Mag 3D Xenon dimming issues.

[noparanoia]

Sorry if this is a bit of a noob question. I am finding it hard to find the right info and am not seeing much of a consensus either.

What I have is basically two issues (possibly connected).
I brought the Mag 4 mnths ago at the same time as the xenon bulb, and the batteries (Duracell Plus)
It is totally unmodded except for a thin cardboard sheath that I slid down the inside of the body because I did not like the way the batteries rattled about.

I drive with the Mag on my passenger seat. Occasionally when I have to stop suddenly it will roll off and land in the footwell. I assumed that this wouldn't be a great deal, I got the impression that it was designed to deal with much tougher treatment than this.
A couple of times after this happened the beam went very dim and yellow. Taking the batteries out and then putting them back in again appeared to fix this
Just recently the batteries ran out. I was suprised by how short their life was. I swear I have not used them for over 10 hours, it mainly gets used for seconds at a time. I was also shocked by how suddenly they died. One moment I had what seemed like a fairly decent beam, I saw dimming a couple of times that night and later on it just died on me. I have looked at the light output runtime on FlashlightReviews which has only made me even more confused. It seemed nothing like the smooth decline shown on the graph.
Does the Xenon bulb change the character of the battery life at all?
Is it possible I could have an electrical fault that has discharged my batteries?

Thanks

 

[Illum]

the Xenon should not make that big of a difference, the runtime on mag incandescents are already poor in the first place.

It is possible that your switch assembly may have been jarred to the point where the negative end connection is having intermittent contact with the wall of the body. I had a 3D mag that exhibited the same behavior after rolling off the roof and onto a concrete driveway

Drop out your switch assembly, clean it up a bit, and drop it back in would be the only thing I can think of, thats the only place in a Maglite that could go wrong
How to change 2D/3D Maglite Switch?
How To Mod a Maglite P7 - 38 PICS (Switch removal starts down in Pic 8

:welcome:

 

[noparanoia]

Thanks for the super fast response.
Would I get a better battery life if I were to use rechargable batteries? I notice that rechargeables use 1.2v instead of 1.5v. Does that effect the Maglite's performance?
I see battery junction has NiMH D cells that are rated at 10000 mAh. Unfortunately I live in the UK, the only sites I have been able to find arn't selling batteries with nearly the same capacity (best is 8000, and it goes down to 2000). If a D-cell battery has a voltage of 1.2v and is 2000 mAh and an AA battery is the same for those stats then what is the difference? There must be something to justify their much larger size and higher price tag but I can't for the life of me figure it out, any explanations would be most welcome :shakehead

 

[ebow86]

Thanks for the super fast response.
Would I get a better battery life if I were to use rechargable batteries? I notice that rechargeables use 1.2v instead of 1.5v. Does that effect the Maglite's performance?
I see battery junction has NiMH D cells that are rated at 10000 mAh. Unfortunately I live in the UK, the only sites I have been able to find arn't selling batteries with nearly the same capacity (best is 8000, and it goes down to 2000). If a D-cell battery has a voltage of 1.2v and is 2000 mAh and an AA battery is the same for those stats then what is the difference? There must be something to justify their much larger size and higher price tag but I can't for the life of me figure it out, any explanations would be most welcome :shakehead

To be honest I don't think that big old mag is worth all the trouble. For a little over $40 you can get a surefire G2 that will give you much better performence than that big old mag, and it will be 5 times smaller to boot.

 

[357mag1]

Thanks for the super fast response.
Would I get a better battery life if I were to use rechargable batteries? I notice that rechargeables use 1.2v instead of 1.5v. Does that effect the Maglite's performance?
I see battery junction has NiMH D cells that are rated at 10000 mAh. Unfortunately I live in the UK, the only sites I have been able to find arn't selling batteries with nearly the same capacity (best is 8000, and it goes down to 2000). If a D-cell battery has a voltage of 1.2v and is 2000 mAh and an AA battery is the same for those stats then what is the difference? There must be something to justify their much larger size and higher price tag but I can't for the life of me figure it out, any explanations would be most welcome :shakehead

Yes rechargeables will last longer. I'm using the AccuEvolution cells that are Low Self Discharge which means they won't go dead setting around for a month or two like standard Nimh cells. They have worked well for me so far. Alkaline cells will quickly drop below 1.2 volts when under any significant current draw so the 1.2 volt Nimh cells work fine.
Many manufacturers stuff AA cells in a D or C cell case that is why you see these larger cells rated no higher than an AA cell. If properly rated a 2000mah cell is 2000mah no matter how large or small.
There are definitely smaller solutions out there than the old D cell Maglites but they have a charm all of their own. You could contact member mdocod and get some of his AA adapters that go into Maglites. It allows you to use 3 AA cells in place of each D cell. They allow me to stuff my Maglite full of Energizer lithium cells (L91) and leave it at camp or in the car. The L91s have a 15 year shelf life and at 3000mah each it is like having a 9000mah D cell. Makes a great emergency light that you don't need to worry about recharging or cell leakage.

 

[noparanoia]

Thanks for the replies guys!
ebow:
For its current purpose the size and heft of the Mag is actually a major advantage. I am not so concerned with its performance, just the way that it drops off over time. If I have rechargeables I can keep them topped up, so the performance wont follow its current smooth decline towards 0% over a period of a couple of months.
That said, I didn't realise what a bargain some of the Surefire lights are, and I am not adverse to the idea of owning more than one... I am guessing this is how it starts :laughing:

357MAG1:
Shocking to think that they would sell you something that is basically an AA battery, but bigger and more expensive. Actually not at all shocking, just annoying.
How many mAh would you say the Nimhs have to be to have a longer life than shop brought Alkalines? I have found some 10000 mAh ones (hideously expensive) 7000 (still very pricey) and some 5000 (more reasonable).

