Tear Down - Ideaworks Multi-Use LED Area Lights
26I ordered 3 pairs of the IdeaWorks Multi-Use LED Area Lights, and I said I would compare them to the Harbor Freight version. I planned all along to tear one of them down when they got here. To help with that plan, one of my flashlights was dead on arrival. So I could do the teardown without wasting a flashlight.
Four flashlights were entirely functional. The battery door clasp broke when I opened it on one flashlight. I made that flashlight functional by borrowing that battery door from the DOA light.
Here is a pile of parts picture.
Ignore the aluminum foil for now. We will get to that later. Notice the lump of metal with grey foam on one side and white sticky foam on the other? That lump of metal makes the flashlight heavy, even when there are no batteries in it. The foam on both sides, makes it so the metal doesn't rattle. It gives the flashlight some heft, which makes you think genuine simulated quality.
The LEDs are a tiny step up from the LEDs in the Harbor Freight flashlight I sacrificed. The light appears brighter to my eyes, although not so much for the camera in my phone. I placed both flashlights on my kitchen table, pointing up at the ceiling. Then I took a picture with my phone. The Ideaworks light pattern is at the top of the image, the Harbor Freight pattern is at the bottom. The Harbor Freight pattern is more diffuse, and a slightly warmer color.
Both lights have 24 LEDs in their flood light section. The teardowns reveal a 2.2 Ohm current limiting resistor in the HF light, while the Ideaworks light has 2.5 Ohms. This means the Ideaworks light uses slightly less power, so it will last slightly longer.
The lights look more similar on the insides. They each have a big brown board with 24 LEDs, a square black clicker switch, a smaller tan resistor, a larger blue resistor, and a small green circuit board with 3 (HF) or 4 (Iw) LEDs. 
The instructions for the Ideaworks flashlight actually says to remove the sticker on the magnet, before using the magnet. So I started by removing that sticker, and the two screws that were hidden behind it. I also removed the 5 screws from the back. This allowed the magnet to come out, and the single stand became two separate arms. I ripped those arms off. This isn't the way to take it apart, if you plan on putting it back together. 
Next step was to pop off the yellow side pieces. Prying them off like this, means they won't stay on without glue ever again. 
Look a red wire got caught in the joint. Maybe that was why the light didn't work. If you search the picture, you might see the two mangled bits of plastic that used to hold on the yellow side covers. 
After we get it open, here's what that red wire looks like. It is certainly deformed, but the electrons go through, so that isn't the problem. 
The board is cracked, but the volt meter says that isn't the issue.
The board is labeled with plus and minus for the identical looking red wires. Hmm. When I was using the the volt meter to check that the power went through the switch, it showed the power was connected the other way. 
If that is the issue, then reversing the batteries would make it work. Or rather would make it work, if they could touch the electrical contacts. The clever battery holder is designed so that if a battery is stuck in backwards, the flat negative end won't make contact with the recessed positive terminal. This is not a problem for me, I've got aluminimum foil. 
I swapped in a couple wimpy batteries, so my camera wouldn't be blinded. The lump of metal is also visible in this image.
In my experience, the Harbor Freight flashlights have always been bright enough for what I was doing, although, I never tried to work more than a few feet away from where I stuck the flashlight. The little tiny magnet has always been sufficient for me, however I can imagine there may be surfaces where the stronger magnet of the Ideaworks light might make sense. The built in stand will probably come in handy. I recall a time working on my furnace where I had to find something to lean my Harbor freight flashlight against, so the light would go the right direction.
A strong minus for the Ideaworks flashlight, is I have never felt that that I needed more weight in a flashlight.
I've only used the 3 LED wimpy mode on my old flashlights when I was looking for wimpy light. I don't see how adding a 4th LED helps anything. I suspect the only reason they put 4 LEDs there, was so they could claim "28 LEDs!!!!!1!! One whole LED better than those other guys!!!".
