Broken Trustfirei

[Jono2323]

I have a Trustfire XM-L 3800 and only used a few times. I used on a dog walk and after 15 just stopped working. Batteries are fine....what has broken? There seems to be no product support available!

[TEEJ]

I have a Trustfire XM-L 3800 and only used a few times. I used on a dog walk and after 15 just stopped working. Batteries are fine....what has broken? There seems to be no product support available!

They are disposable...just get a few at a time, like a book of matches.



Seriously, you'd need to give more details to tell what went wrong, it could be almost anything, except maybe the cells, or, maybe it IS the cells if they are also _____Fire, etc....as they may have voltage, but too much internal resistance to flow enough to power the light, etc.

What were your test results so far on the cells, and light?

Do you have a multimeter?

[JohnnyBravo]

Welcome to the club Jono2323. Have you tried bypassing the tailcap switch with a wire? As in removing the tailcap and connecting a wire from the negative end of the battery to the metal of the body to see if it's a bad switch? If that doesn't work, it may be the batteries, or something wrong w/ the driver/led asembly. I had the same model, and after an 18 inch vertical drop onto my carpet, it stopped working. And it wasn't the tailcap switch. I tossed the whole light. Lost $56 worth. I don't trust Trustfire anymore...

I have a Trustfire XM-L 3800 and only used a few times. I used on a dog walk and after 15 just stopped working. Batteries are fine....what has broken? There seems to be no product support available!

[Jono2323]

I don't have testing equipment, but I can try the wire suggestion to see if it's the switch. I note, however, that I did not damage the unit...it just stopped working while walking. Would a switch just fail like that?

[HotWire]

Check to see if the ring inside the switch is tight. It can be tightened with tweezers or long nose pliers. Clean all points of contact. Check the switch as described above. Unscrew the head and look for bad solder joints, reflow if necessary.

[JohnnyBravo]

I also noticed that when I tried first tried to use this light w/ some Trust of Ultrafire 4000 mAH 18650s, it would only work for 10-15 seconds; then it'd shut off. After reading about batteries and their current/amps deliveries, I discovered some lights work better w/ IMR type batteries; so I only use AW IMR 18650, 14500, and 16340 batteries. I don't mind the slightly lower capacities. I like the ability to deliver HEAVY currents/draw w/out breaking a sweat!

I don't have testing equipment, but I can try the wire suggestion to see if it's the switch. I note, however, that I did not damage the unit...it just stopped working while walking. Would a switch just fail like that?

[Ualnosaj]

Check to see if the ring inside the switch is tight. It can be tightened with tweezers or long nose pliers. Clean all points of contact. Check the switch as described above. Unscrew the head and look for bad solder joints, reflow if necessary.

+1 I had a bunch of UltraFire 50x that intermittently didn't work. It came down to a loose tailcap switch. The action of screwing/unscrewing the tailcap for a battery change loosened the switch.

[Jono2323]

I tried the suggestion of the wire from negative terminal to metal body and nothing happened. I am a newbie...how do I test the batteries next?

[HotWire]

The best way is to replace the batteries with known good batteries. You can also check the voltage, but.... I've had batteries come off the charger at 4.2v and would not light some LEDs. I noted the brand (****Fire) and tossed 'em.

[Jono2323]

I guess I will buy a pair and try them. If that does not work....do I just have a paperweight? Also, if I was thinking of a replacement, what is as bright in the same price class (i.e. $60) that would be a good replacement?

[HotWire]

A couple of years ago I had a similar light that would not work. I bought the LEDs and lens from....(insert Chinese dealer here) and it's worked fine. It wasn't an XML but.... the replacement parts worked fine, and were not expensive.

[lightfooted]

If it turns out to be a dud then I can with conscience recommend a Solarforce flashlight. Surefire copies they may be but still possesing of an acceptable standard of quality. I own two myself and always go to them first as a budget minded high-power light. If you go to their website (they are in China) you can find several options for well under $60 even after shipping costs. The state-side dealers don't usually have very many of the "turn-key" models but Lighthound has most of the parts to fix one up the way you want it.

[^Gurthang]

I'll echo the suggestion for a SolarForce, I have several and all are well made & rugged, plus the P60 compatibility is very useful. If the 3800 stays dead you can always invest in a Rat Shack soldering iron and a few simple tools and try your hand at modding the light so it will work.

[Let It Bleed]

Have to agree with lightfooted. I've got a couple and the quality is quite good for the price. My opinion is based on only 2 Solarforce bodies. I purchased a L2P and a L2 and put a Thrunite and Dereelight dropin in each respectively. If I recall correctly the L2P cost approximately $20 and the dropin about $30. The L2 was $10 and dropin $25. These were bought when XP-G was the latest Cree emitter on the market.

[Jono2323]

Another related newbie question: if it turns out that there is a short and I need a bulb replacement, it would seem that I could pick one up for about $25-30. Does it pay for me to get one (i.e. a Trustfire replacement) or is there a compatable but more reputable replacement that would fit the assembly?

[fyrstormer]

Don't waste money on lights that are too cheap for a proper brand name.

[qwertyydude]

If you're not up for going all out and repairing the light properly, I don't think you should buy a replacement part. It's just as likely the replacement would have just the same problem as the original light.

These generic lights can be good and reliable, but they almost always have to be made that way. This means completely disassembling them cleaning all contact surfaces, soldering any dodgy joints. And even redoing the thermal compound under each led star for better thermal performance for long term reliability. I've even gond so far as to taking the clicky switches apart and cleaning the contacts and soldering electrical paths solid on the clickies. If you're not willing to do these things, don't buy these lights. And definitely don't try buying replacement parts, they're of no better quality, so what would be the point?

