Nitecore EX11 V2 woes.

[jerry999]

Received this torch for xmas on the threat of death should it not be under the tree come the 25th and was so looking forward to it. What a gorgeous thing it is. The build quality is superb. I so want to love it. I love so many things about it however, when trying to switch it off, it would sometimes go into minimum mode. I returned it and received the replacement yesterday. At least this one switches itself off. When attempting S.O.S. mode, it goes into minimum mode and when attempting strobe mode, nothing happens. So, more ( un-reimbersed ) recorded delivery cost and wait for my 3rd and last try with the sodding thing. It's sitting there now, mocking me. I have read on here about other incidences of this nature with this model. Should I just bale out now ? And get what ? All advice gratefully received.

 

[pistolsnipe]

every d10/d11 that i have had, has needed to be cleaned before it operated to my satisfaction. i usually remove the head, and run a qtip with alcohol around the contact ring, and clean the top part of the body where it contacts the ring. if this doesn't work i remove the contact ring with angled tweezers, unscrew the pill, and remove the spring from the pill. clean the spring, the entire side of the pill, the underside of the contact ring, and the bottom of the pill where the traces on the pcb contact the ring. put everything together, and should work tons better

 

[jayke]

Jerry,

I had the same issues as PistolSnipe mentioned with my EX11 V2. Even after some time I just need to remove the head and push on the contact ring as it seems to get stuck sometimes

 

[jerry999]

Aha ! Found them. The instructions say it has to be ON to get S.O.S. and strobe but it works from OFF !! Weird.

 

[RedForest UK]

Well yeah, the .2 series has shortcuts to max and min while on and you can only access the strobe and SOS from off, that's one of their main selling points. Maybe they accidentally sent you the instructions for the v1?

Just make sure you do not use li-ion cells in the EX11.2 as it seriously overdrives the LED (boost only circuit) and will kill the boost driver and probably the LED.

 

[jerry999]

I will be using Li-on's once the freebie dies. If any damage is caused then it will be returned to the dealer as they state that it can use them.

 

[jondotcom]

Just make sure you do not use li-ion cells in the EX11.2 as it seriously overdrives the LED (boost only circuit) and will kill the boost driver and probably the LED.

Is that really the consensus? I was under the impression that many run this light on 16340.

 

[rocled]

+1 I have been using a AW Li-Ion in mine since I got it back in November. I don't use max that often, but I would hate to damage this light by using it. Thanks for the info...

Is that really the consensus? I was under the impression that many run this light on 16340.

 

[RedForest UK]

The light is rated officially to use 16340/rcr123s but actual measurement have shown that it simply runs direct drive above the forward voltage of the LED. With an XP-G and a decent RCR123 that can be around 2 amps at 4-4.1v and up to 2.6 amps at 4.2v! I remember reading a review in which that current was actually measured using an AW li-ion fresh off the charger in an EX11.2, the conclusions were simply do not even try li-ions in it.

I have blown a couple of boost circuits from the D11.2 by using 14500 cells and have since replaced the boards with new ones, I won't try 14500s again. I also recently replaced the faulty circuit of an EX10 SP with an EX11.2 driver (and also swapped the emitter to a neutral XP-G R5), the currents I measured on that with an AW RCR123 were 1.5A @ 3.8v, 1.7A @ 3.9v and 2.0A at 4.03v, I didn't risk charging the battery any higher and trying again. Those currents were even higher than the reading I got from my D11.2 circuits before they blew so there is no way I would risk it..

I have since ordered some of the 350mah lifepo4 cells from DX (I have one alread) they may not be the best capacity/quality (though I read AW's also only tested at around 350mah) but are pretty cheap and hold the same voltage as primary cells so no worries there. Measured current with these is around 0.9-1.0A, which is perfect for an XP-G in my opinion.

 

[jondotcom]

How about running it under full brightness until the batt runs down a bit? This is a surprise to me as I've never heard about anyone killing a nitecore with a li-ion. I've seen many about mode change issues, etc, but none about anyone killing their light due to a freshly charged li-ion.

 

[RedForest UK]

Technically that should work, but may still be wearing down the boost circuit.. I'm not sure. I wouldn't risk it as you can't really tell at what point you are overdriving the LED or not, and the cell could potentially overdrive the LED even quite a long way into it's discharge (3.8v).

Of course you are allowed to risk it if you want. Nitecore are obliged to replace/repair it if it does go wrong, it's just that I wouldn't recommend it if you want to avoid having to do an RMA.

 

[zs&tas]

i have had two ex11's, one blew a chip after rcr but its just come back from nitecore - 3 week turnaround, its sitting at the post office now. my other works fine on rcr and imr and is damned bright, ive used it on this till rundown and it produces some heat but works flawless. i would not worry about blowing a chip that means its faulty and nitecore WILL fix it.
these piston lights are some of the best lights ever made period....

