Sending in my Strion for repair.

Hello Fellow CPF'ers, I just wanted to let you know that I am having to send in my Streamlight Strion for repairs. The problem is that the light isn't coming on all the way when I twist the tailcap all the way, and the beam fluctuates. I had this same problem with it six months ago, and sent it in for repair then also.

I just got off the phone with the repair dept at Streamlight, and it seems that they are well aware of the problem, and have created a new switch that can properly handle heat better. I am mailing it off tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes. So far, they were very nice on the phone, and seemed eager to fix the problem.

Also of interest: While on the phone, I asked them if my old polystinger, which I carried on duty for many years (and which has seen better days) would be covered under warranty for the rubber grig that came off long ago, and the switch, which no longer has any rubber on it. To my surprise, they said to send it on in, and they would replace the grip and switch. Shiney!

I am in no way suggesting that you avoid the Strion, as I think it's a great light. I just thought that if any of you were having the same problem, and had learned to live with it, there is a fix, and they will be happy to fix it for you free of charge. I'll let you know if I have any problems, but I don't expect any considering how nice they sounded on the phone.

It's always nice to hear of a company treating its customers so well.

I own MANY Streamlight products.

The few problems I have had, have been remedied immediately, often without sending in the problem light. They simply took my word, and sent a replacement light/part.

Other manufactures should try to emulate this service.

Superb !

At least yours still kinda works. Mine quit altogether. Customer service said they had switch issues. I sent it back, and in no time at all it was back in my hands-good as new. SL has some excellent customer service. Even after that, I still recommend the Strion. Great light.

Streamlight is TOP NOTCH CUSTOMER SERVICE. Always had the best from them. I will always buy and support Streamlight.

I was having a similar problem with my strion. Momentary push activation would work every time but when I twisted it to the on position, it would flicker or turn off sometimes. It seemed that the turn on switch was not pushing the battery in enough to activate the switch so I glued about 1/8 in of plastic to the end of the battery and it works fine everytime. Maybe a desingn flaw.

Waiting on my LED stinger too which I should have in about a week or too. I would like to see a LED version of the strion also. Glad to hear that streamlight is taking care of you!

I had also tried placing something inside the battery compartment to make the battery have better contact. It worked for awhile, but then started doing the same thing. If I were you, I'd send it in. They said they have made a completely new switch recently that will take care of it once and for all.

Did someone say LED stinger... must investigate! An LED Strion would be SWEEEEEEET also.

I'll update when I hear something from Streamlight.

Don't know if you're near Lenexa, but one of the police supply stores there is also a warranty station for Streamlight.

Make sure you send it with the chargers. Streamlight had a run of bad switches and chargers for the Strion model. I spoke with a Streamlight engineer about this very problem approx 3 weeks ago. Streamlight is an excellent company that will stand behind there product.

Well, I heard back from Streamlight today. Good and bad. They replaced the switch in the polystinger and the strion, and replaced the charger. BUT, they said my battery in my polystinger was dead, and I could purchase a new one from them, but I would have to pay shipping. I asked why I would have to pay shipping when they were going to ship the light back to me anyway free of charge, and they said that was the policy. It just seems so dumb that I would have to pay shipping on a new battery that they are going to stick inside the flashlight that they will ship me free if I don't buy the battery. I put a call in to Hank, the supervisor of the repair dept, but haven't heard back yet. I mean come one guys, I've had to send this light in TWICE now for the same thing, you'd think they'd be more worried about keeping me as a customer. Hopefully talking to a supervisor will take care of it. I'll let you know how it goes.

If you don't want to pay shipping on it, there's a very easy solution. Just don't get the battery from Streamlight. They're going to charge you full bore list price for it in addition to charging you for shipping, it's not as if you can't get it for less elsewhere, even from a local store in most cases. And the Stinger series is established enough due to it's popularity in public safety usage, that there are plenty of 3rd party alternatives to Streamlight's battery. I seem to remember paying something like $5.95 for a 3rd party Stinger battery from Fox Intl. and I'm sure there are plenty of other mail-order vendors as well. Sure you'll probably have to pay shipping from the mail-order vendors but your overall cost will probably be less. As a matter of fact, you may even pay less for the battery with the shipping, if you order it from someplace like Bright Guy or Optics Planet, amongst many others.

s23246g said:

BUT, they said my battery in my polystinger was dead, and I could purchase a new one from them, but I would have to pay shipping.

Click to expand...

Silly about the battery... but perhaps they have to come from a different department... they may have batteries there, but if it doesn't fall under warranty then it might come from parts, which may not even be in the same area, and therefor works differently...

I agree it seems silly, but there may be a logical reason, even though it's dumb. You would think they would just have one on hand, throw it in, and be done... of course the battery will add weight to the shipping package.


On the plus Side I agree Streamlight has GREAT service... in ways I prefer them to Sure Fire (not to start any flames, but) I find thier products to be of similar quality, and much better value... they don't have as cool of stuff, and I now have gone from owning more SL then SF to more Surefire than Streamlight...

However I've got a Luxeon Jr, that I LOST the tailcap off of, at the time I had no idea where to find parts, and couldn't locate one... so I emailed Streamlight to see if they would SELL me one, or where I could get it... they asked me to send my address and they would SEND me a NEW one FREE! Sweet... I've since lost the rubber cover off of it, and should try them again, but now know where to get new ones from...

