14500 broke my Xtar H1?

Finally I remember to start this thread...

I bought Xtar H1 last summer and had no problems using it until I put 14500 in it. The light first started flickering but after a few seconds it stayed constant. I thought it was just adjusting for the new battery type, but next time I turned the light on, it flickered and shut down. I tested it with another cell and AA and NiMH but with any recommended battery type in it flickered. I thought the tailcap had gotten some dirt on it and cleaned it but the flickering returned. Trying to change the modes may lead to turning the light of or the mode may not change. Only thing that seems to stop flickering is slapping the headlamp with my palm.

Did the 14500 break my headlamp? Does anyone have similar experience with their H1 or any other headlamp?

I'm now considering sending the headlamp back to the eBay seller I got it from, but I should pay mailing it back there. I'm not sure if it's worth it if I get another headlamp that breaks.

I've had something similar happen to a Zebralight, they replaced it for me at no charge

jinya1004 said:

I've had something similar happen to a Zebralight, they replaced it for me at no charge

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I asked the importer here in Finland, but they replied that they don't replace products ordered from abroad (even if it was genuine and new). I also got free lecture that I should have ordered light from them to have a warranty and so on... Maybe I could contact Xtar directly too.

I got my replacement directly from the manufacturer, it took some time from China to US but glad they honor the warranty

Could be the 14500's length... These cells vary a lot, even among same brand. If the cells are too long, it can break the electrical connection like a lockout, and if you over tighten, the battery pressure against the circuit board can cause internal damage.

Good point, I've got to check that.

reppans said:

Could be the 14500's length... These cells vary a lot, even among same brand. If the cells are too long, it can break the electrical connection like a lockout, and if you over tighten, the battery pressure against the circuit board can cause internal damage.

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I tested it now and those Keeppowers are too long for it. I don't believe I've tried over tighten the tailcap knowing that the protection circuit in the battery might break --- you can easily see it's about 1mm too long for it.

I also can't believe that even it's still flickering with NiMH in it, using Eagtac 14500 works fine now! I even get the 4th mode on without problems. I thought I tested it earlier with all the batteries I had and put it back to it's package waiting for the return and let it there for a mont but it seems to have fixed itself. Or fixed itself almost.

I tested now with a L91 lithium primary and it works. It seemed to flicker for a second but then adjusted to the new voltage. Only NiMH (Eneloop with 1.34 V measured) seem to flicker.

I keep testing it and if it works with the Li-ion I keep it.

Did some more testing.

Put in NiMH and it seemed to work ok.
Put in 14500 and it flickered. I didn't wait the flickering to stop and went through the modes and it shut down.
Put in L91 lithium primary and it took a little time to stop flickerin and worked fine.
Put in NIMH and it worked fine.
Put in 14500 and it worked fine.
Reproduced.

I'm just scratching my head here... It seems it needs some time to adjust to new voltage. Or something. Let's see if I can run some of the batteries dry with it without problem.

D6859 said:

I tested it now and those Keeppowers are too long for it. I don't believe I've tried over tighten the tailcap knowing that the protection circuit in the battery might break --- you can easily see it's about 1mm too long for it.

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OK, I don't own this light but here's my best guess...

I saw a review of this light and read that it can be locked out by unscrewing the tailcap slightly. If that is true, then in most cases, the battery MUST NOT extend beyond the length of the battery tube. In other words, if you can see 1mm of the battery (viewed from the side, held upside down with tailcap off), then when you turned the light on with this battery, you most likely have flexed the back of the circuit board by the same 1mm. Tailcap lockouts will usually push a battery even/flush with the tube edge - in other words, a lockout tailcap with too long a battery is already "over tightened" when the circuit is complete and able to turn on.

Who really knows, but I suspect the slight flex/bend/pressure on the back of the circuit board tweaked some circuits, or broke/weakened some solder joints... perhaps they are still aligned enough to intermittently operate, but I personally wouldn't trust it anymore.

Good luck.

reppans said:

Who really knows, but I suspect the slight flex/bend/pressure on the back of the circuit board tweaked some circuits, or broke/weakened some solder joints... perhaps they are still aligned enough to intermittently operate, but I personally wouldn't trust it anymore.

Good luck.

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I meant, I didn't turn the light on with Keeppower in since it's too long and as the light has a lockout function it won't even turn on. I didn't use that much force. Eagtac battery is little shorter and works fine. There is a chancec that pressure has bent the circuit and it has now somehow restored or something. IIRC Xtar replaced the tailcap in this model and sent new tailcap to users (or retailers) that asked for it. If I wanted to use Keeppowers in it, I should ask for the new tailcap.

I hope the circuit isn't broken and wish just I had good luck

Perhaps I misunderstood, but based on the following sequence of your posts...

D6859 said:

I bought Xtar H1 last summer and had no problems using it until I put 14500 in it. The light first started flickering but after a few seconds it stayed constant.

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D6859 said:

Good point, I've got to check that.

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D6859 said:

I tested it now and those Keeppowers are too long for it.

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I assumed it was the long KP cell that caused the issue..... If not, then which 14500 did you first use, and it is short enough not extended beyond the battery tube edge?

reppans said:

Perhaps I misunderstood, but based on the following sequence of your I assumed it was the long KP cell that caused the issue..... If not, then which 14500 did you first use, and it is short enough not extended beyond the battery tube edge?

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I'm sorry, you're right. I carefully tested it once more and because of the shape of the tailcap you can use even KP in it (light turns on) but it causes flickering. Maybe I just don't want to twist it enough to get good contact or maybe the pressure agains the protection circuit or the headlamp interior causes the problems. I recalled I took the light home for Christmas (though I had a NiMH in it then) before I had those EagTac batteries and the light was flickering. So I must have tested it with KP first before Christmas. Sorry for misleading you.

Edit. EagTac batteries are short enough to fit wholly in the tube. I maybe exaggerated, KPs are only a fraction of a mm too long to fit the tube, but they're too long for sure.

Hehe, no problem.... I have to admit that I too have not been very diligent with checking battery lengths before using them in my lights.

But, I will now .

I was using the headlamp for a while with the Eagtac battery that was working. After a little while it started to flicker again, died in the cold etc. I now decided to open the headlamp and see what was broken. I noticed using too long battery couldn't have broken the driver since it's located under the power button. I planned simply connecting the wires directly to the LED, but didn't dare to cut the wires. I then noticed the light worked without flickering when I replaced the tailcap with a metal piece. So I pulled the spring in the tailcap out and checked it. I didn't see anything wrong with the spring, but I noticed it's gold plated. I pushed the spring back in and the light started working again.

So my theory now is that the gold plating on the spring causes the aluminium contact surface form aluminum oxide which is electrical insulator. Removing and replacing the spring broke the insulation and re-established the connection.

I now tried soldering a piece of tin in the tailcap. Tin is more electro negative than aluminum so I hope it'll oxidizes before aluminum. I ran the Eagtac battery down to 3.25 V after which it turned on only on low mode. I'm now running an Eneloop without any flickering or problems. All the modes on both batteries seem to work. I hope it stays that way.