CMG Ultra G stopped working, why???

[cadjak]

I have have carried this little light every day since I got it from County Comm years ago. I can't believe that I never lost it. Over time it has been harder and harder to turn on. Twist...loosen...tighten..loosen and then it would come on. It would go off, but I'd get it working again through some weird combination of tightening and loosening the twisting head. Now it's just plain dead. What I know about lights is, put the battery in and figure out how to turn it on. There are clearly better lights than the Ultra G, these days. #1 I'm curious if there is anything that I could try to resuscitate the Ultra G, and #2 does Deal Extreme have any single mode, AA lights that might be comparable to this? It doesn't have to burn paint off the walls, just put out reasonable light for as long as possible.

 

[tsask]

you might want to try a small ball of foil beneath the AA cell

 

[Nitroz]

Try cleaning the bottom of the head with an eraser. The part that the "+" side of the battery touches.

I can understand how you like this light. I did not realize what a great light this is until I used it camping one night above the tent. It produces a soft moon glow and will run for days.

Good luck!

 

[cadjak]

you might want to try a small ball of foil beneath the AA cell

Well, I guess that's the difference between 1248 posts and 23 posts. Thanks, that did the trick. :tinfoil:

 

[Flying Turtle]

I put a small flat washer in the battery tube of my old CMG Infinity. Still a little flakey, but it does work better. Might have to try a wad of foil.

Geoff

 

[ragweed]

Wow.. that tinfoil trick is priceless! Got to keep that in mind. I have a Gerber Infinity Ultra which I read is close to the CMG. Don't know how close it is to the Ultra G though.

 

[Flic]

Wow.. that tinfoil trick is priceless! Got to keep that in mind. I have a Gerber Infinity Ultra which I read is close to the CMG. Don't know how close it is to the Ultra G though.

The CMG Ultra and Ultra G are battery crusher lights so the foil helps make contact. The Gerber versions have springs at both ends so the foil trick isn't needed.

 

[RAGE CAGE]

you might want to try a small ball of foil beneath the AA cell

Mcgyver would be proud...........

 

[nbp]

Wow.. that tinfoil trick is priceless! Got to keep that in mind. I have a Gerber Infinity Ultra which I read is close to the CMG. Don't know how close it is to the Ultra G though.

I have an Ultra G, but not the Gerber. I believe CMG made them first and then Gerber bought CMG or the design or something so they rebranded them as Gerber Infinity Ultra. The G designation is for "government", and they were sold to the military, so it is dark foliage green anodizing, and has a black non-reflective clip, and a number on the side assigned by the government to ID their contract with CMG. Otherwise it's a very similar light.

 

[Owen]

The Gerber is a different design from the original CMG Infinity and Infinity Ultra. I believe Gerber did sell the Ultra in the same configuration for awhile, and then switched to the newer style.
I used my Ultra-G last night, and of course had to turn it on as if I'd never seen it before when I saw this thread, since it was sitting here...it keeps going and going

 

[tsask]

WOW! Thanks, Glad to hear it helped.
There are many people here who are much more "enlightened" and technically gifted than me. These same folks have, in many cases personally assisted me in my LED learning curve. Glad CPF is herelovecpf
IIRC I read about the foil ball fix here 5-6 years ago. (can't believe it's been that long) I liked the Gerber Infinity when I first saw it.
Proud to say I found a few BLUE AA and GREEN AA versions as well.
It's been said before, this light is built like a tank or fire hydrant!

 

[tsask]

I have an Ultra G, but not the Gerber. I believe CMG made them first and then Gerber bought CMG or the design or something so they rebranded them as Gerber Infinity Ultra. The G designation is for "government", and they were sold to the military, so it is dark foliage green anodizing, and has a black non-reflective clip, and a number on the side assigned by the government to ID their contract with CMG. Otherwise it's a very similar light.

Good point. Fortunately the excellent quality remained the same.

 

[Beacon of Light]

I tried the Gerber Recon, but I didn't care for the light beam. Seems like the filters instead of a reflector was a bad trade-off. I sent it back, but the Infinity Ultra is a keeper.