Flickering older Arc-AAA

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goldenlight

goldenlight

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I have an old Arc-AAA that flickers. It seems to go through phases; sometimes it's not 'too' bad, and other times it almost looks like a strobe light

I think it's a 1st generation: the O-ring is flat rather than round, and it's black annodized, and not HA III. And the LED is markedly off center, too.

Putting the head on another body doesn't help.

The negative contact is bright and shiny, and the positive contact looks like clean solder.

I haven't taken off the foam washer, since that's a one way trip: I wouldn't know what to use to try to glue it back on.

Can this antique Arc AAA be saved? It still looks (externally) very good, but it's not reliable enough to use.

If I remember the dates, this light can't even be 8 years old. (Didn't they first start shipping in the fall of 2001?)

My first Mini Mag Light (AA) looks like I've been pounding in nails with it, but it still works just fine. It lives in my tool box, in the trunk of my car. It has to be 15 or 20 years old, by now.

TIA
 
Hey! Underneath the foam retainer ring, IIRC there 2 little holes. Sometimes "gunk" gets in there and needs to be cleaned. You would need to take off the foam ring (I think Arc will send you a replacement...not sure what the cost is, or if there is), soak a qtip with 91% rubbing alcohol and soak the holes. You could also try soaking a toothpick with alcohol, be gentle, and plunge (for lack of a better term...lol) the toothpick tip into the holes...gently...to see if any dirt comes out. If you have a contact cleaner, like Deoxit, you can use that for added protection for the future.

If you do take off the foam ring and are waiting for a replacement, you can always put a piece of tape or post-it note in the battery compartment so that the battery won't rattle.

Good luck! Please let us know if this works for you! :twothumbs
 
Arc will send you replacement foam washers if you ask. They have an adhesive backing with a peel-off cover. You can refresh the solder blob contact by heating it with a soldering iron.

One famous cause of flakiness in early Arc AAA's was the roll crimp around the circuit board. The fix is supposedly to press a screwdriver against it at a few points around the circumference, and smack down on the screwdriver handle with a hammer. I haven't done that myself. But there are instructions on Arc's web site someplace.
 
MKLight said:
Hey! Underneath the foam retainer ring, IIRC there 2 little holes. Sometimes "gunk" gets in there and needs to be cleaned. You would need to take off the foam ring (I think Arc will send you a replacement...not sure what the cost is, or if there is), soak a qtip with 91% rubbing alcohol and soak the holes. You could also try soaking a toothpick with alcohol, be gentle, and plunge (for lack of a better term...lol) the toothpick tip into the holes...gently...to see if any dirt comes out. If you have a contact cleaner, like Deoxit, you can use that for added protection for the future.

If you do take off the foam ring and are waiting for a replacement, you can always put a piece of tape or post-it note in the battery compartment so that the battery won't rattle.

Good luck! Please let us know if this works for you! :twothumbs
Click to expand...

There are no 'holes' under the foam washer.

The + solder connection looked a little funky, so I cleaned it up witha fine solder tip, but that didn't make a rat's backside worth of difference.

I cleaned the - connection, too.

Same result: it still flickers.

I seem to recall theis was a very common problem on these older Arc-AAA's

This one's been sitting in a drawer for years, because it was useless. I had forgotten about it, until I came across it today.

But, I did spend good money for it, (bought it new) and it's never been on a keychain. So, it's never even been jarred or dropped, which it was supposedly built to handle.

You know: I had trouble with this Arc-AAA, I had trouble with another Arc-AAA, too. That one is dead, somewhere.

I had trouble with BOTH of my Arc-LS's; they BOTH had to go back.

And I had trouble with my Arc-4 that NEVER got fixed, before Arc folded. I lost everything I paid for it.

You'd think I'd have learned my lesson: bad Arc flashlights have cost me a LOT of money.

Well, maybe I have: I haven't bought an Arc-6.

Hmm. $250.

Nope, I don't think so.
 
Hello Goldenlight.

The first generation Arc-AAA you have sounds like it might have a failing LED. Sometimes when LEDs fail they strobe (look at some of the early generation LED traffic signals). Since the LED is thoroughly potted, the easiest fix is to replace the head. In this case, we normally replace the entire light with a current generation (since the threads are different).

Btw, all of our lights are covered under our lifetime warranty. Even the ones from the old company. Might want to save your shipping and time and just send them all at once.

peter
 
Gransee said:
Hello Goldenlight.

The first generation Arc-AAA you have sounds like it might have a failing LED. Sometimes when LEDs fail they strobe (look at some of the early generation LED traffic signals). Since the LED is thoroughly potted, the easiest fix is to replace the head. In this case, we normally replace the entire light with a current generation (since the threads are different).

Btw, all of our lights are covered under our lifetime warranty. Even the ones from the old company. Might want to save your shipping and time and just send them all at once.

peter
Click to expand...

I gave the Arc-4 away, since it was junk.

