Lumens Factor D26 EO-9

[PeteBroccolo]

I torture-tested my Pila GL3 awhile ago, destroying my Pila 200 lumens lamp assembly and my Pila LED tail-cap, although the lens survived intact and the body has only minor cosmetic damage. I had bought a Wolf-Eyes 9TX Raider true-clicky tail-cap switch sometime ago, and it had worked on the GL3 just fine before the torture test.

With all the hoopla about Lumens Factory, I decided to get a D26 EO-9 lamp assembly to put in my Pila GL3. Well, it came the other day, so I installed it, removing the larger outer spring first, popped in 2 Li-Ion 18500 1500 mAh 3.7 v cells, connected the true-clicky switch and...NOTHING!

As I started to remove the tail-cap switch, the light came on JUST before I twisted the tail-cap past the last thread. Light output is EXTREMELY impressive, but this is ridiculous! What am I doing wrong? HELP! There are SO many "clients" out there that just NEED to be "enlightened" by me!

 

[Jauno]

Put outer spring back to lamp assembly...if you don´t have it in already..
And i´d like to hear details of your torture test.
I have also broken my GL2 led tailcap after dropping it.
It is still useable although lens might get off sometimes..

 

[jsr]

My friend recently got a EO-9 also and it didn't work at all. Neither of us could see anything wrong with it, the filament was intact, nothing. Still didn't work. He got a replacement from PTS and it works great now...damn it's bright! Puts my HO-9 to shame, which I didn't think it would, but there IS a noticable difference. Try asking for a replacement.

 

[Glen C]

Pete, I have both Pila and Wolf Eyes flashlights, as Jauno says Pila need the spring, the Wolf Eyes do not. It is a great lamp for a 9V flashlight.

 

[D MacAlpine]

Just a guess here based on the comments above and the problem that you've described;

Pila lights use the body tube as part of the circuit, contact is made by the threads on the switch and the outer spring on the lamp assembly??

I know that Wolf Eyes lights are unusual in that they have a brass liner inside the battery tube which they use to make contact with the end of the switch module and the reflector of the lamp assembly. If the Pila light doesn't have this I'm surprised that the WE switch worked with it as I thought WE anodised their threads.

There are SO many "clients" out there that just NEED to be "enlightened" by me!

Heheheh....

 

[Jauno]

IMO, both Pila and WE work same way: contact goes from lamp assembly to brass tube inside body and onward to tailcap switch.
Only difference is that Pila use outer spring in lamp and WE doesn´t.

I have Pila GL2 and WE sniper and their tailcaps are interchangeable.
They may not scew tightly but lights works.

 

[Paul_in_Maryland]

Is it the "old" GL3 (Wolf Eyes) or the new GL3 (original Pila design? Perhaps the new one works differently.

I've used four brands of lamp in my Wolf Eyes bodies: Wolf Eyes, Surefire, RICO, and Lumens Factory. it's difficult to keep straight which lamps need the spring or need the cells to be installed button-forward.

 

[PeteBroccolo]

Thanks for the replies guys, but still no success:
- Juano & Glen C: I did put the outer spring back on the lamp assembly, but all that did was not allow me to thread the bezel back on fully;
- Juano: I tossed the Pila from my hand (about 1.2 m from ground) to an asphalt paved road (I think it was about - 5 C that night) some distance away from me (less than 3 m) while the light was on. The light went out. When I picked it up, the LED tail-cap switch was rattling. I was able to push the tail-cap and re-fire the lamp assembly, which then flashed. When I got home, and took it apart, I noticed that the stem of the plastic lens of the LED tail-cap, where the screw goes in to hold the LED base to the lens, had sheared off the back of the lens. The bezel lens was not even scratched, let alone cracked. The bezel, body and tail-cap have wounds somewhat worse than what occurred to the Night-Ops Gladius that I tested duriing the pass-around, but I would not stop carrying it on duty just because it looks a bit more used.

The W-E tail-cap I am trying to use DID work with this light prior to this test while using 3 e-lectronics.net RCR123A 600 mAh 3.0 v ic cells.

I have eye-ball measured my dead Pila 200 lumens la vs the EO-9 and both appear to be equal height. However, I just eye-balled a stack of 2 e-lectronics.net RCR123A 600 mAh 3.0 v ic cells plus a dummy 123A cell against 2 stacked LIR18500 1300 mAh 3.6 v cells and 2 stacked Pila 300P, and the 300P stack IS taller, so maybe that is the problem!?! Time for me to re-charge those LIR18500 - I may be in business yet!! Stand-by, ladies and not-so-ladies!

 

[mdocod]

might need to add some magnets or stretch some springs, in my experience, 99% of these issues are contact related....

had a similar issue with a P91 in an ultrafire flashlight, G&P style lamps have springs stretched straighter and longer than SF, so had to make adjustment for the combo to work.

 

[PeteBroccolo]

I just put in 2 freshly-charged Li-Ion 18500 1500 mAh 3.7 volt cells, with a dot rare earth magnet between the cells, in my Pila, either - or + towards the lamp assembly, and the best I get is a brief, weak, almost reddish-yellow flash, then nothing, after the tail-cap is fully threaded on in the off position then pushed on. If I put it on already pushed on, the lamp assembly comes on fully as the tail-cap threads JUST engage the body threads, then goes out as it is fully threaded on.

