Zebralight H51Fr overheating while OFF ??

Just received a H51Fr.

Stuck a NiMH in it, played a bit with it and then carried it in my pocket. After some minutes I had the impression that things were heating up in my pocket (while the light was OFF), and after a bit longer, I extracted a very hot light from my pocket.

The battery was hot, and the light was VERY hot.

Contacted Zebra for this.

I hope my battery is still OK, it's almost brand new... But chances are the battery will have suffered because of this issue.

Could it be that there are issues with this light? I received a batch of four different lights (H51, H51Fr, H51r, H51F), and am considering sending them all back.

I assume such an issue cannot be checked - still if someone knows a way to test this, I'd be happy.

The most likely explanation is that the light was accidentally switched on in your pocket without you knowing, and you switched it off as you removed it. Many ZLs are very prone to doing this in pockets, so most people unscrew the tail cap to make sure it doesn't. You should try it with an SC60 - with an 18650 driving it's LED much harder they can get very, very hot (he says with "the voice of experience").

I wouldn't worry that this has damaged your battery unless it shows a reduced capacity.

Thanks. I'll see if it happens again.

I had this happen once. It was because the light switched on to high in my pocket. Got to remember to back off the tailcap a quarter turn if you put a Zebralight in your pocket/purse.