My U2 just died

I took the heatsink off my vga card and was using the U2 to check which core I have (r360 mind you) and suddenly the light went out. I immediately unscrew the light expecting to find a scorching hot 18650. Nope, wasn't that. Could it be a defective cell? Threw in another charged 18650 and still no dough. I stared into the head of the light while it was on and noticed that only half a die out of the 4 was VERY dimly lit . I love my U2 and it's my edc and will be on it's way to surefire. Sigh. The U2 spoiled me. The L2 and L4 just doesn't cut it for me.

awwww

buy another one i think you gonna have to wait awhile to get it back hahaha
u can always use a spare if you can afford it

That sucks, sorry to hear.

I must be crazy, reading about the problems that U2s have, i still want to buy one =/.

BayMoe said:

I took the heatsink off my vga card and was using the U2 to check which core I have (r360 mind you) and suddenly the light went out. I immediately unscrew the light expecting to find a scorching hot 18650. Nope, wasn't that. Could it be a defective cell? Threw in another charged 18650 and still no dough. I stared into the head of the light while it was on and noticed that only half a die out of the 4 was VERY dimly lit . I love my U2 and it's my edc and will be on it's way to surefire. Sigh. The U2 spoiled me. The L2 and L4 just doesn't cut it for me.

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Sorry for your loss. Love mine and would hate to see something like this happening..

Size15s will probably give a better answer in a short while, but you should return it to SF for a replacement. If you bought it in a shop you might be better off going back and ask for a new one.

I would ask them if it was ok to return just the head since the new ones don't accept 18650s...

Edit:

You might add that your tailcap is perfect and the serial number has some significance to you in order to keep that beautiful fat 18650-capable body in your possession.
I agree with size15 that mentioning 18650s might not be a good idea since most people would not have any idea of what battery you meant and assume you wrecked the light...

Of course SureFire states that the U2 should be powered by two SF123A batteries so whilst I can't state that not using SF123As caused the problem, it seems unlikely it did if others on CPF use the same rechargeable battery with no issues. To that end when contacting SureFire you may forget to mention that you were not using two SF123A batteries to power it. I'm not suggesting that you do. Honesty is the best policy after all. Anyway, offer to send in the U2 bezel module for repair/replacement. Of course you can mention how much you like the U2 and how you use it all the time...

Please let us know how you get on.

Al

I had the same thing happen to the first U2 that i bought a few months ago. It turned on bright for about 2 minutes and then did the 1 die out of four lit thing just like the one in the OP. Luckily the store that I bought it from took it back. I'm curious to know if your level selector ring still works, as when my LED went, the ring still controlled the brightness, I was just missing a few levels as well as having at best, a half lit LED. Good luck in your return to wherever you got it from or Surefire......

If the problem is the LED only and Surefire won't take it back, I volunteer to swap out the LED for you for free. You'll need to provide the LED, though.

Thanks for the reply guys
I was thinking of sending just the head in as well, I wouldn't want to have them send me back the newer body :thumbsdow .
The selector ring does not work after the LED failure. Output, if you can even call it that now, remains the same regardless of which level it's at.
I'll be contacting Surefire soon and will keep you guys posted.

Goodluck, BayMoe.

grnamin said:

If the problem is the LED only and Surefire won't take it back, I volunteer to swap out the LED for you for free. You'll need to provide the LED, though.

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Great offer grnamin

I wish you good luck too BayMoe


Best regards

___
Tom

grnamin said:

If the problem is the LED only and Surefire won't take it back, I volunteer to swap out the LED for you for free. You'll need to provide the LED, though.

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Thanks for the offer, I really appreciate it .
I think I'll try to see if Surefire will fix it first. Money's tight and I don't have a suitable Lux5 to put into this beautiful light of mine. I was crazy to even buy a light like the U2 in the first place, but gee, do I love it now. I really do appreciate the kind gesture grnamin . Thanks.

Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't sound like the U2 is quite up to the Surefire standard of quality. Feature-wise, it kicks butt, of course, but there have been an unusually large number of failures and other unsatisfactory behavior. Are any other Surefires this far below par?

BTW, I just ordered a Gladius. I couldn't convince myself to buy a U2, with all the negative comments it's been getting.

You're quite welcome, BayMoe. I have an extra Lux V, unknown bin, but nice and white. I lucked out with my latest U2 being nice and white so I didn't have to swap out the LED. The extra Lux V is just gathering dust while waiting for a new home. It's yours if you want it.

There are quite a few issues with the light, but once you get a unit that's free of defects and minor kinks it really is a fantastic light.
I guess I lucked out on mine cause it had a near perfect beam (subjective), body that could fit a 18650, 3-prong tailcap that was problem-free, and a selector ring that didn't strobe/lower between levels. It just got a defective emitter. It wasn't overdriven like some other lights that people got saying it was shockingly bright before it blew. Mine was on level 4 when it went poof.

Wow, another luxV bites the dust? I wonder if it's lumileds at fault for miss-matched dies or SF and perhaps the emitter wasn't getting heatsinked (came loose from the thermal grease and cooked?).

might be a contact problem.... wires may have come de-attached.

Also, try to use a piece of metal to touch the end of the battery and the rim of the battery tube (just to test the tailcap).

-David

Put a wbin in there!

cheapo said:

might be a contact problem.... wires may have come de-attached.


-David

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I thought so at first but reread the thread and he mentioned partial die illumination. That is a luxeon issue

TigerhawkT3 said:

Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't sound like the U2 is quite up to the Surefire standard of quality. Feature-wise, it kicks butt, of course, but there have been an unusually large number of failures and other unsatisfactory behavior. Are any other Surefires this far below par?

BTW, I just ordered a Gladius. I couldn't convince myself to buy a U2, with all the negative comments it's been getting.

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After you take the Gladius out for a spin, let us know what you think of it.

Man... I must be lucky or something. My U2 is still going strong even with those evil rechargeables! If I could only win the lottery $$$$ !!!