NiteCore D-10 GD+ Overheating problem?

GMWIGGS · Oct 7, 2008

Hello all, I have a NiteCore D-10 with the GD+ emitter. With the light cool (just out of pocket) switched on high, it will turn off in under 3 minutes. If I loosen the body and retighten, the light will immediately come back on and turn off again about 30 seconds later. Is there anyone else having this problem? I have the D-10 in Q5 and EX10 in Q5 as well. No problems with those turning off. Any suggestions? Oh yeah, with the light turned down about halfway or so, the light runs fine. Overheating maybe?

LumensMaximus · Oct 7, 2008

My only overheating problem was I left it on by mistake (during daylight hours :crazy:

) and I was wondering why my leg was burning so much in just one area, felt like it was on fire...

GMWIGGS · Oct 7, 2008

LumensMaximus said:
My only overheating problem was I left it on by mistake (during daylight hours) and I was wondering why my leg was burning so much in just one area, felt like it was on fire...

I've done that with my Fenix P2D on turbo. Got just a "little" hot.

notnormal · Oct 7, 2008

GMWIGGS said:
I've done that with my Fenix P2D on turbo. Got just a "little" hot.

I hope the flashlight was okay

.

EngrPaul · Oct 7, 2008

Are you using 14500? Perhaps the voltage dropped and the protection circuit kicked in.

litetube · Oct 7, 2008

My GD+ got HOT and turned an angry bluish tint but settled down after 15mins or so

GMWIGGS · Oct 8, 2008

EngrPaul said:
Are you using 14500? Perhaps the voltage dropped and the protection circuit kicked in.

Oops! I forgot to mention that I use Energizer E2 lithium batteries. I've tried 3 different lithiums plus tried a Alkaline with the same result. I think I'll contact 4 7's and find out where to send the light to for repair.

AvidHiker · Oct 8, 2008

I doubt that this is normal behavior for the D10 which is already modestly driven, even on high, presumably to manage heat.

I have a D10 GDP and tried letting it run last night tailstanding (so no heat being removed by my hand) and it ran just fine with no change in brightness for over twenty minutes (shut it off at that point). It got warm, but not at all hot (running with a 14500 in a cool room). This situation shouldn't be any different for a lithium primary, so there must be a problem with your light IMO.

DimmerD · Oct 8, 2008

I've got the regular one and it came on while in my pocket on high, talk about HOT POCKETS! Didn't shut off though and I don't know how long it was on.

jag-engr · Oct 8, 2008

EngrPaul said:
Are you using 14500? Perhaps the voltage dropped and the protection circuit kicked in.

GMWIGGS said:
Oops! I forgot to mention that I use Energizer E2 lithium batteries. I've tried 3 different lithiums plus tried a Alkaline with the same result.

AvidHiker said:
I have a D10 GDP and tried letting it run last night tailstanding (so no heat being removed by my hand) and it ran just fine with no change in brightness for over twenty minutes (shut it off at that point). It got warm, but not at all hot (running with a 14500 in a cool room). This situation shouldn't be any different for a lithium primary, so there must be a problem with your light IMO.

I seem to recall 4sevens explaining some time back that the light gets hotter on 1.2 ~ 1.7V batteries than it does on a 3.7V battery. The reason why is that when the boost circuit that pulls enough power from the lower voltage cells, it does so inefficiently and a good part of the power is converted to heat. The boost circuit does not have to work as hard with the Li-Ion cells, so it does not get as hot.

EngrPaul · Oct 8, 2008

Sounds like the driver board needs the heat sink, not the emitter :tinfoil:

EngrPaul · Oct 8, 2008

litetube said:
My GD+ got HOT and turned an angry bluish tint but settled down after 15mins or so

Mine doesn't get blue. Sounds like poor emitter heat sink on yours. :ohgeez:

Nake · Oct 8, 2008

EngrPaul said:
Sounds like poor emitter heat sink on yours.

I agree. I fired up a GDP emitter to test it and it turned blue in a couple of seconds. After installing it in a light, the tint was on the warm side.

AvidHiker · Oct 8, 2008

jag-engr said:
I seem to recall 4sevens explaining some time back that the light gets hotter on 1.2 ~ 1.7V batteries than it does on a 3.7V battery. The reason why is that when the boost circuit that pulls enough power from the lower voltage cells, it does so inefficiently and a good part of the power is converted to heat. The boost circuit does not have to work as hard with the Li-Ion cells, so it does not get as hot.

Ah, hadn't had the time to sift through the endless threads related to the D10/EX10, glad to hear that this had been addressed at some time. So thanks for that info, this is not something I've ever experienced with other lights that accept both primaries and rechargables, but these circuits are ever-evolving. Sounds like over-temperature protection kicking in then? I agree, you may have deficient heat-sinking in your light.

I will try to repeat my experiment with a lithium primary now and report back tomorrow.

