Bad switch, bad batteries, mad elf in the tail end?

[klackey]

I have a current rotary with a 18650 body. The light is acting very strange… And unfortunately unpredictable so I can't recreate the issue at will. The intermittent problems are so hard to solve.

FYI: Settings are factory (well custom set at HDS) and I have never fooled with them.

Problems:

1) The light will be on and I turn the tail and nothing happens…. No light output change.

2) Other times it will change but it is SLOW… like I turn the tail and it has to think it over then adjust the output. I estimate a 1-2 second lag.

3) I push the switch, hear it click, light goes on then shuts off. One press… on then off.

4) Light is on and I push the switch and it refuses to turn off…. It takes several presses to get it to shut down.

My attempt to diagnose I switched the heads (hi-noon/ SS40.. LOVE the SS40) and the problem occurred with both heads using the same 18650 body/tail switch.

I switched the battery and it has occured with two different batteries. The batteries are not dead when switched… they will still go to high and hold, NOT stepping down quickly as when primaries (123) start to die.

Cells are the ones HDS sales.. Sanyo NCR 18650GA

Sometimes it will run perfect for a week or so of daily use then suddenly start acting up.

I am a LONG time HDS user…. Never have I had this behavior. Actually all my HDS lights have been rock solid. However like anything you really depend on I always carry two. I am beginning to not trust this light / battery combination.

I suspect it is the switch in the tail. Or could it be the rechargeable batteries? I have a little experience with them and understand they go dead quickly and unpredictably at times in other lights.

Anyone had similar behaviors with a 18650 tail.

 

[Hogokansatsukan]

Copy your post and email it to Henry.
He will definitely want to take a look at that light... specifically the tail. Dissection time.

 

[wicky998]

I had an issue awhile back

I was a first time hds user after being a long term Malkoff guy . Really really love the look and feel of the hds and the UI to me was perfection to say the very least .

I bought two at one time . One rotary and one Clicky .

Once I received them I kept the factory installed cell in them to program them , once that was done and after an hour or so you actually get used to the UI as I seriously planned to carry these two lights everyday and almost eliminate any other edc light .

After three hours of receiving the lights I went to get some groceries at the store , brought the rotary with me and fiddled with it while doing so .

I got home 20 minutes later and my wife asked me to hook up a DVD player in our living room for a family night , I turned the rotary on and after a 2 second blast of light it went off.

The led never saw light again, I did everything under the sun to try and correct it and get it to work , I called Henry and he talked me through a few trouble shooting options and nothing . I had to send it in for repair .


This was all after three or four hours of owning and receiving them after two weeks of waiting on them . After years of contemplating of spending that type of money on a light , especially when a Malkoff just as reliable would actually do the same thing .

But after talking with numerous guys I pulled the trigger and I REALLY REALLY wanted these lights to be "it" and they was , they really was but on the end and after a day or so of sleeping on it , I called Henry and asked for a complete refund . I've never carried another hds .

I am by no means knocking them and they are fantastic lights and I have had other high end electrical items give me trouble and I have to get another of that item etc but I just couldn't carry them knowing it went out on me just like that after only three hours of actual using . If I would have broke down on the road that day on the way home from the store I would have been out of a light .


I may try them once more in the future but for now I have lights for a third of the cost that if that happen I wouldn't be so upset about .

Now same kind of scenario happend to me just recently with a zebra . Got it in and it wouldn't light for nothing. After talking with someone on the phone we concluded it was a short somewhere in the light and was shipped a brand new one . I was annoyed and upset but I was no where near upset as I was with my hds when that happend.

Like I said above I am by no means knocking them , a lot of people have never had an issue , and a lot of people have had issues with other brands . That just life . But that was my short lived experience with issues like that

Hogos videos made it super easy to try and diagnose my self , even after I couldn't Henry answered my phone call after three rings .

