Recently got my hands on an Exhalted and have been tinkering with it. Was originally a Champion, so I had my work cut out for me to get this thing opened up. While I'll eventually upgrade this with a new LED and Spark 2 soundboard, I figure enough of the process would be useful for others trying to mod their own thin necks. Since I won't be installing quick-connects myself (the LED wiring needs to be tailored to the Spark board), I'll write and doodle to fill in the blanks.
This guide assumes some familiarity with tools and electronics. Intended for 6w and 12W Warrior/Champion Prodigal Son, Redeemer, and Exhalted, but may be compatible with other hilts and electronics with modification.
SEPARATING THE HILT
The first step is to separatethe thin-neck-adapter from the switch section. Simple enough if you've an unglued Initiate or ASP hilt, but a bit more involved if your hilt's been thread-locked.
While Loctite apparently breaks down at about 800º F, that much heat will melt switches and could damage a battery (anywhere from reduced capacity to catastrophic BOOM). Since I'm working with a Champion hilt with no wire slack to remove the electronics, I'll have to rely on applying enough torque to break the lock.
I've a table vise to grab onto the grenade section. Some soft wood as grip/padding (I had some scrap cedar) was placed between the hilt and vise walls. The wood compressed to fit around the grenade, locking the hilt in place. Grenade section made it out without a scratch.
Locking pliers will also do the job, but without the protection. They're all I had to grip the switch section, and a couple of shallow marks were left by the plier teeth.
Either way, remember your Lefty-Loosy-Righty-Tighty, and the hilt will come apart. The old loctite can be removed with acetone or a wire brush. I shaved excess away with a razor I had on hand.
REMOVING THE LED MODULE
With the adapter and switch separate, you *almost* have access to the LED module. ASP thin-necks may or may not be able to unthread the module without disassembling the entire neck. standard hilts will have two C-clips in the way.
If you're like most folks, you don't have a pair of snap-ring pliers to remove the clips. If you're like me, you're yelling at the hilt BECAUSE I'VE GOT THESE DANG PLIERS BUT THEY'RE TOO SHORT TO REACH THE CLIPS.
Deep breath.
If you've got a long set of needle-nose pliers and a file, you can fashion your own tool.
The trick is to file the tips small enough to fit into the holes on the clip, while making sure you shave off the toothed sides of the pliers. You want your fine tips to curve in and hug behind the clips, otherwise, you'll never get the clips out.
Pop the two clips and the LED module should slide right out.
SOLDERING QUICK-CONNECTS
Well everything's open, and while you've pinched your finger, at least you don't need stitches. This is going pretty well.
To make the hilt and LED module quick-connect compatible, you'll need a set of Deans Micro 2R Plugs. They're used a fair bit in RC devices, so check your local hobby shop or order online. A set should run $2-3 plus shipping.
Not a whole lot to this. LED-end will have one positive wire (usually red) and one-or-two negative wires (black or color-matched to the LED). If there are multiple negative wires on the LED, just connect them and treat them like a single wire. Saber-side should have a red positive wire and a black negative. Just follow this diagram:
(Without a picture,I just remember LED Red should lead to a long pin and figure the rest out from there.)
The plugs thankfully come with color-matched heatshrink, so here's how the power-half of the connection should look:
SECURING THE LED
So your shopmate's yelling at you for messing up the needle-nose pliers. Let's make it so you don't ever need to use them again. The grenade section has plenty of space for an LED retention screw. Third recessed ring down worked well for me.
The ribbed/grooved grenade section on Redeemer and Exhalted make this pretty easy, even without a drill press. Start with a small 1/16" bit and use the grooves to keep yourself centered. Slowly work your way up to the 9/64" bit, widening slightly each pass, then put yout 8-32 tap to use. Black set screw conceals most of the modification, though you may want to use a touch of paint to cover the exposed silver thread.
Aaaaaand that's it.