Can anyone help with a problem

Hello All

I just got a cheap SSC P7 based light off ebay, it doesent work
I am not thrilled with the idea of sending it back, paying postage and waiting a month for replacement.
Can anyone tell me why the light doesent work and what I can do to make it work?

The light is a spiderfire P7 with spiderfire brand 18650 protected rechargables.

Sometimes when I put the battery in and turn it to high mode it flashes full brightness then stops - close inspection of the emmitter in should-be-high mode shows a faint glow. In low mode it works fine.

Other times it goes onto high mode as soon as I start screwing on the tailcap, then stops and will not work in either mode.

Any ideas what is causing the problem? At first I thaught it was the high current drain causing the battery protection circuit to shut out, it could also be a faulty tailcap switch or a fault with the emitter pill.

Any fix recommendations?

Cheers
Charlie

Welcome to CPF, Charlie. The first thing I'd do with your light is make sure all the contacts are clean. Take a cotton swab with alcohol or contact cleaner and go after every place along the electrical path. Don't miss the end of the battery tube, assuming it is completing the circuit to the head. Also, make sure the switch innards are tight in the tailcap. You might need to reach in the cap with tweezers or something pointy to tighten it down a bit. Good luck.

Geoff

1st of all, the reliablity, materials used, mechanichal work and finish reflect the price of such light,
there is a high chance You are best of by changing the driver to something good + check every connetion and cable and change bad work.

Your problem:

do the contact tips

check tailcap: open light and use some metal part to close connection --> if it works good, the tailcap is the problem

check current draw: have light run on full, open tailcap and hook an amperemeter into the circuit, check current
(no clue how much the protection would need to kick in, but that one should kick in immediately, at the beginning of using the light)
does current change when output gets to the glim?

probably overheating?
Have light on as long as it works, then quickly open it and try if there is something very hot at the driver

The protected batteries could be the problem. The P7 might draw enough current to trip off the protection circuitry. It should happen immediately and you should see a flash of light but it can be a possibility. Maybe try 3 rechargeable AA batteries? Line then up and maybe tape them together at the ends so they have a total of around 3.6v, then try to turn the light on high(a wire should do for the connection). If it works, then the 18650 battery's protection circuit is kicking it. If it doesn't, then you have a partially broken light.

:welcome:

Having followed the advice above [thanks to those who helped] the problem was definitely the tailcap. I have now taken it apart to find out how it worked [or rather didn't work] it had a switch with three positions, off, drive via a resistor, direct connection.

Time to shop round for a new tailcap, preferably something with a proper driver.

Any recommendations on where to look?