Fenix E05 doesn't work with low Q nimh?

[kt1]

I just received Fenix E05. I put in old and abused 650 mAh nimh and it fires ok but after couple of minutes trying to use it again ... nothing! I put in alkaline and it works. I measured the nimh voltage 1.34 V. My WF-602C XR-E P4 works well with that cell and I've been using it a lot at the house even if the real capacity is not there anymore.

I was planning to give some E05's as xmas presents but now I'm not sure. Higher quality nimh might work better but will it fire up when it matters (in the cold with voltage sag or halfway empty nimh)? Lithium aaa's are quite expensive. So even if I include some of them in the present, the user will go for the cheapest crap-a-line cells for sure :confused:

Does anybody else have this problem?

*EDIT* Now it doesn't work with any cell I'm feeding to it :thumbsdow

*EDIT" I received a new one from 4sevens, seems to work now :thumbsup:

 

[ragweed]

I have been using eneloop LSD since I got my E05 with no problems at all..! I am not a battery expert but, my E05 works great on the eneloop for me. Have you tried cleaning all the contacts?

 

[tre]

I had a problem like this with old/abused eneloop AAA cells in a Fenix LD01 (R5). The cells showed normal voltage but I could not get high mode in the LD01 and the light worked fine with alkaline cells. I purchased new eneloop AAA cells and everything worked fine.

 

[parnass]

You must measure the battery voltage under load, not open circuit, to get a better idea of the battery's condition.

 

[qwertyydude]

Maybe it's a low voltage cutoff feature. That way the light doesn't drain the voltage to zero and end up causing alkalines to leak. I know my cheap 1 AA DX lights will drain an alkaline to leakage.

 

[TyJo]

Sounds like you got a dud light since no battery is firing it up. You can try cleaning the edge of the battery tube and all the other contacts, but I don't think this is the problem. If the cell was really bad it may have been a large size and over compressed your spring in the bottom of the tube, but this is also doubtful.

 

[kt1]

Thanks for all the answers!

I just filed rma on it at 4sevens. However, chrome and firefox on W7 only show a blank page. I receive the email copy though.

Anyway, I know the open circuit voltage is not a good measure of nimh condition but I have experience on that particular cell and it works on 602C and fires up every time even if depleted, just dimmer. The voltage is around 1.34 V when full and around 1.2 V when depleted. The 4 pcs of alkalines were unused and dated 2017.

I still believe Fenix lights are of good quality and faulty units come out from any manufacturer but I understand now all the fuzz about reliability and people paying insane amounts of money for it. No customer service can help you when the light fails in a tricky situtation. :ohgeez: