My Xo3 is getting on my nerves.

RdlyLite

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Jan 15, 2007
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Reedley, Ca
The momentary light option is good... if it works! :rant: Sometimes when I use it a get weak, dimming, or no light. Samething happens with the twist action. Is something wrong with my Xo3? Or is this a user related problem? :ohgeez:
 

Newuser01

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I don't have the XO3, but XO2.

Cleaning the contacts (using pencil eraser for the contact inside the tube.) threads and making sure you have good battery are the only options.

If that fails to make it good, I would send it back to inova.

Good luck!
 

Curious_character

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A little ProGold, Nyogel, or even WD-40 on the parts making electrical contact will result in a longer-lasting cure.

c_c
 

elgarak

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It's the Inova X series Achilles' heel. The contacts have to be kept clean, and you have to be careful with lubricant. Too much lube tends to creep onto the contact area, which is the small un-anodized ring at the end of the barrel.
 

Illum

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Curious_character said:
A little ProGold, Nyogel, or even WD-40 on the parts making electrical contact will result in a longer-lasting cure.

c_c

mind you...not all Nyogels are conductive...the 760 isnt:ohgeez:
WD-40 is good for cleaning the threads, but because of its slightly corrostive nature and not much of a good conducting medium I usually would use something else...now progold is another matter:naughty::naughty::naughty:
 

RdlyLite

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Thanks for the input, guys. I will look into so called progold and eraser info.

Anyone else care to chime in?
 

Curious_character

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There's a lot of misunderstanding about "conductive" and "non-conductive" lubricants. Very, very few "conductive" lubricants are conductive enough to be any help in conducting heavy flashlight currents. Typically, they're many orders of magnitude less conductive than metal, and the reason they're conductive at all is to dissipate static electricity buildup. There are a few specialty lubricants which are highly conductive, but they're uncommon and quite expensive.

You want a lubricant -- non-conductive is fine -- on all your moving contacts. The reason is that aluminum and tin, in particular, oxidize immediately on contact with air. The oxide is very hard, brittle, and non-conductive. Each time contact is made, the surface oxide is shattered and pushed down into the softer metal. After a while, you have nothing but shards of oxide for a contact surface. I've seen a photomicrograph of this, and believe me, it ain't a pretty sight. The function of a lubricant is to keep the air away from the metal so it won't oxidize so readily. The pressure of the contact forces the lubricant out from between the contacting materials. So you end up with a better contact.

Electrically conductive lubricant is generally not a good idea, if there's any chance any of it can migrate into regulating circuitry. There might be places in the regulator circuit which are high enough impedance that even the slightly conductive material could cause a problem. I'd avoid highly conductive lubricant altogether because it could really screw things up if it got where it didn't belong.

If you need to see for yourself, try it out on one of your lights that has an obvious contact area you can easily get to. Keeping some lubricant on your contacts will give you more consistent, reliable operation for an extended period.

c_c
 
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