intermittent led operation

I have a CMG Infinity LED flashlight. Some time ago it developed a problem. I would turn it on and it would work for a period of time, sometime very breifly, and then turn itself off. Yet other times it seems to work okay. I've tried new batteries and have cleaned the contacts in the flashlight as well as the battery. I really like this light but with its intermittent operation I can not rely on it. I can not figure this thing out. Has anyone else had similiar problems with LED flashlights?

Welcome to CPF, DeanS!

Try the fix suggested at the very bottom of this review link below. Did this some time ago to the two original infinities that I have and they never gave me trouble again. I suggest starting out with a "tap" rather than a "whack" -- it doesn't take too much to indent the thin aluminum rim...

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/cmg_infinity2.htm

The logic sounded fine so I gave it a try. BUT I guess my "loosness" was in the other direction because now I don't get anything, not even a flicked.
Also, this flashlight was from countycomm.com and not marked CMG. And I thought that Gerber bought out CMG because when I tried to replace this light last year, when I became having trouble with it, I was unable to locate one. I ended up with a Gerber Infinity light. I was just hoping to get this light working agian. Anyone else have any ideas?

Welcome DeanS -- cut up your credit cards and hold on to your wallet if you're going to stick around!

The simplest thing to try is a different brand of batteries -- you might find one that's a little longer and will solve the problem.

If that fails, you could always trim a bit off the battery tube. (Hey, if it's broken, there's nothing to lose at this point.) I would just twist the tube (minus the head) on top of some wet/dry sandpaper. That might allow the head to seat a little deeper and make better contact.

Don't feel too bad if this is some CMG clone. The originals weren't too reliable either, in spite of many postings saying they're built like a tank. And the "switch" is about as crude a design as one can imagine. I got around 10 of them (I'm an idiot!) and had 3 fail. The battery tubes (the part that is built like a tank) are a little different on the various models and are not all interchangeable, so maybe your flashlight head/tube are just not a good match.

If you get it working, another mod is to put an o-ring around the base of the head on top of the circuit board -- just large enough to keep the battery from rattling around, yet thin enough to allow the "switch" to work. Letting one rattle around in a vehicle is a good way to loosen up the board or break it.

The best thing going for these lights is that they run a long time ... and they make a great spares carrier for AA batteries (I always carried a spare battery for my CMG inside another CMG).

Good luck!