Ra Clickly Parasitic Drain

[druidmars]

Hey CPF fellows!
I'm here in search for assistance. I own a Ra Clicky Executive 140 since August/2010, which I programmed to my liking. Within the torch is a AW RCR123. So far so good. What I can see is that the battery is not lasting more than a week!!! This can't be normal. The first battery I used with the light was a primary and it lasted three months. I started to realize that from the moment I started using the rechargeables the life of the batteries was diminishing. I used mainly for walking at night around the house without disturbing the rest of the family (less than 1lm) and sometimes in a more general mode (40lm).
Now that I explained the situation, I have three questions for you (and apologies if they have been answered but I searched for them and didn't find any):

1. Is it normal such a strong parasitic drain? I mean, only a week??

2. Will it behave the same way with primaries? As I only tried once, there's no way I can tell if it will do the same or not.

3. There's no way to unscrew just a bit of the body, because the light still works. Only when it's fully unscrewd (which is the same as removing the battery) the light will not work (naturally!). I wouldn't mind leaving it open but I don't want to have to reset my custom modes again! Too much trouble. I want to have it configured like I do without the hassle of the parasitic drain.

Can someone share their experiences? I'm in need of advice.

 

[derangboy]

Removing the battery from the light does not erase your custom settings. The drain you are experiencing is not normal. The best thing I can suggest would be to test the light with a different battery you know for certain is good. If The problem persists, contact HDS.

 

[twl]

Not normal.
My HDS is an older model than yours, but my light will keep a battery in it for more than a year, and still have most of the charge left. That's as long as I've left it unused, and still come back to have it working normally. It might go a couple years or more, I never tried to go more than a year on the same battery. But I have done a year, and it holds at least that long.

So, I think you check your battery to be sure that the battery isn't at fault, and if it's not, then you should call Henry about it.

 

[nbp]

It is possible that it is your cells that are bad, and it is possible that your light was one of a few that got dud capacitors and is failing and draining batteries.

I would get a fresh primary, put it in the light, and let it sit unused for a few days. If it is the capacitor, the light will drain the cell within 2-3 days untouched. If this happens, contact Henry. If it seems to be fine on the primary, it is probably your 16340s that need replacing.

 

[StandardBattery]

Just one more note; if you suspect or determine that it is the battery, check that they are being charged correctly before you toss them.

 

[druidmars]

The RCR are new and I tried those batteries in other flashlights I own and they do not deplete. I will try a new primary and test it. Should the result be the same, I'll contact Henry. BTW, how's HDS concerning customer service/waiting time?
Thanks for the feedback guys!

 

[jimmy1970]

Sounds like you may have a faulty capacitor. Send it back to the HDS funny farm and he will get it sorted out.

James...

The RCR are new and I tried those batteries in other flashlights I own and they do not deplete. I will try a new primary and test it. Should the result be the same, I'll contact Henry. BTW, how's HDS concerning customer service/waiting time?
Thanks for the feedback guys!

 

[Nyctophiliac]

My Ra Clicky 140 CGT is exactly the same.

I called HDS and spoke to Henry, he seemed to know what the problem was and could fix it if I sent it back to him - I have to confess I have yet to do so - probably because I hate the idea of paying customs charges when I get it back again! He was very helpful and I must get around to doing this. It was a long chat we had and covered many of the lights he has worked on over the years - worth the phone call. Lovely chap. Great lights.

 

[stoli67]

This was happening to my titanium ra clicky but a quick trip to Henry fixed it.

 

[druidmars]

I have contacted Henry and I'm waiting his reply. I love my light but it has to be in good working conditions. I can't imagine the cost for shipment/time processing/customs on the return with DHL or fedex or any other from Europe to the US!

 

[fisk-king]

It is possible that it is your cells that are bad, and it is possible that your light was one of a few that got dud capacitors and is failing and draining batteries.

I would get a fresh primary, put it in the light, and let it sit unused for a few days. If it is the capacitor, the light will drain the cell within 2-3 days untouched. If this happens, contact Henry. If it seems to be fine on the primary, it is probably your 16340s that need replacing.

+1
what he said.

 

[baragon]

To Nyctophilac , If you are worried about customs charges when it is returned to you, could you not just send back the faulty part of the torch ie top of the torch containing the faulty driver without the tailcap and battery/body tube. Then it may just get though without any charges as the customs cannot easily put a value on a spare part vs whole torch, just an idea.

 

[WildChild]

I've send my high CRI clicky back to Henry last week for the same problem. A new battery lasted 3 weeks without even using the light. It didn't have the problem at first. About customs, I write "warranty return" and I've never had to pay any customs charge when the manufacturer also writes this on the form.

 

[the.Mtn.Man]

Seems those faulty caps showed up in quite a number of lights. I just got mine back after sending it out for repairs a few weeks ago. I noticed the problem when my rechargeable cells would suddenly deplete without warning after less than a week of infrequent use.

