Anyone else having this problem with the EX10?

I really love my EX 10 so far, beautiful light. I am having one 'issue' though. I changed the battery, and could not get the light to operate properly after. The split-ring in the head of the light (which is contacted by the piston) was not springing back and forth smoothly. I was getting eratic lighting when pushing the piston (I use my EX10 by screwing the head tight and turning on/off with the piston). It seemed no matter how I rotated the split-ring I couldn't get it to work. I let Fenix know and they recommended rotating the split-ring until I found the where it would spring up and down, and maybe lubing the split ring. I tried again and after a while of putting the head on and off and lubing the split ring it seems to be working now. I love the light but I don't like the fact that I may have to do that everytime I take the head off. Anyone else with this problem?

Thanks.

ecallahan said:

I really love my EX 10 so far, beautiful light. I am having one 'issue' though. I changed the battery, and could not get the light to operate properly after. The split-ring in the head of the light (which is contacted by the piston) was not springing back and forth smoothly. I was getting eratic lighting when pushing the piston (I use my EX10 by screwing the head tight and turning on/off with the piston). It seemed no matter how I rotated the split-ring I couldn't get it to work. I let Fenix know and they recommended rotating the split-ring until I found the where it would spring up and down, and maybe lubing the split ring. I tried again and after a while of putting the head on and off and lubing the split ring it seems to be working now. I love the light but I don't like the fact that I may have to do that everytime I take the head off. Anyone else with this problem?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Someone else reported that the flashlight seems to work best when the head and body logo are matched. That precise point seems to be what the unit was engineered for. Cranking the head down (overtightening the head) such that the head logo travels past the body logo may interfere with the proper functioning of the piston/ring mechanism.

Perhaps you can try lining up the logos. I hope it helps.

Mine was a bit sticky at first but I took it completely apart (including the head and LE) cleaned and relubed and it operates like "butta" now.

1dash1 said:

Someone else reported that the flashlight seems to work best when the head and body logo are matched. That precise point seems to be what the unit was engineered for. Cranking the head down (overtightening the head) such that the head logo travels past the body logo may interfere with the proper functioning of the piston/ring mechanism.

Perhaps you can try lining up the logos. I hope it helps.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, but my EX10 doesn't have a head logo, just a logo on the body of the light. I'll try and search for that thread.

The first day I had it, after playing with it for a while I went to use it a couple of hours later and it was dead, replaced the battery (it was new) and it's been smooth sailing ever since.

ecallahan said:

I really love my EX 10 so far, beautiful light. I am having one 'issue' though. I changed the battery, and could not get the light to operate properly after. The split-ring in the head of the light (which is contacted by the piston) was not springing back and forth smoothly. I was getting eratic lighting when pushing the piston (I use my EX10 by screwing the head tight and turning on/off with the piston). It seemed no matter how I rotated the split-ring I couldn't get it to work. I let Fenix know and they recommended rotating the split-ring until I found the where it would spring up and down, and maybe lubing the split ring. I tried again and after a while of putting the head on and off and lubing the split ring it seems to be working now. I love the light but I don't like the fact that I may have to do that everytime I take the head off. Anyone else with this problem?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Mine's doing the same thing. I really like the light but I think I will send it back and get something else. I've been messing with it for a while and can not get it to function reliably.

Perhaps we could get 4sevens to chime in on this thread and give us an official response as to why this is happening and what can be done to resolve this problem. It would be a shame for a light with so much potential to be crippled by a problem like this. Nothing is more annoying than having an unreliable light. A definite and permanent fix from the manufacturer would go a long ways towards instilling confidence in owner's of this light. This goes back to what I have always said. No matter how many bells and whistles something has it is no good if it is not reliable. This should be every manufacturers primary criteria when designing a light. Not to say that this is an engineering problem, but it does merit a comprehensive response from the manufacturer. These lights should be as reliable as a hammer every time you turn it on. You should not have to worry about whether the bezel is lined up, or turning the split ring until it moves smoothly!!!!!!!!!!!! The entire concept behind the PD design is to make the switching more reliable not less. Just my 2 cents.

Paul

I have not held one of these in my hand so I have no real idea how it works. BUT the PD design is extremely robust I can't imagine one ever failing. How different is the mechanism used in the EX10 and D10 from the orignal pd design?

Yaesumofo

Guys I had the exact same problem. Here's how I solved it.

Unscrew bezel, remove lens, oring, and reflector.

"Light engine" will slide out as well. Now get some pro-gold (I used the pen version of it from radio shack) and give the spring, the area under the spring, and the collar / split ring that faces the battery.

Re-assemble and it should be amazingly smooth.

I too had issues where the split ring wasn't sliding properly, and it really bummed me out. I was close to sending the light back, but its perfect now.

