Fenix TK40 rattle fix

[SarcoBlaster]

I received my TK40 yesterday and have been very impressed with the light with the exception of one thing... the battery carrier rattle.

After playing around with the light, I went around looking for a solution that would keep the battery carrier from rattling and to secure the batteries to reduce the chance of them falling out of the carrier.

I happened to come across my old paintball gear and went through various repair kits to see if anything would work. After trying several different sized o-rings, I found that size 019 worked the best. All you need is two of them to slip over the batteries and the rattle is removed. Definitely not a high tech solution, but it's cheap, works well, and 019 o-rings should be pretty common.

After some trial and error with o-rings of other sizes, I found that sometimes the o-rings would grab against the inside of the body and would move as the battery carrier was slid into the flashlight. Therefore, I would suggest placing the o-ring closest to the head of the flashlight all the way against the clear plastic and the second o-ring as close to the middle as possible without going going into the gap between the batteries. This is just a precautionary measure; I haven't had the 019's move enough to get stuck in the gap.

Anyway, I hope this information was somewhat useful. If not, then I guess it was worth exactly what you paid for it!

 

[jimmy1970]

With eneloops, I can't say my TK40 exhibits enough of a rattle to worry me. You really have to shake it violently to cause any rattle noise to appear.

A good idea though with the O rings if your light rattles excessively.

James....

 

[SarcoBlaster]

With eneloops, I can't say my TK40 exhibits enough of a rattle to worry me. You really have to shake it violently to cause any rattle noise to appear.

A good idea though with the O rings if your light rattles excessively.

James....

Hmm, haven't tried putting my Eneloops in there yet. I have 2 sets charged up and ready to go, but figured I'd used the batteries that got thrown in when I bought it.

 

[Kilovolt]

No rattle either with Energizer 2500 mAh NiMH's.

Anyway your fix seems OK, you can also try to extend a bit the top coil spring so that it helps keeping the holder in position.

 

[DM51]

Even a small variation in battery diameter could cause a rattle, which is not only distracting but could cause wear, loose connections, or other problems. Your O-ring solution is a neat one.

I sometimes wrap paper round cells to prevent rattle (for example, CR123A cells in 18650 tubes) and it achieves much the same thing. Here, 1-2 layers of paper could be wrapped round the whole carrier, and that would probably work.

 

[ResQTech]

Great solution! So if I just go into any paintball store and ask for a 019 o-ring, they should know what I'm talking about?

 

[qip]

why not just use rubberbands , the wide thick ones ?

 

[SarcoBlaster]

Great solution! So if I just go into any paintball store and ask for a 019 o-ring, they should know what I'm talking about?

They should.

why not just use rubberbands , the wide thick ones ?

I'm sure that would work as well. I just found the o-rings first.

 

[Cataract]

Use Shrink tubing... but it will probably shrink with usage

 

[mmajunkie]

Great solution! So if I just go into any paintball store and ask for a 019 o-ring, they should know what I'm talking about?

The Ace Hardware has hundreds of Different size O rings here.

 

[Solar Powered Pickle]

I tried the rubber band technique but it didn't work as well as the O-ring method mentioned here.

The rubber bands kept twisting on itself and moves a bit when you insert the battery cartridge into the body.

I purchases the size 019 O-rings from Ace hardware for $.40 each.

Great work around! Thanks!