Diamond Select Flux Capacitor - window popped in

[Timebender]

Anyone know how to get the window back in on the Diamond Select Flux Capacitor? I accidentally pushed it in when working in the fuse box and now can’t figure out how to get the rubber window seal to fit - do I put it in the window first or around the opening?

[Shep]

Pictures? I don't have one myself but I or someone else might have some insight if we can see how/where it popped in.

[Timebender]

I'll post when i get home. :)

[Timebender]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180408/9cd660888af5c503d3e67f803f648b03.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180408/8aa48cebc75aa73062a8ddf129137dd6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180408/0b74df8f776d4ae84c488a3478660500.jpg

[Timebender]

Fixed it by first taking out the bead, then putting the seal on the metal, and rolling it back a little to get the plastic in. Then I put the bead back in with a screwdriver to open the channel and work the bead in.

[DavidProehl]

Good to know, thanks for posting a follow up. It certainly is a tight fit.

A little off topic, but has anyone figured out how to make the lights on the Diamond Select flash in the correct direction (outside to center rather than center to out)? This bugs me more than it should.

[Shep]

I don't think it's as easy as flipping a switch, but if you want to rebuild the circuit entirely, it's actually not a complicated one. Look up "chaser circuit" online, the most robust ones use a 555 timer linked to a 4017 decade counter. I have made a few such circuits myself. I'm sure I can dig up the schematic and parts list if you're interested.

[DavidProehl]

I'm fine with doing some rewiring and soldering, I was just hoping someone else had already done it and had a photo of their rewired board and it was as easy as desoldering and resoldering a few wires. Maybe it isn't that simple. Just looked like a simple board when I opened it up.

[Shep]

Were there any wires on the board? I have occasionally heard of (and seen) circuitboards where a trace is cut and a wire is soldered onto it. This would probably work well here given the low current involved, but success depends on the trace widths involved, spacing from other traces, soldering tools/skills, and how steady of a hand you have.

Practicing this technique on other junked electronics wouldn't hurt and is free if you find the right dumpster (apartment complexes), but this isn't a job for the faint of heart. Cutting the wrong trace means you have to repair that trace too.

I've found medical scalpels readily available on Amazon are amazing, the one shaped like a scythe is immensely useful for this task and its shape means hand steadiness isn't quite as important. Far cheaper than X-acto knives, comes with a cap and in individual sterile bags, just be careful as they are, well, scalpels and can cut deep VERY readily (I am still learning this lesson apparently).

EDIT: Actually if you have pics, mind sharing them? Particularly interested in the backside of the LED's and the "logic" section.

[DavidProehl]

Below is a photo of the backside. The green wires are my own addition to repair the white wires that I had cut at one point. I did so when I first bought the unit I tried playing with swapping their order as I had read somewhere (don't recall where now) that they could be used to reverse the direction.

55906

[DavidProehl]

Now that I think about it, I probably wouldn't need to change how any of this is wired to reverse them. I could unscrew the LED boards, extend the wires, reverse the board orientation, and screw them back in place. I've been overthinking this problem!

[Shep]

That's exactly what I was going to recommend when I saw that pic. Y-shaped boards are VERY wasteful and nobody wants to manufacture them (I've tried). Even if the spacing is off, videobob has the acryllic part the LED's countersink into that isn't drilled in any way for sale. I've bought them to make my own and it definitely looks the part, just drill a hole big enough to fit the LED's in being VERY careful to get exact centering and orientation (a center punch is crucial here). But I can't imagine they would space it differently for this, should be as simple as a screwdriver. :)

[Timebender]

Now that I think about it, I probably wouldn't need to change how any of this is wired to reverse them. I could unscrew the LED boards, extend the wires, reverse the board orientation, and screw them back in place. I've been overthinking this problem!

Yup!! Was just thinking that too. Would be nice though to add in a few more LEDs to get a smoother animation.

[DavidProehl]

Agreed. 3 isn't nearly enough, it looks more like it is flashing rather than "fluxing." If you figure out a mod to do it, be sure to post a how to!

[Shep]

New boards. With how cheap they are to make, you could probably use SMD components (including LED's) and have them made at a low quantity pre-assembled for cheap. Just use larger SMD components to avoid "complex assembly" fees and you'll be fine (that plus a $10 chip bit me in the ass the worst in my Bipolar Rectifier dud). You can even specify a wire lead usually and they'll do it no problem, gives you something to crimp on.

People think it's expensive to do, remember that $20 per board number I listed? Order of five functional flux capacitor guys all at once right there, maybe even ten if you do it right. And that's assuming ten LED's off a 555/4017 circuit.

