Need help with Surefire 9p

[ggarciatx]

I was gifted a Surefire 9p flashlight. It doesn't work and seems like it only needs a new bulb. I want to use it for duty. I am not familiar with these at all. Is it just a bulb or does the whole assembly with spring have to be swapped? Also it seems like a tail end rotating on/off switch, are there click type for it?
I tried searching 9p, but it was too short and Surefire comes out to too many posts. Thanks guys.

 

[KeyGrip]

The whole lamp assembly; bulb, reflector, and spring have to be replaced. You have two options, the P90 and the P91. The P90 will give 105 lumens for 60 minutes, and the P91 will give 200 lumens for 20 minutes. SureFire makes a clicky tailcap that fits the 9P. Hope this helps, and enjoy your 9P.

 

[flash_bang]

you're looking for what's called a clicky tailcap, but unless you are mounting it on a rifle, I wouldn't recommend a clicky for tactical use, as with adrenaline, you might lock the light on, thus making you a really bright target, drawing enemy fire, etc etc.

but anyways, you might need a new LA. In the 9P you need to replace it with a P90 or P91, the P91 being brighter than the P90, but with approx one third the runtime. the 9P's Lamp assemblies are just that, assemblies, the contact spring, reflector and bulb need to be replaced as a whole, the lamp cannot be replaced separate from the reflector and the rest of the assembly. before you swap the lamp assemblies, try new batteries, sometimes that does the trick, also, be SURE that you DO NOT get a P61 or P60 for use in your 9P. the voltage of the three batteries is too much for the bulb to handle and will explode or just not work, something you don't want, I'm sure.

so, in review:
you want a new lamp assembly: the P90 or P91 from surefire will work fine
you also want a clicky tailcap, there are several, the Z59 and Z49 are black in finish, but the Z59 is a tad more matte in its finish and more durable than the Z49. the Z49 however, has a rubber crown on the end of the tailcap, thus making it be able to be used for tailstanding, but I don't think you would care about that in tactical use. I got the Z59 for my G2, works great, love the clicky(more personal preferance as far as clickies go, though) but be careful if you get a metal accessory for a plastic bodied light, as it is insanely easy to shave off the threads with the metal accessory, luckily I saved my G2's body, but I still need to be freakishly careful whilst putting on said tailcap.

Hope this helps, and I hope I didn't bore you,
Flash

:EDIT: wow I took a long time to type that, KeyGrip beat me to it

 

[KeyGrip]

Flash_bang brings up a good point about clicky tailcaps. You mentioned that you wanted to use the light for duty, could you explain? It that means use with a firearm, the standard tailcap might be a better idea. The more detail you give on how you expect to use the light, the more help we can be.

 

[flash_bang]

yay! I brought up a point!
but seriously, I can't think of a good reason to have a clicky for tactical reasons…I know they're sometimes used mounted underbarrel some assault rifles and activated by pushing the clicky with the supporting hand, but it doesn't make sense to me, cuz if having constant on light if you're using it as a light for a pistol, and constant light makes you a target, then what makes you having it constant on, but on a rifle make you less of a target? besides you being able to blow them to bits easier, but that's only if they are illuminated by the light, correct?

Just doesn't make sense to me, but who am I? I probably don't know the intricacies of how duty stuff differs from tactical stuff. As far as like night guards or something, or other stuff.

HAGO,
Flash

 

[ggarciatx]

Thanks guys for the help so far. well I want to carry it on my belt. possibly replace the stinger I have. I want it for general duty use, not mounted on weapons. I wanted to have the capability to turn it off and on like the stinger. I guess it was given to me cause the bulb is missing completely. the assembly is there, but the bulb isnt. :shrug:

It seems smaller and lighter than my stinger. I looked around on ebay and found the P90 bulbs from Hong Kong for 5.00. I dont have paypal, so that is out. The bulbs are around 30+ with shipping from anyone in the US. Does anyone know an inexpensive source? does anyone have a spare assembly they would consider selling? Thanks
Gabe

 

[KeyGrip]

the assembly is there, but the bulb isnt. :shrug:

That is a real first as far as I know. As for cheaper lamp assemblies, check the buy/sell/trade forums. They pop up there occasionally.

