Happy ending: [A2 failed, any advice/help?]

Well, this story has a happy ending

After I got home tonight I disassembled the A2, and cleaned the whole thing out with cleaning alcohol as much as i could, popped in a set of new batteries, cranked it on and lo it came on (including the incan)

i suppose either Ms. Incan was finally sufficiently impressed by my pathetic attempts at courting her, or that the original dead batteries might've done something to the circuit, a combination of both, or maybe i just got her drunk on cleaning alcohol :thinking:

The thing is... My first attempt at putting in new batteries the night before had no effect Ms. Incan, and anyway, I thought there was supposed to still be a little bit of weak light coming on after the big plunge, or maybe that's just the LEDs showing up on Quickbeam's chart :shrug: i'll have to go get me a multimeter [is that the right device?] to check the old batts.

Anyway, thanks everyone for all the help, all replies were very much appreciated :bow:

now if you'll excuse me, Ms. Incan and I have a lot of catching up to do :naughty:

Hi :wave:

Need some help here... the incan function on my EDC A2 just failed on me and i'm not quite sure why =P

1. the LEDs work, both in the 'LED' mode, and in the 'incan' mode (of course the incan isn't working).
2. first i tried new batteries, and that didn't fix it.
3. the tailcap is fine, the head & incan bulb are both fine, i have another A2, and switched the parts. both incan & LED will work on my other A2 body, while porting either the head or tailcap of the working A2 over to the dysfunctional A2 results in incan failure....
4. while switching lamp assembly's to make sure it wasn't blown, i noticed the 'other' A2's LA was 'locked in' and required a slight turn to remove it. the EDC A2's LA just falls out automatically, and doesn't lock in even if i turn it... :thinking:

is the 'processor' of the A2 in the body or in the head itself? if in the body, is that what has failed? =P SF's site is not working for me at the moment, but i suppose this is something i can't fix myself and will need to contact them? =P

anyway, would appreciate any help,

thanks in advance! :thanks:

somy

Click to expand...

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

bummer
can't help you but just:buddies:
hope someone else can help.

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

thanks Flashgreenie

hopefully someone will be able to chime in, but i have a feeling this is gonna be one that'll need to be sent back to SF. luckily i got a spare to tide me over!

the ironic thing is that it failed on a simple night walk, after having survived caving

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

The regulator is in the body of the A2. Are the LED's brighter, when the tail cap is fully depressed?

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

Hi Oldgrandpajack

yes, the LEDs are brighter when going into 'incan mode', whether through the button or the twisty way...

... i tried to stare down the working A2 to see if the LEDs in that go brighter too, but it was just too bright!

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

You need to email Surefire Customer Service. The LED's are normally brighter, when the incandescent lamp is activated.

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

Have you tried switching the tail caps? Just the tail caps.

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

Wonder if there might be corrosion on the contact for the MA02? This is the contact in the bezel end of the A2 body. If so, gently using an erasor to remove the corrosion, might be an answer.

I would use the erasor on the end of the MA02 also.

Don't touch the glass of the MA02. If you do, clean it with rubbing alchohal, before reinstalling it. Skin oil will cause failure of the Lamp Assembly.

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

Hmmm...

i tried switching the tailcaps individually, and also the heads individually. the incan still doesn't light up

i can't see any corrosion, which might be just as well, as i don't have any erasers in my house!

i have a strong suspicion it might be the regulator inside the body. any mix of the head/tailcap of the non-working unit works perfectly fine on my other A2...

i'm gonna send an e-mail to SF then and see what they say, and bring my A2 to work tomorrow where i'll have an eraser

as an aside... i read that thread that the LEDs might be overdriven in the A2... might this be so when the incan is on (given that they are brighter)?

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

The Led's being overdriven, might have been in a thread about using rechargeable batteries in the A2. I don't recommend doing that. Stick with the 123A batteries.

If there is corrosion on the Lamp Assembly, and the contact in the bezel end of the body, the combination of both, might be enough to be a problem. Wonder if there may be corrosion on the little fingers in the tail cap too? The corrosion would only be a film. Probably would be hard to see.

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

Some folks were also having contact problems in incandescent mode. It seems it can happen two ways, if the clip is not pushed all the way into its slot, or if the bezel is not screwed all the way down. Otherwise, I would say it is a SF issue.

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

found an eraser and rubbed the contact points, but unfortunately the incan still isn't lighting up...

Addition: just saw your post Leukos (was writing this while you posted) anyway, just tried pushing the clip as far in as it'll go and tightened the bezel as much as it'll go. still no difference... hmm

looks like it might just have to take a trip back to SF...

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

Try cleaning both ends of the body, with the erasor. On the edge, at the beginning of the threads.

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

did that too... maybe some stray lube, but i've got one slighty dirty eraser now :laughing: ... unfortunately, it hasn't sufficiently impressed my incandescent bulb for it to light up yet :laughing:

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

Is the bezel on as tight as it can be?

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

You might want to use the eraser inside the body on the positive end.

You might want to clean the threads with alcohol too.

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

I have never heard of a regulator failing in an A2, but that might be the problem.

Before going there, though, I would:

1) Replace the batteries with brand new ones. (I know you tried this, but there is always the chance that the ones you tried were dead also.)
2) Clean EVERY contact point.
3) Then change ONE thing at a time. The most common cause of A2 failures seems to be the switch, not the regulator.

A) Take the functioning light, replace the head only with the nonfunctioning one.
If it works, set the head aside, put the functioning one back on. If it doesn't work, swap the functioning lamp into that head. If it works, the lamp is the problem. If it doesn't work, the head is the problem. Check all the contacts, and make sure that it is all screwed down tight. If that doesn't solve the problem

B) Switch out the tail cap for the nonfunctioning one. If it works, set it aside. The problem is batteries, or the head is not getting fully down tight on the nonfunctioning light. If it doesn't work, the problem is the tailcap.

Bill

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

I was going to suggest the clip issue, but leukos beat me to it.
Good luck!

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

Hi All and thanks for the suggestions :grouphug:

Al, I've tried tightening the bezel as much as it'll go, and still no go

Hoghead, I'll have to try that later after i get home from work today

Bill, I gave it a try with a set of new batteries, and unfortunately that didn't work. I also tried switching individual parts (head/lamp/tailcap) separately to try to isolate any one that might be malfunctioning, but they all work on the 'working' A2 body, whether individually or in combination.

greenLED, it's the thought that counts =) what happened to your GL3 by the way? actually... i'll scoot on over to your thread to check it out

I'm going to clean all the contact points again this evening with an eraser and some alcohol, and see if that helps... :huh: *we need a fingers crossed smiley*

I suppose I can afford to be less worried about it, given I have a 'spare' A2 and given SF's warranty. It was also a good coincidence though that my 18650s from AW arrived yesterday, so I can press my U2 into 'substitute duty' if i need to gotta um... 'test' those new batteries out!

thanks all once again for the help, and i'm certainly open to any other suggestions before it gets shipped back to SF

Re: A2 failed, any advice/help?

Do you have a multimeter? Maybe check the continuity between some major connections. I have my A2 at home (at work atm) and will crack it open to see if I can find anything more substantial to contribute.