PD-S acting weird

[tibim]

Here's the story...

I was playing with my PD-S mizer tonight... switching back and forth between low and high a few times(by turning the bezel) and basically admiring the light... As I went to change from lo/hi (can't remember what it was on) again the light suddenly shut off. Pitch black. This battery had maybe an hour to two of runtime on it. The PD-S had definitely not started flickering yet(low batt warning).

In the darkness I turned the bezel all the way off and back on again, it lit up very faintly for probably 1/8 of a second, and then it shut off again. I took the bezel all the way off and put it back on, same thing... a slight flicker but it won't stay on.

I replaced the battery with a fresh one, and the light is normal again.

It's like the battery was instantaneously drained.

This is the second time this has happened. The first time I was using a battery station cell and I shrugged it off as being a crappy battery. This time it was a Surefire. There has to be something about the light causing this.

Is it possible that if something may be out of alignment/spec and causing a short circuit and instantly killing the battery?

I will get a voltage reading from the non-functioning battery tommorow.
I will also take a picture of the PD-S and its insides.

Any other suggestions?

-tibim

 

[X Racer]

Its the proper function of the circuit in the light. Nothing wrong with it at all, the converter sucks the battery dry until there isn't enough juice to light it anymore, and then it dies straight away. Completely normal, you just have a dead battery...

 

[Scottiver]

Sounds "normal" to me to. My aluminum PD with the Wiz2x2 driver always dies instantly with surefire or energizer batteries but with titanium batteries it would dim and die more slowly. Here is a thread that I started last year on the subject: http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1503178#post1503178
Hope it answers your question.

 

[charlesn]

This battery had maybe an hour to two of runtime on it.

-tibim

Hmmmm... that's not much runtime for a mizer, especially since you were toggling between high and low. I'd check the runtime again with a fresh battery and the light switched to high.

 

[tibim]

The thing is I've run a battery all the way down in the light before. The converter will start to make the light flicker when there is about 30 minutes left before regulation can't keep going. Then it just drops down (while continuing to flicker) and keeps running, although at a lower output. If I put it in in low mode the flicker goes away and the light keeps running(probably for a while, never fully drained it this way). It had not started to flicker yet with that battery, and I know for a fact the battery didn't have even close to 3 hours of runtime on it(under 2 for sure). I have tested the light and run it for 3+ hrs in high, so I know it will do that.

So anyways... you're saying it would be normal for it to really drain down some batteries, and then on others just go from full regulation to 0 light instantly, and not even be able to turn on in low?

On a side note I checked the voltage of that cell and it's 2.74v... dont know if that means much.

-tibim

 

[tibim]

Well the other thread was very informative, exact same issue with the light... From what I gather basically this must be an issue with faulty cells.

-tibim