Zebralight H501 Part 2

[JA(me)S]

Below are all cached posts from November 2 2010 through to the end of February 2011.
This represents original posts sequentially from #621-627.
No information was lost in this thread when the lights went out at CPF.




Re: Zebralight H501 Part 2
Written by dracodoc on 12-04-2010 09:46 PM GMT

Looks like Zebralight just ignored me. My inquiries on Oct.5, Nov.27 don't have any response.

It has been more than 4 months after I sent the light.

I can understand Zebralight don't want to, don't have to take responsibility for lost package.

But I don't think just ignore me or "wait for the package" are good customer service.

I was thinking a possible solution is Zebralight offering a small discount on another H501, maybe refurbished. I'm not sure how much discount should it be, and I'm not expect much.

However, I may want to stay away from them now.

Thanks for the suggestions. The next step shipping method will be much more expensive compared to first class, especially for a package that only weight about 2 oz.

The reason I shipped the light to China directly by first class was because I was told that way the light would arrive faster, but I didn't expect the possible problem with USPS. Otherwise I'll just send it to TX - instead of expensive international shipping or take pictures to be prepared for lost package, I'd rather wait for some time.

I contacted Zebralight for this 2 days before, but I'm not holding much hope.

Re: Zebralight H501 Part 2
Written by BWX on 12-05-2010 01:04 PM GMT

Looks like Zebralight just ignored me. My inquiries on Oct.5, Nov.27 don't have any response.

It has been more than 4 months after I sent the light.

I can understand Zebralight don't want to, don't have to take responsibility for lost package.

But I don't think just ignore me or "wait for the package" are good customer service.

I was thinking a possible solution is Zebralight offering a small discount on another H501, maybe refurbished. I'm not sure how much discount should it be, and I'm not expect much.

However, I may want to stay away from them now.

Well I am on my FOURTH H501, and it is just starting to do the same things the other three did before they died. I have had this latest one for about 4 or 5 months or so.. They all start to flash once in a while, while turned off, and touched or disturbed in some way. A slight bump or actually picking up the flashlight. Then pretty soon they start acting really strangely with fresh batteries (like they always do with drained batteries), then they just fail to switch on.. Well I am on my FOURTH H501, and it is just starting to do the same things the other three did before they died. I have had this latest one for about 4 or 5 months or so.. They all start to flash once in a while, while turned off, and touched or disturbed in some way. A slight bump or actually picking up the flashlight. Then pretty soon they start acting really strangely with fresh batteries (like they always do with drained batteries), then they just fail to switch on..

That is what has happened to every single H501 I have had. The first one lasted about a year and ZL replaced it, the second replacement lasted a couple months, the third lasted less than two weeks, and this one has lasted 4 or 5 as stated above. I would not bet on it lasting more than a year. I do not recommend these flashlights to people only because I KNOW they will eventually die, way before they should. Maybe the newer models have a better track record? I don't know. ZL have been good about replacing the defective lights so far, but even the last three I got were well beyond the one year warranty, so I do not expect them to replace this one if it (when) it dies. Every time I got a replacement it took a very long time, I think on average about 4 to 8 weeks. I just wish they were better designed or built or whatever so they lasted longer, then I could feel good about recommending them to people. I also would have more of them. Oh well.




Re: Zebralight H501 Part 2
Written by Harry999 on 12-05-2010 05:19 PM GMT

Nah, I don't worry about it. I am very sure Zebralight does not like losing money by sending out replacements. Companies learn and improve. Their SC series have been out for a while now. There have been very few reports of problems. The H series now have a larger body to handle the heat better.

I think this is a very good point and why I am eagerly looking forward to the H51F. I have the SC51 and have found it very reliable. I have 3 H501s with the old UI and one H501w with the new UI plus a H501r. I had one H501 fail two days after receipt and it was replaced by the local dealer. I think this is a very good point and why I am eagerly looking forward to the H51F. I have the SC51 and have found it very reliable. I have 3 H501s with the old UI and one H501w with the new UI plus a H501r. I had one H501 fail two days after receipt and it was replaced by the local dealer.

I was considering ordering another H501w but will now wait until the H51F and H51Fw are available because I think the increased size will aid durability and longevity. I am used to using the H60 so the extra weight will not restrict the use of the H51s as reading lamps.




