This Fenix Is No Sunshine In My Pocket

Just got 3 Fenix lights today.:nana: An L2d Q5, an E20 and an E01. Sadly the E20 dont work right.:mecry:. It flickers and dims and brightens and sometimes go's out completely. Oh well two out of three aint bad. My first defective light ever. This is not typical of Fenix is it?

nope not typical, fenix lights are very good quality IMO and there are few lemons. guess your not lucky.
Edit: if you bought it from a respected dealer, you can ask for a replacement

Might be the tailcap.

Test that by using a wire or something conductive to make the - end of the battery contact the body. If it works fine that way, it's the switch.

Could also be revenge for the LD01 incident

Black Rose said:

Could also be revenge for the LD01 incident

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I knew that was coming. :sigh:

I checked the tail cap and jumpered it out. Same thing. I checked the amperage draw at the tail end and its all over the place. Go's as high as 1.2 amps and as low as 0.1 amp and jumps everywhere in between.

Just playing with ya

With current draws like that, something is definitely messed up.

rockz4532 said:

if you bought it from a respected dealer, you can ask for a replacement

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Well I think its OK to mention here where I got them. The claim they stand behind them with a lifetime warranty. I got them from fenixgear. What I want to ask is did I sin? Are there Fenix sellers who participate on this forum and also support this forum that I should be buying from?

Black Rose said:

Just playing with ya

.

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Yeah I Know. And I deserve it.

never bought from fenixgear, but they should replace it. Next time you can order from fenix store or 7777s and using the coupon CPF8 get 8% off. also brightguy has defect warrenties. try emailing or calling fenixgear.

That doesn't sound right. You seem to have a broken light. Try for a replacement.

If you are in the US and fenix gear won't replace the light for you. Try contacting 4sevens/Fenix Store and see if they can do anything to help.

I had two Fenix P1, one Fenix L2D, one Fenix L1S. All of them worked perfectly... :thumbsup:

I have one Fenix L2D CE and one Fenix TK20. Both of them kicks *** in the mission to surprise my friends with it´s power and output. :thumbsup:

I guess you got a lemon, because what happened to you is not normal.

Like they said, contact Fenix "Outstanding" Customer Service! They will provide a new light for you.

Cheers!

Holepuncher said:

Just got 3 Fenix lights today.:nana: An L2d Q5, an E20 and an E01. Sadly the E20 dont work right.:mecry:. It flickers and dims and brightens and sometimes go's out completely. Oh well two out of three aint bad. My first defective light ever. This is not typical of Fenix is it?

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I just purchased a PD20 and it did the same thing. Is a matter of fact the three I tried at the store all did it. Unscrew the head of the light. Then screw the tail cap all the way tight. Then screw the head back on. See if this fixes the problem. IT solved the problem on all three lights at the store including the one I purchased.

Bill

Did you clean all the threads and contacts with an alcohol swab??

Hitthespot said:

I just purchased a PD20 and it did the same thing. Is a matter of fact the three I tried at the store all did it. Unscrew the head of the light. Then screw the tail cap all the way tight. Then screw the head back on. See if this fixes the problem. IT solved the problem on all three lights at the store including the one I purchased.

Bill

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On this light I can only unscrew the reflector. Tried it anyway. Still operating erratic. Oh Well. The other 3 Fenix lights I have seem to be extremely well made and absolutely flawless.

Holepuncher said:

This is not typical of Fenix is it?

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I bought three Fenix lights as soon as they became available. I gave two away as gifts.
All three were dead within 90 days. Bad negative battery terminal contacts. The metal just seemed to dissolve.
I no longer buy Fenix lights.

Holepuncher said:

On this light I can only unscrew the reflector. Tried it anyway. Still operating erratic. Oh Well. The other 3 Fenix lights I have seem to be extremely well made and absolutely flawless.

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Hmmm, some cleaning points; the threads on the head, the threads on the tailcap, the contact surface of the end of the tube that touches the PC board in the head, the contact surface in the head. Other than those cleaning items in the circuit path, there is one possibility before you request a replacement. Take off the tailcap. The switch module is a "pill" screwed into the tailcap. Often upon receipt of a new light I find that the switch module is not screwed in adequately, thus leading to no light or a flickering light. Find a thin needle-nose pliers, or something stiff that can be inserted into the two dimples in the switch module in the tailcap. Rotate the pill counterclockwise until it is tight. If you are not sure what "tight" is, try loosening the pill first, then tighten the pill again. Let us know how it turns out.

MicroE said:

I bought three Fenix lights as soon as they became available. I gave two away as gifts.
All three were dead within 90 days. Bad negative battery terminal contacts. The metal just seemed to dissolve.
I no longer buy Fenix lights.

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Sounds like you let alkaline batts leak inside, as that is the only thing which would cause the metal to dissolve. User error.... And something that would happen in ANY brand where you used substandard cells.

4sevens here has fenix-store.com and 4sevens.com - he is one of the primary Fenix dealers and great to do biz with. lighthound.com is also a Fenix dealer and has incredible good customer service too. fenixgear.com is essentially unknown to most CPF members and AFAIK no one from that conglomerate is active here. It appears to be a specialty store of a larger corporate company. Hopefully they have customer service even half as good as the above 2 mentioned and you'll be fine returning it.

Marduke said:

Sounds like you let alkaline batts leak inside, as that is the only thing which would cause the metal to dissolve. User error.... And something that would happen in ANY brand where you used substandard cells.

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I did an autopsy at the time and concluded that it was a manufacturing error. It appeared that the contacts were not cleaned before they were electroplated. If a base material is not de-oxidized and degreased prior to plating, then the plating will come off. It's a sign of poor quality.
Besides, the probability of three separate AA cells leaking inside three separate lights in such a short period of time is incredibly low.
I only buy Energizer and Duracell AA's and I have found them to be exemplary.

MicroE said:

I did an autopsy at the time and concluded that it was a manufacturing error. It appeared that the contacts were not cleaned before they were electroplated. If a base material is not de-oxidized and degreased prior to plating, then the plating will come off. It's a sign of poor quality.
Besides, the probability of three separate AA cells leaking inside three separate lights in such a short period of time is incredibly low.
I only buy Energizer and Duracell AA's and I have found them to be exemplary.

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Plating coming off will not "disintegrate" the base metal. Besides, don't you think it's odd you are the first person of thousands to suggest such an obvious "issue"?

And such failure rate of alkaline cells is extremely common. That is why CPF in general has rightfully abandoned them.

Marduke said:

Plating coming off will not "disintegrate" the base metal. Besides, don't you think it's odd you are the first person of thousands to suggest such an obvious "issue"?

And such failure rate of alkaline cells is extremely common. That is why CPF in general has rightfully abandoned them.

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Odd? No. I am hardly the first customer to have experienced poor quality from a new flashlight manufacturer. Do you remember the launch of the Arc LS?
Just a few days ago I read about another customer who was complaining about a JetBeam M light with a poor contact.
Issues are normal in new consumer products.
Besides, I hate to point out the obvious, but this thread was started by a customer with a defective Fenix light.
Cheers! ---- I have to go grade exams now