Surefire 6P Electrical Path

[Midnight Oil]

Contact problems in my own Surefire G2 Nitrolon and reading other threads about contact problems in the all aluminum Surefire 6P has me thinking:

The reflector on most P60 drop-ins is aluminum and therefore a conductor yeah?
The reflector is in contact with the pill yeah?
The top of the reflector butts up against the aluminum ledge which is just below the lens yeah?

Why isn't this series of contact regions the electrical path in the Surefire 6P and 6P clones: from brass pill to aluminum reflector, reflector to bezel, bezel to body, and finally body down to the tailcap?

Why is the external spring needed at all or that the sides or bottom of modules that are contoured to the tapered socket of the SFs, i.e., Malkoffs and OverReadys, must be in contact with the sides or bottom of the socket?

Does it have to do with resistance, that there is just too much material to go through along the path I've described?

Thanks.

 

[ElectronGuru]

Its not quite that simple.

Anodize is non conductive. So just like the plastic parts of the G series, none of the bezel, none of the tailcap, and only some of the body, conduct electricity. Specifically, the inside of the socket and the outside/bottom lip of the tail threads. Surefire (and customizers) go to considerable trouble to ensure these points are and remain conductive. Power does not, cannot transfer between the three parts.

So with the original P60+6P design, the P60's reflector is pressed against the anodized lens shelf by the spring, but its the spring itself that makes the electrical contact. You can actually see on a P60 itself, where the wire for the bulb is soldiered to the outer spring. P60 replacements that don't make the connection with the body reliably, don't operate reliably.

 

[Midnight Oil]

Thanks 'Guru.

That really cleared thing up. So I imagine the critical parts have to be taped up or something when immersed in the HA bath? Now I see the approx $25 charge for HA service is more than justified.

Is an aluminum part anodized on one side only still conductive on the non-anodized side? Oh wait, you just answered that. The entire inside of the body is conductive.