A2 help, please?

I have sent an email request for assistance to SureFire, and hope to hear from them in the next few days. In the meantime, maybe someone here can give me some ideas as to what else I can check.

I have a fairly new A2, and the incandescent bulb no longer lights. It has maybe 15 minutes of runtime on the batteries, but I did try new batteries with no success. I pulled the incandescent lamp module and did a continuity test on the bulb. It shows good. So, good batteries, and good lamp. The LEDs run fine. I have tried the tailcap twisted all the way on, and at the normal operating position, using the tailcap switch. Still, no incandescent.

Anyone have other suggestions?

Thanks!
Grampa

Welcome Grampa! If I were you I would call Surefire as my experience has been that works better than email. Sounds like you may have to send it in.

Grampa said:

I have sent an email request for assistance to SureFire, and hope to hear from them in the next few days. In the meantime, maybe someone here can give me some ideas as to what else I can check.

I have a fairly new A2, and the incandescent bulb no longer lights. It has maybe 15 minutes of runtime on the batteries, but I did try new batteries with no success. I pulled the incandescent lamp module and did a continuity test on the bulb. It shows good. So, good batteries, and good lamp. The LEDs run fine. I have tried the tailcap twisted all the way on, and at the normal operating position, using the tailcap switch. Still, no incandescent.

Anyone have other suggestions?

Thanks!
Grampa

Click to expand...

Sounds like a problem with the incandescent regulator... Call them, you'll get served much faster!

using some batteries [like BatteryStation] will cause the incandescent ability to malfunction, even when the cells are new

second, the disassembly of the A2 Tailcap reveals a simple 10 ohm resistor, supposedly when you press slightly the power is fed through the resistor which turns on the LED, pressing harder shorts out the resistor and this turns on the incan. however, the little spring tabs in the tailcap may have residue from the lubricant your using, and most aren't conductive:shakehead. or a spring contact may have broken off from normal usage that prevents the tailcap from shorting the resistor.

my A2's TC had similar symptoms, but no abnormalities from the naked eye, and in order to take them apart you will have to break it open, and when I did just that, I found a light coat of darkened nyogel on my contacts.

I think yours is a tailcap issue, I haven't heard of an A2 having regulation issues other than an old thread that spoke of flickering xenon even when using a wire to short the batteries to the body

It could be a lamp assembly issue. I had one fail on me but it was easy to reach that conclusion given that I have several A2´s and thus could try different components. this would be one way to diagnose your problem.

As far as my lamp issue, it turned out the positive wire from the bulb was making a false contact with the rounded tailplate. All I did was press the four plastic legs inward and pull out the rounded tailplate. At this point you can see the white ceramic on potted bulb, and with a pair of long nose pliers I gently pulled the wire straight out, and replaced the positive tailplate. The light works good now.

LED61 said:

It could be a lamp assembly issue. I had one fail on me but it was easy to reach that conclusion given that I have several A2´s and thus could try different components. this would be one way to diagnose your problem.

As far as my lamp issue, it turned out the positive wire from the bulb was making a false contact with the rounded tailplate. All I did was press the four plastic legs inward and pull out the rounded tailplate. At this point you can see the white ceramic on potted bulb, and with a pair of long nose pliers I gently pulled the wire straight out, and replaced the positive tailplate. The light works good now.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll try that. Unfortunately, this A2 only has a 6PD as a brother, so no parts swapping prospects there.

I don't know where to look for voltage on the various contacts on the body, but may tinker with that some more tonight, too.

Grampa

If you were able to do a continuity test on the bulb, you should also be able to do a test to dismiss or validate ILLUM´s posibility of a tailcap switch problem. Open the tailcap switch, and make a path for current to complete circuit with the flashlight´s threads and the negative battery terminals while pushing down enough on the batteries. If the bulb does not light up then you either have a battery problem, a regulator problem, or a lamp problem, but not a switch problem. At least if it does light up you will know it is the tailcap switch.

Illum_the_nation said:

using some batteries [like BatteryStation] will cause the incandescent ability to malfunction, even when the cells are new

Click to expand...

+1 I found that out the hard way.

Illum_the_nation said:

I think yours is a tailcap issue, I haven't heard of an A2 having regulation issues other than an old thread that spoke of flickering xenon even when using a wire to short the batteries to the body

Click to expand...

Called Surefire on this the other week since I thought I had a bad TC. Turned out that after shorting the batteries to the body (use a paperclip) it didn't fix the problem. Once I got rid of the batterystation batteries and tried surefire batteries, the incan lit up

Hope I didn't overlook this, but what kind of batts are you using Granpa?
If not Surefire or Duracell, I would look hard at my batteries..