Mostly, the LED in my Arc-AAA flickers. It's very annoying. That's why I quit using it, years ago.

How can a 100,000 hour Nichia LED be FAILING, if I've only used 3 or 4 batteries in the Arc-AAA?

That's about...15 or 20 hours, tops.

Probably less, because output decreased with alkaline batteries. Lithium AAA's weren't available, back then.

And that Arc-AAA has never even been DROPPED on my carpeted floor.

Postage, go buy a padded envelope, drive to the Post Office....

Or load it into a 44 magnum shell case, and see if I can get it to stick into a tree, base first.

Tough choice...:thinking:
 
goldenlight, that sounds like one of those early AAA's where the roll crimp is not 100% secure. Take the foam washer off, and tap the roll crimp inwards and down with a hammer. That should fix it.
 
greenLED said:
goldenlight, that sounds like one of those early AAA's where the roll crimp is not 100% secure. Take the foam washer off, and tap the roll crimp inwards and down with a hammer. That should fix it.
Click to expand...

Tap the 'roll crimp' with a HAMMER?

What, and where, is the 'roll crimp'?

I'm sure you know what you're talking about, but wouldn't 'tapping' anthing with a HAMMER on that tiny LED head result in a big flat spot in the thin aluminum, wherever you did it?

Both of my hammers have a head that's about a 1 inch diameter circle of hardened steel.

'Tapping' just isn't what MY hammers were made for....!

Is there a special ' Arc flashlight LED hammer', available just for fixing Arc flashlights, that I've never heard of? :poke:
 
Goldenlight, are you looking for help with your AAA, or are you just looking for an outlet to spew venom?

I explained the roll crimp fix is to put a screwdriver blade up against the crimp, then tap the screwdriver handle with a hammer. Obviously you don't hammer the circuit board directly.

LED failure actually does sound like a possibility. I've had numerous leds burn out on fauxton-type lights on their first-and-only pair of coin cells. Even if that 100,000 hour figure actually meant anything (it's just marketing hype from LED manufacturers), it would just pertain to some kind of average across the whole population of leds, not that there would be zero early failures.

If what you want out of this is a working light, your best bet is to send the problematic one to Arc for warranty repair/replacement (which would presumably be with a newer model). If not, what DO you want?
 
Last edited:
paulr said:
Goldenlight, are you looking for help with your AAA, or are you just looking for an outlet to spew venom?

I explained the roll crimp fix is to put a screwdriver blade up against the crimp, then tap the screwdriver handle with a hammer. Obviously you don't hammer the circuit board directly.

LED failure actually does sound like a possibility. I've had numerous leds burn out on fauxton-type lights on their first-and-only pair of coin cells. Even if that 100,000 hour figure actually meant anything (it's just marketing hype from LED manufacturers), it would just pertain to some kind of average across the whole population of leds, not that there would be zero early failures.

If what you want out of this is a working light, your best bet is to send the problematic one to Arc for warranty repair/replacement (which would presumably be with a newer model). If not, what DO you want?
Click to expand...

I'm sorry: I didn't read the second paragraph in your post, where you talked about using a screwdriver, and hitting IT with the hammer.

But, what is the 'roll crimp'? I've seen nothing that appears to be crimped. Does the LED head need to be disassembled in some way, to get to where the roll crimp holds the circuit boad in place?

I did not see anyhing at all on the Arc flashlight website that has anything to do to with repairs. I spent a considerable amount of time looking; but perhaps it is hidden somewhere I did not see. Navigating web pages is always an advanture.

Everyone says : "It's on our website"

Perhaps it is. Often, I've found it is so well hidden that I've never been able to find the one elusive bit of information that is "on our website".
 
AMRaider said:
It's near the bottom of this page: http://www.arcflashlight.com/faqs.shtml

If you don't want to scroll down manually, you can Ctrl-F and search for: repair

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, That page is the first one I searched, and I went back several times, after I had searched the rest of the site. But there is nothing on that page about HOW to repair an Arc-AAA.

The word repair is on that page in exactly two places, both in the section about warranty:

Warranty

All of our flashlights are covered under our Limited Lifetime *repair*/replacement warranty against manufacturer's defects. It also has a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. We encourage you to check your Arc thoroughly within this 30-day period to make sure you absolutely love everything about this light. If you need *repair*/replacement or have any questions:

There are no hyperlinks on that page to secret instructions:candle:about repairing an Arc-AAA yourself. :sigh: :shakehead
 
paulr said:
Goldenlight, are you looking for help with your AAA, or are you just looking for an outlet to spew venom?
Click to expand...

Let ask you: just how happy would you be, if, about 1 or 2 weeks before Arc folded, seemingly for good, you had just bought An Arc-4?

An Arc-4 that NEVER worked.

