How does an old Surefire L4 die a natural death?

[wishywashy7]

I'm just curious (please don't flame or ban me)...:thinking:

A lot of people here worship the old Surefire L4 Lumamax (aka "the wall of light").:bow:

I'm just wondering how we would expect it to die...does the LED progressively get dimmer? tint change? or just die after 50,000 hours? or being left on in your pocket/bag too long?

I realize also that it being a classic, many people are relegating it to shelf duty instead of EDC.

I'm also curious because in a recent poll (compared to the L1 na d E2DL) I posted the new L4 did not get the warm reception its predecessor did.:shrug:

And if you have an old SF L4 that died...what are it's best "bring-me-back-to-life" options?

Thanks again and best regards,
lovecpf

Wishywashy7

 

[polkiuj]

I think it'll progressively get dimmer until one day...

NO LIGHT!

Then the switch gets changed and YAY! WALL AGAIN!

Then get dimmer again until you decide not to use it anymore (or MOD IT!)

 

[carrot]

The tint will probably shift and it will progressively get dimmer until you can't stand the way it is anymore. No matter, have someone put a Cree MC-E or SSC P7 and you have a brand new light!

 

[GreySave]

Weak or dead L4s get sent back to the SureFire Resurrection ship to be reborn as brand new lights to be returned to your hands. BSG fans will understand.....

 

[GarageBoy]

Yes, but since the KL4 is discontinued, you're probably gonna get a KX2C or something

 

[angelofwar]

Given that even the older one's have a life span of 5000 hours, and the newer one's 50,000 hours, has anyone actually "killed" there L4??? That would be like running it fior 208 and 2,083 days straight respectively...when compared to 5 days straight on an incan bulb, I'd like to see if any one has actually managed to accomplish this task of "killing" an L4 by running down it's life? Your great grandkids might be the one's to "Kill" you L4 based on these numbers...just some food for thought. i hope I never kill mine!!!

 

[KingGlamis]

I thought it was expressly against board rules to even suggest something bad about a SureFire? How dare you! :laughing:

 

[flashfan]

Hmm, this is an interesting topic, and not confined to just the L4. It will be interesting to see the "progression" once LED lights begin to die off (due to natural causes).

I also wonder if SF would repair/replace the LEDs if they die a natural death, as IIRC, "bulbs" are one of the things that SF does not warrant.

 

[angelofwar]

Hmm, this is an interesting topic, and not confined to just the L4. It will be interesting to see the "progression" once LED lights begin to die off (due to natural causes).

I also wonder if SF would repair/replace the LEDs if they die a natural death, as IIRC, "bulbs" are one of the things that SF does not warrant.

In the new catalog, it appears that self contained LED "Heads" are though, as SF doesn't sell replacement "LED Bulbs", and, as the warranty is part of the price tag, it should be rightfully so. An E2E with a burn out bulb is easily fixed with a $13 bulb, however, if your LED "Head" dies on an E2L/L4/L1, the Flashlight (as it was designed) is useless. Here's the section from the new catalog. This is why I buy SF's!

"SureFire, LLC warrants our illumination tool products to be free from defect in workmanship and materials, including any LEDs housed within, for the lifetime of the original owner."

 

[Yoda4561]

I don't think surefire keeps alot of spare Lux5's around, and in a few years I'm sure they won't. They'll replace the electronics/LED or the whole head with whatever is current production, which may mean a completely different beam pattern. If you're really in love with that L4's flood (like me) then I'd forgo surefire's warranty service and get the best multi-die emitter out at the time that will work with the stock electronics.

 

[BBnet3000]

well, i have no plans to replace any of my current flashlights, so i will one day presumably find out.... it might end up taking a damn lifetime though. (im 22) if i have kids, ive got to get them into flashlights so i can pass these things down, its like a watch or some other heirloom.

 

[Dadof6]

I had an L4 and it died. The Lux V just one day decided it didn't want to work any more. it was a very early head.

When your options are to send it out to be modded for 100 bucks or send it to Surefire for a new head, it seemed like an obvious choice.

I sent it to Surefire (this happened two years ago) and they sent me a new head.

Then I sold it.

 

[importculture]

yup had an L4 die on me too. It's one of the earliest L4's. I still have it somewhere. I could check on the serial number if i can find it. It didn't seem to dim although it could have been really gradual so I didn't notice. Plus I didn't compare it to another L4 near the end of it's life. I can verify for sure that a P2D does dim before it dies. The P2d had noticeable dimming a few months prior to dying. It was when they were one of the first to use multiple brightness levels so I carried a few around and compared the beam colors as well as brightness to each other. Well, as for the L4 it just blanked out no flash no dimming it just went out. One of the reasons I always carry a spare and use one light primarily.