Ultrafire C3 - Flickering problem *FIXED*

[scott2907]

Hi all
My C3 single AA is a great budget light, but it flickers quite badly. I've done a search on CPF but all I've found out is that it seems to be a reasonably common issue. It does reduce/solve for a while if you tighten the head, but soon returns. The issue is definetly the head, not the tail switch.
Does anyone have a solution to this? Do we know what the problem with the C3 is?

 

[LittleBill]

Re: Ultrafire C3 - Flickering problem

i ended up using deoxit on everything, seems to be ok now, but i only did it last week, so not sure on the long term

 

[XRAYBoY]

Re: Ultrafire C3 - Flickering problem

http://translate.googleusercontent....&twu=1&usg=ALkJrhhMBPXStgW_XE_CnJRcBcq2Xh8PJA
I hope it will be useful.

 

[maskman]

Re: Ultrafire C3 - Flickering problem

Since you've done a search on CPF you've probably already seen this... http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=227518
In case you missed it though, it's worth reading.

 

[Frankiarmz]

Re: Ultrafire C3 - Flickering problem

I have the C3 Q5 which will take a AA or 14500 battery. My flashlight would flicker, shut off, not turn on or change modes, something was not making or holding contact in my opinion. I cleaned all contact points but the problem persisted. Finally I took a metal washer that fit in the head and kept drilling it out until it was no longer in the way of the battery but made contact between the flashlight body and head. No problems since and it works great. The problem with my C3 was that no matter how tight I made the head, there was poor contact between the inner rim of the body above the threads and the outer rim of the LED module. Hope this helps.

 

[scott2907]

Re: Ultrafire C3 - Flickering problem

Thanks for your help. That post from XrayBoy did the trick! Cheers.

 

[rje58]

Re: Ultrafire C3 - Flickering problem *NOT FIXED*

I bought an Ultrafire C3 from DX about a month ago - the older P4 model.

It worked great for the first few weeks, then it developed a severe flickering problem. I read this thread, and some others, tried all the different obvious solutions. Nothing worked... head was tight, and the light worked, but still flickered when shorting to bypass the tailcap/clicky switch.

Then it quit working at all! On disassembling the head, it's obvious the wiring / soldering on the emitter is bad... I haven't had a chance to finish taking the head apart to see if there is any hope for it... oh well. At least I'm learning something from it...

Bummer...

 

[mfm]

My standard C3 flickered badly from the start so I complained to DX and they just sent a new one. Didn't receive the new one yet... Certainly won't buy another one though.

 

[scott2907]

Mine actually started again. It's definetly the contact between the head solder blobs and the body so I'm looking for a washer to put in there to make better contact. If it wasn't for that this would be a great light. small neat, good looking, light and cheap. I use it as my LE backup light. I will definetly find a perminant fix and buy another, but I've got the next ultrafire model up coming too - (a10 I think) so we'll see what thats like.

 

[waddup]

its not hard to take a light apart and check the soldering and connections, especially when its a cheap light, just open these faulty lights, clean and check and add a blob of solder im sure they can be made 100% reliable with 1 hours effort.

i wouldnt do it to a $150 light (id let a pro do it) but a $25 light id do.

and have done more then once :candle:



*deoxit* is your friend.

 

[mfm]

I will definetly find a perminant fix and buy another, but I've got the next ultrafire model up coming too - (a10 I think) so we'll see what thats like.

The A10 is a lot better: better LED, better driver, better anodizing, o-rings fitted in every place they should be and better switch.

I use mine almost every day and I got another one for my dad and his wife (who immediately claimed it) this xmas together with two eneloops and an eneloop travel charger. Both of the A10s work fine (I tested the second one quite much too, wouldn't give untested electronics for presents).

 

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Mine actually started again. It's definetly the contact between the head solder blobs and the body so I'm looking for a washer to put in there to make better contact. If it wasn't for that this would be a great light. small neat, good looking, light and cheap. I use it as my LE backup light. I will definetly find a perminant fix and buy another, but I've got the next ultrafire model up coming too - (a10 I think) so we'll see what thats like.

Easier and probably more effective than a washer, take a small piece of aluminium foil (kitchen foil) and roll it up to form a small 'sausage' approximately the length of the circumference of the inside of the head. Place it round the circumference and the job's done. (It works better if the blobs of solder are filed down a bit). It squashes nicely and makes a good electrical contact. I did this on several flashlights a couple of years' ago and they're all still working perfectly.

John L

 

[Slash5]

I had a similar problem. There were two solder blobs on the pill that interfered with the body contacting the pill when tightened. If very tight, it would work for a while and then begin flickering. I think the soft solder would flow under the pressure and create a contact problem.

I cured the problem by taking a bit of solid copper hookup wire (22 or 24 gauge) and stripping the insulation off. I bent the bare wire into a ring that fit tightly into the ID of the head. Tightening the body into the head pushed the copper wire between the body and the pill providing a good contact.