How to get rid off of the P1 twist action issues?

I love my P1, but the twist isn't reliable (flickering, changes output, goes dead) but I don't want to send it back since this is a real lottery winner (tint and output are awesome). So, how to solve these issues?

Have you cleaned it?

Scott

Sure, many times.

FWIW, I had the same problems as you describe. At the time I was using a nearly pure 96%-type silicon grease. Pure silicon grease is a non-conductor. I stopped using any grease like that. I am currently using a "Plumbers Grease Faucet and Valve" from Ace Hardware. All is seemingly well now. Avoid thick greases too.

Tim

As others mentioned, clean it really well and always use thin lubricant, sparingly.

It is not unusual for a twisty to require some additional twist once the device starts warming up.

You may want to choose the NATURAL fenix finishes. For some reason, their pills are epoxied in instead of being free to float. The epoxy is a solid attachment, making the switch action more definite.

Make sure there is not too much grease on the threads. The ground side must conduct through them. Make sure contacts and battery posts are clean.

If the above issues are not the problem, my next thoughts would be with the foam ring in the base of the light. Does it have one? Is it the large one that fits around the outside of the barrel? If it is, it might be causing contact problems with certain battery brands. On surfire 123's for instance, where the skin rolls around the battery on the base, it's pretty thick. Those two things combined would keep one of my P1's from even lighting. The foam would not compress enough to make good contact. Once I removed the foam ring from the bottom, all was well. Eveything worked as expected. You could try removing it if you have one of the large foam rings. The battery might rattle when the light is Off after that, but one layer of electrical tape around it will cure that.

On another P1 I added the small foam ring to the bottom of the light (it had no foam) and it's fine also. The small foam ring surrounds just the contact at the bottom and doesn't come near the outside edge so it doesn't add any extra thickness that needs to be compressed due to the battery skin to make good contact.

Hope this helps to solve your issues.

Lite_me,

I don't believe the THREADS are used as a conductor on the P1. On the L1T, yes.

Just wondering, so on the newer versions of the P1, there is a foam ring on the inside bottom of the light. I have one that doesn't have one, so can I assume that this was an earlier model, which was not as bright as the newer ones?

Mine has the foam ring which mainly helps with battery rattle. As far as I know the the threads do conduct from the negative side of the battery to the LE. It could not get there any other way?

EngrPaul said:

I don't believe the THREADS are used as a conductor on the P1. On the L1T, yes.

Click to expand...

How would the head make ground contact, if not over the threads?

Contacs is made throught the threads.

I found that if you conpletely remove all the grease from the threads (keep a bit on your O ring) and add a couple of drops of Pro-Gold to the threads - it all works like a dream.

Tim.

rookie said:

Just wondering, so on the newer versions of the P1, there is a foam ring on the inside bottom of the light. I have one that doesn't have one, so can I assume that this was an earlier model, which was not as bright as the newer ones?

Click to expand...

Well, not necessarily.
There were issues with the P1 and the foam ring from the get-go. I'm not too sure the order of circumstances but I believe the early ones came with a firmer foam ring that caused contact problems. I don't know if it was the bigger one (around the outside of barrel) or the smaller one that just encircled the contact button. A newer, softer one followed. I contend that the larger one is not good to use. I recieved one P1 that came with no foam at all. Not even seperate. So it's hard to know exactly what someone has and what they're dealing with when they have connection problems.

moldyoldy said:

FWIW, I had the same problems as you describe. At the time I was using a nearly pure 96%-type silicon grease. Pure silicon grease is a non-conductor. I stopped using any grease like that. I am currently using a "Plumbers Grease Faucet and Valve" from Ace Hardware. All is seemingly well now. Avoid thick greases too.

Tim

Click to expand...

Yeah, I was using a 100% silicone grease (tire grease), but then I've wiped that out and replaced it with R/C Kyosho hobby grease( is that better?).

Lite_me said:

Well, not necessarily.
There were issues with the P1 and the foam ring from the get-go. I'm not too sure the order of circumstances but I believe the early ones came with a firmer foam ring that caused contact problems. I don't know if it was the bigger one (around the outside of barrel) or the smaller one that just encircled the contact button. A newer, softer one followed. I contend that the larger one is not good to use. I recieved one P1 that came with no foam at all. Not even seperate. So it's hard to know exactly what someone has and what they're dealing with when they have connection problems.

Click to expand...

the smaller one that just encircled the contact button.

Click to expand...

<-- that's my P1 version.

Thanks for you help.

Timson said:

Contacs is made throught the threads.

I found that if you conpletely remove all the grease from the threads (keep a bit on your O ring) and add a couple of drops of Pro-Gold to the threads - it all works like a dream.

Tim.

Click to expand...

If I completely remove the all the lube/grease from the threads, wouldn't it hurt the aluminum?

My Bad, I was thinking of another Fenix Light.

BBL said:

How would the head make ground contact, if not over the threads?

Click to expand...

Timson said:

I found that if you conpletely remove all the grease from the threads (keep a bit on your O ring) and add a couple of drops of Pro-Gold to the threads - it all works like a dream.

Click to expand...

This did not work for me. My P1 natural worked great for about 3 weeks then started acting as described in OP.
4sevens sent me out a new one and its' been working fine. (It's been about 3 weeks, I might have just jinxed it. )

I have a theory. My P1 has a foam pad at the bottom that's about half the diameter of the shell. I noticed that the hole in the center of the pad is just a teeny bit larger than the battery contact it surrounds. It seems to me that it wouldn't take much twisting or migration of the pad to cause a little piece of that foam to get caught between the battery contact and battery and cause the kind of trouble being reported. If this is what's happening, you should be able to cure it by removing the pad, cutting the hole a little bigger, then carefully putting it back with the hole well centered so the foam is farther away from the contact. Or, of course, by removing the pad altogether if you don't mind the battery rattle.

In experimenting with mine, I got the pad out by carefully working a dental pick under it to pry the adhesive loose. Fortunately it's not a very aggressive adhesive.

c_c

Outdoors Fanatic said:

If I completely remove the all the lube/grease from the threads, wouldn't it hurt the aluminum?

Click to expand...

The Pro-Gold is acting as a lubricating layer.

Mine is silky smooth....No sign of roughness and certainly no Galling.


Tim.

My P1 just died altogether. The contact was always a little flaky or intermittent. Tried lubricating the threads. Tried cleaning the threads. No resolution.

The Fenix web site says: "Note: To make the flashlight light up, you just need to screw the bezel slightly to contact the battery. It is normal to see a 1 mm or so gap between the head and the body of the flashlight. Please don't screw it emphatically, otherwise the battery will be damaged."

Having a better look at the bottom of the head etc., I am questioning the design. I have lots of other screw top flaslights (Inova, Gerber, Mag etc.) that are turned on and off in this way with no problem. If it was my company, I'd be sending the engineers back to the drawing board for a cleaner design.