No More Multi Mode Lights For Me

[Akita]

Warning: Short rant :>)

Multi mode lights ?
The technology is there and I was in hopes reliability of these things would improve as time progressed.

My personal experience says otherwise.

Every multi mode light I have bought failed within six months due to either bad design or faulty driver components.
I just rewired a ..............( major brand ) last night to direct drive because the driver board decided to die a quick death while I was in the process of rewiring a control panel 30 feet up on a chem tank platform.

Bummer...this makes a grand total of a 100% failure rate on six different models and various brands.

Luckily all six could be rewired to direct drive,so nothing lost but my time and the aggravation.

Maybe two or three years up the road when reliability improves I might change my mind,but for now it's single mode lights only.

End of rant :>)

I've had nothing but bad luck with all multi modes.
Your results may vary.

:sick2::huh::sick2:

 

[Marduke]

Which brands?

Also, do you realize that multi-mode lights often loose modes as the battery runs down? Just a thought.

 

[zipplet]

I have had nothing but good experiences with multi mode lights. I managed to destroy the driver in one by putting in the batteries backwards, but otherwise all of the multimode lights I own have been fine.

I've had multimode lights from fenix, jetbeam, nuwai, and cheap chinese lights (but those use a mechanical switch for the different modes as far as I know). No problems whatsoever.

Hopefully your bad luck will end.

 

[Lobo]

Which brands?

Also, do you realize that multi-mode lights often loose modes as the battery runs down? Just a thought.

Yeah, I'm a bit curious too about which brand you used. And do you do something special with your lights? Don't think we here that much about driver failures here on CPF unless someone fries it somehow.

Allthough I have recently started to see the beauty and reliability of a direct driven light.

 

[Anglepoise]

Akita,
Don't give up yet.
Most of the multi mode light drivers are cheap and poorly made.
Spend a little time at member Georges80 website.
He designs and has made very high quality multi mode drivers.
Sadly his drivers are not as well known as they should be, probably because of most peoples insatiable desire for low prices.


http://www.taskled.com/

Any of the Mr. Bulk lights, have his drivers and these come up for sale
on a regular basis. Worth doing a little research on these names
LionHeart, LionCub, Chameleon.

 

[Akita]

It would be bad form to name the models and brands,so I won't go there.

Let's just say lights in the $50.00-$150.00 range and let sleeping dogs lie.

This thread isn't about name calling or slamming a particular manufacturer or brand.

Nope...no incorrect voltage or batteries installed backwards and/or rough abuse.
One went DOA sitting in the box for three months without batteries installed.
Another particular light failure was a top of the line jewel that worked great for about an hour of use after I put it into service with fresh primary batteries.
Then the dreaded fast glow of death occurred as it dimmed and all modes went dead completely. :>(

Geez...a whole hour !!!

At first I thought it was the cheaper lights that had quality issues or cheap driver board components.
When my $150.00 jewel went DOA just like the cheaper models the light begin to dawn on me that these things can't be trusted in a crucial situation under any circumstances. The driver boards are all the same...assured failure is just a matter of time,not if.

I'm glad somebody is having better luck.
Maybe all my lights were manufactured on a Monday when the assembly crew were recovering from severe weekend hangovers.

Sure seems like it.

Not to worry...they all work just fine now as direct drive modified racing lights.

 

[Tremendo]

My multi-modes have been the Surefire U2, Jet C-LE, Firefly3, many Fenix's, Rexlight 2.0, Nitecore DI, etc... I have not had 1 failure with the multi-modes on any of them. A little cleaning and lubing sometimes, but all work as they should. Maybe I've been lucky.

 

[Sgt. LED]

I am with you!
Stick to single stages when you need to count on a light.

 

[jzmtl]

Well your experience does seem bizzare, that's a lot of faliures. I see you mentioned chem tank in work environment, could it be corrosive airbourn chemicals causing all the problems?