 

[Nyctophiliac]

To Nyctophilac , If you are worried about customs charges when it is returned to you, could you not just send back the faulty part of the torch ie top of the torch containing the faulty driver without the tailcap and battery/body tube. Then it may just get though without any charges as the customs cannot easily put a value on a spare part vs whole torch, just an idea.

Nice idea.

About customs, I write "warranty return" and I've never had to pay any customs charge when the manufacturer also writes this on the form.

Another nice idea.

I think I'll try both.

About the problem - basically if I put a fresh 100% cell in on Monday - It'll be down to 20-40% by Friday. Too many times have I reached for this light and the cell will be dead - not good for my wallet or the utility of the torch! Luckily, never had this happen to a RC123A!

One of the biggest reasons I haven't sent it yet is just the sheer options for alternatives I have to EDC every day, not that I don't like the light, still has one of the best U.I. and beams of any I have used, and as for the bodywork!

 

[fnj]

This was happening to my titanium ra clicky but a quick trip to Henry fixed it.

Mine too, only I haven't mustered the courage yet to return it. I have nightmares of the postal truck going off a bridge or something. It would be about as difficult to replace as was my crashed 1982 Audi 5000 TD was in 1999 - i.e., impossible. Even if the postal insurance finally did pay off after 2 years or something.

BTW, can't you eliminate the parasitic drain by slightly backing off the threads when you're not uysing it?

 

[nbp]

Mine too, only I haven't mustered the courage yet to return it. I have nightmares of the postal truck going off a bridge or something. It would be about as difficult to replace as was my crashed 1982 Audi 5000 TD was in 1999 - i.e., impossible. Even if the postal insurance finally did pay off after 2 years or something.

BTW, can't you eliminate the parasitic drain by slightly backing off the threads when you're not uysing it?

All the Clickies have parasitic drain because of the electronics used. However it is about the same as the CR123s normal self discharge rate. What the OP was describing was a problem with some Clickies that had bad capacitors where the battery would drain to dead in a couple days even without use. If your Ti Clicky is doing that you really should have Henry fix it as it is nearly useless until it is fixed. BTW I sent a Ti Clicky to him to fix once and he patched it up and had it working perfectly again very soon. Fear not!

 

[pjandyho]

The high drain on HDS lights are not only caused by a faulty capacitor. Henry told me that he had a batch of tubes that has a very slight machining error resulting in a slight short which led to the drain of power. He did not know about the machining error until months later when people start complaining to him that their batteries are draining much faster than it should.

In my personal experience, the lights that had capacitor issue drained the battery in about two days, whereas the ones with the machining issue drained the battery in a about a week or two. Not sure if this is true for all the lights with the machining error.

 

[Roccomo]

I just got HDS Clicky # 7820 back from Henry for this same issue. I purchased the light in the fall of 2010 as a Christmas present for my dad. Shortly after that Christmas he started complaining that the battery (brand new AW rechargeable) would die from full charge in two days with little use on it. First I took those batteries and got him new ones. That didn't work so we tried primaries...same thing. I then took the light home with me and it chewed through perfectly good cells just as he had described. I looked on here and read about the parasitic drain issue then I emailed Henry and he took it in for repair. The light is fine now so I have finally closed the book on my dads 2010 present.

 

[fnj]

All the Clickies have parasitic drain because of the electronics used. However it is about the same as the CR123s normal self discharge rate. What the OP was describing was a problem with some Clickies that had bad capacitors where the battery would drain to dead in a couple days even without use. If your Ti Clicky is doing that you really should have Henry fix it as it is nearly useless until it is fixed. BTW I sent a Ti Clicky to him to fix once and he patched it up and had it working perfectly again very soon. Fear not!

I'm sorry, I can't agree that the parasitic drain of a "good" HDS is comparable to CR123A self-discharge rate. First, my "bad" Ra Clicky Ti measures over 1 mA, which means it completely kills a CR123A in a couple of months, even when not used at all. OK, that's a "bad" one; I'm going to get mine fixed. But I measured two first gen (pre-Novatac) HDS EDC's and they are both right around 100 uA. I strongly believe this is in the normal range. And it is enough to pretty well kill a CR123A in under 2 years. The shelf life of a CR123A is at least 7 years before it gets strongly weakened, let alone completely discharged. I rest my case.

Maybe a RCR123 will last about as long in a "good" HDS as on the shelf, but not a CR123A.

And maybe, just maybe, the current Clickies have a lower parasitic drain than the first gen HDS. But I STRONGLY doubt it. If I ever get one, I'll test it; it's simple enough. And I'll test the Ti after fixing.

Understand, I'm not criticizing the 100 uA parasitic drain, but it has to be considered in how you use the light.