Changing bulb in A2

[bridgman]

I can't believe I broke it the first day

Bought a used A2 and spares kit from Kevski via B/S/T. Arrived & worked fine. Unscrewed the head to look inside. Wasn't clear how the bulb came out so I tinkered with the spare to see how the bulb assembly was built. Looks like the wider ring is securely attached to the bulb while the smaller end contact is kinda clipped on.

Problem is that the wider ring on the MA02 seems impossible to reach without special tools, so the obvious solution is to tug gently on the small metal contact and as much of the plastic post as you can reach.

Bulb came out OK, went back in, incan didn't work. Pulled it out again, put it back in, incan worked fine. Did I stop there ? No. Pulled the bulb out one more time to try and figure out why it didn't work previously... and the metal contact came off the end leaving a stiff wire hanging in space. I figure the wire was welded to the metal contact before I messed with it ?

Anyways, I put the spare bulb in and everything works fine.

I realize that normally you only remove the bulb if/when it burns out and so it doesn't matter if you break it, but now that the Chicken Rings (aka Aviatrices) are threatening to be available there will be lots of people popping out A2 bulbs in order to access the LED ring mounting screws below.

So... what *is* the recommended way to remove an A2's bulb assembly ?

Thanks,
John

 

[DUQ]

I just grab the middle contact slug with my finger nails and pull.

 

[batman]

it's normal for it to be tightly in there like you experienced, but all you need is a coin. Take the coin and pry from the smaller diameter ring(the one that looks kinda like a hat.) it will come right out with a little tug.

 

[bridgman]

Thanks, everyone. Sounds like I was doing the same thing as you, but when I tried it the smaller diameter ring (that looks kinda like a hat) came off and the bulb stayed in the light.

Asking Google for "surefire a2 bulb repair" gives no ideas, nor does any of about 20 variations ;(

I figure the plastic posts which secure the top cap can easily be melted out to hold the cap on better; just need a way to secure the wire to the cap so power can get to the filament.

The wire *is* supposed to be connected to the cap, isn't it ? There are only two metal things on an MA02 bulb so I imagine they both have to be connected to the bulb somehow

 

[benighted]

I had the exact same problem with one of my A2 bulbs where the small contact popped off from being in too tight.
Sometimes it will work if I get the wire positioned just right so it stays on the contact when I put it in the light.
I think the real solution would be to call surefire and explain the problem but I'll just solder it if I need to use it again

 

[MarNav1]

bridgman, I did the exact same thing. The hat part doesn't fit very tightly at all. I
just soldered the wire back on, cleaned the bulb w alcohol and all is well. I put 4 dots
of super glue on it to help it stay on.

 

[dyyys1]

Same here; the hat comes off extremely easily. As for the wire, I just bent it up so it was pressed against the hat (actually, it made the incan brighter ).

 

[tsl]

Thanks, everyone. Sounds like I was doing the same thing as you, but when I tried it the smaller diameter ring (that looks kinda like a hat) came off and the bulb stayed in the light ...

The wire *is* supposed to be connected to the cap, isn't it ? There are only two metal things on an MA02 bulb so I imagine they both have to be connected to the bulb somehow

In a PM from Bogus1, he recommended using needle nose pliers on the outside of the large contact ring when you need to remove the lamp. Otherwise, as you experienced, the "hat" can pop right off if you pull from there.

He also said that SF doesn't solder the wires to the hat. They only make contact by pressing against the hat.

 

[bridgman]

Needlenose pliers are an interesting idea, will give that a try. I had been looking for some kind of puller with no success.

Until your post I was kinda nervous about trying to fix the broken bulb because I would have to take the OTHER bulb out of the A2 to test the fix, giving me a great chance to break the working bulb.

It seems a bit odd to just have the wire pressing against the hat, but it *is* a very stiff wire and I did *not* see any sign of weld or solder on the inside of the hat.

Thanks !!

 

[eshishlo]

I have been having trouble with my A2 also. I have 2 of them, one that is new and one that has been used for a while (bulb has gotten darker). I tried swapping bulbs and they don't seem to work. This is the problem:

New Bulb:New A2 - everything works
Old Bulb:Old A2 - everything works
New Bulb:Old A2 - Led works, Bulb doesn't work
Old Bulb:New A2 - Led doesn't work, Bulb doesn't work (nothing at all)

The heads work on either, I have tried swapping them,
Old Head:New A2 - everything works
New Head:Old A2 - everything works

This makes me wonder if something is wrong with the internals...If this bulb burns out will I be stuck with a light that can't use new bulb?
:candle:

 

[KeyGrip]

Bridgman, give SureFire a call explaining your situation and see if they'll send you a replacement lamp. I bet they will, but be sure to call for better service.

 

[Illum]

New Bulb:New A2 - everything works
Old Bulb:Old A2 - everything works
New Bulb:Old A2 - Led works, Bulb doesn't work
:candle:

Been there and still there
Supposedly the newer A2 lamps are shorter than the old lamps so what we're experiencing is the lamp's failure to contact the base of the flashlight body. though I've heard of homemade remedies such as dripping solder onto the rear flange of the lamp assembly I've never tried. I kinda stopped using the incan function altogether [I have other lights to work with :rock:]

check out fivemega's A2 Lamp base + strion lamp kits in customs BST, you dont have to worry about no lamps to run

 

[eshishlo]

Illum_the_nation,
You are right about the different bulb bases. So I guess the main difference is in the internals of the light? If the internal contact was higher in the older A2, then the new bulb would light up?

 

[Illum]

Illum_the_nation,
You are right about the different bulb bases. So I guess the main difference is in the internals of the light? If the internal contact was higher in the older A2, then the new bulb would light up?

My guess is yes, but I'd prefer to mod the lamp, not the light. in the even that your modification killed your A2, Surefire ain't taking it cuz you've tinkered with it:shakehead