I dont currently own a charger that can fit D-cells, would running a couple of wires, straight from the terminals, to the battery work?

Thanks

 

[357mag1]

357MAG1:
Shocking to think that they would sell you something that is basically an AA battery, but bigger and more expensive. Actually not at all shocking, just annoying.
How many mAh would you say the Nimhs have to be to have a longer life than shop brought Alkalines? I have found some 10000 mAh ones (hideously expensive) 7000 (still very pricey) and some 5000 (more reasonable).

I dont currently own a charger that can fit D-cells, would running a couple of wires, straight from the terminals, to the battery work?
Thanks

D cell alkaline batteries will have roughly 10,000mah capacity at a .5 amp draw. Increase it to 1 amp and they drop to about a 6000mah capacity. This is according to tests conducted by CPF member Silverfox:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=64660

You didn't say which Maglite you have but they seem designed to draw right around 850mah no matter what size (2D,3D, 4D).

If you already have AA cells and a charger I would definitely consider the mdocod adapter. It is around $45 or so depending on which version you need. It gives you a lot of flexibility and the option to load it with various AA battery types.

If you go with rechargeable D cells you would need the LSD type otherwise with regular Nimh cells they will be weaker than alkalines after setting around for a month. Non-LSD cells loose 1-2 percent of their charge each day, some much more.

It is possible to rig up an AA charger to charge D cells but they take forever unless it is one of the newer smart fast chargers. I would spring for a dedicated charger if I went the D cell route.

 

[StarHalo]

Here's what the runtime curve of a Maglite looks like:

So basically, if you use it for about an hour, you're only getting half the output of when you started. If you continue using it, it will average roughly 25% output from when the batteries were fresh.

And that's why most flashaholics don't use Mags as duty lights.

 

[Illum]

Here's what the runtime curve of a Maglite looks like:

So basically, if you use it for about an hour, you're only getting half the output of when you started. If you continue using it, it will average roughly 25% output from when the batteries were fresh.

And that's why most flashaholics don't use Mags as duty lights.

thankfully for LEDs and regulation circuitry, most of us enjoy lights the way its meant to be enjoyed, non-dimming all the way up to cell depletion

 

[jcvjcvjcvjcv]

Yeah, and then it dies on you at the most inconvenient moment, without any advance warning.

With good Nimh's an incan will indeed dim quite suddenly at the end. But you still get a lot more warning then with a regulated light.

Still love my Mag85 with two 9AA > 3D holders :naughty:

 

[Illum]

Yeah, and then it dies on you at the most inconvenient moment, without any advance warning.

No self respecting flashaholic should be caught without a second flashlight, its a golden oppotunity to educate others around you that murphy is always around and its always good to carry spares.

 

[noparanoia]

I would love to get a second light. Possibly a super bright regulated one with 20 - 60 mins battery life. I can use it for emergencies and showing off :laughing:
The mag will continue to be used for everyday lighting and clonking duties
Any ideas for a good light in the catagory, less than $70

 

[StarHalo]

Any ideas for a good light in the catagory, less than $70

You might look into a Quark AA2, it's about the same size as a MiniMag, but brighter than a 6D Mag with regulation for over an hour. It's multi-mode, with a useful about-the-house low mode that lasts for nearly a week, or a super low moon mode that stays on for about a month. All for $59 (not counting your CPF Member Discount) with free shipping..

 

[noparanoia]

Wow, those things look awesome.
Quite a large range there, and they are (almost) all within my budget.
Would you recommend the R5 over the tactical? It looks like they are exactly the same price.
What do you have to do to get the CP discount?

 

[StarHalo]

The tactical has only two modes accessible when in use, the regular model allows all five brightness levels plus the strobes/SOS; if you prefer to keep it simple, go with the tactical, if you like variety (and showing off), go with the regular.

You can check out all your CPF Member discounts here (you'll have to sign up and get a couple posts to view them). Note that this is just a thorough listing, it is not a list of trusted/preferred dealers (though 4Sevens is definitely a trusted dealer)

 

[noparanoia]

So are you saying that I have to be able to access that page before I can claim my CPF discount? At the moment it wont let me, I'm guessing it might need me to become enlightened first.
Would this light work well with a pair of 2650 mAh nimhs?
Thanks again

 

[StarHalo]

Right, you have to sign up and get posts there, as you did here. The Marketplace is a separate forum from CPF.

And you can use any type of AA battery with a Quark (you'll get the best performance with Energizer "Ultimate" Lithiums, NiMHs also work well), plus all the accessory parts are interchangeable, so if in the future you want to try something other than 2xAA, you can swap out the battery tube with a 1xAA tube, or a 123 tube, or a a different clip, etc, all parts are "lego-able".

 

[357mag1]

I prefer the Tactical interface and the Turbo version for the increased throw. One of the better throwing XPG lights.
I also prefer to buy the 2AA version and an extra 123x2 body. I run the light off a single 17670 and it is just as bright as my 123x2 version that uses two RCR123 batteries.
I tried the 18650 body they sell and it is a pain. Mine was defective upon arrival but I would not have kept it anyway. It requires you to take the light apart because it has an electronic board built into it so you can no longer load batteries through the tailcap.

Just some ideas and things to be have awareness about.

 

[Thr33oneTh1rd]

I know this is an older thread, but did fiddling with the switch fix the problem? I had a similar problem with my maglites after they received great abuse. I took them apart and found that the switches were in good working order. In fact, everything was making good electrical contact. I then replaced the batteries with new alkalines and it worked perfect. I concluded that alkaline batteries can only withstand so much shock before becoming finicky. Do nimh batteries have this same problem? Or should I just stop beating things with my flashlight?lol