Quark Turbo Knocked Out by Fall From Bed

[SCTony]

Hello, this is my first post. I came here looking for info on rechargeable batteries and got bit by the flashlight bug. :laughing:
This is a great forum and I would first like to say KUDOS to Robocop- I am amazed at his patience and level-headedness in dealing with other umm.. opinions. Great traits for a LEO and moderators too!
I wound up purchasing a Quark Turbo AA2 and a Preon Kit (my first 'expensive' lights). Great lights and I am very glad to have them. Yesterday, I accidentally knocked the Turbo off of my bed and it fell onto the carpeted floor- about 3 feet. The light quit working as a result. I was very surprised as I thought LED lights were fairly robust and these 4-Sevens lights seem to be well made. I contacted 4-Sevens and they informed me that it was probably a fault in the tailcap assembly. Per their instructions, I disassembled and cleaned the tailcap and threads and all is well again. My question is- is this a fluke or are LED lights/switches in general this delicate? I am not unhappy with the light, just curious as to the general durability and reliability of these types of lights/switches. Do you think it is prone to repeat the failure if dropped again? It is not such a critical issue for me, but it would be for Life/Safety/Rescue or Mission Critical applications. Thanks.

 

[JaguarDave-in-Oz]

I've dropped mine more often, from further and onto harder surfaces than that.

One thing to note with new Quark Turbos and their tubes as I have experienced them is that initially their connection between tailcap and tube is a little tenuous. There is often a tiny bit of overflow of anodising on the ledge area where the tailcap top thread makes contact and this means that initally when first assembled the connection is not very good and a bump or movement can cause it to disconnect. I've had this issue on a few of my Quark Turbo tubes, they seem more prone than the other models, and found that I needed to screw the tailcap down hard and wind it back and forth a tenth of a turn or so several times to bed the surfaces to ensure a solid connection. I even had to use emery on one separate tube I bought.

You may find that if you had done that little bed in exercise your torch would have begun working again without needing to dismantle anything. Do it now and you will possibly find that such mild knocks will not cause it any furture problems.

 

[JaguarDave-in-Oz]

And just to clarify somehting - If you examine a Quark closely you'll see that the tailcap doesn't actually make contact with the flat ledge on the top surface of the tube and it's not the switch retaining ring that meets the tube for connectivity either.

If you look deep inside the tailcap, past the andodised threads, you'll see the tailcap has some smaller bare threads at the very top that actually meet the corner of the top of the tube rather than the flat portion at the top. That's why the anodising on the tube's threads sometimes gets in the way.

 

[carrot]

It was most likely a fluke in the assembly process and probably won't happen again.

 

[Wiggle]

Probably all should be good now. I've dropped my Quark AA-T several times, including a 6 foot fall onto cement which put a ding in the finish but caused no operating problems whatsoever. I actually like the first time I mark a light, it's annoying for a second but then you stop worrying about babying the light

 

[tsask]

I've dropped mine more often, from further and onto harder surfaces than that.
One thing to note with new Quark Turbos and their tubes as I have experienced them is that initially their connection between tailcap and tube is a little tenuous. . I've had this issue on a few of my Quark Turbo tubes, they seem more prone than the other models, and found that I needed to screw the tailcap down hard and wind it back and forth a tenth of a turn or so several times to bed the surfaces to ensure a solid connection. I even had to use emery on one separate tube I bought. QUOTE]

Thanks, I don't feel so bad now because I have had "issues" assembling my 18650 Quark tube/head assembly. Yesterday I accidentially killed a 18650 Quark tube trying to replace 18650 cell:mecry:
I just ordered a replacement today. I'll be checking back to this thread for guidance when I assemble it

 

[SCTony]

Thanks for the input. I took a closer look now that I have time and find that the switch from tight setting to loose setting happens very fast- like maybe 5 degrees of turn. Is this normal? Seems ok to me.
I did the bed-in on the tailcap JaguarDave- thanks for the suggestion. After cleaning and reassembling it (I took it apart and worked with the tailcap shell and battery tube only) I had no connection. I loosened the tailcap retaining ring about a quarter-turn and the connection seems pretty reliable now.
I don't mind doing all this work if I end up with a reliable light but I wasn't expecting to have to do all this.
Maybe my next Quark will be more polished. If not, I know what to do now.

