Help, broke my Ultrafire Cree AA light!

[CTR]

I know they're not the most expensive torch in the world, but I've only had it a week and managed to drop it, now it doesn't turn on. :mecry:

Theres no cosmetic damage at all but for some reason it doesn't turn on.

I don't think its the clickie as I've tested it, so its either the LED or the circuit board etc...

I've no idea how to open the head tho! :shrug:

Any ideas?

EDIT: 13/12/07

Here are the photos as promised!

 

[Marduke]

Can't help you if we don't have pictures, or a model number, or anything... :shrug:

 

[CTR]

Yeah I know, I'm at work at the moment so will post pics up later.

 

[RecycledElectron]

A buddy of mine had that problem with his Ultrafire C3. He dropped it lens first and apparently cracked the circuit board in the head. The battery must have acted like a slide hammer. It would work if there was very little pressure from the battery on the circuit board, but if the switch was screwed on tight, nothing. Now it's nothing whether it's loose or tight. I'm going to try to take the driver circuit apart and see if I can repair the damage. Hopefully it's just a cracked trace that I can bridge. If not I'll have to order another driver board from DX. Good luck with yours.

 

[NickDrak]

Any ideas?

Learn an important life lesson from it.

BUY CHEAP, BUY TWICE

Now toss it in the garbage, and go purchase a Surefire and stop the madness.

 

[Mr.Urahara reloaded]

Learn an important life lesson from it.

BUY CHEAP, BUY TWICE

Now toss it in the garbage, and go purchase a Surefire and stop the madness.

A very good point NickDrak!

Go and purchase one for him, i'm sure he will give you his shipping address...

There are dozens of Surefires that stopped working after being dropped...

Some people don't have the money or don't want to spend much $$ on flashlights.

Because you prefer Surefires and think everything else is crap ( meaning like DX lights) you don't have to toss it on other people...


MfG Mr.Urahara

 

[NickDrak]

There are dozens of Surefires that stopped working after being dropped...

MAYBE OUT OF A ROLLING HUMVEE, AND THEN RUN OVER BY A TANK, NOT AFTER BEING DROPPED ON THE BATHROOM FLOOR.
CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF SUREFIRES IN SERVICE, THOSE ARE OUTSTANDING ODDS OF A FAILURE.

Some people don't have the money or don't want to spend much $$ on flashlights.

BUY ONE (1) SUREFIRE, AND IT WILL OUTLAST THE "DOZENS" OF BROKEN DX LIGHTS THAT YOU WILL END UP BUYING TO REPLACE THE BROKEN ONE BEFORE IT. THEREFORE SAVING YOU MONEY IN THE END.

 

[Marduke]

MAYBE OUT OF A ROLLING HUMVEE, AND THEN RUN OVER BY A TANK, NOT AFTER BEING DROPPED ON THE BATHROOM FLOOR.
CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF SUREFIRES IN SERVICE, THOSE ARE OUTSTANDING ODDS OF A FAILURE.



BUY ONE (1) SUREFIRE, AND IT WILL OUTLAST THE "DOZENS" OF BROKEN DX LIGHTS THAT YOU WILL END UP BUYING TO REPLACE THE BROKEN ONE BEFORE IT. THEREFORE SAVING YOU MONEY IN THE END.

Since you bring it up (in a thread that has NOTHING to do with Surefire btw ), they have one of the highest clickie switch failure rates. This includes some which could not survive a 3ft drop onto a wood floor...

If you don't have anything to actually help the OP, why stir up trouble??

 

[brage]

No need to shout :sigh:

Maybe some of the components inside the light has moved out of position. Try to disassemble and then reassemble the light. See if you can get access to the circutboard. I have managed to repair some lights with glue.


As for the Surefire vs. the world debate - I would consider a Surefire if the made an AA-version.

 

[NickDrak]

Since you bring it up (in a thread that has NOTHING to do with Surefire btw ), they have one of the highest clickie switch failure rates. This includes some which could not survive a 3ft drop onto a wood floor...

If you don't have anything to actually help the OP, why stir up trouble??

Offering up an option to the OP, instead of encouraging him to waste alot of time and effort and more money on a sub-standard product, is something resonable and helpful in my opinion.

Surefire forward clickie tailcaps "have one of the highest clickie switch failure rates" when compared to what??? I have dropped my Surefire(s) many times onto the concrete during foot chases etc, and have never had one fail. I have had Wolfeyes and Fenix lights tailcaps fail to work while merely turning them ON/OFF from the comfort of my home, without ever being dropped.

 

[Marduke]

Offering up an option to the OP, instead of encouraging him to waste alot of time and effort and more money on a sub-standard product, is something resonable and helpful in my opinion.

Surefire forward clickie tailcaps "have one of the highest clickie switch failure rates" when compared to what??? I have dropped my Surefire(s) many times onto the concrete during foot chases etc, and have never had one fail. I have had Wolfeyes and Fenix lights tailcaps fail to work while merely turning them ON/OFF from the comfort of my home, without ever being dropped.

"Buy a Surefire" isn't constructive when the OP is asking about how to fix a completely different light. When you take your car into the shop, does the mechanic tell you "save yourself some money and go buy a Porsche/Mercedes/BMW"? If the mechanic said that to you, would you believe him that buying a Porsche/Mercedes/BMW saves money in the long run? If so, would you be interested in purchasing a bridge?? Just because Surefire is your favorite doesn't mean you should push it onto others. There are plenty of locked threads around here showing what results when that happens.

