Third faulty Zebralight H501W

[Foxx510]

I think I was never meant to have H501W lol. I got my second replacement light a few days ago, and it has the same fault as my second replacement, a different fault to the first faulty one I got.

This fault is a strange one, as with the last replacement it will randomly start up in a "not quite HIGH" mode which pulls around 440mA. I just did some testing on a lab power supply and there is no consistency to the fault, it appears to happen at random voltages. It also eliminated my batteries as a cause.

I'm worried that people might buy one and not realise it's faulty, because the light still works, but with considerably reduced output.

Not sure what to do now, I've paid for what is supposed to be a well made light, but keep getting duds. I wonder if there was a faulty batch, hence the 2 lights with the same fault. I noticed also that someone else got a light with the same fault as my first one, where the pressure of the tailcap spring would stop the light from working.

Such a shame to see these problems, these are really nice lights when they work. I'm certainly not posting here to damage their reputation, but I'd also like people to be aware that there appears to be a number of faulty units coming out of the factory at the moment.

 

[Woods Walker]

I wonder if it is going though low-high and then to med mod all in one press. Mine would do this and also acted like I was pressing the switch twice. So sometimes it would go off or to the next mode beyond what I wanted against my will just after using the clicky. I got to thinking that the switch was hitting the boot and going off. So Pulled up a bit on the rubber boot (which didn't move to my eye) and it stopped. Now everything is good. Beyond that few flakey days it has worked like a champ. Maybe clean the contacts (standard statement) and try to grip the boot cover and pull up a bit. Mine has also performed well in the rain etc so thinking those issues have been resolved.

 

[FlashInThePan]

Very interesting!

I've also had problems with my 501w. I love Zebralights, and have two that work flawlessly. However, my new 501w stopped working almost immediately after I bought it. I turned it on twice, and then when I went to turn it on a third time, nothing happened. I tried new batteries, using ProGold, letting it rest - nothing seems to work. Zebralight's given me a RMA, and the light's headed back tomorrow for repair.

Sorry to hear about your repeated problems, Fox - what a shame! Zebralights are phenomenal; I hope this was just a bad batch.

- FITP

 

[Woods Walker]

FlashInThePan.

Man that is a sad story. You didn't even get a chance to enjoy the warm tinted goodness.:(

 

[Foxx510]

Maybe clean the contacts (standard statement) and try to grip the boot cover and pull up a bit. Mine has also performed well in the rain etc so thinking those issues have been resolved.

Thanks for the suggestions, but it's actually a faulty HIGH mode, as the other two modes are still there at ~30mA and ~110mA. The HIGH mode will be 440mA on one cycling of the modes, then the full 1100mA the next. Contacts are good, no flickering that would indicate a bad connection.

I hope they get the QC sorted, there's a great opportunity here for another manufacturer with a decent factory to make a similar but reliable product and grab their market share.

 

[Foxx510]

Very interesting!
I tried new batteries, using ProGold, letting it rest - nothing seems to work. Zebralight's given me a RMA, and the light's headed back tomorrow for repair.

Sorry to hear about your repeated problems, Fox - what a shame! Zebralights are phenomenal; I hope this was just a bad batch.

- FITP

Thanks. On your faulty one, try removing the tailcap and using a bit of tinfoil to connect between the battery negative and the bare edge of the end of the barrel. It may have the fault that my first one had.

 

[half-watt]

...This fault is a strange one, as with the last replacement it will randomly start up in a "not quite HIGH" mode which pulls around 440mA...

i've experienced something similar with some other lights. their construction is quite a bit different, but maybe(???) what i've found to be the problem w/them might help you (and possibly others).

my only real crab with the LiteFlux lights is that SOMETIMES, when i change out the cell for a fresh one, a poor (i.e., high resistance) connection is made when the light is screwed back together.

this has happened with all three models that i have (viz. LF3XT, LF5XT, and LF2XT), and is present in all the units that i have (i have 2 or 3 of each).

on those occasions where the high resistance connection takes place, i need to unscrew somewhat the head or tailcap (depending upon model) and retighten and repeat if needed until a better connection is made.

now, the ZL has a much simpler design, in this regard, but perhaps the tailcap (or something else in the ZL assembly in the head) is intermittently making a poor connection, or something not positioned quite right in the head is intermittently forming a high resistance shunt/path to somewhere that it shouldn't.

hope this info helps someone.

 

[Foxx510]

Thanks half-watt, but it's def not poor contact on these units unfortunately. It's looking like I can induce the fault by cooling the light in a fridge, and then make it come good by warming it up. If I had to guess I'd say there's a bad batch of components gone into these lights like a FET or similar. Counterfit electronic components are a big problem in China, I guess that's always a possibility.

 

[cheetokhan]

I just gave my 501W an hour in the freezer and it still works correctly. At first, it seemed a bit dim, but that was just due to the frost on the lens:grin2:
It still pulls a little over 1A from the battery.