Youfoundnemo · Oct 8, 2008

buy a q5 version that simple, but if that is out of the question (i know it would be for me) then invest in some lithium ion rechargeables, guilt free lumens, better for the enviroment and they dont make the light heat up as much as the alkaline batterys do.

GMWIGGS · Oct 8, 2008

Youfoundnemo said:
buy a q5 version that simple, but if that is out of the question (i know it would be for me) then invest in some lithium ion rechargeables, guilt free lumens, better for the enviroment and they dont make the light heat up as much as the alkaline batterys do.

I have a Q5 version, I purchased them at the same time in fact

You are spot on about the lithium ion rechargables, I'm looking into that as I type this!:thumbsup:

I contacted 4 sevens and they issued me a RMA # to send it back and either repair it or replace it so alls good. I was just curious if there was something I could do to correct it myself. No biggee, 4 sevens has excellent customer service IMO.:thumbsup:

AvidHiker · Oct 9, 2008

Doesn't sound like this is necessarily an emitter-related issue, but it could play a role.

I had some interesting results when running at max with different AA cells last night (D10 GDP). I found that with a NiMH (1.2V, eneloop) it got a bit warmer than with a 14500, but not by much (maybe 5 degrees). Then I tried a standard alkaline (1.5V, duracell) and it got warmer still, but not hot (maybe another 5 degrees). Then I tried a lithium primary (1.7V initial, energizer) and it got significantly warmer, bordering on what I would consider hot (easily 10 degrees warmer than the alkaline).

In all cases I ran for 20 minutes, tailstanding in a cool room. I am happy to report that the light appeared to remain in regulation for the enitre time in all cases, so once again it sounds like your light is most certainly defective. I also noticed that I have a noisy inductor when using these lower voltage cells. Oddly enough, I found that tapping the light could change both the frequency and amplitude of this sound (there appeared to be no relationship between these variables, which would rule out my own ear's sensitivity being to blame), in some cases I could get it to a point where it was barely audible, but in other cases it was kind of irritating.

Anyway, good luck with the repair - I'm sure you'll be well taken care of. And...
:welcome:

GMWIGGS · Oct 9, 2008

AvidHiker said:
Doesn't sound like this is necessarily an emitter-related issue, but it could play a role.

I had some interesting results when running at max with different AA cells last night (D10 GDP). I found that with a NiMH (1.2V, eneloop) it got a bit warmer than with a 14500, but not by much (maybe 5 degrees). Then I tried a standard alkaline (1.5V, duracell) and it got warmer still, but not hot (maybe another 5 degrees). Then I tried a lithium primary (1.7V initial, energizer) and it got significantly warmer, bordering on what I would consider hot (easily 10 degrees warmer than the alkaline).

In all cases I ran for 20 minutes, tailstanding in a cool room. I am happy to report that the light appeared to remain in regulation for the enitre time in all cases, so once again it sounds like your light is most certainly defective. I also noticed that I have a noisy inductor when using these lower voltage cells. Oddly enough, I found that tapping the light could change both the frequency and amplitude of this sound (there appeared to be no relationship between these variables, which would rule out my own ear's sensitivity being to blame), in some cases I could get it to a point where it was barely audible, but in other cases it was kind of irritating.

Anyway, good luck with the repair - I'm sure you'll be well taken care of. And...
:welcome:

Thanks for the information! I can hear the noise you are describing as well. In fact the noise will start when the light is turned on to high, and then the noise will steadily decrease in intensity until it stops, at that point the light shuts off. The light really isn't all that hot as compared to my Q5 (it makes the same noise as well). So yeah, its probably a defect with the light, but no big deal these things happen to everyone eventually. Thanks again for the tests you done last night that was very informative!

stockstinks · Oct 17, 2008

GMWIGGS said:
Hello all, I have a NiteCore D-10 with the GD+ emitter. With the light cool (just out of pocket) switched on high, it will turn off in under 3 minutes. If I loosen the body and retighten, the light will immediately come back on and turn off again about 30 seconds later. Is there anyone else having this problem? I have the D-10 in Q5 and EX10 in Q5 as well. No problems with those turning off. Any suggestions? Oh yeah, with the light turned down about halfway or so, the light runs fine. Overheating maybe?

My D10 would act weird like that when I would put in fresh Enloops. It would shut off and then come on by itself, and go on and off...Weird.

If I unscrewed it and let it sit for a while, it would act normal.
I too got an rma# but didn't send it back.

Trekmeister · Feb 11, 2009

Bringing back an old thread here...

I have similar problems with my Sunspot D10, something in the driver overheats. I can only run it for a few minutes before it shuts down. My old D10 (which I've lost, its probably sitting underneath a meter of snow) never had this problem and I could run it for extended periods. The one with the overheating problem barely has time to heat up the exterior before it shuts down. I have so far only tested it using NiMh cells.

Does anyone have any solution to this? I was thinking about potting the entire driver board in thermal epoxy, but since I doubt that would even work I'd like to do that only as a last resort...

NiteCore D-10 GD+ Overheating problem?

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