uh-oh. L2T probs.

orionlion82

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Dec 21, 2006
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my L2T has been holding up perfectly in the field untill now.

went to ragap my plugs last night, and it was dark.

pulled out the l2t and nothing. *click*click*click* WTF?

so i put some fresh batteries in just off the charger.

nothing.

so i use the standard flashlight repair method of "percussive persuasion"
and finally i get a flicker. then some really low low low output. enough to do plugs anyway...

twisting the bezel to get to high causes it to flicker like crazy, but i cant get it to hold anything but "low" or "super-stoopid low"

so today i cleaned it out with a q-tip and some cleaner, (filthy threads, took about 6 q-tips) and dressed the threads with some anti seize (nice and smooth now)

now i can get normal low relaibly, but i have to monkey with it to get high, and most of the time it just flickers at several different brightnesses, and i really cant be on the job playing with a flashligt to get it to work for me properly.

thoughts anyone?
how to fix it?
comon problem?
 
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Lee1959

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Nov 18, 2005
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My L1T has a problem with staying in high intermitently, it is very finicky to get it there and then drops out frequently. The funny thing is, it seems worse with used batteries and less bothersome with brand new.
 

ExZeRoEx

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Dec 11, 2006
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Hmm, my L2T seems to be having problems similar to that, although maybe not that bad. First time I noticed the problem it was VERY low like yours, but then after a while of replacing batteries and unscrewing the head/tail it seems to be back to its normal output. However, the high/low flickers a lot and doesn't perform like it used to. Even when it is tightened into the high position it sometimes kicks down into the low, and when trying to go from high to low it turns off then back on.
 

orionlion82

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Dec 21, 2006
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"can you imagine, three people walking in
singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an
organization." -A.G.


perhaps i am not the only one with this issue.

keep the information coming.
 

ginaz

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Nov 30, 2004
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i used a pane of glass and some fine wet/dry sandpaper to clean and flatten the body tube so it would make better contact. cleaned the head with deoxit and it's been good to go.
 

orionlion82

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Dec 21, 2006
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well, it appears my PCB is scratched up a bit from all the crud in there. (see above)

(i hadnt opened it untill today, so it came with it from the factory, and it sure diddnt get in through the tail with battery changes being in the cleanliness of my home)

is a scratched/worn PCB possibly the culprit?
it sounds like this can paralell the "bad contact" issue...

i mean i had 6 black/grey q-tips full of what i guess might be aluminum particles.
its like it skipped the washdown at the factory after it was threaded or something and was shipped right out the door....

any more thoughts?
 

WildChild

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Apr 26, 2005
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With use the threads will get dark grey very fast! Take a look at it after 30-40 head twist (mode switching). Is the PCB scratched that badly? Can you provide a picture? I had some problems switching to high with mine and 4sevens recommended me to clean everything with isopropyl alcohol. Relube everything and it should be OK.

orionlion82 said:
well, it appears my PCB is scratched up a bit from all the crud in there. (see above)

(i hadnt opened it untill today, so it came with it from the factory, and it sure diddnt get in through the tail with battery changes being in the cleanliness of my home)

is a scratched/worn PCB possibly the culprit?
it sounds like this can paralell the "bad contact" issue...

i mean i had 6 black/grey q-tips full of what i guess might be aluminum particles.
its like it skipped the washdown at the factory after it was threaded or something and was shipped right out the door....

any more thoughts?
 

orionlion82

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Dec 21, 2006
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WildChild said:
With use the threads will get dark grey very fast! Take a look at it after 30-40 head twist (mode switching). Is the PCB scratched that badly? Can you provide a picture? I had some problems switching to high with mine and 4sevens recommended me to clean everything with isopropyl alcohol. Relube everything and it should be OK.

ill work on a picture. the traces are scratched around the outside, where it contacts the tube.

ive allready cleaned and relubed, however because use the light for work, and occasionally at-home, i am probably at more than 40 cycles a week, and i think ive had it about a month now.
never thought to rebuild or relube or clean something thats been lubed and sealed by the factory. i would have at least figured there was some graphite in there. wolud have figured i could go more than a month without rebuilding it as well...
allso never thought a light of that price couldnt work as i could even for a month, without chewing itself up.

granted i am probably harder on my light than most members, but thats the reason i DIDDNT pay $10 for a light...

kind of a bummer.
ill get some pics in later today.
 

orionlion82

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Dec 21, 2006
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Update: i counted today how many times i switched it to "high"

6 attempts, but i only got it to fire off twice.
taking 6 as an average-
ive got about 180 cycles on it over about a month.
that actually sounds a bit low.

even if it were 200, or 250 is that too much to expect from an L2T?
cant get a good enough picture, but the silver ring on the outside of the PCB is chewed up a little.

not even sure if that is the problem. is dosnt look that bad. (well, it should look pretty new, but thats not the case.)

ill try lapping the contact area on the body next.
 

ginaz

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Nov 30, 2004
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lapping will help but if the contact ring itself is chewed up it may not make any difference. who did you buy from?
 

orionlion82

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Dec 21, 2006
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ginaz said:
lapping will help but if the contact ring itself is chewed up it may not make any difference. who did you buy from?

some amazon vendor.

