course!  

I also would like to take the opportunity to thank Glire for sending me one of his cyan LuxI's for free. Thanks buddy!

Thank you for reading  

Erasmus from Belgium.


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## Erasmus (Apr 3, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*

In the future I might add a tutorial to swap the driver boards too. I have done it a few times yet and it's quite easy.

EDIT : tutorial added


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## Flash007 (Apr 4, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*

Excellent post !


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## Lunarmodule (Apr 4, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*

Outstanding contribution!


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## oracle2 (Apr 4, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*

looking forward to your tutorial on swapping the driver board.


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## oracle2 (Apr 4, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*

What about this board
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1350364#post1350364


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## glire (Apr 5, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*

Wow!
I'm wondering what was harder, the mod or the tutorial for the mod 

I need this tool





Do you find it in any Brico like shop?


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## Erasmus (Apr 5, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*



glire said:


> Wow!
> I'm wondering what was harder, the mod or the tutorial for the mod
> 
> I need this tool
> ...


I'm not sure if you find it in Brico. I should rather look for a specialized tool store. You will find a comparable tool in Brico, but I think it will not be a Knipex (which is a high quality German brand, thus quite expensive).

[EDIT] The one on the picture is Knipex 46 13 A1 internal circlip pliers (pinces pour circlips intérieurs).


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## Flash007 (Apr 5, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*



glire said:


> Wow!
> I'm wondering what was harder, the mod or the tutorial for the mod
> 
> I need this tool
> ...


 

Clabots has everything you want, Knipex too. See www.clabots.be 
I'll buy this plier too very soon !    

Ciao Glire and Erasmus


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## Walt175 (Apr 5, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*

Great tutorial! :goodjob: 



Just to help anyone looking, they are usually referred to as "snap ring pliers" in the automotive field. There are 2 kinds. One opens as you squeeze, the other closes as you squeeze. They can usually be found at auto parts stores.


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## bucken (Apr 5, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*

GREAT tutorial!:twothumbs:


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## glire (Apr 6, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*



Flash007 said:


> Clabots has everything you want, Knipex too. See www.clabots.be
> I'll buy this plier too very soon !
> 
> Ciao Glire and Erasmus


Clabots, yeah, thanks.
Maybe also at http://www.protools.be/
Art. 1199 seems to be like a "snap ring plier".


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## Erasmus (Apr 6, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*



glire said:


> Clabots, yeah, thanks.
> Maybe also at http://www.protools.be/
> Art. 1199 seems to be like a "snap ring plier".


If possible, you should get one that closes when you squeeze. That will reduce the chance to damage the screw thread.


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## Long John (Apr 6, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*

Hello Erasmus

Thank you very much. This is a very nice thread and very interesting.
:goodjob:

Best regards

____
Tom


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## Erasmus (Apr 23, 2006)

*Re: Tutorial : Fenix L1P/L2P modification*

Update. I have improved the lay-out of my post and deleted unnecessary info. I have also added these sections :
- Additional tutorial to swap the driver board in L1P/L2P
- Some remarks concerning modification of the L1P/L2P
- Things you can possibly damage, and how to fix them

I think this tutorial is now complete


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## CM (Apr 23, 2006)

Excellent tutorial :thumbsup:


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## Flash007 (Apr 23, 2006)

Excellent Erasmus ! :goodjob: :goodjob:


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## cy (May 7, 2006)

nice work!!


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## goldserve (May 7, 2006)

Impressive work. I plan on using your knowledge and my past experience to modify another L1P coming with a flupic board again. Cheers!


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## Ralls (May 29, 2006)

This tutorial is awesome! I have read through it twice now and I only have one concern. I want to mod an L1P with one of goldserve's FLuPIC boards. In the tutorial about swapping the board, a MillerMods board was used. The MillerMods board had some kind of metal spacer that appeared to be adheared with epoxy. The FLuPIC board doesn't have such a thing. Am I going to have to use some kind of spacer so that I can make the board even with the backside of the head? I suppose it would also serve to relieve pressure from the batteries pushing on the board, if such a spacer were used.

