Yikes! My PT Impact died.

[webley445]

Had it sitting in the cabinet for several months, and now it won't shine! Thought it was the batteries at first, but switched them out with a new set and still nothing.
Unit was not dropped or abused. This happen to anyone else?
Darn shame as I was looking to put this light up for trade in B/S/T. How much would a replacement module cost, if at all available?

 

[rycen]

Just email PT and they should replace it for you.

 

[Doug Owen]

My money's on the small switch on the PCB, have you checked it?

Doug

 

[Kram]

Another possibility is that the batteries were put in reversed. It's pretty easy to do with the Impact. If you haven't already, you should check that.

Good luck!

Mark

 

[The_LED_Museum]

I verified this first-hand. You can easily install the batteries wrong in the Impact, then wonder why it doesn't work anymore. When the batteries are removed and then reinstalled correctly, the Impact springs back to life.

 

[jbrett14]

[ QUOTE ]
webley445 said:This happen to anyone else?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, and my Impact was not even used that much /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif. I sent mine back to PT about a month ago. They fixed it and sent it right back, no charge /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif. I am still not sure what the problem was /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif, but it works good now /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. Your light has a lifetime warranty, so just send it back. Along with my repaired light, they even sent me an extra lanyard, but no explanation as to what was actually faulty.

 

[webley445]

Trust me, I tried the batteries. I've been a member here long enough to go through the thorough "routine" when testing a light.
What about the switch on the PCB? Even if that's not it I am interested in what you are talking about.
I'll also see about sending it to PT. thanks guys

 

[redtrd]

Same thing with my uncle's PT. Barely used and one day it would not turn on. He sent it back to PT and they gave him a new one within a week or two. Still not sure what the problem was. So far the two of mine are working, but I hardly use them since I got my PM6 LED.

 

[jbrett14]

[ QUOTE ]
webley445 said:What about the switch on the PCB? Even if that's not it I am interested in what you are talking about.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think maybe Doug is referring to the switch type found on the Impact II or the Attitude, as the Impact doesn't use that type of switching.

I came to the conclusion with mine, that it was the flat contact plate at the bottom of the housing that holds the batteries. This particular style of twisty can easily crush the batteries too far and with little use, deform the metal plate at the bottom, not to mention the batteries themselves. My reasoning is based on the fact that the switchless head is practically fail-proof. Unless, of course, it is something in the circuit board internally.

 

[Doug Owen]

[ QUOTE ]
jbrett14 said:
[ QUOTE ]
webley445 said:What about the switch on the PCB? Even if that's not it I am interested in what you are talking about.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think maybe Doug is referring to the switch type found on the Impact II or the Attitude, as the Impact doesn't use that type of switching.



[/ QUOTE ]

That's exactly right, I missed the 'not the Impact II' part, sorry. That does change things a mite.....

While my Impact has never acted up (nor the Tec 40 that uses the same body), I too see the 'bottom end' of the battery connections as potentially weak. I also note very little terminal sticking up when the shield on the lamp assembly is fully pressed back.

As a suggestion, how about marking the tops of the plus and minus cells with a felt tip marker then looking for the footprint of the pins from the head as you try to light it? If you have a DMM, it should be easy to sort out, one would think.

Doug Owen

 

[The_LED_Museum]

If you overtighten the Impact when turning it on, the (+) nipple of one of the batteries does develop an indentation, as the (+) pin in the Impact's bezel squishes it down. I overtightened the head three times and did not cause the flashlight to fail or become broken. The battery shows damage from the (+) pin, but not so much that the flashlight quits working.

 

[Doug Owen]

[ QUOTE ]
The_LED_Museum said:
If you overtighten the Impact when turning it on, the (+) nipple of one of the batteries does develop an indentation, as the (+) pin in the Impact's bezel squishes it down.

[/ QUOTE ]

Funny, in mine it's the minus that takes the big beating. A serious dent, although still working fine. The incan version doesn't seem to do this, different buttons.

This brings up an idea. Perhaps it's just a serious tollerance problem? Since there's no spring to help with compliance issues, a few thousandths could cause a problem. Maybe a small piece of aluminum foil or two between the cells (on the short side) will put things right? Might be worth fiddling with a bit before sending it in...

Doug Owen

 

[jbrett14]

Both sides (+ & -) were crushed on mine. Even though they still worked in the light, they would no longer fit properly into my recharging unit, without slight modification to the contacts of the unit. The simple design fix would have been to incorporate the same contact spring found in the Impact II or the Attitude, instead of a simple flat metal contact plate. My instructions for operation to any new owners who have not experienced this yet: Twist the head slowly until the light comes on, then STOP, DO NOT TURN ANY FURTHER, or your batteries could become deformed, and eventually you could experience light failure as well. I don't really concern myself too much any more over this design flaw, simply because I find this light pretty much useless anyway. It's beam, for me, is far to narrow, with practically zero spill.

 

[Yukon_Jack]

Its easy to forget that a narrow beam is just the ticket for cutting through smoke in an emergency.

 

[webley445]

I will look at the terminals and bottom plate at first oportunity and see if it can be it.

 

[Alan]

In case you haven't tried this, make a few fold of alum foil and drop it to the bottom of the battery case. It works for my Tec 40.

Alan

 

[leadfoot]

My Impact also crushes both +&- contacts to where the light no longer functions. Has PT addressed this problem and is there a retrofit anyone has tried. Am thinking of upgrading to the ImpactII, does it have any problems like the original Impact. As to the horrible "focused lens" if you could call it that, I replaced the bubble lens with a flat piece of lexan that was lightly diffused with 600 grit sandpaper. Nice soft light with lots of spill. As a general opinion of the Impact /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif

Leadfoot

 

[3rd_shift]

I don't have that light myself, and am curious about what type of batteries it takes.
I have had better luck with most rechargeable nimh and nicad types coming with sturdier + & - ends than the throw away types have.

edit:
Actually I haven't lost one yet to dented ends, and I have a few dozen of those in many sizes.

 

[Kram]

I suspect the beam is a matter of what you're looking for. I have two Impacts, both of which work flawlessly, and I like the beam. Interestingly, the reflectors in the two Impacts are different. One of them has a black plastic "reflector". Needless to say, there's not much sidespill on this one. The other one has a shiny silvered plastic reflector. The beam at the center is the same, but there is considerably more sidespill (though somewhat "ringy").

Relative to the discussion at hand, I did take one of my lights apart and noted that there are small dents in the batteries due to the pressure, but still seems to work fine.

Mark

 

[jbrett14]

[ QUOTE ]
leadfoot said:
Am thinking of upgrading to the ImpactII, does it have any problems like the original Impact.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, it replaces the flat contact plate with a double-spring system which solves that problem. However, I am not a fan of the miniature spring-steel type switch that is used on the Impact II. Mine tends to require extra twisting force to get it to turn on. It is because of these "Twisty" issues, that I now favor Streamlight over Princeton Tec. The SL "Clickies" have been flawless for me. I do like my Surge though.