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I forgot to mention that the first thing I do with a Harbor Freight flashlight, is to throw away the carbon zinc batteries, and put in some alkaline batteries. If you leave those batteries in there, you will end up with a sad corroded flashlight. Those carbon zinc batteries are a trap.
@hamjudo Since nobody else did it...
Bravo @hamjudo I bought 3 of these lights but didn't have any batteries. Are you familiar enough with LED to know if these are "normal" or "superbright" style? With the amount of room available, especially without the weight, that lights lends to hacking in many fun ways...
@tightwad They are normal LEDs, and not really very bright. They also pull a lot of current, so the AAA batteries won't last long. Basically these are toy/junk quality lights.
@tightwad These are comparable to the super-bright LEDs that AdaFruit sells https://www.adafruit.com/products/754
@uwacn In the context of small LEDs, "super-bright" means a water clear lens that is focused. This is in comparison to diffused LEDs which are in cloudy packages, without focused lights. Read the descriptions in this list https://www.adafruit.com/categories/90
to see that it isn't really an indication of light output.
Note that the LEDs rated in watts are much brighter than the ones labeled "superbright".
Nicely done.
You've accomplished with failed flashlights (using them for spare parts) what we do with microwave ovens. Before tossing one we strip out the micro switches since they tend to be universal. Microwave ovens often fail in two areas: a blown internal fuse and failed interlock/safety switches (due to heavy use, perhaps). We've rejuvenated several otherwise perfectly good microwave ovens this way.
At least the price was decent, though I was bummed my first use revealed a DOA LED. After a week, a second led has also passed on to everlasting glory--that is, the landfill.
Yeah, about those cracks on the circuit board near the power button. Opened the package, installed fresh batteries, pushed the button ONE time, heard a cracking noise, and this:
This lights really suck guys, not mediocre, they are far below mediocre.
@webender Same thing happened to me.
@ochristoforou @webender
Have you written in to meh.com/support to let them know what happened? (If you're including pictures, just include a url {link} instead of trying to attach)
Is it possible to get at and remove the weight without breaking anything?
@WINTERMUTE Yes. On my second try, I didn't out right break any of the pieces. I did gouge up the front a little where I pried off the yellow grip on the left side. I had learned enough, that I did the right side without leaving many marks.
The five screws were easy, although I did lose one on the floor.
It took a surprising amount of effort to get the clicky hinge squares to disengage. When I was two thirds of the way done, I realized one side was stuck to the front of the flashlight, while the other side was stuck to the back. I pushed both sides to the back, and the thing came apart. Then I just pried through the double sticky tape, and the weight came free.
When I put the first yellow grip back on, I managed to only hook one of the bottom side clasps before hooking the top side clasps. To do it right, both bottom side clasps have to engage before you snap in the top ones. This involves a little twisting of plastic. Once the bottom ones are on right, just squeeze to seat the top ones.
So it is possible. Although I didn't exactly leave the flashlight in pristine condition. I suspect on the third or fourth flashlight, I would be pretty good at it.
FYI, without the weight, the flashlight is still stable on its folding stand, so the weight is purely a marketing gimmick.
I forgot to mention, the second flashlight also had a bent circuit board, but it wasn't cracked. It also had a pinched wire from the battery pack. The polarity was right, as this one worked from the factory/
Thanks for the teardown!
Heh heh. It wouldn't be a problem for me, since I've got a soldering iron. :-)
Maybe I should post pics of my hack to add a switching regulator to the Eveready Compact LED Area Lights. By eliminating the hefty current-limiting resistor in that and bypassing it with the regulator, I get an extension in the lifetime of the batteries, and more consistent output as they discharge.
I live by EEVBlog Dave's motto: "Don't turn it on, take it apart!" And I have a six-pack of these to play with. I'm considering adapting two for a bike light. I have plenty of good 18650 Li-Ionbatteries from a dead laptop lying around.