Hello, any help, Sofirn C8L not working...

[Oliver]

OK, guilty, I've been lurking but never introduced myself.

I just received a new Sofirn C8L, https://www.sofirnlight.com/search?q=c8l
and it appears to be non-functional. I just sent an email to Sofirn, thought
I might ask the CPL brain trust for assistance.

Step 1. Unbox and remove all contents, and read through instructions.
Step 2. Unscrew tail cap to remove shipping insulator from (-) side of battery.
Step 3. Re-assemble light and plug in charger cord to verify charge status. The LED
on the side switch illuminates RED for about 5 seconds, then goes GREEN to
indicate a battery charge of 70% - 100%.
Step 5. Using every combination of presses of the tail cap switch and the side switch.
the light will not turn on. I'm using the 21700 battery the light came with from the
factory.
Step 6. Check battery output voltage, YIKES, 0.86 volts. No spare battery on hand.
Step 7. I'm going to leave the charger connected for about 1 hour, then re-check.
Step 8. Ask CPL brain trust for help!

It all seems straightforward, but, is it me? Or did I receive a defective light?

 

[glockboy]

You got a defective battery.
The light will not charge the battery if it is below 2 volt.
Try to jump start it with another battery, you got any 18650?
You can email them for another battery?

 

[Oliver]

You got a defective battery.
The light will not charge the battery if it is below 2 volt.
Try to jump start it with another battery, you got any 18650?
You can email them for another battery?

Thanks @glockboy, you've confirmed my suspicion that .086 was far too
low and the battery is toast.

I honestly didn't think I had an 18650 but I do. Took apart an old OxyLED
light with an 18650 inside. Used the adapter tube and now the C8L
will turn on, although only one lighting mode. Assuming not enough current,
and the 18650 likely not fully charged.

I'm going to play with it a bit and start with a full charge on the 18650.

At least now I have some ideas and a direction, and a good starting point.
I just ordered 2 "no name" 21700 batteries via Amazon because they will
be here tomorrow.

Again, thank you very much!

 

[glockboy]

Try to jump start your 21700 to your 18650.
+ to +, - to - with a paper clip for a few minute, when your 21700 voltage above 2.5 v
put your 21700 in the light and charge it up.

 

[Oliver]

OK, admittedly I didn't know what you meant by "jump start".
This makes sense. Right now the 18650 is still charging, I'm
guessing it's best to try this with a "full" 18650.

Also, the 18650 is button-top which might make this operation
even easier.

I'll update this thread as events unfold. Stay tuned...

 

[Oliver]

@glockboy

Hey I think that's going to work! I was holding everything
in my hands during the "jump" and even though DC I could
feel a tingle.

After just 3 attempts lasting mere seconds the 21700 is now showing 2.16 volts!

I out the 21700 back in the C8L and the red LED staying lit, so there is a chance it will charge. At least the charger doesn't immediately see it as bad.

I think the 21700 may have a questionable life after being allowed to go so low, unless that was just a fluke low reading, but we'll see. I'll check the voltage again when the LED goes green and see how the C8L operates.

 

[glockboy]

 

[Oliver]

Update: it's been on the charger for over 2 hours now.
The charging-state LED is still steady red, should have changed to flashing green or steady green. I measured the battery voltage, currently 3.87 volts under no load.

Out of all the possible light outputs I can only get 2 that seem to be in the middle of the range. No ECO mode or Turbo mode, no Strobe, no SOS.

As I have new 21700 batteries coming tomorrow I'll see how things go with them. I also ordered a NiteCore charger to arrive tomorrow as well.

If things don't start looking up I believe I'll be reaching out to Sofirn about a replacement.

 

[glockboy]

3.87 volt is around 50%
You need to charge it for three more hours.

 

[Oliver]

The charge status LED is still red so I'm just going to leave it charging overnight. Seems the least I can do considering the condition of the battery when I received.

Yeah, I think I was confusing the charged output of the 18650 with the 21700. Or something. Sofirn says total charge time should be 3 hours assuming a full 5v at 2.5amps. I don't think my little Anker is putting out that much.

 

[glockboy]

Don't charge anything Lithium if you not there,
Read

Smoke and Fire, Hot Cells and Close Calls

www.candlepowerforums.com

 

[Oliver]

Final? Update...

First, thank you again @glockboy for your help here. Your posts answered all my questions and provided a solution previously unknown to me.

After charging for about 5-6 hours last night, then some quick midnight testing outdoors, and about 1 more hour of charging this morning I now have the GREEN fully charged LED from the C8L flashlight. I also noticed last night, as the battery was close to fully charged, I was able to access all the output modes. Final output voltage reading from the 21700 is 4.2v, but the charging LED went RED again as soon as I connected the charger gain, so...

Although a review says this light does not output the full 3100 lumens as advertised/claimed, maybe more like 2000-2500 or so, it is "stupid bright" to steal a phrase I remember reading right here on CPF.

The air was extremely humid/hazy which allowed me to see the beam pattern but also likely limited the throw. Also created some pretty intense back-scatter but the air is what it is.

All in all I am very happy with it and getting it for half price with free shipping and in 5 days time was also a very nice bonus. Well done Sofirn.

*I did NOT leave it charging unattended overnight. Unplugged around midnight and charging resumed this morning.

 

[glockboy]

Glad to help.
Enjoy your new light.