Fenix L0D Difficult to Operate ?

mpc

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I bought a Fenix L0D Natural just after Christmas. (thanks for the good service fenix store). If I turn it on using a normal amount of finger force it gives a little flicker and is not at maximum brightness for the setting. Tightening it further solves the problem, but it is annoying to have to use more force - it's difficult to operate one handed and it sticks a bit in the on position.

The threads are smooth, it's just the final tightning that annoys

Is this normal ?

Thanks
 

mpc

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The contact is clean, new battery/new torch. I think it might just be the actual distance from the head of the battery to the contact in the head - I've tried duracell and energizer to allow for battery tolerances - but they are both the same :(
 

FRANKVZ

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I had to clean a residue off of the contacts on a new p1d to get it to work at all. It looked like solder paste.
 

mpc

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Well since fenix have announced the L0D Cree which will be more expensive - I suppose it's better that I have a $40 light with a small problem than a (whatever L0D-CE costs) light with a problem - I'll probably get a Jetbeam Cree for my next :)
 

Flying Turtle

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My L0Pse sometimes has this problem. Cleaning seems to help, but it might be more about the force used in the twist. I figure it will get easier with more use.

Geoff
 

Jay R

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mpc said:
The contact is clean, new battery/new torch. I think it might just be the actual distance from the head of the battery to the contact in the head - I've tried duracell and energizer to allow for battery tolerances - but they are both the same :(

Assuming it's built the same as all their other AAA lights, the top of the battery is always in contact with the circuit board. The on/off contact is between the outer ring on the circuit board and the top of the lower half of the case. Open it up, take the battery out, turn the lower part of the case upside down and twist it against a bit of cloth. You may be left with a grubby ring on the cloth. Try it now....
 

diesel_dad

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I had the same issue. Cleaned the threads, spring and contact with alcohol and a q-tip -- problem solved. It does take more force to turn than my P1D CE, maybe because the gasket is closer to the end. Nice little light.

I also have a Huntlight FT-A3 on my keychain -- still there. Nice simple rugged design. Easy to turn with one hand. Haven't used up a battery yet.
 

Curious_character

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Jay R said:
Assuming it's built the same as all their other AAA lights, the top of the battery is always in contact with the circuit board. The on/off contact is between the outer ring on the circuit board and the top of the lower half of the case. Open it up, take the battery out, turn the lower part of the case upside down and twist it against a bit of cloth. You may be left with a grubby ring on the cloth. Try it now....
Then put a little oil or grease on the mating alumium rim. ProGold or NyoGel if you have them, WD-40 if you don't. This will inhibit oxidation of the aluminum between matings.

c_c
 

Lite_me

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Curious_character said:
Then put a little oil or grease on the mating alumium rim. ProGold or NyoGel if you have them, WD-40 if you don't. This will inhibit oxidation of the aluminum between matings.

c_c
:huh2: Is this a good idea? I say keep the end of the barrel clean of oil/grease. I would suggest like JayR said ...
Open it up, take the battery out, turn the lower part of the case upside down and twist it against a bit of cloth. You may be left with a grubby ring on the cloth. Try it now....
....only put the contact end of the barrel on a piece of fine sandpaper and sand it with a circular motion for a bit to remove any burs there might be. I did this to my Civictor and L0P and it curred that same problem.
 

Curious_character

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Lite_me said:
:huh2: Is this a good idea? I say keep the end of the barrel clean of oil/grease. I would suggest like JayR said ...
Each time you unscrew the head and break contact, the aluminum oxidizes. The oxide is a thin, very hard and brittle ceramic. (It is, in fact, used as sandpaper grit.) The next time you make contact, the aluminum oxide is shattered and the pieces embedded in the softer aluminum metal underneath (and in the gold of the PCB plating). When you unscrew the head again, the surface oxidizes again, and so forth. Eventually, you have a battleground of broken ceramic pieces and poor or no contact. You can of course restore operation again by sanding the aluminum surface to below the layer of shattered oxide pieces, provided that the PCB trace surface hasn't also been trashed too badly. But you can prevent or reduce the oxidation in the first place by keeping a thin layer of oil or thin grease on surface. This same phenomenon also occurs with tin.

There's so much lore about the function of grease and oil on contacts, I fully expect a lot of people to not believe this. That's ok. I've seen a photomicrograph of the surface of a tin contact after a number of matings, and it really impressed me. It's not surprising that the common lore seems more believable to people who haven't had that opportunity.

c_c
 

WildChild

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It may depend of the unit. I got a black L0D which had this problem. Cleaning the contacts correctly solved it. The light has been exchanged with a natural one and this one have no problem. Really easy contact.
 

nanotech17

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mpc said:
I bought a Fenix L0D Natural just after Christmas. (thanks for the good service fenix store). If I turn it on using a normal amount of finger force it gives a little flicker and is not at maximum brightness for the setting. Tightening it further solves the problem, but it is annoying to have to use more force - it's difficult to operate one handed and it sticks a bit in the on position.

The threads are smooth, it's just the final tightning that annoys

Is this normal ?

Thanks

I have black LOD having this kind of problem.I emailed to 7777 but he is not around,i try cleaning everything including detoxit & progold the positive contact point still the same problem occured.When i use li-ion 3.7v no problem at all such as flickering issue - emailed to 7777 and he replied the LOD is not suppose to take li-ion 3.7v !That is not true becoz it is stated in the website and that is the reason why i bought the LOD instead of the LOP SE - emailed back to 7777 no reply so far,maybe he is at the shot show.Finally i add some thin plastic tape that is use for wrapping the water hose thread around the LOD body thread ( i know some of the cpf's doesn't like this idea which i read somewhere ) but the flickering issue is diminished.Now i can switch on the LOD without twisting to the maximum,at least not without force and the LOD much2 brighter than B4.
Try it and your heart can rest without that pumping sensation :)
 

Curious_character

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That sounds just like the P0D CE loose thread problem that quite a few folks had -- although it was much more common with the black units than natural. Try removing the O ring and your Teflon tape -- then you can see how much slop there is the threads. 4sevens has been very good about exchanging P0D CE units with loose threads which cause this problem -- he swapped mine out immediately when I requested it. I'm sure he'll make yours right.

c_c
 

Jay R

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You can stop this happening really easily. When you twist it on keep a bit of tension between the head and the body. ( Like you are trying to pull it apart.) This stops the 'wobble' in the threads and stops it from flicking over to the next level.
 

amanichen

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Jay R said:
You can stop this happening really easily. When you twist it on keep a bit of tension between the head and the body. ( Like you are trying to pull it apart.) This stops the 'wobble' in the threads and stops it from flicking over to the next level.
A bit of grease or wax based lubricant will also help with this. I wouldn't recommend placing axial loads on the threads, simply because it'll start wearing away the anodizing, and that will cause metal and anodizing to mix into the lubricant, forming a polishing paste which further wears away at the threads.
 
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