Mag lite troubles

My favorite flashlight is the 4 d mag LED. It's by far the best compromise to warrant being called the all-round best baton-duty light out there, imo. But I own about 7 mags, and I've noticed that in 2 of them are shorts.

The shorts can be seen on one when the light is moved and the beam goes out until it is tapped just right again. That's the 6 d mag. The light has to be repeatedly tapped to work. It almost never works, really, but is a defense "club" for home by my bed. lol

The other is a 4 d mag and it seems to have a short in the trigger mechanism, but it works fine most of the time. Just once in a while when I go to click it on, it'll have to be tapped lightly to come on. But the bulb is in there good, and it doesn't go off when tapped again. It's solid, but sometimes the switch doesn't work on cue.

My questions are, 1) has anyone else found this problem to be fairly common in mags? Or is it just in my case? 2) What can be done about it? can it be fixed? How and where?

This happened to me in a ROP-modded Mag 2D. I assumed it was the battery carrier. I tried all sorts, cleaning, adding graphite etc... no luck.

Turns out the bulb collar had just loosened

I WISH that were the problem here! lol And I did check for it, but nope, I was out of luck!

Rusty Joe said:

I WISH that were the problem here! lol And I did check for it, but nope, I was out of luck!

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In that case, are you familiar with the process to completely strip-down the switching mechanism of a Maglite? It is lots of fun, I did it to graphite-coat everything in there to lower resistance.

MikeSalt said:

In that case, are you familiar with the process to completely strip-down the switching mechanism of a Maglite? It is lots of fun, I did it to graphite-coat everything in there to lower resistance.

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No, I'm not, and I'm very non-mechanical, but with the right instructions, I might could learn. Please tell me how I might go about learning and what to fix when I'm there.

Your issue can almost certainly be resolved with cleaning the electrical contacts and making sure the allen screw behind the rubber switch boot is tight. There is a product called Deoxit that works well for these types of issues. Keep us posted. Since you have more than one Mag with the same problem, can you tell us more about how they are used/stored? Serious Mag switch problems are generally not common. Thanks for posting.

Rusty Joe, I forget where the tutorial is for the mag strip down, and the search is not working either. You start by removing the tailcap and cells. Then, pinch the rubber switch cover, pulling until it comes off. You will see the top of the switch with a hole in the middle. Insert a 2.0mm hex allen key right to the bottom of that hole to engage the grub screw. Back that off a turn or two, remove the allen key and the whole switch mechanism should drop through the battery tube and out fo the bottom of the light. That should allow you to inspect for corroded or loose parts.

MikeSalt said:

Rusty Joe, I forget where the tutorial is for the mag strip down, and the search is not working either. You start by removing the tailcap and cells. Then, pinch the rubber switch cover, pulling until it comes off. You will see the top of the switch with a hole in the middle. Insert a 2.0mm hex allen key right to the bottom of that hole to engage the grub screw. Back that off a turn or two, remove the allen key and the whole switch mechanism should drop through the battery tube and out fo the bottom of the light. That should allow you to inspect for corroded or loose parts.

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Thanks. I'm very visual, so can you please post a pic of the allen wrench I should use?

Check out the photo here. I am not 100% on the 2.0mm size. Might be worth waiting for someone else to chime in before going out specially to get one.

Alternatively, Mag will fix it for you under the lifetime warranty.

MikeSalt said:

Alternatively, Mag will fix it for you under the lifetime warranty.

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Dude, you're a lifesaver (or should I say, a "Mag-saver"!)

But the factory option is even better as I see it. But thanks for the other info anyway. Dad would probably know about the wrench if I decide to go that route.

But how do I go about making good on the warranty? I don't have the receipts or anything. Where do I go?

Send Mag Instruments an email describing your problem. They should point you to an authorized dealer in your area that will help. No receipt needed. Keep us posted.

The first thing I'd try is getting a 5oz spray can of Deoxit and hitting every electical contact point in the mag before going to the trouble of dissasembling or sending it off for warranty. Let it sit for an hour or so and cycle the switch and wipe the bulb tower and tailcap spring and give another quick spritz of it and see if that doesn't fix things. I've managed to ressurect half a dozen or so flashlights that I'd given up on with the stuff. It won't fix a serious mechanical problem but usually these things are just oxidation and crud buildup in the mechanisms.

Pictoral walk-through on how to disassemble a Mag

www.takeitapart.net~Mag-Lite 2D

I don't think this problem with Mags is that unusual. In the switch unit where the positive end of the battery goes there is a V shaped plastic cone and a small metal spring recessed in a hole at the center. This appears to be designed to protect against inserting batteries the wrong way round. If you put the battery in backwards the negative end can't touch the spring. I found that the small spring was so recessed that the battery positive terminal did not make good contact either. To fix it I had to remove the switch assembly and stretch the spring so that it protruded more.

Unfortunately I pulled too hard and the spring came right out. It is impossible to get the spring back in if you do that, so don't pull too hard.