Defective JETBeam Jet-III M R2???

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HIDblue

HIDblue

Enlightened
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Mar 24, 2010
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Has anyone else had problems with the two mode UI of the JETBeam Jet-III M R2?

I just bought a new Jet-III M R2 from BugoutGear based upon a slew of positive reviews on CPF. The Jet-III M is supposed to have 2 modes of operation - Max brightness and a user-defined mode. Per the Operating manual, with the head fully tightented, the light will go into Max brightness mode when clicked on. The light will then go into the user-defined mode when the head is loosened slightly.

That's were I'm having some problems. I've tightened the head as far as it will go and can't get the light to operate on max brightness. I've tried new Lithium 123's and protected AW 18650 2200 mAh with no success. Only the user-defined mode works, and nothing happens when I tighten the head.

I sent BOG an email, so hopefully they can help me out, but I'm rather surprised to have any issues with JETBeam considering the glowing reviews about the brand on CPF. I've lost confidence in the brand considering it doesn't work as intended right out of the box.

Did I just end up getting one of the rare defective JETBeams???? Or has anyone else had this same problem? :thinking:
 
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sounds like a contact issue in the head to me. :shrug: you'll probably have to get it swapped.
 
Only time I've had this issue was when the threads were dirty. Might try cleaning all the gunk off, even though its brand new, and relubing. If that doesn't fix it I'm sure bog will take care of you. This light has the best UI I've tried so I'd still try to give it a chance if you can iron out the wrinkles your experiencing.
 
I am an Police officer and I have been using my Jetbeam 3m since September and its been an awesome light for what I need it to do . In the past few weeks though I have had a few spells of the light not running on the absolute brightest mode. It seemed to be this way for awhile and I am running 1865 aw batts and rotate them out regularly. Then out of the blue about a week later, the problem seemed to be fixed and it was back to normal.


Thoughts ?
 
Thanks for the replies.

Dirtech, the threads are clean, but I noticed that they were not anodized. Would it make a difference if they were?

Csshih, if you're right about it being a contact issue, I definitely need to get it swapped out for a new one.

BOG replied to my email for an RMA, but said they were closed until April 12th and couldn't do anything for me until they reopened.

Reliability is a major factor for me and this being my first JETBeam, it didn't leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling knowing that the light didn't work properly out of the box.

In your experiences with JETBeam, is this defective unit just an anomaly???
 
Boxerdog, sounds like the same problem I'm having, but my JetBeam III M is brand new. Call me crazy, but given the price, I would hope the light would work properly right out of the box.
 
Very frustrating indeed. The threads in the head should not be anodized, BTW. Maybe just for experimenrtal purposes you could put some kind of marker in the very front of the body tube and then screw the head on nice and snug. Remove it to see if any of the marking material rubs off on the brass ring of the head. This may tell you if you problem is with physical contact or something else like a driver issue.
 
Thanks for the info and suggestions dirtech. I think I'll just wrap it back up and wait for BOG to reopen so I can return it to them and have them swap it out for a new Jet-III M.

The concensus on CPF seems to be that JetBeam spits out quality products, so maybe I just got the rare factory defect. I'm willing to give JetBeam another whirl as long as BOG replaces the defective unit with a new one.
 
Did you lube your threads?? I put nyogel on all my lights, especially lights where the UI is controlled by the head. The contact point on the Jet III tends to be pretty tight and lube makes a difference. I have never had a problem with my Jet III and also bought it from bugoutgear. They are very good with customer service!!!
 
Hello HIDblue,

The problem sounds like a loose light-engine retaining ring.

Unscrew the head from the body and look at the positive contact side.

Around the edge is a brass ring with two indents in it. Tighten this ring either with your fingers or with the tips of a pair of needlenose pliers.

I can get pictures if they would help.

Hope this helps,
Danny
 
Thanks for the replies and suggestions Lithium juice, mpkav and m@elstrom. At this point, I don't want to futz around with the defective Jet-III, especially since it's brand new and as long as BOG will just replace it for me with a new one.

I originally planned on just asking BOG for a refund, but based upon the positive CPF Jet-III M reviews, replies and messages I've received, it looks like I just had the unfortunate luck of receiving one of the rare defective Jetbeam units. It happens, I guess, but I'm willing to give Jetbeam another chance...

It's just really frustrating buying a brand new light that you've been wanting for a while; receiving it and finding out that it doesn't work properly out of the box...

I'll post up when BOG reopens on April 12th and see what they do for me. Thanks again for all the replies and info.

As a newbie to CPF, it's reassuring to find others that share my unexplainable fascination with flashlights and the technology that drives them. :twothumbs
 
FWIW, as a noob, I just received a Jet-III M last week and it's sweet. No way would I send it to the lockers.

Solid feel, smooth throw-y beam.

Hope the above helps give you encouragement while you wait out the time. That's a long to to wait to have a defective product replaced.

:thumbsup:
 
Hey BeeMan, thanks for the positive words of encouragement. And yeah, you're right, it is a long time to wait for a replacement on a defective light.

Not sure what's worse, the wait to get a replacement or the fact that the defective unit is sitting right in front of me and I can't even play with it. :candle:
 
Given that you've got to wait until the 12th it seems to me there's nothing to lose by at least trying LJ's suggestion.

I've had various lights arrive with minor problems that I could have spent time and money shipping back and waiting to have them replaced. At least 90% of the time, it's turned out that a clean of this or a tighten of that has resolved the problem without having to go through all the hassle of the returns process.

You're not going to break anything or void your warranty by tightening and cleaning things, and if it still doesn't work - you can still call up BoG on the 12th and they'll replace it.
 
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just curious, will the light cycle through the modes? maybe your 1st mode is stuck on a low setting? i have the same light that i bought last month & love everything about it but it was an experience playing with the programable modes. once i understood how to work it, it worked flawlessly.
 
Hey Moonshadow...I already tried it yesterday and it still doesn't work. Out of curiosity, I tried Lithium Juice's suggestion yesterday and the brass ring on the positive contact side is as tight as it will go. :shakehead :confused:

Looks like I'll have to wait until Bug Out Gear reopens on the 12th to get my defective JetBeam returned/exchanged.

Maybe I've been fortunate (knock on wood), but this JetBeam is the first light that I have ever purchased that did not work right out of the box. I've bought everything from Surefire, Inova, Fenix, Pelican, Streamlight, Maglite, and even some off-brands and they've all worked out of the box with no problems and I've never had to make adjustments to any of them to work properly.

BOG seems to have good feedback on CPF, so hopefully, they'll take care of the return/exchange for me on the 12th.

But thanks to all the CPF'ers for the comments and suggestions. :wave:
 
Hey boloson, yeah, the user defined programable mode works fine but that's the only mode that works. When I tighten the head of the Jet-III M it should go into Max brightness mode, but it doesn't...and I've tightened it as hard as it will go.

I went through selfbuilt's awesome review of the Jet-III M to figure out how to operate the various modes, since Jet's operating manual are rather lacking, and still, nothing...:confused:
 
HIDblue wrote:

Not sure what's worse, the wait to get a replacement or the fact that the defective unit is sitting right in front of me and I can't even play with it. :candle:

What's worse? Having to deal with both of the above choices. Can't play with it and yet ya still gots ta look at it. Now that really sucks.

Daaaaang!

:devil:
 
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