So I just got my Zebralight. I searched but couldn't seem to find what I was looking for. Super stoked to be able to compete with car headlights on my bicycle. Anyhow, I tried it out and with a single click, it flashes once briefly very bright, and then will not turn on again unless I take the battery out and then put it back in. Then, the only way I can get it to stay on is to hold down the button to get the low setting and the medium setting. If I hold it down long enough to get the high setting, same thing, it flashes very bright, once, then turns off and will not turn on again unless I take the battery out and put it back in. I just got the battery I am using today but it has been charging for the past 5 hours. It is a Nuon 2600mah 3.6v. I am getting a Panasonic 3.7 volt 3400mAh tomorrow. The charger I am using is one that I bought for $4.00 on ebay. Is it possible that the battery and charger are not giving it a good enough charge for the high setting on the Zebralight to work? I will report back when I try the Panasonic battery.
Zebralight h600 MKII problems with hight mode/single clicks
- Thread starter jaross
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thedoc007
Flashlight Enthusiast
Are you testing voltage after it is done charging? Personally, I would be a little wary of using a $4 charger to charge $15 cells. The <$10 range generally isn't good value - that is CHEAP. And the majority of safety issues (fires, gas venting, overheating) occur when charging, not when the cell is in use. Not the best place to try to save a couple bucks, if it means unreliable charging. Doing a basic voltage test after each charge to ensure it isn't overcharging is the absolute minimum safety check I'd recommend.
I have no personal experience with Nuon, so I'm curious to see your update with the new 3400 mAh cell. Let us know what you find out!
I have no personal experience with Nuon, so I'm curious to see your update with the new 3400 mAh cell. Let us know what you find out!
samgab
Flashlight Enthusiast
The symptoms you describe sound to me like the cell you are using is not handling the current draw of the light on H1 mode.
I don't know if that is because it is a poor quality cell, or a poor protection circuit on the cell, or if it hasn't been charged properly; but it's probably likely to be a combination of the first two options.
(EDIT: The H600 draws upward of 2.8 Amps on H1 mode, and this draw increases as the cell's voltage sags. The protection circuit on the Nuon cells reportedly cuts in at about 2.7 Amperes, so that probably explains the issue, and why you have to remove the cell to get it to work again; The protection circuit probably takes a little time to reset, and possibly may need to go open circuit in order to reset also.)
I think you'll find that you won't experience this issue with the Panasonic cell.
That aside, you should probably get a reasonable charger. Think of what you've invested in the flashlight and the Panasonic cell, and compare that to what you've invested in the charger...
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Thanks for the help so far guys, I was worried about the switch on the light, so it looks like I maybe able to rule that out. What you are saying about the Nuon makes sense. If that is what is indeed happening, it does not need time to reset, just an open circuit. That makes sense why it would go to high for a split second. Will report back when I try the Panasonic. Hows this charger?: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057ZEH2U/?tag=cpf0b6-20
thedoc007
Flashlight Enthusiast
I would avoid Trustfire, or any xxxxFire brand. The good news is, with only $1.50 more, you can get the Nitecore i2 Intellicharger. A name-brand charger that does fairly well at charging just about any lithium cell that will fit, and can also charge NiMH and NiCad batteries too, if need be. For less than $20, you could also get the i4 Intellicharger, which would give you four charge slots instead of two. That is one of the most popular chargers on CPF, and has worked very well for me. You only have to buy a decent charger once - just spend a few dollars more and you'll have piece of mind, and room to expand!
Okay, getting the Nitecore i2. I can't imagine needing 4, or even two slots. I will be using my Zebralight mostly on the highest setting but my bike commute is 20 minutes to town. Even if I use it on high both ways it shouldn't run out of battery power. On that note, do you guys have ideas for maximizing battery life? I was told with Li-ion it is best to recharge fully, but I don't want to run it until it runs out because I will be out on my bike and I do not want to carry around an extra battery. So I was planning on having two batteries. One always in the light and one always in the charger but if I do that, they will never fully discharge.
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samgab
Flashlight Enthusiast
There are several previous threads about how to best maximize cell life, such as this recent/current one.
And there is good information at Battery University.
And have a thorough read of this article.
I also recommend this book, if you're really interested:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KBB74M/?tag=cpf0b6-20
As for recharging, unlike with NiMH cells, with Li-Ion cells there is no harm in recharging them as often as possible, and from any partial state of charge or depth of discharge level.
Eg, it is fine to take the cell out of the flashlight still with 90% SOC in it, and put it on the charger. The reason for this is that the charge method used on Li-Ion cells is called CC/CV, or Constant Current / Constant Voltage. This in turn means that when the battery is at any given state of charge, the charger will only apply charge current at a decreasing rate as required to keep the cell voltage at 4.2V until the cell SOC is topped up.
Also, as for the number of "cycles" that the cell lasts, if you only use 10% of the cells charge and then recharge, and do that 10 times, that would equate to only 1 cycle, not 10 cycles. Likewise, if you use 50% of the cell's capacity, and do this twice, this would equate to 1 cycle, not 2. So there is no reason to run a Li-Ion cell completely flat between charges, in fact it is harmful for the cell to do so. Li-Ion cells don't develop a so-called "memory effect" as Nickel based chemistries do either, which is another reason why you don't need to run a complete discharge cycle.
So the way you are planning to do it, by swapping the cell over each trip, and then fully charging the other cell from whatever SOC it happens to be in at that time, is ideal treatment for Li-Ion chemistry cells.
Your cells will last a lot longer that way than if you run them completely flat before swapping them each time.
Also, charge them at the lowest rate available (again, this differs from NiMH or NiCd chemistry).
The Nitecore i2 charges at a 500mA rate, IIRC, which is nice and low: for a 3100mAh cell it's about 1/6C, which is great. It means it'll take several hours to charge fully (again, due to the CC/CV charge method), but that's fine as you will be using the alternate cell whilst that one charges, and also, because you won't have fully discharged it before putting it back on to recharge.
