Wear and tear on Fenix lights?

[Buck91]

So I'm sure this has been discussed before, but maybe not. I've been carrying a Fenix L0D for a while now and using it often. Up until recently its been GREAT, but sort of a problem is beginning to surface. The light will sorta flicker and such while its on, no matter the charge state of battery, cleaning contacts etc. Looking at the light it appears the board where the +bat contacts is showing significant wear; is this normal? If so is there anything that can be done? Maybe a little blob of solder?

 

[WadeF]

Where did you get it? If you got it from fenix-store aka 4sevens you could probably get it replaced or repaired if the contacts are wearing out.

Any chance of a picture?

 

[Buck91]

Go it in the MP used but lnib :-\

 

[harlequinn]

I the same symptoms as you on a Fenix L2T. It was within the 12 month warranty period and the head was replaced free of charge.

I bought 2 other L2Ts at the same time as gifts and neither of them exhibit the same problem.

I also have a P1D that has had heavy use for about 1.5 years and it has worked flawlessy.

 

[bcwang]

Maybe try some deoxit on the contact. Sometimes simple cleaning won't get rid of oxidation while deoxit will.

 

[Buck91]

Its definately more than just dirty, although a q-tip and isopropyl alcohol definately helped! Here's a pic so you can see what I'm talking about.

 

[Gunner12]

I'm not sure if this would work, but it could be a last resort type of thing.

If you are good with a soldering iron, put a tiny bit of solder on the contact and see if that helps.

 

[waddup]

id try 'deoxit' first , if problem persists, a blob of solder

 

[Barrie]

:thinking: try a little bit or aluminum foil to make the contact

 

[Dioni]

id try 'deoxit' first , if problem persists, a blob of solder

+1

I use a P1D CE for years without problems, but I've always used DeoxIT to clean and neogel to lubricate.

 

[Lite_me]

:thinking: try a little bit or aluminum foil to make the contact

Bad idea here. This could easily lead to a short with even worse consequences.

 

[zipplet]

I have an old Civictor V1 (anyone remember those!) which had a similiar problem. Turned out the board was not installed flat into the head but at a slight angle so it only made contact at one point all the time and it wore quite badly.

I fixed it by heating the pads up very hot with a soldering station and putting a nice layer of solder on the pads. Perfect ever since. Yes I did try deoxit first and it only worked for a short while but this cured it!

 

[kramer5150]

:thinking: try a little bit or aluminum foil to make the contact

-1, that could short the battery....

You should just contact the AD where you bought it from and see if its still under warranty. Part of the $$$ invested in a Fenix is the warranty service from the AD and manufacturer. Attempting a DIY mod will void the warranty and would be like throwing your $$ away. Even if it is out of warranty and you have to pay a small fee for the repair service or head replacement, its still worth your money to pursue that route.

 

[Jay611j]

-1, that could short the battery....

You should just contact the AD where you bought it from and see if its still under warranty. Part of the $$$ invested in a Fenix is the warranty service from the AD and manufacturer. Attempting a DIY mod will void the warranty and would be like throwing your $$ away. Even if it is out of warranty and you have to pay a small fee for the repair service or head replacement, its still worth your money to pursue that route.

How could foil short out the battery? I use foil in a WF-500 I got awhile ago and had to use small bits of foil because the 18650 batteries I got were flat top.
Should I not be doing that?

 

[MWClint]

How could foil short out the battery? I use foil in a WF-500 I got awhile ago and had to use small bits of foil because the 18650 batteries I got were flat top.
Should I not be doing that?

foil can easily bridge the gap between the body of the light(negative) and the positive tip of the battery..

a bare magnet is also a bad idea.

if you need to take up space in a light, buy a wooden dowel that is about the
same diameter as your battery and cut a spacer disk from the dowel..

-drill out an appropriately sized hole in the center of the wooden disk and
glue the magnet inside the disk.

- or if the spacer has to be pretty long, drill a hole thru it and insert wire/brass rod..and then blob some solder on the ends to keep it together.
on DD lights, you can also use the wooden spacer to house your resistor if needed.

any hardware store has wooden dowels. i recently picked up a D sized dowel...4 foot lengths are only about 3$..

 

[Jay611j]

foil can easily bridge the gap between the body of the light(negative) and the positive tip of the battery..

a bare magnet is also a bad idea.

if you need to take up space in a light, buy a wooden dowel that is about the
same diameter as your battery and cut a spacer disk from the dowel..

-drill out an appropriately sized hole in the center of the wooden disk and
glue the magnet inside the disk.

- or if the spacer has to be pretty long, drill a hole thru it and insert wire/brass rod..and then blob some solder on the ends to keep it together.
on DD lights, you can also use the wooden spacer to house your resistor if needed.

any hardware store has wooden dowels. i recently picked up a D sized dowel...4 foot lengths are only about 3$..

Ahhh, that makes perfect sense. Thanks MWClint for clarifying that for me. I think i'm off to the hardware store!

 

[Jay R]

I had a similar problem on something ( not a torch ). I got a small thin round disc of metal out of a tiny microswitch, melted some solder onto one side and then pressed it against the worn PCB contact with a soldering iron. Solder on the bottom melts onto the remains of the contact and Hey Presto ! A brand new shiny chromed disc contact. It ony stuck up about 1mm or less so the same thing should work fine in an L0D.

 

[Buck91]

Jay R, thats probably what is going to be required (and probably more durable than any type of "professional" repair)...

But just to bring this thread back up; after emailing with 4sevens as well as Fenix themselves I have gotten NOWHERE with this issue. Fenix's official policy is for dealers to handle all service issues, and as I've purchased this light second-hand, I don't have an original dealer to deal with!

Its not a terrribly horrible problem (yet), the light still works fine just a little touchy if I don't keep it squeaky clean, so its not that big of deal. Just rather dissappointing there are virtually ZERO repair options for Fenix lights... or so it appears.