L2D-CE high vs. turbo

Hey guys,
Got my L2D-CE today, it's a great flashlight, but `high' and `turbo' seem to be exactly the same brightness. I go through low, medium, high in normal mode (noticing increased brightness), but when I twist into turbo* mode from `high', nothing changes. Not even a flicker. It's easy to see the difference when going from `low' to turbo* and back again, so I know the mode is supposed to be kicking in.
I tried using three different sets of Energizer AA alkalines, with no change- I'd hope I notice the difference between 80 lumens and 135 lumens.

Is something wrong with my L2D?

--RESOLVED- problem: a carton of dead batteries --

With Energizer e2 lithium and Duracell Plus I easily see a difference between high and turbo.
Have you tried to clean the contacts? Probably the problem is here...

Clean the contacts? I only got it today, it still smells of oil.

It seems I'm not the first with an L2D-CE problem though;
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=153267

First post;

I can't at all tell the difference between high and Turbo on my L2DCE. I've tried it with a few people, no one can tell a difference. I'm using fully charged Sanyo 2500's, and have also tried with Alkaline.

Click to expand...

Last post;

Good News!!
Received my replacement L2D head and all the levels work fine! I knew i wasn't blind!!
Thanks David from Fenix-store for your help!

Click to expand...

Strange thing is, this dude is from Australia too...

There is a substantial difference between the two modes in my L2D-CE,
However only a minor difference on the L1D-CE. Have you screwed the head down
securely to engage Turbo and Strobe

I don't think anything is wrong with it. Alkaline just can't draw fast enough for the power demands of Turbo mode. You have to use Lithiums or at least NiMH. AS you can see in Chevrofreaks graphs:
http://lights.chevrofreak.com/runtimes/Fenix L2D CE/Fenix L2D CE - max.png

I just tried my L2D CE with Duracell Alkalines and then with Energizer 2500s. With the Alkalines there was a difference between high and turbo, not much but I could tell. The same thing happened with the Energizers. I'll try my wife's L2D CE and see what results I get.

TORCH_BOY: Yea, did that, although nothing changes between high and turbo, if I click again, I get the crazy-strobe.

PAB: I've been comparing Chevrofreak's L2D-CE high and turbo graphs, and while it's obvious the alkalines can't handle turbo, it's still producing 1100--1500 for at least 30 minutes, compared to the constant 850--900 on high. To be honest I'm not even sure if it's doing that.

I've emailed David from torchworld.com.au with the problem (and the CPF thread I posted earlier), hopefully I'll get this thing fixed so I can start using it

Ahhhh, two from "down under".

Everyone should know that the geothermal flux south of the equator, interferes with the electromagnetic interspaces between electrons, which causes switching mechanisms to invert their parabolas.

This easily explains the similarity between high, and turbo in these lights.

Above the equator, this doesn't happen.

This also explains the existence of kangaroos in Australia, as they depend on unstable parabolas to reproduce.

Hey mate,

Yeah i had the same problem with my L2DCE.

There was absolutely no difference at all between HIGH and TURBO.

Swapped it over and was instantly fixed.

I tried cleaning the contacts, swapping batteries etc etc...Nothing worked

There is a fairly big difference between HIGH and TURBO for me it was easy to see.

Hope this helps,
take it easy mate

I am using Eneloop and there is a significant different between high and turbo. Easily pick up by the eyes.

JohnK: Well, that explains why the stupid things jump in front of cars

lukestephens777: I've been taking photos with my phone, then webcam, to see if it's my imagination; checking battery voltage with an old multimeter; comparing it to my half-flat 3D Xenon Mag; pulling the head and cap off and checking battery contacts; generally wasting an entire evening trying to find a reason why it doesn't work properly- it's sortof nice to know that maybe it's the flashlight itself, and not any type of user error.

I've also noticed there's a barely noticeable difference between `medium' and `high' as well- please tell me a 40 lumen difference is supposed to be major too...

Hah how embarrassing

I got a dud/old box of Energizer Industrial AAs, all the batteries I used were no more than 1.3V. Did some lux tests today at a couple of meters, with the old batteries (1.2V) medium was ~170, high ~180, and turbo actually dropped to ~170. With new batteries (confirmed 1.6V) it was a totally different story- turbo was at least double the brightness (I was very `wtf'). I'm going to purchase some 2500mAh NiMH's, simply due to the better regulation & re-usability. A couple questions though;

*) The Energizers I used hadn't been used before, and expiration was 2011. How long could it take for an alkaline AA to drop to 1.2--1.3V?
*) How fast do 2500mAh+ NiMH's self-discharge?
*) I must've had a misconception with the L2D-CE's regulation- by Chevrofreak's graphs it appears as though brightness doesn't change as battery voltage drops until the last 10--20mins. Is this how it works in practice?

I feel like an idiot after spending an entire night trying to figure out what's wrong, and it was the damn batteries. It's like when I tried to fix my laptop's network card, only to discover the cat5 cable wasn't working properly

Get Eneloop or Hybrio LSD (low self discharge) NiMH cells - they have a *far* lower discharge than normal NiMH batteries.

The capacities are about 2000-2100mah but most of the 2500mah+ (normal) NiMH cells I have tested only test about that after a few days off the charger.

I forget exactly, but NiMH looses about 5% the first day and 1% or so every day afterwards. Best to recharge them every month if you want them ready to go. Also they slowly lose capacity and after 500 recharges they only have about 70% capacity.

So after two weeks, each cell is roughly 80% of it's original capacity? What about alkalines?

Well i have a P2d ce, and there is a difference mainly with throw and shear output. it dies not look like it at first glance, but then i shine it at a tree in the next garden i see right into the tree with even more detail. It seems to penetrate better and have better spill. not sure about the L2d, i dont like the idea of AA light as a main light since Lithium works better in any wether and gives more juice to use.