My Zebralight H51W is Draining the Battery When it's Off

[scott]

Up until the recently, my H51W has been working just fine. Actually, since I got it last Christmas, it's had only occasional use. A couple months ago, I started using it as a middle-of-the-night-bathroom-light, using mostly just its lowest settings. In about a week, the battery is dead. It's only on one of the two lowest settings, and only for less than a minute per night. I use eneloops, and I've switched out batteries to make sure it was the light and not a faulty battery. As mentioned, I've had it for less than a year. Is this a common problem? Will Zebralight replace or repair it? Help!

 

[127.0.0.1]

the parasitic drain should not be that strong, sounds like warranty replacement needed

unscrew bottom cap, see if the batteries last longer. then you know for sure

email zebralight directly for answers

 

[scott]

I went to Zebralight's site and looked at the warranty link. To use their warranty, proof of purchase is required. The light was a Christmas gift from my parents so I have no paperwork. I checked with my Dad, and he had cleared out all his old emails so didn't have the receipt either. So I emailed illuminationgear.com and explained the situation. They wrote back almost immediately with purchasing verification. I figured I'd contact Zebralight tomorrow. I didn't have to because Zebralight just contacted ME. Apparently illuminationgear forwarded my request to Zebralight sometime today. I just got an email from Zebralight telling me to send in the light!

Exceptional service from both illuminationgear and Zebralight! Yeah!

 

[reppans]

Nice! Can you just send it in to Texas? Keep us updated, I'd love to know how this pans out for you. Luck this happened now instead of January or you might have been SOL.

 

[scott]

It took a while, but Zebralight returned the light to me a little over a week ago. I've been using it regularly since then before posting the verdict. It's been working just fine. Me happy!

 

[Gregozedobe]

Good to see excellent customer service from ZL :twothumbs

 

[shao.fu.tzer]

Both Zebralights that I've owned had the same problem and BOTH of the switches stopped functioning around the same time after MINIMAL use (about 8 months later). I sent them in for replacements, sold them (with a guilty conscience), and never looked back. I really wanted to like ZL, but can you blame me after my past experiences?

 

[AnAppleSnail]

I really wanted to like ZL, but can you blame me after my past experiences?

I can't blame you, but my experiences have been different. *shrug*

 

[kuksul08]

My H51W has not had any issues and I've used it extensively. I wonder what could cause that drain issue.

 

[Bobpuvel]

I always unscrew (lockout) the tail cap when I carry my H51W. I've found it turned on before and that thing gets HOT! I've had no parasitic drain with the tailcap locked out.