(big emo sigh!)

is it really that bad, doc?
 

ginaz

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Nov 30, 2004
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nurse, bring in the laughing gas...

could you apply some solder to the scraped off spots on that ring?
 

orionlion82

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Dec 21, 2006
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ginaz said:
nurse, bring in the laughing gas...

could you apply some solder to the scraped off spots on that ring?



Stat!





(meaning this weekend when i have time)
do i need to strip the conformal coating first?
and how do i get a soldering iron in there?

<back to teh mini mag till my L2D's show up>
 

orionlion82

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Dec 21, 2006
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ginaz said:
nurse, bring in the laughing gas...

could you apply some solder to the scraped off spots on that ring?

1. lapped the tube all proper like.

2. beefed up the solder on the PCB.

absolutely no difference

i allmost want to say its a short and not an open circut.

but its gotta be in/on/behind the PCB.

i even took a bunch of pics to post up in case it worked... but no...
 

scubasteve1942

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Nov 4, 2006
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Mine has been nothing but a pain scince the day I got it. Ive tried everything to fix it and nothing has worked. Now my it just sits in my dresser. I don't think im ever going to but another fenix based on my expirence with this one.
 

Badbeams3

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Sep 28, 2000
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Several ideas...corrosion where the spring makes contact in the bottom of the cap ( contact not only with the batt, but the bottom of the cap)...also perhaps try streching the spring a tad... and maybe cleaning the threads in the switch area. Sometimes the bottom area of the light gets overlooked when cleaning.
 
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thezman

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Dec 26, 2005
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scubasteve1942 said:
Mine has been nothing but a pain scince the day I got it. Ive tried everything to fix it and nothing has worked.

Mine was the same way. Worked intermittently at best. Cleaned everything twice, lapped the tube, etc. Zip...
Eventually the light would only function on low mode. I've since removed the components on the board and did some work so it runs direct drive with a protected 14500 lithium. It's plenty bright now and it works everytime I hit the switch.

If my new L1D starts to develop any issues, it will be no more multi-level lights for me. My plain jane L1P has worked flawlessly since day one.
 

orionlion82

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Dec 21, 2006
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296
scubasteve1942 said:
Mine has been nothing but a pain scince the day I got it. Ive tried everything to fix it and nothing has worked. Now my it just sits in my dresser. I don't think im ever going to but another fenix based on my expirence with this one.

well, its clear i need a new head.
i hope i recall correctly that its $30.

to invest in a $45 light.

yeah right.

I hereby pronounce my L2T dead.
i am lucky to get "low" out of it.

it shall sit. and rot. on ye shelf of spare parts.
by order of the queen of shelves.
 

orionlion82

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Dec 21, 2006
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4sevens said:
Send it to me and it'll return resurrected :D

Thats a very fine offer, and truly above and beyond any expectations ive had, since i did not purchace it from you or your store, but some random amazon seller.

however i cant accept it. i want to be able to give the word straight about any product, and treatment like this may be viewed as comprimising- i cant and wont go there.

have you proven to me that you are an excellent vendor?
yes. you are easily more than fair and are pretty driven to have happy coustomers. but it seems this problem is not yours to fix?
i am amazed and thankful to be your coustomer, but a new light could not make me more pleased with your service.

the last thing i want for either fenix, a fenix rep, or myself is the impression that quality/engineering issues can be "bought off". -none of us would win there, other customers might lose in the long run, and not only might fenix look bad for it, but you and i would too, and- nothing would be solved.

if fenix has issues they need to look into - well, thats okay.
by all means lets get the issues out in the open and air them out.
i mean whats better than a company having the information available it needs to improve and address the problems down the road?

I would be willing to send the L2T to you if you can have the engineers/designers/factory folks look at it, so whatever problem can be identified and corrected, so your future coustomers might not have these problems- but i cant accept anything in return, you understand.


i wont be able to send it for a while as i have my hands full for the next few weeks. ill be in touch with you about it when i can.

thank you. again, you are too kind.
 
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