Very very polite and apologized numberous times

Also the zebra that arrived dead on me , the new one that was sent to me as a replacement that was tested and was operationally sound was sold before it even arrived to me . Although I checked it before sending it off. But I don't own that light . To be fair


Zebras yes just not that model

In the future if I go to hds again it'll be a Clicky as my Clicky was perfect



Wick

 

[slumber]

In the future if I go to hds again it'll be a Clicky as my Clicky was perfect



Wick

My favorite light of all time....I fear it's time may be coming to an end. I hope not, but don't wait too long.

 

[klackey]

Thanks Dan.... thought that was going to be the advice............

As for HDS lights....... I have had the opposite experience. I have killed other cheap lights by the drawer full. Even killed some expensive ones. Never a HDS. They just work till this one troubled soul. I collectively have well over 1,000+ trouble free light hours over many, many rough years of use. They are the lights I count on without reseveration. This one is acting funny but it would still get me home just fine....

 

[wicky998]

I really really loved the fit , finish , size, weight , Ui everything! When it failed I damn near cried and I thought so hard about returning them or not . I probably should've have and have them a go and just waited for the issue to be fixed being I had the Clicky but another time will come . I will try them again

 

[klackey]

wicky998 I would encourage you to give another one a go sometime. They great, you got one of the odd bad apple. I get the disappointment but don't let that keep you from one of the best light system around. I have so many.... clickily is nice but the rotary is just prefect for so many situations. Customer service is outstanding and the emitter choices can make you into a tint snob for sure. Ok, now I am sounding like a advertisement. I have really stopped buying other lights as they just do not work as well for me anymore... HDS is not prefect but dang close.

 

[wicky998]

wicky998 I would encourage you to give another one a go sometime. They great, you got one of the odd bad apple. I get the disappointment but don't let that keep you from one of the best light system around. I have so many.... clickily is nice but the rotary is just prefect for so many situations. Customer service is outstanding and the emitter choices can make you into a tint snob for sure. Ok, now I am sounding like a advertisement. I have really stopped buying other lights as they just do not work as well for me anymore... HDS is not prefect but dang close.

Oh I won't brother , I have plans to get another one in the near future . I actually regretted it afterwards but it was what it was at that point .

I can say thought the customer service was top notch . Henry is a jem of a guy

 

[Hogokansatsukan]

From what I have seen come in the shop for repair, if they fail, they usually do so very soon on.
From the number of HDS lights out in the world and leaving the HDS doors vs. the number I see come in... it is a tiny percentage.

 

[lion504]

especially when a Malkoff just as reliable would actually do the same thing

I have to disagree that Malkoff "does the same thing" as an HDS. Both create photons, but the Malkoff lacks literally every UI and configurability feature of the HDS (both clicky and rotary). The addl features/options require more complexity. Risk vs reward equation.

 

[RCS1300]

I have owned 12 or so HDS lights over 9 years, both executives and rotaries. All purchased new except one which was purchased from the original owner because I wanted a certain LED emitter. I use my HDS lights 3-4 times everyday for at least 90 minutes each day. Two of the new lights required warranty work which became apparent within a month of using those lights. Once they came back from warranty fixes they were rock solid. As I went through those experiences I was so convinced that it must be a problem with the batteries so I kept purchasing new HDS batteries. Now I have four HDS 18650 batteries and ten HDS 16340 batteries.

 

[lion504]

As customers, we have no real way to measure the defective probability since we only have anecdotal information.

However, there are at least two other important considerations: customer satisfaction and alternative choice (can you find the desired features elsewhere).

This thread and others have anecdotal information about HDS defects. However, much of the HDS sub-forum is a testament to Henry's commitment to customer satisfaction.

Personally, I can't find an alternative light that offers similar features (aka my requirements). So even if defect probability is high (and I'm not suggesting it is), as long as it's counterbalanced by strong customer satisfaction, I'm buying.

 

[peter yetman]

That Sir, was the correct answer.
Thank you for such a balanced and sensible post.
P