RC-G2 Q5 Problems

[MattS67]

Newb here, been lurking for a bit.

Bought an RC-G2 Q5 a few days ago from ShiningBeam, my first LED flashlight. Worked great for a few minutes, then started having some problems. Initially, when I would turn it on, it would only turn on half the time. Now, it turns on maybe 1 in 20 tries, usually only after sitting for awhile. It will only run for a few seconds and then it's done for a few minutes.

Any idea what happened, and how I can fix it? Never torn into one of these things before, so go easy on me.

 

[Sir Lightalot]

You should make sure that the contact points are clean first off. Secondly, what type of batteries are you using? That sounds like the behavior of a dead alkaline.

 

[optodoofus]

There are a few common problems you can hit with an RC-G2.

First, make sure that the head is not tightened down too tightly. It is possible for the reflector to short out the LED. To see if this is your issue, take the head off and see if the light works correctly. If so, then you can make a small washer to keep this from happening (cut a doughnut out of paper or plastic) or be careful to not tighten the head down too far. I have never had this issue (and my RC-G2s all came with a plastic washed already in there).

The other issue is that the switch retaining ring can come lose,m aking the switch unreliable. Take off the tail of the light, and short the bottom of the battery to the bare parts of the body threads with a piece of wire or a paper clip. If the light comes on reliably, then the switch is the problem. If you look into the removed switch assembly, you will see a retaining ring with two small holes in it. If you insert tweezers or small needlenose pliers into these holes, you can tighten the retaining ring (clockwise,of course). That may resolve the issue.

If both of these fail (and it is not the batteries as a previous poster suggested), then you have a defective light and you should contact Shiningbeam for a replacement.

optodoofus