How to put the spring the Fenix E01?

An alkaline battery leaked inside my Fenix E01. I drilled a hole in the nipple of the cell and used a screw and a pair of vise grip pliers to pull the dead cell back out. The goo that leaked stuck in the bottom of the tube, and a new battery wouldn't fit in. I made a small hook out of a paper clip and pulled the small gold spring out of the bottom. Then I cleaned the tube out real good with all sorts of abrasives and nasty solvents (not really - I used "Coffee Cleaner" and a paper towel).

Now I can't figure out how to get the little spring to go back in. Any tips?

Maybe try compressing it sideways with a pair of tweezers? After you got the top part in, just put it on a tabletop and push. Then push it further in with a new cell.

You could try what JBorneu suggests but it could be difficult to put back in as it looks like a fiddly job.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

BTW The spring rattles at the bottom of the E01 and is not held in place tightly.

What kinda battery was it?

I can't help, but:

You know you're a flashaholic when you can pull the light discussed from your pocket, then pull out another light from another pocket to look at the spring in the original light

prolly easier and better to just order a new body from 4-7 and not mess with it?
Shouldn't cost more than a few $? :thinking:

Thanks for the replies. My E01 spring is (or rather, was) very snug in the bottom of the tube. After pulling it out and releasing the tension, it unwound a little bit more and now the diameter of the spring is maybe 15% bigger than the tube.

Yes, I did pull another light out of my pocket so I could peer down the tube. In fact, it was another E01. Yes, it is a very fiddly affair. Yes, I could just buy a new one. But, at this point I'm going to figure out how to do it just for the sake of know how the heck they got the thing in.

Jarl said:

I can't help, but:

You know you're a flashaholic when you can pull the light discussed from your pocket, then pull out another light from another pocket to look at the spring in the original light

Click to expand...

LOL. Thats exactly what I did too!

Good luck getting it back in, it makes you cautious about putting dodgy alkalines in a twisty after reading storys like this.

you twist/screw it in -
kinda like a cork screw, 3 hands make it easier.
needle nose pliers to hold the narrow-top of spring, finger to guide it into body as you screw/twist it and in and the coils compress/tightens... once in - use a cell to push it all the way back in?

The spring is too tiny and I don't have three hands. I do have at least three thumbs, probably more, but that only makes it worse.

I ended up just dropping it in the open end. It sits on the ridge that is the switch contact. Then just kinda jam it in with your thumb. It'll go in crooked and the coils will sort of cross each other. Inner turns of the spring will likely get pushed further into the tube than the outer turns, and then they get stuck. Use a battery to push the mess down most of the way, then use your hook to pull it back out to uncross the coils. It might take a couple tries.

Once you have the coils untwisted, you still need to push it all the way to the bottom. A battery actually doesn't work very well here, because it pushes on the center of the spring. You want something to push the outer edge to the bottom, and leave the center alone. A hollow tube would probably work very well. I used a paper clip, and kept peering inside to make sure I was always pushing on the edge that was closest to the top.

Everything works fine now.

edit: Oh, and another tip - When the alkaline leaks and gets stuck, don't untwist the head and then bang the tube on the table trying to get the battery to come out. It won't, and you'll just end up marring the finish on the end of the tube. You really need to drill a hole and use a screw to pull the battery out.