Gladius (Lux III) - Dead Batteries After 6 Months

[PacketStorm]

Hey all...

I'm curious if anyone knows what the current drain from a Gladius is while it is turned off. I keep mine under the bed ready for "close encounters" of the two legged kind right beside my Glock .40. Before storing it, it had *maybe* 20 minutes of low level runtime on it. I checked it the other day and the batteries were stone cold dead. I was quite shocked since I had read that it has been estimated that the lifetime of primary lithium cells in a Gladius was around three years (as opposed to the 10 of a stand alone prmary in storage) due to the quiescent micro-amp drainage from the always on circuitry. But six months seems awfully short! This really concerns me! I wasn't expecting to have to keep checking on this light to make sure it was ready to go on a regular basis. On top of that, even if it does light up I have no idea what percentage of battery life remains even if a brand new set of cells were put in it just a few months prior. :sigh:

Everything else about the light is in perfect working order as far as I can tell. I put in a frest set of primaries and it was back to normal.

By the way, I'm POSITIVE I didn't have it set for its lowest output, forgot about it and never noticed it.

Has anyone else seen this happen? Any advice?

Also, does putting the tailcap in lockout disengage the circuitry so it doesn't drain in storage?

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[TigerhawkT3]

I've heard of this issue before. If you want, you could try unscrewing the tailcap a bit to make sure there's no closed circuit. I haven't really encountered this problem, as I EDC my Gladius and use 3V RCRs.

 

[PacketStorm]

Thanks for the response!

But does anyone out there have any documentation on the idle current draw of a Luxeon Gladius in it's "off mode?"

Thanks again for your time!

 

[TigerhawkT3]

That's the difficult part. Since the brains are in the switch, it's all but impossible to get a DMM reading. If anyone has any ideas, I'm game to try them.

 

[supes]

I have one from the first run with the lifetime warranty thing, and I have also experienced the same thing. I used my Gladius for a little bit and then locked it out and put on the shelf. A couple of months later, it is blinking at me with the low battery indicator.

Ken said something about a problem with draining batteries while still in OFF mode or LOCKOUT mode from the older version of the Gladius, ceramic coating I think, not sure about the HA ones.

Give Night Ops an email or call(faster route) through their warranty line. They'll help you out, either send you another tailcap or you send the light in and they will fix it. I got a new tailcap and so far I haven't seen much of a difference yet. Only time will tell.

 

[zifnab69]

how can i see my gladius have a ceramic or a ha3 ? mine is black. Perhaps with the serial number ? mine is 17311

 

[supes]

The ceramic coating one has a easier to scratch layer then the HA coating. The black one I have is a little shiner(not matte). To my eyes, the HA is grayer dark(not really black). I'm not sure if any of the HA coating Gladius lights have this problem too. My serial number is #06XX. If you think you have the problem, give Night Ops a holla.

I like the ceramic coating better for looks but the HA holds up better. Boy, did my Gladius take a beating(it shows it) from holster draw wear, dropping on cement, and everyday use.

 

[Norm]

Contact night ops and explain the situation, I found them very helpful to deal with.
Norm

 

[JohnT737]

I've noticed the same thing with mine. I leave it in my bag that I take to work and I don't really use it all that much. I've gone through two sets of 123s and thought maybe I tossed it in without putting it in the lockout mode.
I'll have to give them a call.

 

[The Hobbit]

Hmmm....I just got one of these. Gonna have to keep an eye on it...

 

[LightBeing]

I've had mine a bit longer than 6 months. It's had some brief use like 10 to 30 second runs quite a few times. I just checked and it still seems bright although I didn't measure voltage so mine doesn't seem to be sucking batteries dry in that amount of time. It's got the original batteries. It's my guess it would be easy to activate the switch as it takes very light pressure on mine to get it to light. If it's in the mode where just a push makes it go on then just a brief touch and it will be on until the batteries die. But it does sound like some of the tail switches might have had an issue. I'd say try some new batteries and put it in lockout or make sure it's in a case that doesn't push on the switch.

 

[carl]

Do electronic switches (Gladius, HDS, etc) have a small drain in OFF position whereas mechanical switches (SF clickies) don't have this drain?

 

[c0t0d0s0]

According to my measurements, the Gladius draws 65 uA (microamperes) on fresh CR123's.

Assuming the drain remains consistent as the batteries discarge, 1300 mAh CR123A batteries should last 1.3Ah / 0.000065A = 20,000 hours ~= 2 years 3 months and change before they're completely empty.

Unscrewing the tailcap breaks the circuit and stops the drain.

 

[JNewell]

How far does it need to be backed off? All the way/removed?

 

[zifnab69]

For security, i never leave my flashlight with batteries in for a long time without use....
I put batteries in when i'm going to work with....

 

[c0t0d0s0]

How far does it need to be backed off? All the way/removed?

Approximately 1/2 turn should be enough.

 

[greenLED]

Do electronic switches (Gladius, HDS, etc) have a small drain in OFF position whereas mechanical switches (SF clickies) don't have this drain?

Carl hit the nail on the head. Not all switches do this, but the Gladius apparently is one of those that places a minute drain on the batts even when the light is off. Over time, that adds up, and if you store your Gladius for a long time, you'll find it dead when you go to use it.

From what I've seen reported, model number and version don't matter; it's the circuit. I don't know the electronics behind it, but maybe if enough people brought this up to the company, they may be willing/able to redesign the circuit to prevent this from happening.

The Gladius was designed to be a "duty" light, to be used often. Under those circumstances, having this minute drain wouldn't be a problem, especially because the light has a "low batt" flashing alert. However, if you're going to keep a Gladius in your safe next to your gun, you might be better off with another light.

 

[JNewell]

The Gladius was designed to be a "duty" light, to be used often. Under those circumstances, having this minute drain wouldn't be a problem, especially because the light has a "low batt" flashing alert. However, if you're going to keep a Gladius in your safe next to your gun, you might be better off with another light.

Glad you said this - beat me to it. In this case, it's truly not a defect. The Gladius was not designed to be an emergency light for blackouts or a car trunk light or something like that. It's a truly superb light for its intended purposes.

 

[ringzero]

Glad you said this - beat me to it. In this case, it's truly not a defect. The Gladius was not designed to be an emergency light for blackouts or a car trunk light or something like that. It's a truly superb light for its intended purposes.

This is a complete non-issue if backing off the tailcap one-half turn breaks the circuit.

If you want to use your Gladius as a backup light or as a "bump in the night" trouble light, simply back off the tailcap a half-turn or so. Tighten tailcap before use. Couldn't be much simpler.

Locking out the tailcap before storage is probably a good idea for any light that allows you to do it.

.

 

[s.duff]

can the gladius run on rechargeable batteries?