 

[JaguarDave-in-Oz]

Thanks for the input. I took a closer look now that I have time and find that the switch from tight setting to loose setting happens very fast- like maybe 5 degrees of turn. Is this normal?

yes quite normal, all my turbos only engage "max" at the very last bit of their turn before things go tight.

 

[gcbryan]

Sometimes one gets the impression from other posts that it's only the Chinese lights that are less than perfect. I guess all flashlights need a little work from time to time.

 

[Linger]

+1 on dis-assembling tail-cap and re-assembling it with retaining ring tightly in place. This is the appropriate connectivity fix for new Quarks and it effectively remedies the problem.

SCTony - You gotta believe in it yourself, so you gotta test it out: drop that light, throw that light, give it the conditions you need to feel comfortable in.
I've edc'd a quark for nearly a year, so it has been through a lot, bumps and bangs. Function is %100, as is the finish.

Additionally, if you leave the quark in holster you'd probably be good for high-speed departures from moving vehicles.

 

[Owen]

Sometimes one gets the impression from other posts that it's only the Chinese lights that are less than perfect. I guess all flashlights need a little work from time to time.

Quarks are Chinese lights,

My question is- is this a fluke or are LED lights/switches in general this delicate? I am not unhappy with the light, just curious as to the general durability and reliability of these types of lights/switches. Do you think it is prone to repeat the failure if dropped again? It is not such a critical issue for me, but it would be for Life/Safety/Rescue or Mission Critical applications. Thanks.

Tailswitch problems with these inexpensive lights are not uncommon. Every Fenix I've had with a tailswitch was the same way. It'll probably happen again. You'll go to turn it on, and it won't work. Take some needlenose pliers and tighten the switch down, and you're usually good to go.

Welcome to CPF, and since you're new, here's a brief rundown minus hype, though it's fairly general, and there are occasional overlaps and exceptions.
Lights of this type are usually fairly decent, but durability and reliability is not what they're made for. They're made to get the latest, brightest LED to market as quickly as possible in a good looking package with equally attractive features, and at a price point that will sell. Something has to give, and the compromise is mainly in quality of construction and materials. They'll typically have cheaper components, and a softer, lower grade aluminum than a premium light(no matter what they claim), which is why the machining won't be as fine, and will sometimes look crappy at the threads, and the anodizing will be of lower quality.
When you start looking at lights like an Arc AAA, or your average Surefire, you're going to pay more for higher quality raw materials, better machining, better ano, the higher cost of American manufacturing, and name brand. Meanwhile, you'll generally sacrifice the latest LED performance for that of a previous generation, and the most recent technical features for a simpler user interface with less options.
If you're not satisfied with one or the other, you can look at custom lights, or having one of the higher quality factory ones upgraded to get the LED and/or features you want. Either can leave you with a really nice light if you choose well, but you're going to have a lighter wallet to go with it.
There's a little something for everyone.

 

[Jash]

I dropped one of my favourite lights last night, onto concrete. End of life ! Couldn't get it to light up no matter how fast I clicked the switch.

Pulled it to pieces, all contacts ok, all soldering ok, put the switch into another light, switch ok.

Mmm...what about the batteries. Put three new duracells in, HEY PRESTO :twothumbs.

I didn't think a 3ft drop could kill a battery but alas, it did.

 

[NutSAK]

And just to clarify somehting - If you examine a Quark closely you'll see that the tailcap doesn't actually make contact with the flat ledge on the top surface of the tube and it's not the switch retaining ring that meets the tube for connectivity either.

