Slight flickering with LED lights common?

[Electricview]

So i got an MTE 5-switch from DX, and when its on, i notice the beam is not a constant steady like my other MTE 5 (they sent me a second one on accident instead of the 604 i paid for, now they want me to keep this one and credit me 6 bucks on the 604 when i buy it AGAIN, but i'm kind of peeved).. It like jitters a little slightly less brighter then back up again, and it happens all the time, but how much it dims every other milisecond is sporatic, it never dims so dark that you cant see the beam, it just is annoying to watch it do this.. I swapped eveyrthing with the other MTE and have come to the conclusion its the led/head peice, i've cleaned the contacts the best i can, still happens.. So i'm guessing its something inside the electronics i cant fix..

Is this common? I was going to give it as a gift, but with that slight flickering i'd feel like a cheap *** :duh2:.. I have little electronics experience and no soldiering iron handy yell at DX more? or is there anything esle i can try?

 

[Marduke]

It's caused by either loose/dirty contacts, or you are seeing the PWM that the LED uses to control brightness.

 

[ScubaSnyder]

So i got an MTE 5-switch from DX, and when its on, i notice the beam is not a constant steady like my other MTE 5 (they sent me a second one on accident instead of the 604 i paid for, now they want me to keep this one and credit me 6 bucks on the 604 when i buy it AGAIN, but i'm kind of peeved).. It like jitters a little slightly less brighter then back up again, and it happens all the time, but how much it dims every other milisecond is sporatic, it never dims so dark that you cant see the beam, it just is annoying to watch it do this.. I swapped eveyrthing with the other MTE and have come to the conclusion its the led/head peice, i've cleaned the contacts the best i can, still happens.. So i'm guessing its something inside the electronics i cant fix..

Is this common? I was going to give it as a gift, but with that slight flickering i'd feel like a cheap *** :duh2:.. I have little electronics experience and no soldiering iron handy yell at DX more? or is there anything esle i can try?

Did you dry different batteries? Also, a sweet way to make contacts the best they can be, I have started using 1600 grit sand paper to lightly sand contacts and using deoxit gold on both contacts of the battery.

I would not sand the contacts on the light if you are going to send it back. Also I had a problem with DX as well, if you send something back it is going to take forever, mine took 5 weeks or more, send it to Florida and then wait about 2 weeks and you get some info...If you keep e-mailing them...

 

[Electricview]

Well I already sent the FIRST 604c they sent me back, thats how i got this one, and then she told me to keep this and they'd discount me 6 bucks off my next order i agreed, and i ordered the 604c again, but this one is acting up and its so annoying it doesnt even seem worthful to keep now.. i just wonered if there was anything i could do to make it work.. None of my other lights have this problem at all..

 

[LukeA]

Apply a little rubbing alcohol on a qtip to the contact inside the head. That will stop the flickering.

 

[adamlau]

Hit your contacts and all exposed conductive parts with DeoxIT, follow up with DeoxIT GOLD.

 

[Electricview]

Apply a little rubbing alcohol on a qtip to the contact inside the head. That will stop the flickering.

Did this, got a pretty nice shine, still flickering just as bad.

My other Mt 5switch (same model) doesnt flicker and is dirtier, tried both the same battery and a new one in both lights same effects.

whats curious is my #1 MTE which works fine has a smooth mirror like reflector, this new broken one, has a non smooth kind of bumpy reflector.. yet i'm pretty sure they are the exact same model of light.

 

[Monocrom]

Is this common? I was going to give it as a gift, but with that slight flickering i'd feel like a cheap *** :duh2:.. I have little electronics experience and no soldiering iron handy yell at DX more? or is there anything else i can try?

Definitely not common.... Yelling at DX won't help. While they do have some bargains there, some of what they sell is straight up junk. Low prices are their strong suit, not customer service or fast delivery times.

I'd recommend trying to order from a site with a better rep.

 

[GrnXnham]

So i got an MTE 5-switch from DX, and when its on, i notice the beam is not a constant steady like my other MTE 5 (they sent me a second one on accident instead of the 604 i paid for, now they want me to keep this one and credit me 6 bucks on the 604 when i buy it AGAIN, but i'm kind of peeved).. It like jitters a little slightly less brighter then back up again, and it happens all the time, but how much it dims every other milisecond is sporatic, it never dims so dark that you cant see the beam, it just is annoying to watch it do this.. I swapped eveyrthing with the other MTE and have come to the conclusion its the led/head peice, i've cleaned the contacts the best i can, still happens.. So i'm guessing its something inside the electronics i cant fix..

Is this common? I was going to give it as a gift, but with that slight flickering i'd feel like a cheap *** :duh2:.. I have little electronics experience and no soldiering iron handy yell at DX more? or is there anything esle i can try?

It's common with DX...at least for me.

I have ordered 7 or 8 lights from them and nearly all of them flicker or have some other problem. I don't want to have to "fiddle" with my light to get it to stop flickering. It should work right out of the box.

I guess you get what you pay for. Not one of these DX lights would I consider to be reliable for an emergency situation. I'll end up giving them all away. If you want a good light that doesn't flicker, you have to spend more money than you do at DX.

Now I'm sure someone will post on there that they've purchased 50 lights from DX and they are all perfect. Well that's great but it hasn't been my experience. Your mileage may vary.