Did you try, removing the battery and put the head back on, loosening the bezel ring almost off and hold the piston up tight while re tightening the bezel ring?

That re seats the LE/pill and takes care of most contact issues.

yaesumofo said:

How different is the mechanism used in the EX10 and D10 from the orignal pd design?

Yaesumofo

Click to expand...

Yaesu - These lights are sort of a hybrid-pd system. Instead of it being a position-dependant mechanical switch with the kilroy and ring, this light uses the piston as part of the switching mechanism for the driver interface.

So instead of different paths mechanically, the sliding collar that makes contact with the piston changes the drive level when different clicks are inputted, similar to other standard multi level click lights like the arc4 for example. What's even better is that the brightness ramps like a gladius, press and hold and it ramps.

Now if I can just squeeze one of Don's nichia 083's in there...

Have you tried removing the o-ring that sits at the "button-end" of the piston?

If it works, then try putting the o-ring back and giving it a light lube

Francis

Any advice on how to remove the bezel? I haven't really tried on mine yet, but I can see that there's not much bezel to grip for twisting purposes, and I'd rather do this right the first time rather than risk scratching up the light. Thanks...

I've got both models, and I noted that the D10 has an "almost" click feel to it when pressed while the EX10 just mushed. I really like the almost click of the D10.

Well, last night, I took the EX10 apart (but not the head/light engine) and did a couple of tweaks.
I first put a knife in the gap of the brass ring and opened it up just a smidgeon (it appeared to be rubbing on the inside a bit).
Then I thoroughly cleaned off the tube surface and it's O-ring, and relubed the O-ring liberally but not the tube at all because if you wiggle the tube when it's mostly inserted, you can see that it has plenty of clearance between it and the outside tube. It's the O-ring that creates drag.
Anyway, after doing only the above, my EX10 now also feels sort of "clicky" and it's much easier to push.

I'm getting to like these lights the more I use them.
One thing that was a surprise to me was that if you hold the D10 up to the EX10 end-to-end, the EX10 is really not that noticeably larger in diameter than the D10.
That's really surprising compared to the difference in diameter between my EX10 and my Novatac 120P.
What that means to me is that if a person wants the most compact light, then the EX10 is the winner for it's short length. The only reason to go with the D10 is if you "need" to use AA's (like I do a lot).
I'm glad I got both.

Beamhead said:

Did you try, removing the battery and put the head back on, loosening the bezel ring almost off and hold the piston up tight while re tightening the bezel ring?

That re seats the LE/pill and takes care of most contact issues.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I gave this a try and the light seems to have better contact now. Another question - I use silicone grease for the orings, what is recommended for lubing parts like this split-ring?

senna94 said:

Perhaps we could get 4sevens to chime in on this thread and give us an official response as to why this is happening and what can be done to resolve this problem. It would be a shame for a light with so much potential to be crippled by a problem like this. Nothing is more annoying than having an unreliable light. A definite and permanent fix from the manufacturer would go a long ways towards instilling confidence in owner's of this light. This goes back to what I have always said. No matter how many bells and whistles something has it is no good if it is not reliable. This should be every manufacturers primary criteria when designing a light. Not to say that this is an engineering problem, but it does merit a comprehensive response from the manufacturer. These lights should be as reliable as a hammer every time you turn it on. You should not have to worry about whether the bezel is lined up, or turning the split ring until it moves smoothly!!!!!!!!!!!! The entire concept behind the PD design is to make the switching more reliable not less. Just my 2 cents.

Paul

Click to expand...

glad to get the info here! I have enough trouble with my 120P
I'll wait until the bug gets worked out

jbviau said:

Any advice on how to remove the bezel? I haven't really tried on mine yet, but I can see that there's not much bezel to grip for twisting purposes, and I'd rather do this right the first time rather than risk scratching up the light. Thanks...

Click to expand...

Put a piece of leather (leather gloves work) on your table, firmly press the light with the bezel ring down into the leather and twist.

Zenster said:

I first put a knife in the gap of the brass ring and opened it up just a smidgeon (it appeared to be rubbing on the inside a bit).

Click to expand...

This was already suggested as a solution for the ring problems by 4sevens a few times. See here:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showpost.php?p=2175935&postcount=160
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2539714&postcount=401

orcinus said:

This was already suggested as a solution for the ring problems by 4sevens a few times. See here:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showpost.php?p=2175935&postcount=160
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2539714&postcount=401

Click to expand...

Great, I didn't see that. I'll give this a try also. Thanks.

orcinus said:

This was already suggested as a solution for the ring problems by 4sevens a few times. See here:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showpost.php?p=2175935&postcount=160
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2539714&postcount=401

Click to expand...

Yes, this seems to have worked wonders.