Surefire: a light you can depend on.....uhhh

[nyyankeefen]

So I use my G2 with wolf eyes drop in for my night bike rides. Great drop in by the way! (130 lumens 130min regulated, 5 hrs unregulated).

So tonight i'm going for a ride and come across a trail i've walked down several times during the day, why not try it at night, becides that means I get to play with my lights. So I hide my bike in the bush and start down the trail.

Now let me explain this trail, it starts off out in the open and quickly gets dark due to the thick forest, like can't see your hand in front of your face dark....and this is during a full moon.
So I take out my g2 just as I start getting into the darkness and I relize that the tailcap is jammed.... crap, the button was jammed up (this is the second time this has happned first with my e2d now with my g2). Luckly I ride with my arcAAA-p and pelican 7060 in my backpack which worked flawlesly.

This just goes to show that that 1 is none and 2 is one
and surefire is not the exception to the rule.

oh and by the way, as soon as I got home, I sprayed a little wd40 into the tailcap...does the trick every time

 

[mossyoak]

ive never heard of a jammed non clicky surefire.

 

[nyyankeefen]

ive never heard of a jammed non clicky surefire.

Just before you tighten the tail cap all the way, you can press the rubber button at the end of the tailcap for momentary on/off... it was like frozen up. The flashlight would work if I made the tailcap real tight though

 

[mossyoak]

hmm, thats really weird.

 

[KeyGrip]

Did the button on the back turn on the light when the switch was in any other position, or just when it was clost to being tightened down all the way?

 

[Supernam]

The tailcap on a G2 is quite simple. Its just a spring that separates the the button from touching the body. It shouldn't be a lubrication issue because there shouldn't be any friction in the first place. I suggest you open up the tailcap. I'm guessing that you have some sand or grit lodged inside of it.

 

[nyyankeefen]

Did the button on the back turn on the light when the switch was in any other position, or just when it was clost to being tightened down all the way?

Ya, when the tail cap is not tightened all the way, you can press the button for momentary on. The tailcap is prefectly clean.

If any of you have a twisty tail cap for the g2 take it off and put ur finger on the spring and press the button there is travel...not much but there is.

 

[DM51]

You may have a bad contact somewhere, perhaps between the 2 cells - are you using rechargeables? If so, do they have a button top on the + end?

 

[Size15's]

Can you replicate the issue?
If so, does it occur when using the P60 rather than some aftermarket wolf eyes drop in?

 

[Bloodnut]

Check the overall length of the drop-in against the OAL on the SF P60. I'm betting the OAL on the drop-in is longer than the P60 thus limiting the travel on the tailcap spring i.e., the spring is already compressed to a large degree.

 

[Braddah_Bill]

So I use my G2 with wolf eyes drop in for my night bike rides. Great drop in by the way! (130 lumens 130min regulated, 5 hrs unregulated).

Uhhhhhhh.......now while I am not here to knock anyones product, once you put an aftermarket product into your light, it changes everything. The original manufacturer can no longer be held accountable for performance or safety. Sure Fire invests a lot of R & D to ensure their products work correctly...and even dispite this, things go wrong at times (clickies)

Aftermarket products specs ie, width, length, and height may be different to fit a variety of lights...and while a lot of times aftermarket products can be improvemment -- its still a crapshoot if it will work or not and how well .

The title to your post, and what it implies is what I am having trouble with after reading the body of the post and seeing a non SF part in the mix.




Bill

 

[lightemup]

That is very disappointing it didn't work.

Some questions: Spraying WD40 into the tailcap? And it works EVERY TIME? I can't see that as being recommended practice ...

Is your G2 a newer LOTC, or an older non-lotc?

This is interesting, could you describe a little more what you mean by it jamming, and the exact configuration you have? e.g. G2 + wolf eyes + ? Batteries etc...

 

[yellow]

hmm,
while I still am not content about the price/performance ratio of the SF clicky I got for one of my modded lights (costs more than a Fenix),
I'd say: can happen to any maker.
The difference is: how is dealt with that problem?

As far as is typed in here, SF seem not to have a problem in replacing these defect parts, so ...


PS: You all know:
A) WD 40 is not a good lubricant as it diffuses into the air
B) getting lubricant on plastic can go heavily wrong.
PPS: use some real oil - will last quite longer

 

[Size15's]

Still, if the problem is with the use of an aftermarket component, as appears likely, then lubrication isn't the answer.

Al

 

[nyyankeefen]

Uhhhhhhh.......now while I am not here to knock anyones product, once you put an aftermarket product into your light, it changes everything. The original manufacturer can no longer be held accountable for performance or safety. Sure Fire invests a lot of R & D to ensure their products work correctly...and even dispite this, things go wrong at times (clickies)

Aftermarket products specs ie, width, length, and height may be different to fit a variety of lights...and while a lot of times aftermarket products can be improvemment -- its still a crapshoot if it will work or not and how well .

The title to your post, and what it implies is what I am having trouble with after reading the body of the post and seeing a non SF part in the mix.


Bill

Thats an excelent point, I didnt even think anout that. I guess I can't really blame surefire now, but I really dont think it has anything to do with the drop in. I mean, if it was some sort of a bad contact why would lubing up the tailcap suddenly fix it? And I talking going from compleatly not working to ...lube up cap...problem compleatly gone...that wouldent be a contact issue.

I played with the light for an hr after lubing it last night and again this morning and could not replicate the problem.

No I am not using rechargables....I'm using SF123's

And the wd40 is just somthing I always have on hand, I need to get some real lube. I used the straw attachment on the can so that the spray didnt get all over the place, therefore no mess.

 

[Braddah_Bill]

I really think there may have been a little dirt or some other tiny object that was hanging up on the O-ring, and the blast from the WD-40 cleared it or cleaned it.

I would suggest another type of lube that will not damage the O-Ring.


So.............how do you like the Wolf-eyes drop in, I have an old BOG 3 Watt in my G2 and was looking at the Wolf-eyes to upgrade. I was wondering about the tint and run time on SF 123s.



Thanks,
Bill

 

[nyyankeefen]

So.............how do you like the Wolf-eyes drop in, I have an old BOG 3 Watt in my G2 and was looking at the Wolf-eyes to upgrade. I was wondering about the tint and run time on SF 123s.

Thanks,
Bill

Tint is not bad, less blue when compared to my inova XO3....more blue than my Pelican 7060...(only lights that I currently have on hand to compare)
Runtimes are listed in the OP, I gotta say I absolutly love the drop in.

 

[Illum]

interesting, first time hearing of a twisty jamming....
I've had my experiences with the momentarily on function pivoting and jamming but usually it doesn't affect the function as a switch...and better yet lock the light out and back again sometimes resolve the issue

 

[lightemup]

My Uncle sprayed WD40 in his computer tower before I could stop him. He said "works like a charm now" I gulped and smiled I was just wondering why no one else had an opinion on this on the innards of the torch.

I also agree its most likely due to the aftermarket bulb and spring length, that is why I asked him about its exact configuration. I am interested though in finding out more about what nyyankeefen meant by it 'jammed.'

 

[Illum]

this bothers me for some reason....isn't WD40 corrosive to some materials and non-conductive in nature? if so how does that help the light by smoothing out mechanical joints while insulating contacts?