[spc smith]

Jono2323,

Do yourself a favor and start by throwing that piece of crapfire to the curb, and check out shiningbeam.com. CAN'T REMEMBER THE NAME BUT its something like romisen RCT6 using the xml U2 emitter purporting 750 OTF lumens right around $34 USD.

[fyrstormer]

If you're not up for going all out and repairing the light properly, I don't think you should buy a replacement part. It's just as likely the replacement would have just the same problem as the original light.

These generic lights can be good and reliable, but they almost always have to be made that way. This means completely disassembling them cleaning all contact surfaces, soldering any dodgy joints. And even redoing the thermal compound under each led star for better thermal performance for long term reliability. I've even gond so far as to taking the clicky switches apart and cleaning the contacts and soldering electrical paths solid on the clickies. If you're not willing to do these things, don't buy these lights. And definitely don't try buying replacement parts, they're of no better quality, so what would be the point?

This.

The extra cost of a well-made light almost always goes towards paying for careful assembly. The parts usually aren't significantly better in quality, just better-finished and better-assembled. The parts are all made by machines nowadays, and there's almost no money to be saved by making cheaper parts, only by telling the employees to skip cleaning the threads or waiting for the epoxy to set before continuing the assembly process.

[loquutis79]

I would not suggest the Romisen product, sorry spc smith. Huge amount of lumen and really good throw, can't tell the difference between it and my Fenix TK35 but I bet money my Fenix will be around much longer. I already know of one Romisen RC-T602 failure. One out of three I ordered for some co-workers and I.

In fareness though, he might have dropped his battery in backwards and toasted it, so not really the lights fault. But where is the battery reversal protection?

Same a few bucks and get something with a better rep. Look around here and you will find many brands which are very well built but will not cost you an arm and a leg. I know the budget route is tempting, but there is usually a reason they are budget.

[HaileStorm]

I would not suggest the Romisen product, sorry spc smith. Huge amount of lumen and really good throw, can't tell the difference between it and my Fenix TK35 but I bet money my Fenix will be around much longer. I already know of one Romisen RC-T602 failure. One out of three I ordered for some co-workers and I.

In fareness though, he might have dropped his battery in backwards and toasted it, so not really the lights fault. But where is the battery reversal protection?

Same a few bucks and get something with a better rep. Look around here and you will find many brands which are very well built but will not cost you an arm and a leg. I know the budget route is tempting, but there is usually a reason they are budget.

I've had my Romisen I3 for years (around 4-5 years) and I never had a problem with it. I also have the RC-T602 and I'm not having any problems with that either.

I'm not sure if it does have the reverse bat protection but ultimately, it just takes a bit of common sense not to drop your battery in the wrong way around.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[spc smith]

Loquutis79,

Your right though about one thing, not to recommend product that you of yourself have not tested out or used. I quite like my klarus XT11. But one thing else loquutis79, there ARE some good quality budget lights out there. One that I've recently ordered is the DRY 3XML. For $65 USD its a steal, hopefully I don't burn out the leds on this one though! It's quite whit brighter than my XT11... But then again, its one whole notha animal and species of light!

SPC smith

[loquutis79]

Don't get me wrong, the Romisen I have is fine so far, and I do like it a lot. Tons of throw for $30. All I mean to say is you have to watch what you buy, is all. Like I did say, there is a good chance he dropped the battery in backwards. Then it's no fault of the torch

[Jono2323]

Update! I bought new batteries and the flashlight works now. I bought protected ultra fire batteries. Why did the stock batteries just fail? Is that common?

[fyrstormer]

What kind of batteries did you use originally? If they were single-use lithium batteries, they will always stop working suddenly; that's just how single-use lithium batteries are.

[Jono2323]

No, there were the Trustfire rechargeables that came with the flashlight.

[fyrstormer]

Ah. I think TrustFire uses parts that weren't good enough to be put into UltraFire products.

[SimulatedZero]

Ah. I think TrustFire uses parts that weren't good enough to be put into UltraFire products.

Oh how I love irony.


But more seriously, batteries are the one thing that I tend not skimp on. I am pretty damn cheap and own a 13 dollar ultrafire myself, but I would never trust those batteries. I suggest that you invest in some AW Li-Ions and more importantly invest in a good charger. And spend a fair amount of time reading about Li-Ion batteries in the battery subsection. Those batteries can go wrong in a big way and it's better to be safe than sorry. But, hopefully that fixes your light for you. +1 on finding a good budget light you are satisfied with.

[kramer5150]

Update! I bought new batteries and the flashlight works now. I bought protected ultra fire batteries. Why did the stock batteries just fail? Is that common?

You cant just assume a battery failure, just because you swapped them and that fixed it. Theres the possibility of under-designed springs in the light that annealed under load. I had this happen recently in my TR-J12, it draws 27W at 8.4V and after a 7-8 minute run the springs annealed and the light became inoperative. Switching cells to protected cells, a slightly longer brand, or adding magnets would have "fixed" the problem, but only because the cell stackup is slightly longer. The springs would have eventually annealed again and it would have become inoperative once again.

I had to add copper braid to the springs and relieve them of current flow.

Some trustfire cells are actually very good for the $$. Trustfire gray protected 2400mah and black label flames have a good track-record, maybe not here but on other forums.

[Jono2323]

I don't mean to sound stupid, but what is "annealed" and how would I correct for same?