macgyver35
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2007
- Messages
- 18
For everyone having issues with a ballooned/melted switch on the Nitecore EA4:
This switch melting problem seems to be a fairly common issue for these lights. Google search for "Nitecore EA4 melted switch" and you'll find several hits. It is unclear yet whether this is caused by air expansion due to heat, battery venting, or both. In my case I had the light off in its holster with Primaries in it and it swelled and deformed pretty quickly. I'd never had any issues before running primaries or rechargeables, so I'm inclined to think that it is trapped air inside the light expanding and causing the issue.
After about an hour inside my vehicle on an 87 degree day my switch swelled up and distorted badly to the point of being non-functional. It looked like a festering boil on a rhino's backside. Mentioning this problem to Nitecore on their Facebook page got a dismal response. The text from the June 12th, 2013 post is as follows:
I left my Nitecore EA4 in the passenger seat of my car while I grabbed some lunch yesterday. It was about 87 degrees; not terribly hot. When I got back to work and pulled the light out of the holster, the power button was swollen and melted and the light no longer worked at all. The light was turned off and in its holster while it was in the car. I own over 60 different flashlights (I'm a member of www.candlepowerforumscom and edcforums.com), and this had quickly become one of my favorite lights. How do I go about getting it repaired/replaced? Thank you!
Like · · Wednesday at 3:35pm
Nitecore likes this.
Write a comment...
Nitecore: Hi Tom, you could try go back to where you purchased your EA4 and ask them if they have some spare parts to buy or repair.
Like · Reply · Yesterday at 7:50am
I bought mine on Amazon about two months prior, so I was past the point of returning it to them. Feeling like I had nothing to lose, I decided to see if I could fix the bugger myself. After an embarrassing attempt to unscrew what I thought were two different sections of the body, I figured it out. Everything comes out the front.
The other important part is that you will need some kind of rubber boot to take the place of the ruined one. Given the design flaw, I'm not sure that a factory part is your best option. In my case, I used the switch boot from one of my cheap AAA DX lights; specifically the Richuang RC-7001, which runs $2.90. Other AAA clicky boots may work as well.
Please note that I make no guarantees that you will not further damage your light be following these instructions. What worked for me may not work for you. Some force is required to dislodge the main board/LED assembly, and this force could crack the driver board. I will not be held responsible for anyone causing damage to themselves or their lights by following these instructions, which you do at your own risk.
Now back to the Nitcore…
Referencing the excellent images in this post will help you understand the rest of the instructions.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?351365-Nitecore-EA4-Pioneer-review-(cool-white)&p=4111468&viewfull=1#post4111468
You should be good to finish on your own from here. Until Nitecore makes the decision to step up and address this gross design flaw on what is otherwise a simply stellar light, this may be of help to some. Hopefully they will see this post, among others of those having this same issue, and change the design.
This switch melting problem seems to be a fairly common issue for these lights. Google search for "Nitecore EA4 melted switch" and you'll find several hits. It is unclear yet whether this is caused by air expansion due to heat, battery venting, or both. In my case I had the light off in its holster with Primaries in it and it swelled and deformed pretty quickly. I'd never had any issues before running primaries or rechargeables, so I'm inclined to think that it is trapped air inside the light expanding and causing the issue.
After about an hour inside my vehicle on an 87 degree day my switch swelled up and distorted badly to the point of being non-functional. It looked like a festering boil on a rhino's backside. Mentioning this problem to Nitecore on their Facebook page got a dismal response. The text from the June 12th, 2013 post is as follows:
I left my Nitecore EA4 in the passenger seat of my car while I grabbed some lunch yesterday. It was about 87 degrees; not terribly hot. When I got back to work and pulled the light out of the holster, the power button was swollen and melted and the light no longer worked at all. The light was turned off and in its holster while it was in the car. I own over 60 different flashlights (I'm a member of www.candlepowerforumscom and edcforums.com), and this had quickly become one of my favorite lights. How do I go about getting it repaired/replaced? Thank you!
