Arc AAA-P Moon Mode - doesn't exist

I purchased this Arc AAA-P just over a month ago. I have used it between one and four times per day for no more than a minute or two per instance. Earlier this evening, I whipped out my "trusty" (no longer!) Arc when my wife and I were walking back from the neighbor's house (next door). I turned on the light and it seemed dim. After a second I realized it must be in "moon mode". I'm fairly certain I haven't used the light for the advertised 5 hours, but maybe since its new I have been playing with it more than I thought (I admit this is possible).

Anyway, by the time we arrive home (about 100 feet away) the light was so dim we couldn't see much of anything. Since this is my first "moon mode" I just thought this was the amount of light to be expected. I shut the light off, waited a second, and turned it back on. Nothing (literally zero light). Then I switched the battery for a freshie, and the light is as bright as it was new. So moon mode lasted about 3 minutes (or less).

Here is where is gets interesting! About a week ago I bought a Fenix E0 as backup, in case I lose the Arc. I love having a good tiny light, and the Fenix is a VERY similar configuration for half the price. I popped the duracell that came with my Arc into my brand new E0 and WOW, light! The Fenix appears to be in moon mode, as its not as bright as with a fresh cell, but it runs great, maintains consistent brightness, and this is with a cell that is 100% dead in the Arc.

Here is my question. Is my Arc defective? I swapped the cells back and forth a few times. The Arc won't run at all on its original duracell, yet the Fenix will take this battery and run with a usable amount of light, on the same cell.

Since this is the first battery in my Arc, can someone please tell me if this behavoir is expected? Fenix states a 9 hour moon mode, while Arc doesn't specify moon mode duration, from what I have read. Does Fenix just have superior electronics or is my Arc defective?

Thanks!

Woody

My old Arc AAA never dropped off that quickly. It's also advertised to have "moon mode". Is it possible the threads are gunked up? They tend to do it in the Arc and it really needs them clean for good contact from head to body. Not sure if this would be enough to create the problem you describe. I'm not surprised the E0 would run stronger on an old battery since it doesn't drive the LED as hard as the Arc. The regulated E0 is probably more likely to drop out quickly, but I'm still waiting to see that happen. Maybe that was just a bad battery, and hopefully won't happen again.

Geoff

Based on what you described, you have a bum-Arc. The Arc will fire on batteries that most all other lights will not. I forget the lowest voltage I've ever powered an Arc, but it was in the neighborhood of .5. or .6 volts. Get your Arc replaced.

Its a brand new light so I'm pretty sure the contacts are clean.

For those of you that have had your Arc-P's for a while, how long do you estimate a typical moon mode will last?

Has anyone taken a totally dead battery from an Arc and tried it in a Fenix E0 and gotten a good amount of light, as in my case?

I don't mind contacting Arc but I don't want to cry wolf if I'm just being over-sensitive.

You might try posting this over in the Arc forum here on CPF, too. I am pretty sure the manufacturer (Peter) reads and responds to the threads. You might have a bum light, or might not, but he would be the guy to ask.

I have the latest version of the Arc-P and Moon mode on mine lasts way longer than my patience with dim light does; I change the battery ASAP when it drops.

I've left mine on a few times by accident while working on computers (it happens more often than I care to admit). The last time I did it l found it in moon mode about 22 hours later (running on a Lithium battery). It's also been my observation that the 5 hours quoted run time is quite conservative - I've gotten 6-7 hours on an Alkaline and 10-12 hours on a Lithium.

My Arc-P is always in my pocket and it suits most tasks except when I need high power, for that nothing equals a Fenix L0D CE on 10440's. Those two lights are my constant companions and can fill nearly any need I'm likely to have.

Al

I'll email Peter at Arc to see what he thinks about my situation. When I purchased the light, customer service and communication was top rate from Arc and I hope he can help me out.

I think someone tested his Arc AAA-P for more than 24h with the moon mode on Alkaline. You can always try with a brand new alkaline and leaving it on until it dies to see what happens!

WildChild said:

I think someone tested his Arc AAA-P for more than 24h with the moon mode on Alkaline. You can always try with a brand new alkaline and leaving it on until it dies to see what happens!

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I thought about that, but since the battery produces good light in the Fenix E0, it seems like a problem with the light. It Peter doesn't get back to me with an answer, thats the next thing I will try, for sure.

UPDATE:

I think I may have had a bad battery. I tried a new cell, an energizer aaa alkaline. It ran from 1 pm to 10:30 pm in regulation, which is great. Then it dropped into moon mode and has been running for the last 45 minutes, no problem.

Unless I experience further issues with other battery cells, I will assume duracell is to blame, and the Arc name will remain a symbol of reliability in my mind.

Try shutting it off and resting it for a few minutes, then turning it on again. You should get good light again that lasts for a while. You can do that several times if you don't have a spare battery. It's quite hard to completely kill a battery with one of those lights.

My Arcs flicker when they drop into "Moon Mode." Then its the slow painful dimming decent. I say painful because there is a little tightwad on my shoulder saying "You can get another hour on that cell, deal with it!"

I would recommend using a lithium battery. Sure they are expensive but I've never heard of one dying a messy death and destroying a light (explosive failures not included).

paulr said:

Try shutting it off and resting it for a few minutes, then turning it on again. You should get good light again that lasts for a while. You can do that several times if you don't have a spare battery. It's quite hard to completely kill a battery with one of those lights.

Click to expand...

This worked great with both batteries (the original duracell and the new energizer), but the duracell went into moon mode for about 3 minutes and then stopped producing light entirely.

The new energizer has been in moon mode for 10 hours now. And although its producing almost no light, its still on!

I'm very happy to know that I had a defective battery, and the Arc is working as expected!