Weird experience with cheap LED light.

[Monocrom]

A few months ago, I purchased a cheap, no-name, Made in China, 9 LED light that uses a battery carrier to hold 3AAAs. When I got home, I noticed that one of the LEDs wasn't working at all. I've heard of similar lights that just get worse as time goes by. (More of the LEDs stop working).

But I recently noticed something odd. The non-working LED is now working.

And I didn't do anything at all to it.
Any of you guys experience something like this?

 

[orionlion82]

yep! thats why there is so many, if one or two are duds, youve still got 4 or 5 that keep going..

naw, its actually just bad solder joints. they should be fine if you can just heat the solder pools up again with a tip, or resolder them entirely.
i actually kinda like those cheap junkers myself, they have their place.

 

[Monocrom]

I appreciate the info.

But what got me confused is that the 1 non-working LED just started working again.... All by itself. :thinking:

 

[Cydonia]

I appreciate the info.

But what got me confused is that the 1 non-working LED just started working again.... All by itself. :thinking:

Well, see, sometimes when a LED figures out it's in the presence of a CPF'er it starts working again quick. Otherwise, it's soldering iron and plier time!

 

[LED_Thrift]

I have a multiple LED light that has a certain LED not light when the batteries get low. New batteries always cures that problem with my light.

 

[Yapo]

lot i got a few multi led lights...the ones they got me into thinkin of gettin lux's instead. When i got my 1st 5 led 3AA torch i was amazed by it, cos it was brighter then my AA mag...but as the battery gets flat some of the led's dim faster then others...n this torch seemed pretty well built, it had its own circuit board, reflector and a thick glass lense that bulges out slightly. I then got a 12 led 3AAA light off ebay for brighter light...i must say it had a nice, bright and floody beam but it was cheaply made lol. the Led's weren't even soldered on...the legs were just folded around a plastic disk with notches to keep them in place...so the battery holder would just contact a bunch of wires in the middle...no wonder some led's are dimmer then others lol

so Led usually get dimmer then others in multi-led lights because the resistance in the connections aren't always the same and also led's themselves will vary in tint and brightness, especially in cheaper lights

 

[rizky_p]

i got several multi-led flashlight and one of led died mostly becouse of bad solder join and sometimes just burnt-out when that happens i just swap the dead one with a new 5mm led they just 1cent each almost. i prefer cheap multi-led than my fenix l2d-ce for arround the house because they are cheap and i have 2 year old son who really faccinated with light (like father like son ) cant imagine if he drop the fenix

 

[TORCH_BOY]

That is quite common with the cheap lights, poor soldering, poor contacts
and defective switches are to blame

 

[Monocrom]

Well, see, sometimes when a LED figures out it's in the presence of a CPF'er it starts working again quick. Otherwise, it's soldering iron and plier time!

LOL .... You do have a point. :thumbsup:

 

[Illum]

bad solder joints as mentioned above might be the culprit

I dunno what they used for solder...but in my experience using rosin core to solder contacts on PCB boards, sometimes rosin puddle between the metals and you would only receive intermittent contact. Usually soldering at a higher temperature or use of flux eliminates the issue...or so I've heard. reheating the joint usually solved the problem.

But I recently noticed something odd. The non-working LED is now working.

what was the battery condition when they weren't working?
would you be able to open the bezel? usually the thing about cheap Chinese made lights is the fact they aren't waterproof and made of soft aluminum, so putting it on a vice ruins the light and you cant freeze pop them open

 

[Monocrom]

what was the battery condition when they weren't working?
would you be able to open the bezel? usually the thing about cheap Chinese made lights is the fact they aren't waterproof and made of soft aluminum, so putting it on a vice ruins the light and you cant freeze pop them open

New batteries, but not name-brand batteries. It was just the one LED out of the nine that didn't work.

I can unscrew the bezel, but only to take out the battery-carrier. Can't actually get to the LEDs. Unscrewing the bezel is just for changing the batteries.

It's definitely odd. I didn't change the batteries either. (Not name-brand, but they work). All I did was set it aside for a few months. Went to use it one day, and noticed that all 9 LEDs now light up! :shrug:

 

[unnerv]

I had the same thing happen to my Inova X5 about a month ago. It had been unused in my car for about 6 months. I pulled it out while working on a buddy's car and only 1 led worked. I figured it was the batteries and made do with just 1 of the 5 leds on. When I got home, I dropped in a new set of energizers, and only 1 came up still. I figured I would let it air out incase moisture had some how made its way in so I pulled the batteries and left it open for about a month. I put the fresh batteries back in 2 nights ago. Only one led came up. If I covered the one that was good, I could see that the other 4 were trying to light up very dimly. All of a sudden one of the leds came back to life while I was looking down the bezel. I turned it back off and on again and had one that was good and one that flickered until it finally came on. I left the light on for a couple of hours and by the time I came back to check all 5 were back on again. Maybe there was some moisture that needed to burn off or something, although the inova is a sealed light afaik. I'll check it again tonight and see if all 5 come up.

 

[unnerv]

I checked over the weekend and all 5 came up. I guess I'll throw it back in my car and check again in a few months.