Like · · Wednesday at 3:35pm
Nitecore likes this.
Write a comment...
Nitecore: Hi Tom, you could try go back to where you purchased your EA4 and ask them if they have some spare parts to buy or repair.
Like · Reply · Yesterday at 7:50am
I bought mine on Amazon about two months prior, so I was past the point of returning it to them. Feeling like I had nothing to lose, I decided to see if I could fix the bugger myself. After an embarrassing attempt to unscrew what I thought were two different sections of the body, I figured it out. Everything comes out the front.
The other important part is that you will need some kind of rubber boot to take the place of the ruined one. Given the design flaw, I'm not sure that a factory part is your best option. In my case, I used the switch boot from one of my cheap AAA DX lights; specifically the Richuang RC-7001, which runs $2.90. Other AAA clicky boots may work as well.
Please note that I make no guarantees that you will not further damage your light be following these instructions. What worked for me may not work for you. Some force is required to dislodge the main board/LED assembly, and this force could crack the driver board. I will not be held responsible for anyone causing damage to themselves or their lights by following these instructions, which you do at your own risk.
Now back to the Nitcore…
Referencing the excellent images in this post will help you understand the rest of the instructions.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?351365-Nitecore-EA4-Pioneer-review-(cool-white)&p=4111468&viewfull=1#post4111468
- Unscrew the silver bezel at the lens.
- Take out the clear flat gasket.
- Remove the glass lens.
- Using a sharp point of some kind, carefully pry the black o-ring off the top of the reflector. Unless you take this off first, the reflector is hard to get out, and if forced out, could damage the o-ring.
- Remove the reflector. Be careful as there is a small round black disk at the base of the reflector, about 1/3 inch in diameter, with a square hole in the middle of it, the goes around the LED.
- Remove the large white ring that sits on top the heat sink board. It is beveled on the edges, so pay attention to which way it comes out.
- At this point, take a 6" extension for a socket wrench and insert it into the battery end of the light until it meets the black insulating plate that fits around the battery contacts on the back of the driver board. Using steadily increasing pressure, push the extension until the driver board, heat sink board, and LED and star come out as one unit. They are assembled onto a clear plastic housing that keeps them together.
- As you remove the above assembly, be careful to watch for a rectangular clear plastic piece and very small black plastic plunger that together make up the mechanical part of the switch. They may fall out. If not, you can remove them by applying pressure to the outside of your swollen switch cover until the pop loose inside the light housing.
- In my case, I had to carefully shave the base of the RC-7001 switch boot as it was about twice as thick as the factory boot. Patience and a very sharp single-edged razor blade worked for me.
- Now you can reassemble in the reverse order. The rectangular clear plastic piece has the very small black plastic piece inserted into its center hole from the top side (wide part facing up towards the boot). This little black plunger is what actually makes contact with and actuated the electric switch attached to the main board/LED housing.
- Then slip the boot over the top and around the raised ring molded for it. Insert this assembly back in the main light housing and press it into the boot hole until it seats firmly. The clear plastic piece's ends should be touching or nearly touching the metal light housing.
- Insert the black insulating disk that goes around the battery contacts, and be sure to orient it properly based on where the springs will be once the main board/LED assembly is reinstalled.
- Put the driver/LED assembly back in carefully. You have to get a straight on shot or it will hang up crooked on the threads. I found that rolling up a piece of paper and sticking it in the housing and using it a cylindrical shoehorn helped.
- Press the assembly in as far as it will go and test the action of the switch before putting the rest of the light together. It should feel something like the factory switch, with maybe a bit more travel before it engages. If you replacement boot is considerably taller than the factory boot, you may want to put some kind of hard spacer inside the boot to take up the slack.
You should be good to finish on your own from here. Until Nitecore makes the decision to step up and address this gross design flaw on what is otherwise a simply stellar light, this may be of help to some. Hopefully they will see this post, among others of those having this same issue, and change the design.
Last edited: