Zebralight 501 Question/problem

[bassntaz]

I received my 501 a couple weeks ago. I have noticed sometimes when I turn it on high after a few seconds it drops down a level. When i first got the light i was running alkaline batteries. When I noticed this happening i purchased some eneloops and gave them a try. At first I didn't noticed it happening anymore till last night and it started doing it again. Im not sure if this is normal or not.

Please let me know if anyone has experienced this with you light.

Dan

 

[Shorty66]

Thats a normal behaviour of the light if the voltage falls past a certain value.
Did you notice this behaviour with freshly charged NiMHs or fresh alkalines?

If your batteries did not been freshly charged but not used for a while the initial voltage when turning the light on may be about as high as on the fully charged battery but will drop fast to a much lower value.
Thats why you might be able to turn your light on on high even if it had been running on high till it went out.

 

[bassntaz]

Im 99% sure the alkaline was brand new. The Eneloops were right off the charger. I'm recharging them now and will try it again tonight. Have you tried 14500 with the 501? I thought i read somewhere the output and run time would suffer.

Thanks for the quick response.

Dan

 

[Shorty66]

Output on 14500 is visibly lower but still bright enough for my uses. The runtime is only on medium a lot shorter while the other runtimes are about the same from my experience.
I like 14500s better as they are lighter and work better in the cold.

Usually with LiIons you get more output and/or runtime, too - i hope Zebralight will use a better driver in their next lights to accomplish that.

They said somewhere else on this forum, that a better driver would make the H501 about 1-2mm longer. That would be perfectly okay for me...

 

[compasillo]

Im 99% sure the alkaline was brand new. The Eneloops were right off the charger. I'm recharging them now and will try it again tonight. Have you tried 14500 with the 501? I thought i read somewhere the output and run time would suffer.

Thanks for the quick response.

Dan

I tried a 14500 in my H50 (just to test funtionallity) and it didn't work, despite publicity of ZL. In my H501 it works but gives the same output than AA 1,5v so I don't use it (I think the driver could suffer an overcharge). Maybe runtime could be higher but for me it's OK with a single AA.

 

[bassntaz]

Thanks for the info. I guess I see no reason to run a 14500 if i'm not going to increase performance or the run time. I will try the eneloops and alkilines again tonight to see if its still a problem. The light was working great(i thought) and then i tried the eneloop and it was quite a bit brighter. Then last night i noticed the it kicking down a level? I can understand it doing this as the battery voltage gets below a certain point but not on a fresh battery.

Thanks again

 

[compasillo]

Thanks for the info. I guess I see no reason to run a 14500 if i'm not going to increase performance or the run time. I will try the eneloops and alkilines again tonight to see if its still a problem. The light was working great(i thought) and then i tried the eneloop and it was quite a bit brighter. Then last night i noticed the it kicking down a level? I can understand it doing this as the battery voltage gets below a certain point but not on a fresh battery.

Thanks again

Hi Dan,

Have you checked the contacts (mainly the positive)?
Just cleanning with a bit of deoxit gold and a cotton swab sometimes makes the miracle.
If the problem persists I would contact ZL for a change/repairing.

 

[Foxx510]

I've never seen mine kick down a level by itself, but I've had 3 of these lights with a different issue that makes them start at a lower level that is higher than medium but lower than high.

Normal behaviour when the battery goes flat on high mode seems to be rapid flickering for 5-10 seconds then the light goes off. My feeling is that what you are seeing is not normal.

 

[bassntaz]

Foxx, What you you do to resolve this problem? Did it require a return to zebra? I already tried cleaning with Deoxit.

Thanks

 

[kiwicrunch]

I experienced similar strange behaviour with my H501w (including dropping down to a very low light level) and thought I'd have to return it to Zebralight.

As a last resort, I (very lightly) sanded the positive contact by gluing a dot of sandpaper to an old battery. This was apparently all it needed, and it's worked perfectly since then. I'm certain now that it was just a dirty contact.

Good luck with your own ZL, I hope your problems are due to something equally minor.

 

[bassntaz]

Maybe ill give that a try. I hate to have to send it back right now. We are in the middle of Michigan's bow season and it been a great companion for those long walks into and out of the woods.

Thanks