Questions on a SF Hellfighter

[Maniac117]

1st post beyond my introduction!

First question- One of my Hellfighters gives off a bit of smoke from around the lens, would the problem be the ballast? I figured at first it might be condensation vaporizing, but I don't see any signs of liquid..

Second, I have a few HF cords sitting around that refuse to deliver power. Who makes custom cables, and are broken cables sought-after items for this/these person(s)?

These were used by a couple hunters, but with a bit of luck with bartering I'm quite excited call them my own. Just looking at the prices of the military grade rechargables leaves me shaking my head, I'll have to stick with the cigarette plug for now. :shakehead

 

[BVH]

1st post beyond my introduction!

First question- One of my Hellfighters gives off a bit of smoke from around the lens, would the problem be the ballast? I figured at first it might be condensation vaporizing, but I don't see any signs of liquid..

Second, I have a few HF cords sitting around that refuse to deliver power. Who makes custom cables, and are broken cables sought-after items for this/these person(s)?

These were used by a couple hunters, but with a bit of luck with bartering I'm quite excited call them my own. Just looking at the prices of the military grade rechargables leaves me shaking my head, I'll have to stick with the cigarette plug for now. :shakehead

Welcome to CPF! I'd guess it's more likely some foreign material reaching its' smoking point rather than smoke from the ballast. I've not had a HF but have many other HID's. Smoke is more probable from finger oils or other oily substances on the bulb, reflector or glass window, lubricant from an O-ring (if used). Did someone lube some threads? How long does the light have to run to produce the smoke? Is the smoke inside the closed bezel or from the exterior of the light? Always best to run in a new bulb or any new bezel related, high heat parts without the front window in-place. Let them off-gas for a while.

Again, don't know the cords specifically but are there any hidden fuses in-line, wires pull out from the connectors, corroded connector pins and sockets. If you have a ohm meter, check continuity of all wires end to end.

there's a few "less than $500" remote powered HF's on Ebay right now. Be good for parts.

 

[Solscud007]

I just got a HF too. Mac in the other Surefire Hellfighter thread makes 12 v cables for your car. He also make an aluminum handle that can use rechargeable 4x 26650 li-ions. It will power the HF for over an hour.

What cables do you have? Mind parting with a set? Does it have the grip switch and 12 v plug?

 

[Kestrel]

1st post beyond my introduction!

Welcome to CPF! :wave:

First question- One of my Hellfighters [...]

(emphasis added)

Ya gotta love this place, where else but CPF would someone write that, lol. 🙂

 

[Maniac117]

BVH- Thanks for the welcome! The smoke seems to originate from inside the bezel, and it was after about 2 minutes? I'll have to check it again to be sure! I didn't consider the possibility of hidden inline fuses on the cords, I'm going to do some research on this.. AND learn to use a ohm meter! :thinking: I'll check out the remote HFs that you mentioned after this!

Solscud007- a handle for the hellfire?! THIS I gotta see.. Hopefully I can locate the problems in the other cords, I have a few nonworking cables with the 12v adapter, and they all have gripswitchs. I can part with one or two..? Pardon my asking though, are you interested in a working or nonworking cable? I assumed the first, but it felt questionable! 🙂

Kestral- Thanks for the welcome! CPF became a focus when I became the owner of these lights, multiple google searches brought me! And I know, it was one of those deals where I happened to be in the right place- at the right time! I'm one of those guys that always changes hobbies though, so who knows? Hopefully nothing shiny pops up.

 

[Patriot]

Solscud007- a handle for the hellfire?! THIS I gotta see.. Hopefully I can locate the problems in the other cords, I have a few nonworking cables with the 12v adapter, and they all have gripswitchs. I can part with one or two..? Pardon my asking though, are you interested in a working or nonworking cable? I assumed the first, but it felt questionable! 🙂QUOTE]

Here's that thread....http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...e-intensive)&p=3893085&viewfull=1#post3893085

 

[Solscud007]

Maniac, I sent you a PM. I am interested in a non-functioning cable with grip switch and 12v plug for my car. Thanks I want to see if I can get one cheap and try to fix it.

 

[Maniac117]

Patriot- Thanks for the link, I checked it out last night! pretty crazy, it's tempting if he has them for sale..

Solscud007- checking PMs

 

[Maniac117]

Just an update, finally got the time to get a good look at the problematic Hellfire and test the cables. The Hellfire bulb/lamp is blackened, and the reflector has lost some of its shine- However, she still shines when plugged in, I'm going to start looking for replacement parts.


Cables are the second issue, it turns out I have two with 12v adapters that work, 3 with 12v adapters that do NOT work, and 2 more cables without the 12v adapters. Not sure if the last two have any problems, I have no batteries at the moment to test them with. I'll keep updating as I stumble through this!

 

[BVH]

Last I looked yesterday, there was a well used HF on Ebay for $245. Probably a good parts cow.

 

[Maniac117]

Sweet, found it.. Thought it would have been gone by now at that price? I'd pick it up for parts, but after talking the wife into allowing me to purchase an MP5 clone, this would be a tough one to push through at this time.