Is my NovaTac 85P possessed?

I've had my NovaTac 85P for about ten days now. Lately, it has been exhibiting a very frustrating behavior.

It seems like if I'm carrying it in my pocket (around the house; nothing else in my pocket) it will malfunction about a quarter or a third of the time when I turn it on. When this happens, it will immediately begin flashing. At first, I thought the pattern was completely erratic, and certainly didn't seem as if it was somehow spontaneously on one of the menu positions (besides, just turning it on shouldn't put me in the menu).

Upon closer inspection, I managed to "transcribe" these long and short flashes:

.--..-.. (then dark for two seconds)

It's an eight-second cycle of flashes followed by two seconds of nothing, then it repeats. I can click all I want, but nothing changes. Just the continuation of these ten-second cycles until I twist the tailcap enough (I'd say less than a quarter turn) to break the circuit. After twisting it back down, it seems to reset and behave. Sometimes I do the factory reset instead.

It seems like this only happens if it has been in my pocket. I don't recall it doing it after sitting out on my nightstand or something, but I could be wrong.

So what's up with my light? Do I need to seek warranty action or a return?

That's Morse code for P L which of course is short for Please Light. Of course that could be interpreted a couple ways....

NovaTacs seem like pretty complex lights. Maybe the sequence is an error code, similar to the blue screen of death. I would contact the manufacturer, and be sure to include the sequence. Might also just be something soldered wrong or a bad connection. If its in your pocket, it would be slightly warmer, causing thermal expansion of the solder, possibly making or breaking the contact. If its on a nightstand away from a heat source (you), thermal expansion would have an opposite effect.

If that's not the problem, the aliens are doing it!
(just kidding)

Yes - seriously just drop Novatac an email and if you don't hear from them in a day or so give them a call. I usually get an email response in less than 24 hours.

Howdy,
I believe one of the things they mention in the instructions to try, and I've heard of it working for other CPF members, is to remove the battery for 5 minutes or so, then replace.

Also, what kind of a cell are you using? If it's a rechargeable, did you successfully complete the battery type reset with the battery fully charged? Have you tried both primaries AND rechargeables? Did you check the tightness of the retaining rings located in both the tail cap and the head?

Is the spring in correctly? Have you tried cleaning all the contact points, cleaning the threads, etc?

That's about all I can think of at the moment. Hopefully one of those will work for you, but if not, I'm sure that the folks at NovaTac will be able to offer some help. Good luck.

Hi TorchEnvy,

Just a thought: sometimes if I carry my HDS U60 in the pocket of a polar fleece jacket, the light will flicker when taken out of the pocket. This has been documented on other threads. People get this effect more often if they live in cold, dry (i.e low humidity) climates.

Static electricity is believed to be the culprit.

Derek Dean said:

Howdy,
I believe one of the things they mention in the instructions to try, and I've heard of it working for other CPF members, is to remove the battery for 5 minutes or so, then replace.

Also, what kind of a cell are you using? If it's a rechargeable, did you successfully complete the battery type reset with the battery fully charged? Have you tried both primaries AND rechargeables? Did you check the tightness of the retaining rings located in both the tail cap and the head?

Is the spring in correctly? Have you tried cleaning all the contact points, cleaning the threads, etc?

That's about all I can think of at the moment. Hopefully one of those will work for you, but if not, I'm sure that the folks at NovaTac will be able to offer some help. Good luck.

Click to expand...

One more thing. Have you successfully completed the full Novatac maintenance training certification course? Are you sure you're even qualified to own a Novatak? Can you completely disassemble and reassemble your Novatak in under 1 minute while blindfolded and wearing mittens? If so, congratulations on your purchase of a Novatak. You should no longer need customer service.

Bright said:

Static electricity is believed to be the culprit.

Click to expand...

Exactly my thought.

Pull out the battery and let it sit for 10 minutes with no battery.
Try again with a NEW cell.
If problem persists shoot NovaTac an e-mail for replacement directions.
Yaesumofo

Thanks for the responses!

It seems to be doing it even more frequently now, even if my body heat hasn't warmed it.

The initial burst of strobes seems to be several short ones, and then it settles into the pattern I described in my first post.

I've got it broken down into four pieces right now (head, tube, tailcap, spring) doing the suggested 10 minute break. I'll wipe things off and put some Nyogel on the rings and put it back together with a different battery.

I had never opened it before now, so it's been running on its original factory-provided Duracell up to this point. That battery just tested at 100% on my ZTS meter. I don't have any rechargeable batteries for any of my 123 lights; I just use primaries because I'm not a heavy daily user with my lights.

I hope it's not static electricity freaking it out. Everyone around here throws a flashlight into the pocket of denim shorts at some point! That hardly seems like a harsh environment for it.

I'm no engineer, but I don't see anything glaringly obvious with the exposed innards. Spring seems normal enough. I'll poke around a little bit with some isopropyl alcohol on a q-tip. I finally bought some of that today to make up a solution for cleaning the LCD screens around the house and to follow the suggestion with the 85P.

I'll do more "pocket testing" to see if it improves. If not, sounds like my next step is to email the NovaTac folks.

Derek Dean said:

Howdy,
I believe one of the things they mention in the instructions to try, and I've heard of it working for other CPF members, is to remove the battery for 5 minutes or so, then replace.

Also, what kind of a cell are you using? If it's a rechargeable, did you successfully complete the battery type reset with the battery fully charged? Have you tried both primaries AND rechargeables? Did you check the tightness of the retaining rings located in both the tail cap and the head?