Am I not holding my tongue right, or is it a problem of the lamp assembly somehow? I am awaiting a reply from Lumens Factory, but I am just about to the point of wanting to trade straight across with someone my EO-9 for a Pila 200 la. N.B.: Normally, I am too cheap to buy fresh 123A primaries, but I may have to!!

 

[leukos]

Sounds like your batteries' protection circuits. You'll need to double or triple click to get the light to come on.

 

[PeteBroccolo]

Sounds like your batteries' protection circuits. You'll need to double or triple click to get the light to come on.

I wondered about that, but I don't think so.

I DID notice that when I took the tail-cap off my Wolf-Eyes M90X, I was able to use a piece of metal to touch the - end of the exposed last cell and touch the body threads with the other end and make contact to turn on the light.

However, when I do that with the Pila GL3 configured as above, I can not complete the circuit.

It looks like I have contact issues with the body threads.

 

[Glen C]

Pete, the tailcap short was going to be my next suggestion Does that work with the spring in place? Next step would be try the lamp in something else or with batteries and wire to eliminate variables. I dont think is the batteries protection circuit either, it is a relatively easy lamp to start and I have never had to double tap. Good luck

 

[PeteBroccolo]

This is REALLY getting under my skin! I had NOT needed an outer spring for my Pila 200 lumens lamp assembly when I installed it in this older-style GL3, so when the LF EO-9 arrived, I removed its outer spring.

Since then, I have tried both the spring that came with the EO-9 and another spring that I **think** came with my Pila 200 lamp assembly, but neither of them allow the bezel to be threaded on properly.

I put the 18500 cells in my W-E M90X with a dummy cell and they worked well, so I know they are okay.

When I was using the 18500 cells in the M90X, I left the tail-cap off and made contact between the - end of the cell and the brass liner and got full light. When I did the same thing in the GL3, I only got brief lighting, so I thought that the EO-9 is not making proper contact with the brass liner. I tried wrapping a single ring of a small piece of copper house wiring around the base of the lamp assembly, but it does not allow the bezel to be threaded on properly.

I am THINKING that this EO-9 lamp assembly is not connecting well to the brass liner of this GL3, but I have no idea how to improve the contact. I may have to send this lamp assembly back to LF, or else trade for Pila 200.

 

[Glen C]

Pete, really not sure what is happening with your combo, one idea to narrow it down might be try aluminium foil around the base of the lamp. Good luck

 

[PeteBroccolo]

Pete, really not sure what is happening with your combo, one idea to narrow it down might be try aluminium foil around the base of the lamp. Good luck

Yup, even tried that and no better. I will be contacting LF tomorrow to arrange an exchange or rebate.

 

[PeteBroccolo]

When I opened my eMail this morning, I had a message from Mark at LF that he had gotten my eMail, as well as read this thread, and he will be sending me another new EO-9 that he will personally pre-test on a Pila GL3 before sending same out to me to replace the one I bought.

I hope he knows that I have the old style GL3, similar to the W-E 9TX! I am not sure how much of a difference there is between the old and new GL3.

Anyway, I will hopefully be able to up-date this thread happily in about 2 weeks!

 

[Mark@LF]

Hey Pete,

You didn't tell me that the GL3 was an OLD style.....

Luckily, I tested it on a WE also. I used a SF C3 and a Current style GL3 to test it also, works great and it has been sent out to you already.

Details are on an email that I just sent to you.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Mak

 

[mdocod]

hey Pete... sorry if this has already been covered... but what kind of 18500s are you using? I know the idea of it being your protection circuits has already been brought up, but I think it's worth a revisit if your new lamp doesn't solve the problem. The EO-9 is a 2 amp load... unless you have AWs *new* versions, Pila cells, or WE cells, then there is a good chance you are bumping up against the protection here.

 

[PeteBroccolo]

The following is part of an eMail I just sent to Mark@LF - quote:
"First, let me express, again, my DEEP appreciation for you sending me the 2nd EO-9 when it APPEARED that the first EO-9 I bought from you was defective.

Second, just let me say that I am an IDIOT!!

I decided to re-try both of the EO-9 assemblies with my Pila 300P cells, and found that when I:
- used the outer spring that came with the 1st EO-9 (which I had cut one spiral off of) to complete the circuit between the "-" end of the last cell and the brass inner tubing, the lamp assembly fired instantly, and consistently, each time I completed the circuit;
- - I realized, as mdocod (I think it was him, anyway) mentioned in my CPF thread, that the protection circuit of the Li-Ion 18500 1500 mAh 3.7 volt cells I was using previously must have been kicking in;
- removed the True-clicky tail-cap switch that was on my Wolf-Eyes M90X, and put it on my Pila GL3, the EO-9 WORKED!;
- took the true-clicky tail-cap switch that I had been trying to use on the Pila GL3 before this, and put it on my Wolf-Eyes M90X, its lamp assembly ALSO worked!
- - obviously, I had mixed my tail-cap switches up, and was trying to use a 12 v tail-cap on a 9 v light, which was dumb!"

I just wanted to tell everyone not only how excellent Mark and Lumens Factory are to deal with, but also to explain how stupid I was!

The moral of the story, kids, is this - double-check everything, and listen to mdocod!