I can't remember what it cost; more than $150, absolutely positive. Less that $250? I think so. I sure hope so. I remember that it was one of the most expensive flashlights available, at the time

It was a LOT of money, and I watched it disappear, completely, when Arc closed it's doors, seemingly forever.

Somewhere, if I didn't throw it away, or give it away, I have another completely dead Arc-AAA. Add that to the cost of the Arc-4 I so foolishly bought, from what, until maybe two weeks later, max, I thought was a solid company.

I'm out LOT of money, from buying Arc flashlights. :barf:

If somebody took from you, say, about $200, or you loaned $200 to a 'friend' who left town, tell me how happy you would be about it?

I'm pretty much pooched on ALL that hard earned money I spent on that Arc-4, and my other Arc-AAA.

So forgive me if I'm not all sweetness and light, when it comes to Arc flashlights.

LOTS of people lost money, when Arc folded. I lost FAR less than some, I'm quite sure.

But if you found anyone ELSE who lost money when Arc collapsed, I don't think they would be speaking very lovingly about the company that left them holding the greasy end of the stick, either.

I'm trying to avoid the expense of sending this defective Arc-AAA back for repair.

I had to return BOTH of my expensively acquired Arc-LS's for repair.

But, despite the 'lifetime warranty' that my Arc-4 was SUPPOSED to have, I never even had the OPTION of returning that VERY expensive flashlight for repair.

These are the FACTS, not just my opinion.

/rant off/
 
This bears repeating: All Arc products, including those from the old company are supported, at least by a store credit by the new company. For example, with the Arc4 and the Arc-LSHP, we offer a $160 store credit. This can be spent on the new AAA GS or the new Arc6 for example.

This store credit is provided at the expense of CIS. I asked them to do this as a gesture of goodwill to the old company customers.

peter
 
Storm in a teacup.........I rather enjoy the Arc lineup.


Warts and all.


Once around the block, James, and don't spare the horses.


:welcome:
 
goldenlight said:
Let ask you: just how happy would you be, if, about 1 or 2 weeks before Arc folded, seemingly for good, you had just bought An Arc-4?

An Arc-4 that NEVER worked.

I can't remember what it cost; more than $150, absolutely positive. Less that $250? I think so. I sure hope so. I remember that it was one of the most expensive flashlights available, at the time

It was a LOT of money, and I watched it disappear, completely, when Arc closed it's doors, seemingly forever.

Somewhere, if I didn't throw it away, or give it away, I have another completely dead Arc-AAA. Add that to the cost of the Arc-4 I so foolishly bought, from what, until maybe two weeks later, max, I thought was a solid company.

I'm out LOT of money, from buying Arc flashlights. :barf:

If somebody took from you, say, about $200, or you loaned $200 to a 'friend' who left town, tell me how happy you would be about it?

I'm pretty much pooched on ALL that hard earned money I spent on that Arc-4, and my other Arc-AAA.

So forgive me if I'm not all sweetness and light, when it comes to Arc flashlights.

LOTS of people lost money, when Arc folded. I lost FAR less than some, I'm quite sure.

But if you found anyone ELSE who lost money when Arc collapsed, I don't think they would be speaking very lovingly about the company that left them holding the greasy end of the stick, either.

I'm trying to avoid the expense of sending this defective Arc-AAA back for repair.

I had to return BOTH of my expensively acquired Arc-LS's for repair.

But, despite the 'lifetime warranty' that my Arc-4 was SUPPOSED to have, I never even had the OPTION of returning that VERY expensive flashlight for repair.

These are the FACTS, not just my opinion.

/rant off/
Click to expand...
I'm not going to go tit-for-tat about how much money I've been ripped for over the years, and still been able to forgive, but it runs in the thousands, or should I say, lots more than I have in savings.

Peter made a very gracious offer and your immediate response was to berate him for it.

If you're so concerned about this light then send it, and any other ARC lights you have laying around that need repaired, then post how much you spent on the envelope, postage and gas money and I'll PayPal it to your account.

Please take me and Peter up on the offer we have made, take two aspirin and come back in a better mood. :kiss:
 
Gransee said:
This bears repeating: All Arc products, including those from the old company are supported, at least by a store credit by the new company. For example, with the Arc4 and the Arc-LSHP, we offer a $160 store credit. This can be spent on the new AAA GS or the new Arc6 for example.

This store credit is provided at the expense of CIS. I asked them to do this as a gesture of goodwill to the old company customers.

peter
Click to expand...

It's a pity I wasn't able to look into the future, so I could have kept that POC Arc-4, for 5 or 6 years, to use as partial payment for an even more expensive flashlight.

But when Arc went bellyup, I figured it was for good.

So I got rid of the Arc-4. And, since I can't find it, my dead Arc-AAA, as well.

I bought a Peak Matterhorn ultra snow, after the Arc-AAA's I carried both failed.

It is both brighter and much whiter than any Arc-AAA I've ever seen, and unlike the Arc flashlights I've carried, has ALWAYS worked properly.
 
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