Please help as I am dying to try out this mod and this is the only thing holding me back at the moment. Thanks in advance.


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## goldserve (May 29, 2006)

There is no metal spacer, or what ever. Just take out the board and drop the flupic 0.6" board in. Fits like a glove.

Just like the fenix board, you can put some solder on the back of the board to secure it and make a good ground connection. I have 3 lights modified with the flupic board and if I could get the original board out a little easier or get heatsinks made, i'd mode a whole lot more. 

Cheers!


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## Ralls (May 29, 2006)

goldserve said:


> There is no metal spacer, or what ever. Just take out the board and drop the flupic 0.6" board in. Fits like a glove.
> 
> Just like the fenix board, you can put some solder on the back of the board to secure it and make a good ground connection. I have 3 lights modified with the flupic board and if I could get the original board out a little easier or get heatsinks made, i'd mode a whole lot more.
> 
> Cheers!


 
Thanks for the quick reply! This allays all my fears and I will be ordering a board from you soon. Now I just need a decent soldering iron....


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## Cliffnopus (May 29, 2006)

Excellent tutorial, great job on the mod and the write-up.

Cliff


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## chesterqw (Jun 20, 2006)

this is too dang useful to be at the bottom...


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## AlexGT (Jun 25, 2006)

I just swaped the stock L2P puke greenish/yellow R bin for a SXOH Lux 1 and OMFG!!!! The difference is shocking! 

Big cheers to you Erasmus!!!! Your instructions are A+ and the pics of the process are idiot proof!

Kick a$$ post my friend! Excelent! This should be a sticky somewhere

AlexGT


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## bennytheblade (Jul 7, 2006)

Mod done.
If there was a reputation system (or there is one , and IM just to new to know about it) I would be sending your major chicklets.

VERY HELPFUL!


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## WildChild (Jul 10, 2006)

Does anyone know if a BadBoy NG 750 board would fit in the head of an L2P?


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## dapyro (Jul 13, 2006)

nice tutorial!

Do you know if this also works for a Civictor? Does it only work with leds with the same forward current?


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## Erasmus (Jul 13, 2006)

dapyro said:


> nice tutorial!
> 
> Do you know if this also works for a Civictor? Does it only work with leds with the same forward current?


I am not sure, but from what I've seen from the Civictor, the construction of the head is the same as L1P, so probably you can use this tutorial for the Civictor too. It works with higher current LEDs too, but the driver will drive at the same power as with the stock LED.


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## Erasmus (Jul 26, 2006)

Erasmus said:


> I am not sure, but from what I've seen from the Civictor, the construction of the head is the same as L1P, so probably you can use this tutorial for the Civictor too. It works with higher current LEDs too, but the driver will drive at the same power as with the stock LED.


If anyone can confirm (from experience) the above is true, I can add it to the first post.


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## greenLED (Aug 4, 2006)

Great guide, Erasmus!


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## Mike89 (Oct 10, 2006)

All the picture links are dead.


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## ViReN (Dec 21, 2006)

Hey Nice tutorial.... Did you try opening Civictor V1?


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## MarNav1 (Dec 21, 2006)

Mike89 said:


> All the picture links are dead.


I couldn't get 1 picture
to work, darn it.


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## Erasmus (Jan 14, 2007)

Hi folks,

Sometimes I get PM's to ask where the photos from this tutorial have gone. A few months ago I was cleaning my webspace and since this thread didn't get anymore replies, I decided to erase them from my webspace. Unfortuntely I didn't have them anymore on my hard disc so I'm unable to fix the photo links. Anyhow this tutorial is still readable without the pics. Good luck with your L1P/L2P modifications  

Erasmus.


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## shao.fu.tzer (Feb 21, 2008)

Noooooooo! Please tell me someone backed them up. I love illustrations. I'm trying to crank the most out of an L2P head with a CR123 body. Any recommendations on drivers/LEDs from DX.com or anything?

Thanks,
Shao


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