Ditto - the same thing happened to me - and it was the batteries!

WildChild said:

Sounds like a problem with the incandescent regulator... Call them, you'll get served much faster!

Click to expand...

It seems I have a problem too! I got my A2 1 week ago (can you recognize it in my avatar? ). I got it with a spare MA02 and I just decided to try it... Spare won't light up but the bulb that came with the flashlight has no problem. What can I do?

[EDIT]
It seems the center metal part on the replacement bulb isn't long enough to make contact... If I put a small piece of aluminium paper over the contact in the body and I put the lamp assembly directly on it, it will light up... Any idea to solve the problem so I don't have to use aluminium paper?
[/EDIT]

[SECOND EDIT]
It seems I'm not alone with this problem:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/archive/index.php/t-101389.html
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/archive/index.php/t-100543.html

What do you think about this contact problem? Any easy way to solve it? As I said, my spare MA02 has this problem, not the stock one.
[/SECOND EDIT]

What could be a nice repair idea? Solder blob to raise the hat slightly or raising the hat and putting something under to keep it raised (epoxy, scotch tape, ???). Would the heat generated by the bulb melt solder? I left it on for 5 minutes and the head was warm. I unscrewed it and the bottom contact plate was very warm but not burning warm.

heh... what do you know....I tore open my A2 spare and NOTHING, the LEDs got brighter on a full turn where the incan should light

haha....I have this issue too, from the limitation of my multimeter I can only verify that my lamp does not have a short

Illum_the_nation said:

heh... what do you know....I tore open my A2 spare and NOTHING, the LEDs got brighter on a full turn where the incan should light

haha....I have this issue too, from the limitation of my multimeter I can only verify that my lamp does not have a short

Click to expand...

You get continuity on your spare lamp with your DMM?

My Analog multimeter doesn't have a continuity testing...hence why I used the word "limitation"

aside from testing 1.5Vs and 9V cells...its only other functions are AC/DC voltmeter, DC current meter, and a fairly useless "ohm" function that meters in 1K

it was the first MM I've bought...back when I was 15 some 6 years ago where $30 was alot of money for me....now its pretty much worthless, but it works well testing my AW rechargeables


I'm thinking of a digital soon...but not sure what to buy, all the ones in the stores have too much buttons imo

I called them tonight. They told me to e-mail them my address at [email protected] since I'm in Canada for a replacement lamp assembly. I'll see what happens.

Here's a simple test.

Remove the LOTC and grab a paper clip and bend it into a "U" shape so that you can electrically connect the - terminal of the bottom battery with the butt end of the body.

THE LAMP SHOULD LIGHT.

If it doesn't, that could mean one of three things:

1. The LVR regulator is bad

2. The lamp isn't making contact either because it is defective or because the head isn't screwed down tight enough or because the clip is preventing it from turning down all the way

3. The lamp is blown.

Other than a RESISTANCE test with a DMM (you should get something around 1/2 an ohm), you can visually inspect the filament to see if it's still intact.

But, in any case, SF CS will take care of you. Most likely it's a tail cap issue, and the paper clip test (or you can use wire if you're really cool) will turn on the lamp.

I "fixed" mine.

I tried the shorting across the body to the battery, to no avail. The lamp assembly looked good and did test for continuity, so I was concerned that it may be a regulator problem.

I did get an email back from SureFire helpyou, and they recommended I call in for a return authorization. After sitting in the queue for awhile last week, I left my number for a call back. Still waiting for that.

In the meantime, I had ordered one of the FiveMega Strion bulb sockets. That arrived, I inserted the bulb and put it in the flashlight. LIGHT! So, the SureFire bulb assembly apparently wasn't fitting the head just right, but the FiveMega socket works great.

I'm a happy camper.

Grampa said:

I "fixed" mine.

I tried the shorting across the body to the battery, to no avail. The lamp assembly looked good and did test for continuity, so I was concerned that it may be a regulator problem.

I did get an email back from SureFire helpyou, and they recommended I call in for a return authorization. After sitting in the queue for awhile last week, I left my number for a call back. Still waiting for that.

In the meantime, I had ordered one of the FiveMega Strion bulb sockets. That arrived, I inserted the bulb and put it in the flashlight. LIGHT! So, the SureFire bulb assembly apparently wasn't fitting the head just right, but the FiveMega socket works great.

I'm a happy camper.

Click to expand...

Exactly the same problem with my spare bulb. I called SureFire and they are supposed to send me a replacement bulb. Meanwhile, I raised the center contact of the problematic bulb and epoxied it in a raised state so it makes contact! No more problem with this bulb for now.