Re: Zebralight H501 Part 2
Written by NoFair on 12-06-2010 12:53 AM GMT

Don't laugh, this was my first attempt at a beamshot. The ZL is on the left, a Regalight EDC modded with Q3-5A is on the right. The Regalight looks pinker/redder to me, though I don't know how well that shows up in the picture. Now that I look at it, the ZL does look a tiny bit green.

The ZL looks a bit like a 5B tint (more yellow, less pink than a 5A). The ZL looks a bit like a 5B tint (more yellow, less pink than a 5A).




Re: Zebralight H501 Part 2
Written by dracodoc on 12-17-2010 02:33 PM GMT

Zebralight contacted me on 12/05, and they said they will ship a replacement light for me. Today I just received the light! It's still the old version with old UI, just like the one I had. After 5 months, I had my H501 again!

And there is H51F available for preorder now...




Re: Zebralight H501 Part 2
Written by damn_hammer on 12-21-2010 07:27 AM GMT

In preparation for a night hike yesterday I meticulously cleaned, and lubed 5 lights. As the last step I washed them under a medium stream of warm water from the kitchen faucet with a small amount of dish soap. When I was done, every light worked perfectly except the ZL H501. The H501 stayed constantly on, scrolling through the levels ... low, medium, high, etc. Looking closer I could see where water was coming out of the switch side of the emitter dome when I clicked the rubber boot. So it seems water got past the boot seal. Waterproof, not. So I had no headlamp for the hike.

The H501 now resides in a sealed glass jar filled with rice. Fingers crossed it will work again. Very disappointed, as it has only seen light use since I got it in spring of 09'. This is making me think about whether or not I should keep my H51w pre-order. I'll give the rice a chance to work for a week, and if it doesn't I'll contact ZL to see how they handle it to decide.

Further digging found this thread: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...ight=h501+boot




Re: Zebralight H501 Part 2
Written by pae77 on 12-21-2010 11:46 AM GMT

After hearing experiences like that, I've basically decided to treat my H501w as if it is not waterproof. So I mostly use it as a task light indoors and it is superb for that type of application. So far, so good, after about a year.

It's too bad that they are not sealed better against water getting in. I hope my ZL SC50w+ is better in that regard, but I'm afraid to test it to find out.



Above are all cached posts from November 2 2010 through to the end of February 2011.
This represents original posts sequentially from #621-627.
No information was lost in this thread when the lights went out at CPF.

 

[Bolster]

Thanks for resurrecting this info. For the record I received an email from ZebraLight on Jan 21, 2011 where Lillian Xu addressed the H501 reliability issue documented in this thread: "First few batches of H501 and H60 had problems with leaking switch caps and lens, causing malfuntions of the lights. They have been addressed long time ago with revised/modified machining and assembly process."

 

[BWX]

Now my FIFTH replacement H501 is dying the exact same way all the others did.. It starts shutting itself off while using it on high. I only use fully charged eneloops.. About 3 months after it was new it started acting a little funny the exact same way all the other ones did as well- it would flash if you just barely touched it after it was sitting for any length of time. Very strange that they all die the exact same way! This last one is the new version with moonlight mode and the different sub levels.. I would never buy another H501 unless I only planned on using it once a month or something, and never if I planned on actually depending on it or leaving it on high for any length of time. I think that is what kills it- even though it never gets hot- it gets warm, but never hot and it still dies.

I just sent ZL another customer request telling them my replacement H501 died again- and let them know it was the 5th one that die the exact same way. The original purchase was well over a year ago, I wonder if they'll give me one more.

I really want to get an H51 aa, but damn, do they self destruct after 6 months too? have they even been out long enough to be tested like that?

 

[pae77]

I use my H501w every night as a task light for hours on medium level and it has been going strong for over 6 months with zero problems so far. Seems very reliable to me, at least so far . . .

Now my FIFTH replacement H501 is dying the exact same way all the others did.. It starts shutting itself off while using it on high. I only use fully charged eneloops.. About 3 months after it was new it started acting a little funny the exact same way all the other ones did as well- it would flash if you just barely touched it after it was sitting for any length of time. Very strange that they all die the exact same way! This last one is the new version with moonlight mode and the different sub levels.. I would never buy another H501 unless I only planned on using it once a month or something, and never if I planned on actually depending on it or leaving it on high for any length of time. I think that is what kills it- even though it never gets hot- it gets warm, but never hot and it still dies.