[Shep]

Actually come to think of it, I can breadboard it out, I still have all the parts I think. Just need to find my original schematic and figure out what the 555 timer discharge capacitor values were. I've been thinking about this some more and I would imagine a 7-LED with a 3-gap approach would work best, no need for a reset. Why commit when you can test first? :)

[Timebender]

Actually come to think of it, I can breadboard it out, I still have all the parts I think. Just need to find my original schematic and figure out what the 555 timer discharge capacitor values were. I've been thinking about this some more and I would imagine a 7-LED with a 3-gap approach would work best, no need for a reset. Why commit when you can test first? :)

I’d be interested in that.

[Nicholas R]

No comment on the window, but regarding the LED direction, to be clear, this should only be an issue if you have the very early first release of the DST Flux capacitor. The first release included the center strobe light, and the lights cascaded the wrong direction. On DMCTALK.COM there used to be a full write up on how to reverse your light direction, though I'm sure it's lost to the depths of the internet.

The flux capacitor that Timbender is showing in this thread is the second generation DST flux capacitor that only has the cascading light (no strobe) and the go from the outside inward as they should.

For reference, this is an original (I think they only sold them for like 6 months to a year or so back around 2008 ). Notice the center stobe light (which commonly burned out), and if you look close it has 2 knobs.
http://www.poppowwow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/flux-6.jpg

This is the Flux capacitor that was released a year later and has been sold since. No strobe; 1 knob:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81Ez-eSMSqL._SY879_.jpg

[Timebender]

Interesting.
I know mine is the second gen with just the one knob, but the LEDs do still move from the center out to the edges.
I’ll try and shoot a video later - either it’s doing that or maybe I’m visually dyslexic and I’m seeing them go the writing direction.

In any case, I figured how to get the window back in. It wasn’t easy, but once I got the hang of it, it went pretty smoothly.

[DavidProehl]

Interesting.
I know mine is the second gen with just the one knob, but the LEDs do still move from the center out to the edges.
I’ll try and shoot a video later - either it’s doing that or maybe I’m visually dyslexic and I’m seeing them go the writing direction.

In any case, I figured how to get the window back in. It wasn’t easy, but once I got the hang of it, it went pretty smoothly.

I wasn't going to argue with the previous post, but since you are I'll chime in again. You aren't visually dyslexic. I have the the 2nd gen one with a single knob, no center strobe, and the lights blink the wrong direction. Maybe late in the 2nd gen run they fixed it, but I know with 100% certainty at least some of them are blinking incorrectly. Still, the easy fix will be to reverse the LED boards. I still haven't gotten to it, but its on my list.

[Timebender]

Yay! I’m not crazy (or visually dyslexic- which is huge being I do animation). I had mine apart when I first got it, as I was able to get it pretty cheap on eBay due to it being “broken”- which was a simple fix of one unsoldered wire. However the way they wired it is pretty messy - to swap the direction, you’d have to unsolder the lead power wires and a few other things if I remember correctly (it’s been a couple years since I had it apart), then put in longer wires so they could all be flipped and work.
However I’m kinda thinking about drilling a few more holes so there’s at least 6 LEDs per row, and running those off a timer with each LED tied together so they run in sync- at a given speed but not adjustable.
A cool trick would be an arduino tied to an accelerometer, that adjusts speed based on ones own actual driving speed. Anything under 70mph is “calm”, and anything over 70 would be “hyper” or a faster sequence.

[CriticalB]

Slightly off topic, but has anyone noticed these are $700 on amazon now? Seems like mine was about $250 18 months ago. At this rate, a flux capacitor looks like a significant value-add for the car :)

[DavidProehl]

That is crazy about the prices of these on eBay. I see that is for new models, used ones likely go for much less.

I opened my box up today to extend the wires and then flip the boards. I successfully extended all the wires I needed to but then I realized the screws on the boards, which also hold in the plastic diffusers on the opposite side, are off center. That means flipping the board around will also make the screw holes not match.

There must be a way to re-wire these so they blink the correct way. Does anyone have a board that fluxes from the outside in that would be willing to open up and post a picture of how it is wired?

Here is my wiring (with new extensions):
58135

[Timebender]

Maybe just drill new holes for the boards into the backing?

[DavidProehl]

Maybe just drill new holes for the boards into the backing?

I'd also have to drill new holes in the the light diffusers. I'm less inclined to do that for fear of messing those up. I'll likely leave it for now unless I can see an example of how a properly flashing unit is wired.