HELP! Do TL-3's ever come with bad bulbs? ANSWER: Yes!!!

So here I am, a new flashaholic, and I've finally purchased what I figure is one of the best flashlights (as far as lumens/$) going.

I get it home, tear into the packaging, throw in the streamlight batteries, and turn on the switch.......I should be amazed right! WRONG! It gives decent light for about 1 second, and then seems rather dismal. In fact the output seems comparable to some kind 2xAA flashlight you would find at a Dollar Store. I compare it to my Maxfire, and the Maxfire simply BLOWS IT AWAY!

I switched the batteries (even though I know that the Streamlight batteries only have a 0.00001% chance of being the problem). Same result.

So here's my question to the Masses....is it the bulb, or some kind of resistance problem.....something else? Has this happened to anybody else?

Any suggestions would help.....maybe I should just go back to oil lanterns. :shakehead

Re: HELP! Do TL-3's ever come with bad bulbs?

It was a bad bulb! I never knew that you could partially burn out a bulb?!?! Anyone know how Streamlight's customer service is? I'm gonna email them to see what they have to say.....hopefully they'll send me a new bulb.

As a side note, I've read that I need to put one of those Carly bulbs in to truly appreciate my new flashlight!

It's possible, although I haven't had that issue before. Did you put in the spare bulb? As to the Carley 1499H bulb, it's awesome. Set it up with some 17500 rechargeables and you're set.

Try the spare bulb, just to triple check. What you're describing doesn't sound like a bad bulb.

--dan

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Spare bulb solved the problem!!.....Very bizarre original bulb behaviour, as the thing still lights up dimly!

Any brand will have a bad bulb once in a while. I've never had it happen with my TL-3. One of the nice things about the TL-3 is that it has a spare bulb inside the flashlight. Replacements are only 5.99 at lighthound.com. I've never had it happen, but I bet your dealer or Streamlite itself would mail you another one if you told them the bulb arrived broken. http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2510

The dealings I've had with Streamlight CS have been good. I don't know if they would send you a bulb, but it's worth a call. Good luck.

BTW, good choice with the TL3. You'll enjoy it. You'll enjoy it even more with 17500's and a 1499.

Thats shocking, you would expect better from a light like that

I had the exact same thing happen with my second TL-3. The light was extremely dim when I first turned it on, so I thought it was the batteries. Turns out the bulb was bad

Do yourself a favor and at least pick up a pair of 17500's to make your TL-3 rechargable....should increase brightness a bit as well

I had understood that the 17500's were a lower voltage. Do they actually maintain a longer sustained voltage than CR123's? What are the Pros/Cons of using Protected vs. Unprotected? I seem to remember reading something about needing to let Unprotected cells sit for a day so they don't over-drive the lamp. Sorry...still a newbie trying to get my head around the whole battery thing.

Since I'm on a roll, are these Carley 1499 bulbs available for purchase anywhere? Can't seem to find them.....even on the Carley website. (Group buy appears to be all sold out:mecry.

The TL-3 was of my earliest purchases, three years ago, after reading about it on the CPF. The original lamp quickly turned blue and glowed a dark orange while continuing to heat up the cells. Because I purchased the light from BrightGuy, they quickly replaced the lamp for me.

Keep in mind the Carley 1499 lamp draws about 70% more current than the original lamp and will quickly kill primary CR123 cells. Yes, it's brighter and has a larger hot spot, but you'll have to invest in those 17500 cells & charger. They maintain a higher voltage much longer and even improve the output of the original lamp. A CR123 cell instantly sags to about 2.2 - 2.4 volts under the 1.1 amp load of the TL-3 lamp. The 1499 consumes about 1.8 amps.

I like my protected AW brand 17500s from lighthound.com. I have not tried the other bulb. I have heard the other bulb is brighter, but I don't know how the run time compares.

I got a TL-3 with a "bad" bulb. It worked fine, but was dimmer by a bit (not a huge amount, but noticably dimmer when side by side) than my TL-2. I looked at the bulb and it was pretty black colored, so it looks like the tungsten boiled off. I couldn't get a hold of the place I bought it from, so I called SL, they told me to send it in, and within a week, I got a new TL-3 bulb. They do require you to send in the defective part, but since it's a bulb, it only cost me 39cents.