F-F-F-F-F-LICKERING!!

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sotto

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I noticed this morning, much to my chagrin, that my ARC AAA was flickering when I turned it on. Not going completely out, but marked and fairly rapid fluctuation in light output. I tried wiping off the threads of the head, abrading the ends of the battery, and finally taking a small flat-bladed screwdriver and scraping the contact on the bottom of the head and the little nipple that contacts the negative end of the battery. The last step seemed to cure the flickering problem. I'm going to keep an eye on that little bugger for the next few days.
 

binky

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My LSH-P flickers badly when the battery starts getting low and the thing is supposed to, I believe, flicker only a couple times then switch to moon mode.

Reducing the contact voltage-drops as you did sounds like it'd cure it for a while, but was your battery low?

I've found that also lots of fiddling with the switch can produce a remarkeable variety of light levels. The brightest is always just before it goes 'click' to stay on. That's been a bummer. Seems like when it clicks to on the "wiping surface" of the switch is minimal and the circuit could benefit from a better-designed switch. This is all when the battery is low, of course.

It would bug me but I just figured the 'moon' mode circuit or the switch was buggy and it was time for me to pop in a new $1.25 battery. The things last for weeks anyway, and it's less than I spend on a cup of coffee. It does make me wonder whether the light would last even longer if the circuitry connections were better.
 

Pellidon

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My turquoise one was flickering, well more of a slow oscillation bright and dim. New batteries did not help but removing the foam spacer and scrubbing the threads and battery solder blob seems to have done it. It travels in my pocket and sees all kinds of pocket grunge.
 

Abe Furburger

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[ QUOTE ]
Pellidon said:
My turquoise one was flickering, well more of a slow oscillation bright and dim. New batteries did not help but removing the foam spacer and scrubbing the threads and battery solder blob seems to have done it. It travels in my pocket and sees all kinds of pocket grunge.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, but how does the grunge get into the AAA ???

Abe.
 

Pellidon

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I can wreck a watch by wearing it and any metal objects in my pockets will eventually get the grunge. High skin acid or some such. I've been told that I should wear only silver or gold items as they are not likely to corrode. But I'm not looking for gold plated flashlights. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

shiftd

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well, then silver flashlight or titanium light will do? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Btw, Aluminum flashlight that was anodized cannot corrode, right? If they can corrode, then your bet would be HA3.
 

Flying Turtle

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I'm wondering if there's not some kind of chemical reaction occurring involving the grease on the threads, the aluminum body plus anodizing, and the current passing through all to create the crud that causes flikkering. It seems that my AAA Arc will get tough to turn on/off if I use it for extended periods. Any thoughts?
 

Pellidon

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Yes aluminum does oxidize and get cruddy where it is exposed just by general atmospheric exposure. It can get a grey to black coating that we would then gall up into little blobs of crud that would eventually clog up the conductor paths. Since we move it around constantly by twisting the head on and off, it makes the perfect intermittent problem we electrical technicians hate. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

I guess the fix is to have Peter make a micro tail switch with a lanyard ring /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Or a micro circuit that is keyed by a chip we can have imbeded in our thumb so it comes on when picked up and stays on for several minutes. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif

Or just do rotine maintenance.
 
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