123's draining?

[dcycleman]

Just wondering, anybody else out there have this happen?? I had a set of batteries in my L4, with some miles on them but not dead, let the light sit for a couple weeks and found them to be very dead?? Could it be that they were on the brink of being dead and sitting for a while killed em' ? this may sound silly, but I dont want to find out that my new light has a slow short.

 

[Black Rose]

Might have a parasitic draw.

I don't know that light, but does it have a lockout feature on the tailcap that could prevent even minimal current draw when not in use?

 

[dcycleman]

yes, it does, but i shouldnt have to use it

 

[Carpenter]

Lithiums can go into a state of sleep when let go for a while. I forget the actual term. Trying several times to start the light back up sometimes will wake them up. I've also found that putting cells like that on my ZTS tester for several cycles bring them back to life. The first test may show 0%, but each additional test brings the meter up a little bit more until the true remaining capacity of the cell is revealed.

 

[Turbo Guy]

yes, it does, but i shouldnt have to use it

Ever hear of parasitic drain?

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=224780&highlight=parasitic

 

[Black Rose]

Lithiums can go into a state of sleep when let go for a while. I forget the actual term.

The cells can form what's called a passivation layer.

cave dave mentions it in post #8 of the thread Turbo Guy pointed to.

BTW, this thread should be in the Batteries section. One of the mods will be along later to move it.....

 

[Morelite]

yes, it does, but i shouldnt have to use it

True, the lock-out tailcap doesn't do anything more than the switch itself when the switch is off, it only stops the switch from bumped on. There is no parasitic drain on the L4 when the switch is off regardless of the lock-out feature position on the tailcap.

 

[Retinator]

Funny, it was just 2 weeks ago I had my G2 (P60'd) eat a pair of cells.

It was in momentary, sitting in the centre console standing diagonaly tail side down.

Went to use it for a short burst, nothing there. Luckily I had my E1L. checked the cells later on, almost nothing left in them.

Lockout is not just a gimmicky feature. Since I've been using it, they last longer now.

I guess, everytime I hit a bump or something it would flash on/off quickly and during the daytime you'd never notice it.

Doesn't help that the G2 has no witness marks. But now I know.

 

[DM51]

From what the OP says, I'm not convinced that cell passivation caused this. Cells can be "woken up" from passivation, and he says they are stone dead.

dcycleman, this may sound an obvious one, but are you absolutely 100% sure the light was switched off after you last used it?

 

[Timothybil]

I too have had this problem. Twice I have gone to use by G2 and found it dead. I have the lockout tailcap and use it religiously since I melted a couple of Lexan lenses before I upgraded to one of Flashlightlens's UCL lenses. I will go home and check the last set again to see if they can be resurrected, and let you all know tomorrow. [Temporarily without internet at home so using library!]

 

[dcycleman]

yes, I am 100% sure the light was off when I left it, I didnt touch it for two weeks, and when I hit the switch the light turned on, barely. If it had been left on, there wouldn't have even been a flicker. I'm running a test now, I checked the volts of new SF 123s they run around 3.25 out of the box, I then put brand new ones in my L4 and will let it sit for a couple weeks without touching it, not using the lockout either. then I will check the volts and see if they have dropped in the cells.

 

[Turbo Guy]

Why not contact
http://www.surefire.com/
and ask them if this model has any parasitic drain.

 

[dcycleman]

I just may do that, I would think that a light in that price range should not have a draining problem. I am still gonna run the test to find out, but I may ask SF as well.

 

[american lockpicker]

I've had 1 set of 123s go bad in my SF 6p.

 

[Timothybil]

Well, I have now had my third set of partially used primaries go dead on me. As I stated in my last post, I am religious about making sure the lockout tailcap is locked out before putting my light back in my holster. I am using a G2, so there are no electronics to have a parasitic drain.

In all three cases, the light was starting to turn a little yellow, but was no where near being dead. I just checked, and am using Energizer Lithium Photo primaries. I know from recent reading on the Surefire sight that Photo lithiums are a no-no, so this may have something to do with it. Since I am down to my last four I ordered some new cells from LA Police Gear that are NOT photo, but designated as flashlight batteries. Maybe that will make a difference.

 

[rockz4532]

My G2 did that before I sold it, one day it worked, one day it didnt, the batteries had gone dead in 24 hours.

 

[baterija]

In all three cases, the light was starting to turn a little yellow, but was no where near being dead. I just checked, and am using Energizer Lithium Photo primaries. I know from recent reading on the Surefire sight that Photo lithiums are a no-no, so this may have something to do with it. Since I am down to my last four I ordered some new cells from LA Police Gear that are NOT photo, but designated as flashlight batteries. Maybe that will make a difference.

Hmm Energizer are actually one of the cells mentioned in their battery FAQ as approved and maintaining the warranty.

Must I use SureFire batteries in my flashlight?
You can use Panasonic®, Duracell® and Energizer® batteries bought from their authorized dealers since these batteries are suited for use in SureFire products.

Will using non-SureFire brand batteries void my SureFire warranty?
Using genuine Panasonic®, Duracell® or Energizer® batteries will not void your warranty, but using any other non-SureFire brand will void it.

So they say Energizer cells are authorized but warn against photo batteries. I think all the Energizer cells are labeled "photo." Aside from a couple letters on the label I am not aware of any real differences anyway.

 

[joema]

Hmm Energizer are actually one of the cells mentioned in their battery FAQ as approved and maintaining the warranty...

In the U.S., it is illegal for Surefire to either require or exclude specific branded batteries in order to retain the warranty. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act ensures this. I am actually surprised Surefire would put that in writing on their web site.

It's no different from an auto manufacturer requiring a certain brand of gasoline to retain warranty support. It's not legal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson-Moss_Warranty_Act