As for the rest, they have a high failure rate as compared to Fenix, MagLite, etc. with clickie switches. The interior components are unshielded and plastic, which is not fond of impacts.


Anyhow, back on topic with what was ASKED FOR....
I recently experienced a similar issue with my C3 today. Dropped it and the switch got flakey. I decided to toally disassemble the switch and see if I could resolder something. When I got it apart, I noticed some dirt on the threads (which was a electrical conduit path for the pieces I was looking at), so I cleaned all the crud out with a swab and some alcohol, look everything over for loose solder joints, and trimmed a bit off the peg looking piece inside the rubber cap. Put everything back together as tight as I good, and screwed the cap back on and it now works better than ever. I think that the innermost part of the switch was not tight enough with the aluminum housing it sits in, and had dirty contacts.

 

[garence]

"Buy a Surefire" isn't constructive when the OP is asking about how to fix a completely different light. When you take your car into the shop, does the mechanic tell you "save yourself some money and go buy a Porsche/Mercedes/BMW"? If the mechanic said that to you, would you believe him that buying a Porsche/Mercedes/BMW saves money in the long run? If so, would you be interested in purchasing a bridge?? Just because Surefire is your favorite doesn't mean you should push it onto others. There are plenty of locked threads around here showing what results when that happens.

I agree with your point, but at least he didn't go on a long tirade about Surefire lights... everyone is entitled to an opinion as long as they don't force it on others.

The Ultrafire lights are cheap but not a bad price/value ratio. And it sounds like one can be slightly modified to be a little more crash worthy.

Speaking of values, what's the best price/value ratio Surefire? The 6P?

 

[NickDrak]

The interior components are unshielded and plastic, which is not fond of impacts.

Plastic is not fond of impacts Okey-Dokey! But only If YOU say so:thumbsup:

 

[CTR]

^^^^ Photos Uploaded ^^^^

 

[Marduke]

Looks like the circuit board needs cleaning. So you've checked the switch for a flakey connection? I would still recommend removing the guts of the switch and cleaning it, and putting it back together.

 

[extas]

put it back together, without the tail cap. then short the battery across the - to the unanodized end of the body with a paper clip. if it lights up then its the switch, if it does nothing its the light engine.

if its the switch you can probably get a replacement 5 pack at DX, if its the light engine. smile and now you have a body for a mod project.

-ex

 

[hopkins]

And if the paperclip test fails disassemble the LED and PCB from the metal
screw in holder.

Use a magnifier to inspect for cracks or loose componects first.
solder bridge anything suspect.

Then either solder wires on to apply power or rig up something to get the
battery connected for live troubleshooting.

Then start checking for voltage at the LED and work backwards to the PCB.
Its possible that you may push on something and the light will fire up.:twothumbs:thinking:

 

[Crenshaw]

MAYBE OUT OF A ROLLING HUMVEE, AND THEN RUN OVER BY A TANK, NOT AFTER BEING DROPPED ON THE BATHROOM FLOOR.
CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF SUREFIRES IN SERVICE, THOSE ARE OUTSTANDING ODDS OF A FAILURE.



BUY ONE (1) SUREFIRE, AND IT WILL OUTLAST THE "DOZENS" OF BROKEN DX LIGHTS THAT YOU WILL END UP BUYING TO REPLACE THE BROKEN ONE BEFORE IT. THEREFORE SAVING YOU MONEY IN THE END.

sure fire clickies have been failing all over the place. And this fromoflashaholics droping it 3 feet onto the pavement. and Dont shout
please dont bring surefire vs others debates into threads that ask for help on specific lights. :twothumbs
and for the record, i have not had a dx light fail me yet.

The C3 is actually a really good quality light for its price. For 3x its price. 4 even.

CTR, you have probably got a circuitry problem, try taking out the circuit from the pill and post that picture. You might have also had the bacd luck of having a bad LED, try connecting it to other stuff, does it light up?

try to pry the circuit board from the pill..TRY, if its to hard its probably glued on, and not coming off.

You can email dx for help if all else fails.

Crenshaw

 

[bessiebenny]

1. Test LED if it works still. Wire up 2 x 1.5v or 3 x 1.2v AA's and directly connect it to the positive and negative points of the LED. If it lights up, it's not the LED.

2. Test the switch's resistance with DMM. If it returns near 0 when on, it's not the switch.

3. Test the switch contact to the body. Instead ofusing the switch, use the DMM's current measurement mode and try to light up the torch by connecting the negative end of the battery to the tip of the barrel. (Obviously, you need to put the battery inside the torch.)

4. Test the driver board itself even without taking it out of the pill. Just connect up a AA battery to the pill while the pill is out of the head. See if you get any current going through it. If u get nothing, it's most likely thatthe driver board it dead. (parts such as resistors/chips can fall off the board from external impact)

You can push the driver board out by poking something through the top where the wires come out and pushing the board forcefully out the bottom. (it may help if you de-solder the wiring first at the LED to get some more room)

 

[Mr_Light]

I had problems with my C3 flickering and then not working and figured out the aluminum reflector was shorting out the wires at the LED when I tightened the head down all the way. I put Capton tape over the wires and screwed the head on tight and it works perfectly now.