A2 Aviator tailcap issue ... maybe?

So there was this faint grinding when turning the tailcap. I remove the tailcap "just the typical dirt in the threads" and look inside just out of curiosity, and cycle the end.

There is a little piece of flash moving up and down. "Chrome flake?" I think to myself.

I knock it out. Its a bit more substantial than flake and then find that it is one of the 3 ears that are in the tailcap.

The low/hi, lockout, etc ... everything works. Will it keep working 'forever'?

Should I just call for a replacement? I have pics.










The top area at 12 o'clock, without the 'hotspot', is the missing ear and at 4 o'clock the bright spot is one of the other two ears.

Hi Dan,
I had the same issue few months ago, but in my case the switch wasn't working great anymore : I needed to switch on / switch off several times to have the normal output of the incandescent bulb (otherwise I had a very dim output as if the batteries were nearly empty). The change of batteries didn't change anything. I asked for a replacement (I received it 6 months later ...) and my A2 is now working perfectly :twothumbs

Regards,

I've had a couple of A2's passing through my hands with just 2 tabs on the tailcap, and they've all worked just fine.

That said, if things start getting iffy, call SF and they'll send you a replacement. When I needed one, I received it within 2 weeks or so.

Ok, thanks. I'll just order up a replacement.

On a sidenote; I removed the bezel ring that holds the glass in order to clean the inside of the glass.
The threads were dry as a bone and I thought to myself "hmm is the heat too much, does the lube ooze onto the reflector or something ........ Is that why SF didn't lube it?"

But I did go ahead and add just a touch of Nyogel 760 lol (it really was about the head-of-a-toothpick size). Do you think it will be an issue?

WOW..That is the first time I see a A2 tailcap on the inside, it certainly doesnt look like something from a expensive light, plastic and fragile looking. :shakehead

Whilst the contact tabs can break as experienced here, I'm not aware of any other issues to be concerned about regarding the durability or quality of the Z62 (the two-stage push button pressure switch TailCap used by the L1/L2/A2)

kts said:

WOW..That is the first time I see a A2 tailcap on the inside, it certainly doesnt look like something from a expensive light, plastic and fragile looking. :shakehead

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Looks can be deceiving, kts. The plastic parts are required to separate the electrical paths. There are only so many materials to accomplish this. Look for js's treatise thread on the A2; he's got a great description of how everything works. You'll see how complex and robust the A2 design actually is.


Dan, I forgot to answer about the light working "forever"... depending on how you use your light and manipulate the switch, those tabs can get flattened (and might break) over time.

Since one is already broken, I think it's safe to have a backup one.

The same thing happened to my L1 tail cap a few months back, called SureFire and they sent me a new one asap. Now a funny story, I received another package from Surefire just yesterday with the exact same parts I got a few months back. Maybe this is the first package that they sent me and got lost in the mail according to the customer service rep since I never got it, but the package says it was mailed out January 7 2009.:shrug:

Yeah, those contact tabs do break off with enough usage. Fortunately there are three of them in case it happens in the field. I have one A2 tailcap that only has one of them left, but it still works fine. I bet it will still work without any of the three, but I haven't tested it yet.

new tailcap on the way.

danpass said:

new tailcap on the way.

Click to expand...

well I got it and it worked great for a while. now when I cinch it down all the way it only turns on the low. pressing it does activate the high but obviously that's not the point.

I already tried different batteries.


another new tailcap lol? :thinking:

danpass said:

another new tailcap lol? :thinking:

Click to expand...

It certainly seems that way! That or send the whole light to SureFire and they'll fix it for you.

I sent in my A2 a few years back and they fixed it 100%.

I had the same problem with my 4 flats A2. I got it on clearance at cabelas. I think it might have been a floor model. anyway it would tighten but wouldnt turn on the high incan bulb only if I press the tailcap would it activate the incan.

Same thing. called SF and got a new tailcap in a couple weeks. works fine now.

I have the same problem with my round body A2. I have to live with it now as I'm from Australia and surefire doesn't do international shipping.