Question about my Fenix P3D Q5

[Remon]

Hello all, this is my first posting on this board.

About 30 minutes ago i have a Fenix P3D Q5. (and a L0D and E01)

The store where i ordered the flashlight made a mistake: they put in Duracell Ultra CR123 batteries, tested the flashlight in turbo mode, packed it in and send it to me, with the light on!

I'm now worried about the expensive Fenix LED flashlight, it has been transported for over 24 hours with TNT Post (i live in the Netherlands) with the LED on in turbo mode.

My question to the LED and flashlight experts on this board:

Can my Fenix be damaged with above issue? Or has it now a decreased operation lifetime?

 

[Daark]

Hello all, this is my first posting on this board.

About 30 minutes ago i have a Fenix P3D Q5. (and a L0D and E01)

The store where i ordered the flashlight made a mistake: they put in Duracell Ultra CR123 batteries, tested the flashlight in turbo mode, packed it in and send it to me, with the light on!

I'm now worried about the expensive Fenix LED flashlight, it has been transported for over 24 hours with TNT Post (i live in the Netherlands) with the LED on in turbo mode.

My question to the LED and flashlight experts on this board:

Can my Fenix be damaged with above issue? Or has it now a decreased operation lifetime?

Sorry, i'm no expert;-) But i can guess that the light must have taken some damage, 220Lumen inside a little box with no airfloow for about one hour or more..it must have been very hot. :sick2:

Contact the seller and ask them for a new light..:thumbsup:

 

[gnef]

lets also hope they were good duracell batteries and don't explode inside the box...

 

[half-watt]

Hello all, this is my first posting on this board....The store where i ordered the flashlight made a mistake: they put in Duracell Ultra CR123 batteries, tested the flashlight in turbo mode, packed it in and send it to me, with the light on!...Can my Fenix be damaged with above issue? Or has it now a decreased operation lifetime?

welcome to CPF.

yes.

IIRC, Fenix recommends no more than 10min of continuous Turbo mode. An LED's color/tint, brightness, and life can be adversely affected by heat (Turbo mode produces a lot of heat which was exacerbated by being contained w/i the packaging).

do yourself a favor and send it back.

 

[Remon]

Thanks for all the replies!

Now i read it also, Fenix says in the manual: do not use Turbo Mode for more then 10 minutes, or it may harm the batteries and flashlight...

Have to pack it in now and wait till Monday for the RMA e-mail reply... :mecry:

 

[TONY M]

:welcome: Remon.

If the store sent it with the batteries in the light then that was pretty silly of them. Send it back just in case it has damaged the light as it was entirely their fault if this is the case.

I wonder if the light could have got switched on by accident during shipping, of it customs of whatever opened it up and had a little nosey peek and left it on.

Either way someone has been very silly and its not you're fault.

 

[Remon]

It was packed in a glued/sealed cardboard box, so it must their fault for sure.

Edit:

PS: Nice forum, i think i am a flashlight maniac, i do have the Fenix L0D, Fenix E01, Streamlight SL-20 and a Mini Maglite... :naughty:

 

[TONY M]

It was packed in a glued/sealed cardboard box, so it must their fault for sure.

Edit:

PS: Nice forum, i think i am a flashlight maniac, i do have the Fenix L0D, Fenix E01, Streamlight SL-20 and a Mini Maglite... :naughty:

Where did you but it from?

BTW The flashlight addiction can't be cured and never stops! LOL.

 

[LED-holic]

Good intentions by the store but they screwed up.

They should have loosened the tailcap to lock out the light from turning on if they were going to ship it with a battery.

 

[gadget_lover]

Before sending it back, I'd turn it on and evaluate it. Flashaholics tend to overdrive things all the time.

In turbo mode, the battery run time was only a fraction of the transit. The web site lists 1.8 hours in turbo before the battery dies.

I'd ask....
Is it as bight as exepected? IT's hard to tell, but remember that the replacement may not be as bright due to manufacturing variances.

Does it have a real nice tint? An extended burn in may effect the tint, but it may make it BETTER.

Are there other flaws that make you want to send it back?

I left my p2d rb100 on turbo till the battery died to "stress test" it after the recall was announced. It seemed to do fine, and it is stil my EDC.

Daniel

 

[Confederate]

Mark It First

To keep the retailer from sending the same unit back to you, either record the serial number of put a small identifying mark on it—something only you would recognize. To send the light on in turbo mode is inexcusable. In fact, how it could happen is beyond me.

In the worst case scenario, you having to keep the light, I believe no substantial damage was done. When mine's on too long it begins either flashing or something else, I don't recall. Still, I wouldn't take the chance.

 

[Remon]

@TONY M: I've bought it from knivesandtools.com, thats also the distributor for the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourgh.

@LED-holic: They advertise with "including free batteries", but they could better take them apart.

@gadget_lover: i dont feel comfortable with the knowing that my flashlight may be not perfect due the abusing of it. If it broke after, lets say 9 months, Fenix maybe says: sorry Remon, no warranty for you, the LED has been overheated...

@Confederate: thanks for your advice, i have marked the tailcap, body and head with a fine-tip Edding marker.

 

[Triple A]

Welcome, and yes- send it back! Like you said, you are covered now, but maybe not in 9 months! Sorry to hear about this- few things are worse than getting a new light and having to ship it back! At least you are covered for it now!

Hang In There!

 

[Gunner12]

Send it back unless postage is costly, it should be covered because it was their mistake.

The LED could be a bit damaged but overall life shouldn't be too affected.

I hope this works out well for you.

:welcome:

 

[Remon]

They send me a reply.

I can return it to a free PO box, dont cost me anything.

They said that the lamp cannot be damaged, that the warning in the manual is only for customers that use the lamp in area's that are at least 40 degrees celcius.

The store agreed with me that i feel uncomfortable with the flashlight, so they will send me a new Fenix with new batteries.

 

[zipplet]

Remon,

The whole point is in an enclosed box like that it probably did exceed 40 degrees celsius ambient during that time. So your worries are warranted - stick with sending it back, I would.

About running Fenix lights on turbo outside a box - I've stress tested all of my AA fenix lights by running them on turbo until they die, to verify runtime and emitter functionality (especially when the rebel recall was announced, so I needed to check my L2D). No problems.