SF123s Killed by heat???

[K5Guy]

Hi,

My Scorpion has become my new "glovebox light" and it is giving me some serious trouble. I loaded it with SF123s and left it in the car for a day. That afternoon I took it out to use it and it was dead. The SF123s were completely shot. I didn't think much about it since the SF123s had some use on them and I figured they didn't have much juice left in them. However, yesterday I got the Scorpion out again after being in the car all day and it was dead again and this time it had fresh SF123s.

Has anyone had a problem with 123s or SF123s being susceptible to heat? There is a chance, although I think very slim, that the light is turning on and running the batteries down. With the Scorpion's switch I think it would be hard for the light to stay in the momentary position long enough to run the batteries down. The days I had problems the outside temp has been around 80F and the light was warm to the touch after being in the car.

I always thought 123s were a good choice for a "glovebox light" and thought this was a little strange.

 

[Size15's]

I suggest you put Duracell DL123A batteries in it to see if there is a difference. I also would buy a new box of SF123As (SF12BB) and see if it still does it.

123A batteries and SF123As specifically have been able to handle the heat in my experience - SureFires get hot during use.

Al

 

[LitFuse]

[ QUOTE ]
K5Guy said:
However, yesterday I got the Scorpion out again after being in the car all day and it was dead again and this time it had fresh SF123s.



[/ QUOTE ]

Was the light dead, or were the batteries dead?

That kind of heat is no problem for Lithium batts. I live in S. FL. and I've never had any problems with 123s. I think your light is turning on or you've got some kind of "key-off draw" on the cells. Maybe leave the light in the open on a seat or something and see if you have the same problem.

Peter

 

[K5Guy]

I tested the voltage on the cells a minute ago and got 2.05v and 2.30v.

Before I got my Arc4+, thanks LitFuse /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif, I carried this light everyday and never had any problems. I suppose a little testing is in order. I will have to buy another 2 lithum light to make the testing complete. I could then test the Scorpion with SF123s and with Duracell 123s and another light with the same to rule out a problem with the Scorpion. Hmmmm....does this sound like a lame justification for another light....maybe /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

 

[imfrogman]

Do not buy another box of surefire batteries, buy another brand & you will not have this problem. Do a search on sf123's & you will find that many other members have had trouble with sf batteries dying pre-maturely, although sf denies it. They make great lights, but their batteries are unreliable.

 

[Klaus]

Either the reason (heat?) for the mentioned SF 123s failure was finally found (I doubt this - just too easy IMO) or the light just switches on in the glove box - why not try a way to lock it out properly and see what happens ? Only change one element in the possible row of issues at one time - if not you´ll never know what was the root cause in the end.

Klaus

 

[Doug Owen]

I doubt it's 'the light turns itself on'. If that were the case the cells would be very close to zero, right?

If they're all from the same batch (and it sounds like it), I agree that a quick check with a *different brand* is in order.

Doug Owen

 

[peterg]

Why not leave some of the same lot of batteries in the glove compartment (not inside the flashlight) and some in the flashlight. Wait for the same approximate time you have experienced the battery drain and then check both sets of batteries in the light. It should give you the answer if the heat is affecting the batteries. Pete

 

[naromtap]

I do recall reading that Lithiums are particularly happy in the cold but never read heat having any adverse effect on them.

 

[K5Guy]

I am aware this could be several things. The only two things linking the two events were the SF123s and heat from the car. After thinking about it I think the batch of SF123s I am using came of out the hurricane lamp I purchased on sale from Surefire. I don't know if this had anything to do with or not. I will sort the SF123s from that batch and try to test them to see if they are the culprit.

 

[Justintoxicated]

outside temp of 80 means it was how hot in the car? It was 104 here in San Diego county yesterday, and it woudl have been blazing hot inside of a car.

 

[jtivat]

I don't think it is heat I have done many test with a PM12 and the N62 lamp. Surefire batteries go into thermal shutdown much latter than any other brand I have tested.