I just sent ZL another customer request telling them my replacement H501 died again- and let them know it was the 5th one that die the exact same way. The original purchase was well over a year ago, I wonder if they'll give me one more.

I really want to get an H51 aa, but damn, do they self destruct after 6 months too? have they even been out long enough to be tested like that?

 

[BWX]

I use my H501w every night as a task light for hours on medium level and it has been going strong for over 6 months with zero problems so far. Seems very reliable to me, at least so far . . .

Yeah I am thinking use on the high level output is what kills it..

 

[Woods Walker]

Yeah I am thinking use on the high level output is what kills it..

This may sound silly but did you try another battery aka not the same one recharged? Maybe a primary? Also the regulation will sometimes cut the light off without a warning or step down a mode near the end of the battery life. My H50 (I have three ZLs) also did this in a NiMH fully charged but the battery was shot.

 

[BWX]

This may sound silly but did you try another battery aka not the same one recharged? Maybe a primary? Also the regulation will sometimes cut the light off without a warning or step down a mode near the end of the battery life. My H50 (I have three ZLs) also did this in a NiMH fully charged but the battery was shot.

Yeah it acts like it has a dead battery in it when it has a fresh battery in it. That's how it acts before it dies completely. I have over 60 rechargeable aa cells.. about 30 new eneloops with 8 more coming in the mail..

It does the same with any battery. All previous 4 or 5 H501s that died on me did the exact same thing before they died. Some died within a month, some lasted almost a year.. this 5th replacement lasted 6 months. I think all H501s are defective and will eventually die prematurely with enough use.. not overuse or abuse.

Most people probably don't use them every single day like me with occasional heavy use on high for extended periods. I never misused or abused them though.. but they all were defective- admitted by Zebralight, not just me saying that.

 

[Glock27]

I think all H501s are defective and will eventually die prematurely with enough use.. not overuse or abuse.

Most people probably don't use them every single day like me with occasional heavy use on high for extended periods. I never misused or abused them though.. but they all were defective- admitted by Zebralight, not just me saying that.

I use an H50 5 days a week+ for work. I've had it for 2 years. I use an H501w every evening. I have an H501R that has months of burn time logged. I've run them all on high countless hours (thousands) over the time I've had them and they're doing fine.
Some must have incredibly bad luck or bad chargers.
The only problem I've had with the 12 ZebraLights that I have bought is a cracked lens on a 501w.

 

[BWX]

I use an H50 5 days a week+ for work. I've had it for 2 years. I use an H501w every evening. I have an H501R that has months of burn time logged. I've run them all on high countless hours (thousands) over the time I've had them and they're doing fine.
Some must have incredibly bad luck or bad chargers.
The only problem I've had with the 12 ZebraLights that I have bought is a cracked lens on a 501w.

Bad chargers? What does that mean.. battery chargers? I use a La Cross BC 9009. I have a multimeter and other flashlights- no bad charger here, or bad batteries.

 

[ASheep]

My H501w is 7 months old and gets fairly heavy use, I often use it instead of house lighting, I also use it frequently at work and it's been with me on camping trips where it was dropped in the mud. It has even helped me pack up a campsite at 3am in the middle of a huge storm, where it ran on high for 2.5 hours (multiple eneloops) in driving rain. I'm hoping it will last far into the future, as it is one of my favourite lights.

I think that is what kills it- even though it never gets hot- it gets warm, but never hot and it still dies.

That is interesting, as whenever I use my H501w on high, it gets VERY hot fairly quickly, and not just around the head, the entire body gets uncomfortably hot to touch, and the head is burning hot. I take that to mean the light is dissipating the heat away from the LED fairly well, even given the small thermal mass of the light.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[Bolster]

Hm. Regular use on my two H50's and two H501w's and two more I gave as gifts...six total...no issues.

Had the H50s since Dec 2007, the H501s are only 4 months old.

 

[BWX]

My H501w is 7 months old and gets fairly heavy use, I often use it instead of house lighting, I also use it frequently at work and it's been with me on camping trips where it was dropped in the mud. It has even helped me pack up a campsite at 3am in the middle of a huge storm, where it ran on high for 2.5 hours (multiple eneloops) in driving rain. I'm hoping it will last far into the future, as it is one of my favourite lights.