 

[KeyGrip]

Ggarciatx, it's your lucky day: http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=169046

 

[lightemup]

How bright do you want your 9P? And what brightness are you willing to sacrifice for runtime? The reason I ask is that Surefire has just released the p60 LED. It puts out about 80 lumens, and reportedly works in a 9p as well. Seems everyone else has covered the major points above, just thought i'd offer an alternative

At the moment it is only available in the G2L and 6PL but eventually it will be available as an accessory. But it never hurts to have a second light and if you like the beam throw a p60 or p61 in the leftover g2 or 6p body. You can put a WTB on B/S/T for one.

This will give you MUCH greater runtime than the p90 or p91. Won't be as bright, but apart from the runtime advantage, you will never have to replace a dead bulb again (and in the offchance it does fail Surefire will fix or replace it).

There are also numerous aftermarket drop in led's of varying quality. As to which ones are compatible with the 9p, and which are 'milspec' i.e. reliable, bright and reliable etc I can't say.

As far as clicky tailcaps, it is personal preference. It seems clickies do have a higher incidence of failing than standard LOTC's. It also depends on how you will use the light. For momentary on/off, in a high stress situation you might find yourself mashing (for want of a better word ) the clickie on when you don't mean to.

For general use I find that clickies are more convenient for constant on. Depending on what you mean by Duty, you need to decide what your preference is. Personally, i'd stick with the LOTC. But that is just my opinion.

Just my 2 cents

BTW Welcome to CPF

 

[NickDrak]

I would also highly suggest that you look into getting a quality LED drop-in for your 9P such as the Malkoff P60 module or a LightHound (Just make sure the drop-in is rated up to atleast 9 volts). It will undoubtedly outlast any P90 lamp you buy, and will save you money in the long run on replacement P90's incadescent lamps (They break waaay too easily if you drop the light), and CR123 batteries due to the much extended runtime on the LED lamps. (1 hour with the P90 lamp @ 105 Lumens compared to around 3 hours with the Malkoff P60 LED drop-in @ 150+ lumens)

I highly prefer the Malkoff unit as it has the best reflector of all of the drop-in lamps in my opinion, and it is super white compared to all of the others I have tried. The Light Hound unit is less expensive, and usually in-stock.

Malkoff:
http://www.malkoffdevices.com/shop/..._id=18&zenid=854b92bae39e909344af26ced9574e2a

LightHound: http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2605

On the tailcap: I have been using SF Z48/Z49 clicky tailcaps on all of my duty lights for the past several years. They allow temporary on by lightly pushing the button, and constant on by pushing harder until it clicks. I have to disagree with flash_bang's assesment of the Surefire clicky used in a "tactical" environment. The SF Z series tailcaps are so well made that an accidental click on is unlikely, especially with the Z49's extended rubber lip. http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/carfnbr/289/prrfnbr/812/Click-On-Lock-out-Tailcap

As far as CR123 lithium batteries go, I have been using the "Titanium" brand batteries from AmondoTech for the past year & 1/2. They seem to be as good as any I have used thus far (Surefire, Energizer, Duracell), and have gotten excellent reviews here and elsewhere. And at $1.00 each, who can complain? One bit of advice though.... Order in bulk as AmondoTech charges alot for shipping. I usually hook up with atleast one other guy at work who uses CR123's for their lights and order atleast 30 batteries and split the shipping costs between us.

AmondoTech: http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=490

Hell! You got the light for free man! Hook it up right:thumbsup:

 

[batman]

I think the first thing to do would be check and make sure the batteries aren't dead.

 

[depusm12]

Are you a LEO? If your planing on using the light often you might want to check into protected Li-Ion batteries for the SF. I have a SF C3 (same size light) I have a Bug Out Gear led module in the light as well as rechargeable Li-Ion 17500's, you'll need 2 17500's to replace 3 CR123's and a charger check out Lighthound's website. Also look at the Lumen Factory SR-9 bulb it puts out quite a bit of light ( package says 220 lumen's) and it's less expensive than a SF bulb. Hope this helps.