 

[Foxx510]

Well they are going to send out another replacement. I'm glad at least that they try hard to keep customers happy when things go wrong, lots of companies wouldn't bother.

 

[Viper715]

Figured I would throw my hat in the ring oh I mean faulty 501W in the trash. I bought it on the 13th. It has worked well up untill a week ago and then I noticed a diminished out put but thought I used it alot so the battery is getting weak. But then I would turn it on and it was brighter. I tried a new battery and had the same issues.If I would turn it on and it was dim I could just lightly flick it with my finger and it would flicker and get brighter. I thought maybe bad connection but I tried everything to no avail. Then today I used it in a crawl space fixing some wiring and it went poof. Of course I had back up but not as nice of a profile for the job but the backup a Nitecore Extreme got me out of the dark. I tried several batteries anit is definantly dead. I contacted my retailer and am sure the will replace it but my quesstion is it really going to be a fixed one or have the same fault. It seems that it is not uncommon from this thread. I am wondering if I should just sell of the replacement and wait for a reliable light to come out like maybe the Saint. Has there been any indication that ZL is awair of the problem and working on a fix?

 

[DonShock]

I had a bit of a problem with my H60 for a while. I use it every night at work and recharge it once a week. I noticed that the first night or so, after recharging, the contact seemed to be intermittent for a while but then it would start working fine. Once the intermittent operation stopped and it came on steady, it would stay fine until it was recharged. After trying a couple tweaks to find the problem, I seem to have found the cause and a solution. The problem seems to be poor contact between the body and the spring plate inside the tailcap. Even though the tailcap was tightened as much as possible, since the contact was only made on the thin edge of the end of the body tube, it would make and break contact as it was jiggled. Eventually, it would move around enough to provide steady contact until the next time the tailcap was removed to recharge the battery. My temporary solution has been to use a paper clip bent into a circle and inserted into the tailcap to make steady contact between the body and tailcap. For a more permanent solution, I am going to go to some copper wire and soldering it into the tailcap.

 

[CathastrophiX]

Cut the spring instead (H60). I used to put a copper ring in the tailcap also.
If you use protected batteries, the spring is too long, it can't compress enough.

 

[Foxx510]

Well I got my replacement today.

The good: It works properly, so far.

The bad: It's a secondhand one that has been repaired. You can see marks where the SS ring has been levered out and the anodising has been scratched. The lens and tailcap are scratched and the tailcap spring plating is worn.

So in the end I still didn't get what I paid for, a new working H501w. This will have to do though, I guess. Although they've tried to make good, and I thank George for his efforts, I still couldn't recommend a ZL to anyone, the QA just seems to be non existant right now.

 

[Foxx510]

Oh, wait. If I put it in the fridge it has the same fault as the last 2, dimmer and draws 480mA until it warms up and you cycle through the modes. It should work at 4 deg, shouldn't it?

So make that my 4th faulty light.

News just in: The pushbutton is faulty also. Mode changing is erratic.

 

[wapkil]

Oh, wait. If I put it in the fridge it has the same fault as the last 2, dimmer and draws 480mA until it warms up and you cycle through the modes. It should work at 4 deg, shouldn't it?

So make that my 4th faulty light.

It seems then that this behavior is repeatable for different lights. Not good, I wouldn't like my zebras to dim when it's cold outside. I think I'll also check them.

How long were you keeping yours in the fridge? The 4 deg. you wrote above is 4 deg. Celsius, right (not Fahrenheit)? Were you using a battery that was in the room temperature or one also cooled in the fridge?

 

[Foxx510]

4 deg celcius, battery out of fridge. Same problem if I leave light outside at about 6 deg celcius. As far as I can tell it only happens at startup when the circuit board is cold. Once running and warmed up it should stay bright. I just don't trust them though knowing there are probably substandard/faulty mosfets in there. If you don't have a current meter, just stick it in the fridge then once cooled cycle it through the modes holding the button down while your hand warms it up. You'll see high mode pop up to full brightness when it's warm enough, if you have a faulty one.

 

[wapkil]

If all zebras that you tested are sensitive to cold, it seems that it's not a random error but the result of their design or components choice. I'll see how mine behave. I have a bunch of DMMs to test them :)

Could you write approximately how long were you cooling them in the fridge and how long it took (in the room temperature, I assume) before they started to work normally?

 

[Foxx510]

They were in the fridge for about 10mins, it doesn't take long given the aluminium body. The time to start working properly depends on the environment it is in, if it's in your warm hand it might only be a minute, free air might take a few minutes. Some are more sensitive than others, I have three here that are all faulty and all take different amounts of heat to come good.

 

[wapkil]

I couldn't repeat this problem with my zebras (H501 and H501w). After more than half an hour in the fridge they were working normally with an Eneloop cooled inside them and with a warm one (1.10A-1.15A current on high).