That is interesting, as whenever I use my H501w on high, it gets VERY hot fairly quickl, and not just around the head, the entire body gets uncomfortably hot to touch, and the head is burning hot. I take that to mean the light is dissipating the heat away from the LED fairly well, even given the small thermal mass of the light.

Cheers,
Alex

The fact that mine is cool to the touch or jus warm might mean it is not conducting heat properly. Another theory is that these replacement H501s are all lights people sent back in and then they got tested and fixed or stamped as passed and something is still wrong with them. They send it to me as a replacement and it eventually dies again, I dunno.

I know the second replacement I got went bad within 6 weeks, completely dead- they took it back and sent it to China for repairs. That took about 6 weeks. I got the exact same light as my third replacement H501 and it died within a couple months.

Maybe they are sending me out questionable lights as replacements and I just use them heavily and whatever flaws they have are the weak points and they die.

I just put a fresh eneloop in this H501, set it on a table on high.. it lasted 7 minutes and shut itself off. It was cool to the touch and seemed much dimmer than new . I put in another fresh battery, turn it on high and it changes level down to medium. It will not stay on high after it's warmed up (even though it is cool to touch). So it is on now for 15 minutes on medium, cool to touch. It will shut off and never come back on soon I predict. That's how they all die.

 

[Bolster]

I'd recommend you contact Lillian Xu and ask her what's up with this string of failures you've experienced.

[email protected]

Does anyone have a phone number?

 

[Glock27]

I just finished draining 2 Sanyo 2700's each in both an H50 and H501w. Both on High. Neither got more than luke warm. What would cause some lights to run hot?

This whole QC discussion makes no sense. How could some people get multiple failures while others have multiple lights with no failures? 5 bad H501's to one person doesn't seem plausible.
G27

 

[BWX]

Put the heat to the meat...by which I mean, contact Lillian Xu and ask her what's up with this string of failures you've experienced.

[email protected]

Does anyone have a phone number?

I did fill out a customer request form at the website. Waiting for a response.

Update on 5th failing H501- It stopped staying on high mode after 7 minutes or so as described above so I got it into high strobe. It stayed on high strobe mode from about 5:20pm to 2am. The strobe was very inconsistent, going in seemingly random patterns and for the last few hours was more like a medium (light output) strobe mixed with intermittent random flashes. Strange stuff

 

[Gregozedobe]

The fact that mine is cool to the touch or jus warm might mean it is not conducting heat properly.

I just put a fresh eneloop in this H501, set it on a table on high.. it lasted 7 minutes and shut itself off. It was cool to the touch and seemed much dimmer than new . I put in another fresh battery, turn it on high and it changes level down to medium. It will not stay on high after it's warmed up (even though it is cool to touch). So it is on now for 15 minutes on medium, cool to touch. It will shut off and never come back on soon I predict. That's how they all die.

There is definitely something strange going on here.

I have run my H501 on Hi for some hundreds of hours (often for 4-5 hours at atime) - it gets fairly warm but never so hot it is unpleasant to touch, let alone painful. It does seem odd that yours isn't even getting warm on Hi. When the battery voltage drops my light sometimes flashes strangely, and then won't switch on to Hi (but Med and Lo still work OK).

It would seem quite unlikely that you could get so many faulty lights from ZL (unless they are returning the same light every time without ever fixing the underlying fault), so suspicion has to point towards a problem with your rechargeable batteries and/or charger.

If I was trouble shooting this latest light I'd be measuring the voltage on the battery you used at the point where the light switched off from Hi. I'd also try that battery (without recharging) in another (non-ZL) light that uses a fairly high current and see how much longer it lasts in a different light. I'd be interested in trying out a lithium primary battery (ie 1.5v AA) in the ZL to see what happens then.

Another thing to try out is to put the light (without battery) into your freezer for a couple of hours, then try it out to see if it lasts a bit longer before failing. If it does, that indicates that it is having problems with excess heat (driver and/or LED).

All in all, it seems very odd ........ But if you do try my suggestions, please let us know what results you get.

 

[FroggyTaco]

I also have a H501 with the new UI that I received last April that I use daily for 15 min to several hours. Mostly low & med but there have been extended uses on high. It does do a rapid strobe when the battery voltage gets too low but that is it.

