Xtar SSC-P7 defective

[toadman]

Ordered & received a Xtar SSC-P7. After charging & installing the battery when I click the switch there is a momentary flash & then nothing. When I click a second time it turns on. Now I don't know if the second click is for low or high. The LED is very very dimly lit after the momentary flash on the first click.
I tried replacing the switch with the included spare but that didn't do anything except change the momentary flash to the second click.
Apart from bitching to the China supplier & either having to send it back for a refund what could the trouble be? Would it be something easy that the supplier could send me? Thanks for any feedback

Russell

 

[FlashCrazy]

Ordered & received a Xtar SSC-P7. After charging & installing the battery when I click the switch there is a momentary flash & then nothing. When I click a second time it turns on. Now I don't know if the second click is for low or high. The LED is very very dimly lit after the momentary flash on the first click.
I tried replacing the switch with the included spare but that didn't do anything except change the momentary flash to the second click.
Apart from bitching to the China supplier & either having to send it back for a refund what could the trouble be? Would it be something easy that the supplier could send me? Thanks for any feedback

Russell

Another CPF'er is having the same issue in this post. Here's the response I posted to him....

I'd be interested to see what current the flashlight is drawing on high mode. It's possible that the current draw is higher than the battery's protection circuit threshold, and the the circuit is kicking in. This shouldn't be the case since it's a battery that came with the light, but I wouldn't be surprised. AW (over in the Dealer's Corner on CPF Marketplace) sells protected 18650's that have a higher current threshold to prevent just this sort of thing. Lighthound.com stocks them as well. If you're planning on staying in the flashlight hobby, you'll want more 18650's... so maybe you can pick one up to try. It would be quicker than mailing your light back to HK and waiting for a replacement.

It could also be a faulty driver in the light, but it fits the symptoms of the above situation.

 

[toadman]

Got a reply from the manufacturer. He says the problem is the current at the battery, the manufacturer made a wrong paramater in the protected circuit board to make the current too high for the flashlight. He suggested waiting 24 hours for the natural discharge to lower the current.
I tried that didn't work. So then I turned the light on at low mode & left it on for about half an hour. Still didn't work.
He says that they have had complaints from about 7 other customers over the same thing. Am I screwed?

Russell

 

[FlashCrazy]

Well, you won't be able to use the supplied batteries. It's not that there's anything wrong with them, it's just that this particular flashlight draws too much current for them. This is due to the how much current the flashlight is supplying the LED.. which is a good thing, since the P7 should be run at over 2 amps to get the most out of it. :thumbsup:
I'm willing to bet AW's protected 18650's will work fine, since they can handle high current loads without the protection kicking in.

 

[toadman]

Well, you won't be able to use the supplied batteries. It's not that there's anything wrong with them, it's just that this particular flashlight draws too much current for them. This is due to the how much current the flashlight is supplying the LED.. which is a good thing, since the P7 should be run at over 2 amps to get the most out of it. :thumbsup:
I'm willing to bet AW's protected 18650's will work fine, since they can handle high current loads without the protection kicking in.

So you're saying the problem is with the battery & not the flashlight? If I get the Mfger to send me new batteries that should solve the problem?

 

[FlashCrazy]

So you're saying the problem is with the battery & not the flashlight? If I get the Mfger to send me new batteries that should solve the problem?

Yep, the batteries. Again, it's not a problem, it's just that the protection circuit in the batteries (there's a small circuit at the bottom of the battery... built in) does not want to let the battery deliver the current that the flashlight wants. It's doing it's job too well, so to speak.

Getting new batteries from the mfg probably won't help... they'll do the same thing. The only thing that would help is if the mfg designed the flashlight to drive the LED at a lower current. But, this would also make it less bright.

These batteries are what you need. They can handle higher currents without shutting down.

 

[toadman]

Yep, the batteries. Again, it's not a problem, it's just that the protection circuit in the batteries (there's a small circuit at the bottom of the battery... built in) does not want to let the battery deliver the current that the flashlight wants. It's doing it's job too well, so to speak.

Getting new batteries from the mfg probably won't help... they'll do the same thing. The only thing that would help is if the mfg designed the flashlight to drive the LED at a lower current. But, this would also make it less bright.

These batteries are what you need. They can handle higher currents without shutting down.

Thank you for your help. The mfgr is saying they are fixing the protection circuits on their batteries & will send me those. Hopefully that will solve the problem. Again thanks.
Russell

 

[supergravy]

Thought I should chime in that i am using this light with the AW protected cells and it has been working fantastic. I am actually always amazed each time I click this thing on as it really puts some light out there.

Mine did not come with batteries or charger and was purchased from LH here in the states. Not sure if there is any difference in the actual flashlight. Hope you are able to get yours working!

 

[lightmyway]

Order the A
















I would order the AW batteries they solve a lot of flashlight related problems.You.ll need spares anyway...

 

[SwissTony]

I am the other person with battery issues. We should form a club
Will the AW batteries be able to be charged using the charger that came with the torch (UltraFire WF-137)
Info on the back of the charger says Output 4.2v 900mA max.

 

[FlashCrazy]

I am the other person with battery issues. We should form a club
Will the AW batteries be able to be charged using the charger that came with the torch (UltraFire WF-137)
Info on the back of the charger says Output 4.2v 900mA max.

Yep. They're the same cell type, it's just the protection circuit has a higher current threshold.