If the switch retaining ring doesn't make contact with the flat edge of the battery tube, what does the tailcap "bottom out" on when it is screwed down tight?

 

[Cataract]

I've dropped my Quark AA on concrete and ceramic tiles with no effect at all ... well the rear end now has a very small flat surface. I've had to clean the switches on both lights (quark AA regular and tactical) due to some flickering, but they work fine now. My RGB works fine out of the box and I never had any switch problem with any of my Fenix lights.

Most of my lights where properly lubricated when I got them and some weren't lubricated at all.

I think it's probably just a question of assembly line worker state of mind: they just might be lazier on monday mornings or in a hurry to go grab a beer on friday afternoons... ask for a light that was assembled on tuesday or wednesday and it should be free of assembly errors.

 

[JaguarDave-in-Oz]

If the switch retaining ring doesn't make contact with the flat edge of the battery tube, what does the tailcap "bottom out" on when it is screwed down tight?

It bottoms out (or jams against would be better wording ) on the threads that the switch retaining ring screws into. They are a smaller diameter than the tailcap to body threads.

I first noticed this when I was trying to index a tailcap that I had screwed a nitecore clip to. I was trying to index its position by changing the moment it "bottomed out" through unscrewing the switch retaining ring only to find it was making no difference. It was only then, after careful inspection from the head end with the tailcap screwed on that I realised there is a gap between the top of the tube and the switch retaining ring even when the tailcap is screwed on fully tight.

I realised that it's just that tiny amount of un-anodised protruding switch retaining ring female thread in the tailcap that actually meets the tube and that's why you can have the cleanest flattest tube top in the world but still have a connectivity problem with your quark and that seems to have been especially so on the four or five turbo tubes I've got.

 

[NutSAK]

Interesting stuff. Thanks JDiO. As I look at it closer, that certainly appears to be the case...

 

[SCTony]

Thanks for the succinct summary Owen. I got the Quark for it's "latest and greatest" and I do like it, but 4-Sevens may have a wrinkle or two to iron out yet. Nothing major for general use- mainly the tail-cap connectivity as in my Turbo AA2.
I see what you are saying JaguarDave- the t/c retaining ring (the inner ring with the two dimples for tightening) may just clear the bat tube when it is tightened all the way. I tried an experiment and replaced the paper-thin metal washer behind the t/c switch with a thicker washer. This moved the t/c forward so that no bare threads showed- and the bat tube contacted the retaining ring, but intermittently. I think the (battery)spring pushing backwards on the switch separates it from the retaining ring, giving us connectivity problems. That's why the retaining ring needs to be tight, but too tight and it doesn't contact the bat tube and then uses the inner threads(which is tenuous).
This is my first light- are most t/c switches designed this way or differently? Thanks everyone.

 

[NutSAK]

This is my first light- are most t/c switches designed this way or differently? Thanks everyone.

Most of them make contact between the body and the retaining ring. I suspect the way the Quark t/c is designed is a "feature" to eliminate the loosening of the retaining ring when unscrewing the t/c. This was a common problem in the Fenix L series. 4Sevens had experience with this issue, and might have designed around it.

 

[JaguarDave-in-Oz]

Most of them make contact between the body and the retaining ring. I suspect the way the Quark t/c is designed is a "feature" to eliminate the loosening of the retaining ring when unscrewing the t/c.

That's what I guessed too and I think it's a damned good idea and should be very effective. We just have to get the idea out there that it's the top "corner" of the tube that needs to be cleaned (of grime or anodising) and not the flat "top".

 

[NutSAK]

We just have to get the idea out there that it's the top "corner" of the tube that needs to be cleaned (of grime or anodising) and not the flat "top".

Good point. I have a habit of cleaning (wiping) the flat end of battery tubes each time I remove a tailcap or head. I will definitely have to keep this in mind.

lovecpf