I do have one Nimh cell that is really OLD ie: it's labeled as a 19maH cell. It won't run my H501 on high for more than a few minutes max. Whereas my dura-loops will run high till the cell is drained.

Travis

 

[BWX]

There is definitely something strange going on here.

I have run my H501 on Hi for some hundreds of hours (often for 4-5 hours at atime) - it gets fairly warm but never so hot it is unpleasant to touch, let alone painful. It does seem odd that yours isn't even getting warm on Hi. When the battery voltage drops my light sometimes flashes strangely, and then won't switch on to Hi (but Med and Lo still work OK).

It would seem quite unlikely that you could get so many faulty lights from ZL (unless they are returning the same light every time without ever fixing the underlying fault), so suspicion has to point towards a problem with your rechargeable batteries and/or charger.

If I was trouble shooting this latest light I'd be measuring the voltage on the battery you used at the point where the light switched off from Hi. I'd also try that battery (without recharging) in another (non-ZL) light that uses a fairly high current and see how much longer it lasts in a different light. I'd be interested in trying out a lithium primary battery (ie 1.5v AA) in the ZL to see what happens then.

Another thing to try out is to put the light (without battery) into your freezer for a couple of hours, then try it out to see if it lasts a bit longer before failing. If it does, that indicates that it is having problems with excess heat (driver and/or LED).

All in all, it seems very odd ........ But if you do try my suggestions, please let us know what results you get.

I looked inside to see if maybe a light cleaning with alcohol might at least help. My lights are a spotless though.. no dirt anywhere. Anyway I look in the tube and see what appears to be liquid dripping down the inside of the tube.. I get a swab with some alcohol on it and clean it out. It looks deep red in color, like some sort of assembly lube. The stuff is all over the PCB at the end of the tube, like it's leaking out from behind it.

Yeah.. and all my batteries and chargers and multimeter are not defective, OK? I test them in other flashlights and I have another La Cross charger too. The eneloops are all new, they work in my TK45 and LD20 just fine. It's a problem with these lights, not all of my batteries and chargers. I measurd the voltage when it switches from hight to medium.. if the light is already wamed up it's the same voltage as fresh, it happens instantly. The first time it took 7 minutes so the voltage was around 1.29v.. Freshly charged they are anywhere fron 1.49v to 1.35v depending on how long they've been off the charger. EDIT- after my last experiment using high strobe the light would get slightly warm if left in a certain position laying down and close to things on one side.. anyway, point is after it finally gave up the battery was at 1.01v.. same as it should be when it shuts itself off. High mode is just not working at all. Otherwise this H501 is fine. It's wothless though because it will die soon.

I bet they just keep sending me defective lights.. that makes the most sense. I only bought one new H501 and that lasted about a year, but died the exact same way all others have. The replacement H501s all died much faster though. I think it's a problem with the electronics.. The LED works, the switch works.

 

[Gregozedobe]

Hmmm, I don't know what the red stuff is - shouldn't be any lube right down inside the tube near the head.

Unfortunately, as they both take multiple batteries neither the TK45 or the LD20 lights are suitable for testing the ability of a single AA battery to produce the current required to run a H501 on Hi.

Do you have any single AA lights that have a fairly high output you could try ? That was why I also suggested you try a lithium primary in your H501.

All of the symptoms you have described could be caused by battery problems. I'm not saying they are, but if it was me I would like to be 100% certain I have eliminated all possible causes. Sometimes rechargeable batteries can seem to have OK voltage when tested without load, but under load they suffer quite bad "voltage sag" when asked to deliver significant current ( I have thrown away a number of NiMh AA batteries because of this). This could explain what is going on with your H501.

Until you do some more thorough tests (as I suggested) to be 100% sure it isn't the batteries at fault then you can't be certain it is the light at fault. I don't mean to offend you, but as a disinterested observer I like to work through all possible issues logically. Sometimes people can get one explanation fixed in their mind and dismiss other possible explanations, but a jog from a different set of eyes can sometimes help.

Another possibility is a poor elecrical contact somewhere (often tailcap and/or spring in the tailcap). If there is resistance this can reduce the current/voltage at the driver, which gives similar symptoms to a faulty battery.

Just trying to help in what is obviously a frustrating situation.

 

[Woods Walker]

Why not just test an Energizer L91 or other primary battery?