 

[Rokron]

I've got an EX11.2 and was using it for a work EDC. I found that a few times I thought the light was off and later found that it was on low. The UI is too complex for hurried use. I found that with time I got used to the UI and have no problems now. It's a neat little light and have relegated it to the ashtray of the Dodge 2500 where it comes in handy from time to time. I now use a V10R T6 for a work EDC. At least when I turn it off, I know it's off.

 

[duro]

Aha ! Found them. The instructions say it has to be ON to get S.O.S. and strobe but it works from OFF !! Weird.

No, strobe and beacon only work from off.

 

[duro]

The light is rated officially to use 16340/rcr123s but actual measurement have shown that it simply runs direct drive above the forward voltage of the LED. With an XP-G and a decent RCR123 that can be around 2 amps at 4-4.1v and up to 2.6 amps at 4.2v! I remember reading a review in which that current was actually measured using an AW li-ion fresh off the charger in an EX11.2, the conclusions were simply do not even try li-ions in it.

I have blown a couple of boost circuits from the D11.2 by using 14500 cells and have since replaced the boards with new ones, I won't try 14500s again. I also recently replaced the faulty circuit of an EX10 SP with an EX11.2 driver (and also swapped the emitter to a neutral XP-G R5), the currents I measured on that with an AW RCR123 were 1.5A @ 3.8v, 1.7A @ 3.9v and 2.0A at 4.03v, I didn't risk charging the battery any higher and trying again. Those currents were even higher than the reading I got from my D11.2 circuits before they blew so there is no way I would risk it..

I have since ordered some of the 350mah lifepo4 cells from DX (I have one alread) they may not be the best capacity/quality (though I read AW's also only tested at around 350mah) but are pretty cheap and hold the same voltage as primary cells so no worries there. Measured current with these is around 0.9-1.0A, which is perfect for an XP-G in my opinion.

I thought it was the jetbeam bc10 that runs direct drive off of an rcr.

 

[xcbike72]

The light is rated officially to use 16340/rcr123s but actual measurement have shown that it simply runs direct drive above the forward voltage of the LED. With an XP-G and a decent RCR123 that can be around 2 amps at 4-4.1v and up to 2.6 amps at 4.2v! I remember reading a review in which that current was actually measured using an AW li-ion fresh off the charger in an EX11.2, the conclusions were simply do not even try li-ions in it.

I have blown a couple of boost circuits from the D11.2 by using 14500 cells and have since replaced the boards with new ones, I won't try 14500s again. I also recently replaced the faulty circuit of an EX10 SP with an EX11.2 driver (and also swapped the emitter to a neutral XP-G R5), the currents I measured on that with an AW RCR123 were 1.5A @ 3.8v, 1.7A @ 3.9v and 2.0A at 4.03v, I didn't risk charging the battery any higher and trying again. Those currents were even higher than the reading I got from my D11.2 circuits before they blew so there is no way I would risk it..

I have since ordered some of the 350mah lifepo4 cells from DX (I have one alread) they may not be the best capacity/quality (though I read AW's also only tested at around 350mah) but are pretty cheap and hold the same voltage as primary cells so no worries there. Measured current with these is around 0.9-1.0A, which is perfect for an XP-G in my opinion.

I've gotten the following measurements of my EX11.2, it's the one with V.2 on the opposite side from the serialno and bought from a HK based seller on eBay:

Solarforce RCR123 U=4,05V Imax=0,895A
AW RCR123 U=4,1V Imax=0,950A
Solarforce Primary U= 2,91V Imax=0,750A


I've used a Fluke DMM 787 for the measurements.

As hot as my light gets on high I can't imagine what it would be like @2A.

 

[bullterrier]

ok i have run my EX10 GD+ on AW RCR123 from day one same with my EX11.2 V2.
And no problems yet

 

[jerry999]

Many thanks for all of your replies. Interestingly, Nitecore themselves make no mention of using RCR's but the dealer does. As in the UK, my contract is with the dealer and not Nitecore, I shouldn't have any problems using AW protected RCR's. As mentioned before, I love this torch. Here's hoping it proves reliable in service.

 

[RedForest UK]

I thought it was the jetbeam bc10 that runs direct drive off of an rcr.

The BC10 does also run direct drive on an RCR123, many CR123 lights do, it just depends on the type of circuit used. Only buck boost are safe to use with li-ion if there's low resistance through the circuit etc.

Hearing from xcbike72 that his one doesn't pull over 1 amp on RCR123s suggests that there may be variation in the circuit and some may in fact be buck regulated to some extent, I'm not sure. But with those currents it should be ok.

 

[bgogo]

I've got an EX11.2 and was using it for a work EDC. I found that a few times I thought the light was off and later found that it was on low. The UI is too complex for hurried use. I found that with time I got used to the UI and have no problems now. It's a neat little light and have relegated it to the ashtray of the Dodge 2500 where it comes in handy from time to time. I now use a V10R T6 for a work EDC. At least when I turn it off, I know it's off.

I have the same situation on my ex11.2!!! That makes me check the LED off all the time...