 

[X Racer]

Yeah, that does seem very odd. An unusually high failure rate for sure...

No problems for me, and I own MANY multi-mode lights from many different makers...

 

[f22shift]

this thread is worthless and so is this post:duh2:

 

[cslinger]

Just a thought. I don't think indicating the brand/specific lights that you have had fail is bad form as long as it is informative and not badmouthing so to speak. It is simply giving other owners of said like the symptoms to look for and a possible direction to fix.

There is a difference between saying "Surefire(for example) SUCKS!!! or the HDS U60 SUCKS etc. and My HDS U60 started exhibiting X problem and finally died.

The latter does two things gives other owners a heads up and possibly gets you a solution from those who had it happen to them.

At any rate my luck with multi-mode lights has been fantastic, better then single mode lights actually.

Chris

 

[dca2]

this thread is worthless and so is this post:duh2:

 

[WadeF]

Another particular light failure was a top of the line jewel that worked great for about an hour of use after I put it into service with fresh primary batteries.
Then the dreaded fast glow of death occurred as it dimmed and all modes went dead completely. :>(

Geez...a whole hour !!!

Did you put in a new battery at this point? I don't use my lights for long periods of time, so with something like my Fenix P2D I generally need to replace the battery ever 1-2 months. When it dies, the light kinda goes haywire, dims, modes may not change, etc. I know it's time to put in a fresh cell, and when I do, the light is back to normal and works fine.

My multi-mode lights have worked fine. If multi-mode lights like Fenix were failing at such a high rate, the forums would be full of Fenix out rage and complaints, but they aren't.

 

[Jarl]

I'm assuming you've cleaned all the contacts on the lights that went out on you? My l2d dimmed and went out on me once, cleaned the +ve contact on the driver board, and now it works again.

 

[Big_Ed]

Well, I hope you were able to get your lights either fixed, replaced or refunded the money you spent on them. Simplicity definitely has it's place.

 

[MatajumotorS]

I am with you!
Stick to single stages when you need to count on a light.

+1

 

[bfodnes]

Hi, my first post here. Im norwegian and have just now 16 hours darkness during a day. Since i discovered surefires, i have a working light wherever i am. I now own L1 cree, E2L cree, 6P led, L4 and 3G led. very satisfied and will own many more surefires.

Seems like a good tread to ask a question i have wondered on for some time.

Since newer regulated lights have electronics in them in some form, how will they operate after a nuke blast or radiation exposure from other sources ( high sun activity blast ) among others.

Very unlikely and maybe not worth even consider but thats the only thing i can think of that can kill my surefires.

Will they not be affected at all, will they only die during the blast or will they die...

And this tread topic, can the many multimodes have been affected by some local source of magnetic fields or high power burst of some kind.

Thanks.

Bjorn

 

[dca2]

Since newer regulated lights have electronics in them in some form, how will they operate after a nuke blast or radiation exposure from other sources ( high sun activity blast ) among others.

Very unlikely and maybe not worth even consider but thats the only thing i can think of that can kill my surefires.

6 days to new season of Jericho

 

[Jarl]

Hi, my first post here. Im norwegian and have just now 16 hours darkness during a day. Since i discovered surefires, i have a working light wherever i am. I now own L1 cree, E2L cree, 6P led, L4 and 3G led. very satisfied and will own many more surefires.

Seems like a good tread to ask a question i have wondered on for some time.

Since newer regulated lights have electronics in them in some form, how will they operate after a nuke blast or radiation exposure from other sources ( high sun activity blast ) among others.

Very unlikely and maybe not worth even consider but thats the only thing i can think of that can kill my surefires.

Will they not be affected at all, will they only die during the blast or will they die...

And this tread topic, can the many multimodes have been affected by some local source of magnetic fields or high power burst of some kind.

Thanks.

Bjorn

Does it matter? I'd be a bit more worried about the radiation affecting me than my lights...