Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

Last night I turned it on and as soon as I pressed it in I knew something was wrong. Sure enough the tailcap was stuck in the on position. I tried to press it in further, wiggle it side to side - no dice. At this point I decided to dissassemble the tailcap to see what was wrong. Theres' a small black piece in there that has a short end and a long end. The long end was facing down and the big spring had slid up over the long end. I pulled the spring off and reassembled it as I had found it. After one click it was jammed again. Hmmm I thought let me turn that one piece over. I dissassembled it again and inverted that piece so the short end was facing down and reassembled it. Its been working perfectly ever since, and actually feels better to boot. The only conclusion I can come to is that it was assembled incorrectly at the factory. I am considering sending an email to Surefire letting them know of this problem. But first I want to see if anyone else here has had the same problem....

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

While playing with my U2 I stuck my tail cap from my G2 New (style LOTC) and was wondering if maybe Sure Fire should make an aluminum HA version twisty for the U2.

Clickie tail caps are nice but for reliability I much prefer the LOTC twist ones.

Bill

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

Yes, yes...I've only had my U2 for a week now and last night the tail-cap flaked-out on me, too. Lots of posts on this. So disappointing for a $300 torch!

Jim

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

KDOG, give them a call and tell them it crapped out, and they will send you a new one. I was hoping they had that sorted out by now but.........

I have always had good customer service when calling but not by e-mail.

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/102626

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

KDOG3 and Braddah Bill,

Yes, Yes,

So far I have found that the new LOTC for the G2 will work on every Surefire (at least every one that I have tried so far), so I bought one in Olive and one in Black as a backup for every light. $12 apiece for a foolproof backup.

Hope this helps,
Flashdark sends.

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

KDOG3 - is the inside polymer part(where the negative contact spring is attached) of your U2 tailcap white or black?

Wow, that's unreal! Yet another messed up switch on a $300 light!
I guess Surefire doesn't give a poop as this has been happening since the U2 was first released.

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

I'm pretty sure they do care If they didn't care they wouldn't send out replcements now would they?the tailcaps on the U2's L5's and L6's were built to fit surefire polymer holsters and be more egrnomic than the SW02's and Z48 clickies therefore sacrafices were made in terms of reliability to bring us clickies with the demensions of the regular twisties.I'm sure they are working on the problem, I mean really look at all the things they've fixed in the past.this problem will be gone before you know it.

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

Welcome to the broken tailcap club, you are now officially a U2 owner!

Prudent U2 owners may even call Surefire as soon as they get it and ask for a new tailcap even before it breaks I got mine one day and it was broken the next. Good thing I fixed it manually, otherwise I'd still be without the replacement months later.

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

KDOG, if it weren't for bad luck, you'd have no luck at all!

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

the Z41 will not fit the U2 !!!

Some or most U2s seem to accept the SW01 and Z48, but some don't.
The G2 LOTS seems to work fine.
And that's it. No other choices AFAIK.

bernie

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

Well I just got home from work and I deliberatly used it more than necessary to test out the tailcap after I fixed it. Works fine now. Sometimes I would sit there and click it on and off rapidly to see if it would jam up. Never did. I really think that was the problem. I just think that Surefire needs to tighten up the quality control. Maybe give their people a refresher course on assembling a tailcap.

I have a hard time describing the part I'm talking about. Its a black plastic thing that looks kinda like a gear and one side has a longer protrusion than the other. It fits over the metal post that goes over the small spring. The larger spring sits underneath the black thing.

Flashdark said:

KDOG3 and Braddah Bill,

Yes, Yes,

So far I have found that the new LOTC for the G2 will work on every Surefire (at least every one that I have tried so far), so I bought one in Olive and one in Black as a backup for every light. $12 apiece for a foolproof backup.

Hope this helps,
Flashdark sends.

Click to expand...

Where did you get the G2 tailcaps separatly? When I called Surefire they said they wouldn't sell them separetly!

Dito

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

KDOG3 said:

I just think that Surefire needs to tighten up the quality control. Maybe give their people a refresher course on assembling a tailcap.

Click to expand...

Who the heck assembles these lights? Dumb and dumber?Are these U2s made in someone's basement or something??? Hate to dis my flashlights, but these are ONLY flashlights afterall, not space shuttles. The way these problems keep on plaguing the U2, it's as if SF is building something extraordinarily complex for NASA...

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

I think some parts are being assembled in Mexico. But it would be presumptuous to assume the mistake happened there. Maybe someone at the plant just had an off day. I'm just glad I was able to fix it.

KDOG3 & Kiessling,

I talked to a lady by the name of "Kathy" at Surefire CS a couple of months ago, and ordered 6 of the new Olive LOTCs for the G2. She told me they were on back order and that I could expect it to be about two weeks before they arrived. Sure enough, about two weeks later, they showed up. The part number is "Z73" and they were $12 each plus shipping. That is all that I know. I guess you could keep calling, trying to get different people until you get one who knows what they are talking about. Maybe Kathy made the mistake and they then felt that they had to honor her commitment (!?).

Flashdark sends, confused but satisfied.

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

KDOG3 said:

I think some parts are being assembled in Mexico.

Click to expand...

I highly doubt that anything is assembled in Mexico. The catalogue says that nearly 500 American workers, design and manufacture their illumination tools.

If I find out otherwise, my surefire purchases are going to go way down. I would not pay a premium price for anything made in Mexico. JMOO :tsk:

Re: Surefire U2 tailcap assembled wrong from factory. Yes mine crapped out already....

I wouldn't pay premium price for anything with U2's notorious tailcap and Luxeon lottery histories. The tailcap just goes without saying, but at $300, SF better guarantee I win the Luxeon lottery. The 1st try! I hate sending DOA stuff back for an exchange, with my P1, I can't complain because it was a steal, but not with anything in U2's price range.