I also have a friend who had some Batteries (energizer I think) leak inside his Twin-Task 3C and he contacted both Streamlight and energizer, Streamlight was willing to look at and fix the light, even though batteries are typically covered by the battery manufacturer... Energizer ended up sending him postage paid to get the light back to them, and they would repair or replace the light if need be... so he sent it to Energizer, but Streamlight was more than willing to fix it, even though it was Energizers fault and problem.

I really like Streamlight, I wish they would come up with some more smaller lights, similar to E1E/E2E/D and some more interesting lights like SureFire, the Twin-Task models are nice, but no comparison to say an A2 with the having to click the switch multiple times, etc.

I agree that the customer service has been good, but just found it really odd that they wanted to charge shipping for the battery when they would be shipping the EXACT same weight back to me (new battery installed in the light, instead of the old one...so no added weight.) for free if I didn't purchase the new battery.

I never did hear back from Hank the repair supervisor. I tried to call several times, but since it was a Friday, maybe he left early.

I guess I will just check into buying an aftermarket battery for it. The good news is, they said they replaced the whole body of my polystinger, so I'm anxious to see how nice it looks when I get it back. I had carried it on duty for 6 years, and it was pretty beat up. I really didn't expect them to do anything with it before I asked, so I'm glad I asked.

All in all, I'm still a fan of Streamlight over Surefire. Although I like some of both, I prefer the Streamlight method of rechargables, simply because you don't have to take out the battery. I like being able to just put it on the charger, and especially being able to grab it off the charger quickly without having to take precious seconds to install a battery.

Well, I got the strion and poly back Friday, and the Poly looks GREAT. They totally replaced the body, which was pretty banged up, with a brand new one in the new style. Mine was the old style with the rubber grip that had long since come off. The only problem is that the battery is now TOTALLY dead. When I sent it in, I could still get 15 to 20 minutes a charge out of it. Maybe the cold zapped it?!
The STRION, on the other hand, is still doing the exact same thing I sent it in for in the first place. The twist cap will not turn the light on all the way, and the beam fluctuates. Also, the charger I sent in because it was not lighting up, is STILL not lighting up. I plan on calling them tomorrow and seeing what I can do. I'm to the point where if they would take the STRION back and send me another polystinger, I'd be all for it. If I have to send the STRION in again, it will be the 3rd time in less than a year.
Anyone thinking of buying one might want to wait until they get these bugs worked out.

I have two Strions--very early runs--and neither have had any issues.

Your problem sounds like a bad battery, and not with the actual light. There's a total of four contacts in the light, with two springs that contact the battery and two that contact the cradle (through the two small screws that are in the shoe on the body of the light). Something isn't making contact. I'd check and clean all contacts, adn check the top of the battery, as it may be dented slightly, causing intermittent contact.

-dan

Brighteyez said:

If you don't want to pay shipping on it, there's a very easy solution. Just don't get the battery from Streamlight. They're going to charge you full bore list price for it in addition to charging you for shipping, it's not as if you can't get it for less elsewhere, even from a local store in most cases. And the Stinger series is established enough due to it's popularity in public safety usage, that there are plenty of 3rd party alternatives to Streamlight's battery. I seem to remember paying something like $5.95 for a 3rd party Stinger battery from Fox Intl. and I'm sure there are plenty of other mail-order vendors as well. Sure you'll probably have to pay shipping from the mail-order vendors but your overall cost will probably be less. As a matter of fact, you may even pay less for the battery with the shipping, if you order it from someplace like Bright Guy or Optics Planet, amongst many others.

Click to expand...

Good idea.

My guess is that they have made agreements not to do certain things that could be seen as competing with their distributors. If they sell a part they have to sell it for the full list price, and must pass on all shipping costs to the customer. On the other hand, Streamlight parts can be bought at low prices all over the web, and even locally.

Actually, the battery was a very cheap $11.00 direct from SL. I should have picked one up and just paid the shipping I guess. It just bugged me. It's the principle of the thing.

I called today and talked to the repair supervisor. He said he was anxious to get the light back and have the techs look at it to try to resolve the problem. It sounds like many people are having the same problem.

I asked if I could trade the STRION in for something else, and he said yes, so I won't have to mess with the strion anymore after this. I still like the light, but only if it works properly. I may pick one up again in a year or two and see if they've worked the bugs out.

s23246g said:

I asked if I could trade the STRION in for something else, and he said yes, so I won't have to mess with the strion anymore after this. I still like the light, but only if it works properly. I may pick one up again in a year or two and see if they've worked the bugs out.

Click to expand...

What are you thinking about trading up to?

JohnK said:

I own MANY Streamlight products.

The few problems I have had, have been remedied immediately, often without sending in the problem light. They simply took my word, and sent a replacement light/part.

Other manufactures should try to emulate this service.

Superb !

Click to expand...

there are people out there that would take adantage of that though

Oh goodness! If you had mentioned $11 originally, I would have told you what you should do with your principles and to have ordered two. Kind of a shame that they just sent your light back to you, maybe something got crossed up in the communications.

I've dealt with Hank before, he's a real straight shooter and seems to be a decent guy.

s23246g said:

Actually, the battery was a very cheap $11.00 direct from SL. I should have picked one up and just paid the shipping I guess. It just bugged me. It's the principle of the thing.

Click to expand...