JIL Intelli Question

Literator · Feb 13, 2006

Do those of you who have a JIL Intelli have a spring at the bottom of the battery tube? I see nothing but a little nub on the bottom. What made me wonder is that I've been using an RCR2 that I think I bought from Lighthound. It works fine. I recently bought a couple of regulated RCR2s from AW. They are about 1/8" shorter than the others, and I can't get them to work. They aren't long enough to make a connection.

With the Lighthound RCR2, I get the light to come on just about at the point where it stops twisting, since it's on as tight as it can go. There's no force, but it I had to go any further, there would be.

I put a small piece of spring in the bottom of the light, and the regulated RCR2 worked fine, except whenever I turn the light off and tip it upside down, the spring contacts the battery and the light turns on by itself. If there is something (a spacer? spring??) in the bottom that fell out, tell me what should be in there, and if there are any suggestions about where or how to get what I need to replace it, that would be appreciated as well. Thanks!

--Bob

LouRoy · Feb 13, 2006

No spring in the bottom of mine. Works fine with the unprotected RCR2 batteries that I have. I was planning to get some of the protected ones from AW, so this is bad news. I hope someone can come up with a solution.

this_is_nascar · Feb 13, 2006

1/8" is a huge difference in size. I'd suggest not using those cells. Why muck-up your light, just to get them working with cells that are out of spec. All the lithium CR2 cells (Energizer, Battery Station) and all my rechargables (Juice, AW-unprotected) all work fine and are a consistant length. If you're that dead set on using those cells, throw a thin washer at the bottom of the battery tube or something similar.

Literator · Feb 13, 2006

I tried to more closely measure the difference, comparing the regulated battery from AW with the unregulated generic blue cell from Lighthound and the primary CR2 shipped with the JIL. The cells from AW are definitely shorter - probably closer to 1/16" than 1/8", but enough that I can easily get the unregulated and primary cells to work and the regulated cell won't work. As I said, the unregulated cell kicks in very close to the limit of twisting the head to the point of tightening it, and won't twist enough for the extra 1/16" or so on the regulated cell to make up for the size difference. I may try to find a really thin washer or something to fill in the bottom, since I already have the regulated cells anyway.

Anyone else tried the regulated cells and having the same problem. Glad I'm not missing a spring or something!

--Bob

LouRoy · Feb 13, 2006

Lighthound sells some small magnets that might work for you.

http://www.lighthound.com/sales/protected_lithium_batteries.htm

I've got some extras of the 1.6mm size. I will send you one in the morning if you PM me your address. You can try it out and let us know how it works.

Literator · Feb 13, 2006

PM sent. Thanks, LouRoy. :thanks:

I'll let everyone know the results when the spacer magnet gets here. It may just make the difference from looking at the Lighthound description.

--Bob

LouRoy · Feb 13, 2006

OK, Bob, magnets are on their way. Hope they work!

AW · Feb 14, 2006

The measurement I have on the Protected RCR2 Vs a Duracell is :

Protected RCR2 : 15.45mm ( diameter ) X 26.00mm ( length )

Duracell CR2 : 15.33mm ( diameter ) X 26.43mm ( length )

It is a bit shorter ( 0.43mm ) compared to the Duracell CR2. It is still within industry standard ( +/- 0.5mm ) by the definition of a 15266 ( 15mm X 26mm ).

I have 3 JILs and these cells work in two of them with the sticker label removed. For the other one which doesn't made contact, a wad of aluminum foil does the trick.

goldserve · Feb 14, 2006

That's an easy fix. Good to know!

this_is_nascar · Feb 14, 2006

The cell on the left is severely shorter than a standard CR2 according to the pics. The fact that it's shorter + needs room for a protection circuit makes be believe the performance of this cell is not up to par with the others. I've done no testing, so this is only speculation on my part. It makes sense to me that if that cell is shorter than average (by a noticable amount) + needs space for a protection circuit, that it can not be performing the same as other RCR2 cells.

Literator · Feb 14, 2006

Thanks, AW, for the tip about the foil. I hadn't thought about that one. Nascar, the picture is deceiving because AW's battery wrap only covers part of the battery. The battery extends above the label about the same distance as it extends below the label, so it may be longer than you think. With the dark background, it's hard to tell. I'm optimistic that the magnet spacer from LouRoy will also do the trick. Lighthound sells them for 15 cents, so it's not a big investment. But I'll definitly try to foil trick.

--Bob

Lite · Feb 14, 2006

FYI: my intelli does not have spring either. I'm using unregulated Toshiba RCR2 without issue.

Literator · Feb 14, 2006

Thanks, Lite. From AW's pictures and the responses, it's pretty clear that there is no spring, and that I didn't lose anything. I'm going to wait for the magnet to try the unregulated battery and see how it goes. I'm pretty confident that it should do the trick.

--Bob

Literator · Feb 16, 2006

OK - got the 1/16" magnet spacers from LouRoy in the mail today. Thanks, Lou!

Here's what I found. First, I bought two regulated RCR2 batteries from AW, who posted earlierin this thread that 2/3 of his batteries work in his JIL Intelli. The one I tried didn't work. It seemed just a hair too short, and when I twisted the head in all the way, nothing happened. While I was waiting for Lou's mail, I tried the other RCR2. They look exactly the same size, a little shorter than the unregulated and the primary, so I assumed the second one wouldn't work. Wrong! The second regulated RCR2 worked! In both cases, I had to take the foil wrapper off the battery. They went into the JIL tube with the foil with little problem, but they did not come out easily. Taking the foil wrap off helps a lot. It's still a little tight, but a little tap on the tube will usually bump enough of the battery out to pull the rest out.