Is the spring in correctly? Have you tried cleaning all the contact points, cleaning the threads, etc?

That's about all I can think of at the moment. Hopefully one of those will work for you, but if not, I'm sure that the folks at NovaTac will be able to offer some help. Good luck.

Click to expand...

LightScene said:

One more thing. Have you successfully completed the full Novatac maintenance training certification course? Are you sure you're even qualified to own a Novatak? Can you completely disassemble and reassemble your Novatak in under 1 minute while blindfolded and wearing mittens? If so, congratulations on your purchase of a Novatak. You should no longer need customer service.

Click to expand...

I'll have to agree with you LightScene, ha. After going back and re-reading my first post it does appear at first glance that you might need a degree in rocket science to successfully operate the NovaTac light.

However, I was really just trying to be thorough, and many of those 'fixes' could actually be applied to almost any light..... and.... if one of them works, then it was worth the appearance of being brain surgery.

And just for the record, one of the reasons I dig my NovaTac so much, is that it provides highly sophisticated control over all of the light's functions, and yet does so with a very easy to understand and operate user interface.

I hear ya, Derek Dean.

I still don't have perfect success in entering the brightness ramp menu or the options menu. I never know if I'll hit one menu, the other menu, or full bright.

I'm pretty lame with mechanical devices. I can barely put new string in my gas string trimmer without it looking like my daughter did it. I can field strip my Glocks for simple lubes and cleaning, but I am at the mercy of a friend of mine to tear it down any further for those "good" cleanings, changing trigger spring, etc.

TorchEnvy said:

I hear ya, Derek Dean.

I still don't have perfect success in entering the brightness ramp menu or the options menu. I never know if I'll hit one menu, the other menu, or full bright.

I'm pretty lame with mechanical devices. I can barely put new string in my gas string trimmer without it looking like my daughter did it. I can field strip my Glocks for simple lubes and cleaning, but I am at the mercy of a friend of mine to tear it down any further for those "good" cleanings, changing trigger spring, etc.

Click to expand...

Howdy TorchEnvy, well..... I must admit I've always gotten along with knobs and switches and such. In fact, I'm the guy all my friends ask to help purchase and setup their new home theater systems, computers, etc.... so maybe it just seems simple to me..... hey, if I can be of any assistance in understanding any of the operations or programming, please feel free to PM or e-mail me.

BTW, did you check the retaining rings? If you look in the tail cap you should see a small, thin, silver disc around the outside down inside there, which has 4 small slots located opposite each other. You can use a pair of tweezers to just make sure that it is snug (try turning a bit clockwise).

Same thing inside the head unit (where the battery connects).

Ok, good luck.

Derek Dean said:

Howdy TorchEnvy, well..... I must admit I've always gotten along with knobs and switches and such. In fact, I'm the guy all my friends ask to help purchase and setup their new home theater systems, computers, etc.... so maybe it just seems simple to me..... hey, if I can be of any assistance in understanding any of the operations or programming, please feel free to PM or e-mail me.

BTW, did you check the retaining rings? If you look in the tail cap you should see a small, thin, silver disc around the outside down inside there, which has 4 small slots located opposite each other. You can use a pair of tweezers to just make sure that it is snug (try turning a bit clockwise).

Same thing inside the head unit (where the battery connects).

Ok, good luck.

Click to expand...

Goodness, yes, bring on the knobs and buttons! Let me at a computer or some audio/video equipment. Just don't ask me to solder anything or start tearing into things not normally user-serviceable. I've been that guy consulted for computer purchases or a/v stuff like you have.

Hmm...I wasn't aware of those retaining rings. I opened the tailcap just now to see what you were talking about, but I didn't attempt to tighten it. I'd have to forage for a suitable tool!

Since my teardown post an hour ago, it hasn't misbehaved riding in my "warm" pocket, so maybe the stuff I did helped. I'll be jinxing it now.:duh2:

Thanks for the programming PM offer. Maybe I'll screw it up playing with the tactical/simple momentary sometime and be too stubborn to do a reset.

Re: Is my Novatak 85P possessed?

No it is not possessed.
It may need a new battery. That is the very first thing I would check.
The zts battery tester may not pull the same current from the battery that the light will. I own one while they are wonderful testers they are not 100% perfect 100% of the time.
CHANGE THE BATTERY FIRST!!
Check both retraining rings. one holding the driver board and one in the tail switch.
Make sure the are tight. if there is any play you will have problems.
Check them carefully.
No engineering degree necessary.
All that is needed to operate this light is the ability to press the button a couple of times. once and hold 2x or 3x will get you just anywhere you need to go in the UI of this light.
It really is SIMPLE especially in comparison to the HDS lights.
Yaesumofo

-.-. .- -. -.. .-.. . .--. --- .-- . .-. ..-. --- .-. ..- -- ... .-. --- -.-. -.- ...


i love this place

I received word today that NovaTac is going to replace my wacky light. (It arrived on 9/12.)

These days it's so refreshing to encounter pleasant customer service! :twothumbs

mulotozink, forgive me for not responding in Morse code, but I did run yours through a translator web site. CPF rocks, indeed.

Ok one of my 120t's is doing this once and awhile but Iam using a 4.2v unprotected cell. Iam trying a new battery I hope this fixes it.

Ok its been a couple of days since I changed my battery and cleaned my 120t and its been 100% reliable no more flashing!!! I love this light.