I tried Lou's spacer magnet he bought from Lighthound. As I said, they add 1/16" to the length of the battery when attached to the top. As expected, the extra length did the trick. The problem, though, is that now the battery and spacer combination are almost TOO long. The light turned on when the o-ring was barely covered by the flashlight head. So it works, but I'm not sure how waterproof the combination would be.

So I think there are four solutions. 1 - don't buy the battery. Use the unregulated RCR2 that AW also sells. I have two and they are both fine as is. 2 - try your luck with ordering the regulated RCR2, and hope that the one(s) you get work. Maybe those who use JIL Intellis could ask AW to try them out first in his Intelli to make sure they work, and ship the ones that don't to others that are using them for different lights. I don't want to assume he will do this extra work, since I know he's a busy guy. 3 - try the foil solution that AW offers. You could regulate the thickness of the foil to suit your needs. As I said, for the battery that didn't work, it just needed almost literally a hair's more length to make the contact. Visually I could see absolutely no difference between the two, so it's close. 4 - get some spacer magnets from Lighthound and keep your JIL from going under the water. It does seem to twist shut enough to keep the rain out, but the o-ring is just covered by the battery tube when the light kicks in with the spacer attached.

Thanks again to both AW and Lou for their ideas and input (and the magnets)!

--Bob

Uxorious · Feb 16, 2006

Literator said:
OK - got the 1/16" magnet spacers from LouRoy in the mail today. Thanks, Lou!

Here's what I found. First, I bought two regulated RCR2 batteries from AW, who posted earlierin this thread that 2/3 of his batteries work in his JIL Intelli. The one I tried didn't work. It seemed just a hair too short, and when I twisted the head in all the way, nothing happened. While I was waiting for Lou's mail, I tried the other RCR2. They look exactly the same size, a little shorter than the unregulated and the primary, so I assumed the second one wouldn't work. Wrong! The second regulated RCR2 worked! In both cases, I had to take the foil wrapper off the battery. They went into the JIL tube with the foil with little problem, but they did not come out easily. Taking the foil wrap off helps a lot. It's still a little tight, but a little tap on the tube will usually bump enough of the battery out to pull the rest out.

I tried Lou's spacer magnet he bought from Lighthound. As I said, they add 1/16" to the length of the battery when attached to the top. As expected, the extra length did the trick. The problem, though, is that now the battery and spacer combination are almost TOO long. The light turned on when the o-ring was barely covered by the flashlight head. So it works, but I'm not sure how waterproof the combination would be.

So I think there are four solutions. 1 - don't buy the battery. Use the unregulated RCR2 that AW also sells. I have two and they are both fine as is. 2 - try your luck with ordering the regulated RCR2, and hope that the one(s) you get work. Maybe those who use JIL Intellis could ask AW to try them out first in his Intelli to make sure they work, and ship the ones that don't to others that are using them for different lights. I don't want to assume he will do this extra work, since I know he's a busy guy. 3 - try the foil solution that AW offers. You could regulate the thickness of the foil to suit your needs. As I said, for the battery that didn't work, it just needed almost literally a hair's more length to make the contact. Visually I could see absolutely no difference between the two, so it's close. 4 - get some spacer magnets from Lighthound and keep your JIL from going under the water. It does seem to twist shut enough to keep the rain out, but the o-ring is just covered by the battery tube when the light kicks in with the spacer attached.

Thanks again to both AW and Lou for their ideas and input (and the magnets)!

--Bob

Thanks for your great info !!
I also bought two protected RCR2 from AW and still waiting for the shipping of my Jil Intelli.
I think that maybe you can use sandpaper to make the magnet shorter, and it could work fine.
Is this a great idea?

Literator · Feb 16, 2006

Uxorious:

These magnets are pretty small, about the size of the nub at the top of the battery, so it would be hard to do, but it should work, I would guess, if you're careful. I think the foil would probably be a lot easier to use, but I think it's up to each person to decide what works the best for them. Good luck. You will enjoy your Intelli when you get it!

--Bob

goldserve · Feb 16, 2006

I think someone advised against putting a little solder on the top of batteries right?

Ned-L · Feb 16, 2006

Goldserve,

Is it possible that the flupic module is screwed in just a part of turn more on some lights causing them not to contact with the protected RCR2s? FYI - I have 2 of the protected RCR2s from AW and they both work fine with my JIL Intelli.

Ned

goldserve · Feb 16, 2006

If you take out the flupic and the metal ring, you can sand that down CAREFULLY. The aluminum metal ring BENDS easily so be careful. If you sand it down a little, that should bring the flupic board down a little which should be enough for the battery.

Literator · Feb 18, 2006

Another update on the batteries - Super Dave sent me his protected RCR2 from AW. He had trouble getting it in and out of his JIL. I pulled off the foil wrapper, and it worked. So I have two of three that work fine, just like AW. The third works with the magnet spacer, as I mentioned earlier.

The batteries don't tip out easily. I used a pocket knife blade to leverage it out, and it comes out easily that way. No digging around or pushing the blade into the covering. I also can use one of LouRoy's magnet spacers to literally pull the batteries out of the tube. Those are strong little suckers. So, just like the length, the diameter is a close fit, but with the foil wrapper removed, it's pretty easy to get them out with very little effort. Thanks again Dave and Lou!

--Bob

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