NiteCore D10 with AW 14500 cells

I have been using my D10 for two months with Eneloop cells. It works just fine in continuous mode: 1xC for on, 1xC for off, 2xC for min beam, 1xC+PH for max beam and PH for ramping. When I use AW 14500 cells, the light acts strangely. It works like normal in twisty mode. But in continuous mode, the 2xC and 1xC+PH actions work sometimes and sometimes don't work. The beam intensity ramping is very erratic. While trying to ramp, the light might go off or jump suddenly to max or min. I've tried loosening the head of the light, but it doesn't seem to have any effect. Has anyone else seen this effect with their D10s and 14500 cells? Thanks for any help.

Hugh

I only use AW14500 in my D10 and it works fine, I'm assuming there's a defect in your driver perhaps.

Which of the AW 14500 cells do you have? IIRC, some 14500 batches are a bit too long for some lights, while some are fine. I forget which (new or older) is which.

Marduke said:

Which of the AW 14500 cells do you have? IIRC, some 14500 batches are a bit too long for some lights, while some are fine. I forget which (new or older) is which.

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I just received them last week. They are black with a red stripe and say "IC Protection Built-In Li-Ion Rechargeable 3.7V 14500 750 mAh". They appear longer than the eneloops but I think that is due to the longer case on the AW14500. The distance between the terminals looks to be the same.

Thanks for responding.

Hugh

The AW's I use are fine with the D10. But when I use Ultrafire 14500's, I get the problems you're describing. I assume it's a dimension problem like Marduke said. However, I received mine about a month ago. Try cleaning the contact points on the light and re-lubing. I had your similar problem when I was using AA NiMHs, cleaned it, re-lubed the piston and it worked fine.

HTH

swrdply400mrelay said:

The AW's I use are fine with the D10. But when I use Ultrafire 14500's, I get the problems you're describing. I assume it's a dimension problem like Marduke said. However, I received mine about a month ago. Try cleaning the contact points on the light and re-lubing. I had your similar problem when I was using AA NiMHs, cleaned it, re-lubed the piston and it worked fine.

HTH

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I have some Deoxit for cleaning. How careful do I need to be when using it on the head?

Hugh

oldpal said:

I have some Deoxit for cleaning. How careful do I need to be when using it on the head?

Hugh

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I had problems that you describe with my EX10, that were reduced drastically when I cleaned the underside of the split ring with Deoxit RED.
Place just a small drop of it on the inside bottom edge of the split ring. If you have a syringe to deposit the deoxit, that's great. I used the aerosol Deoxit with the little tube attached and was careful just to use a small drop.

Once the deoxit gets under the ring, GENTLY press down on the ring and turn it to disperse the deoxit and to clean the contact area on the circuit board under the ring. Let it dry, and repeat this once more.
DO NOT USE the Deoxit Gold afterwards. (I believe it leaves an oily residue which is supposed to protect against corosion but reversed any cleaning gain I had with the Deoxit RED. ) After cleaning, you may have to rotate the split ring to find a sweet spot for the best operation.

One other cause of what you are describing is unsteady pressure on the PD button. The slightly bigger AW rechargable may increase the tension on the spring inside the PD cylinder some, so that you really have to be careful to apply STEADY pressure to the PD button end of the cylinder when ramping.. In addition, when you ramp with the light, try letting up very quickly on the button when you get to the brightness you want. Too slow of a release may be read as a double click and switch you to max or min, or shut off the light.

Thanks, BabyDoc. You were right on. After a small amount of Deoxit Red and rotating the split-ring, my D10 works properly. The split-ring was a bear to get to rotate though.

I guess that some small amount of dirt or corrosion was sufficient to cause the malfunctions with the higher voltage of the LiIon cells.

Thanks again to you and all others who responded.

Hugh

I am glad that your light is now working right.:thumbsup: I should have mentioned that a wood toothpick is a userful tool for rotating the ring. Just place the point in the split in the ring, and should easily turn. Still, it is a bit more difficult pressing down and turning the ring at the same time with the D10 than with the Ex10 where the ring isn't recessed within the head.

Every flashaholic should own and use DeOxit on their lights.

I just purchased a D10 R2 and I am looking to purchase some 14500s. Should I go with UltraFire or AW?

Thanks!

TimmyBoston said:

I just purchased a D10 R2 and I am looking to purchase some 14500s. Should I go with UltraFire or AW?

Thanks!

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AW.

+1 AW

+2 AW

+3 AW

I use my D10 mostly with nimh , it works really great with Duracell 2650mah (1h20min on high). With 14500 cells it works ok but if I leave the cell in the light for a week it will lose power and sometimes with the light off it make a sound like its on high(but it does not get warm).
I love to use 14500 but on the NDI , 1 900mah 14500 lasts for 1h20min until it starts blinking for warning

BTW, yesterday I did my first runtime graphs... will post them ASAP .. Led Lenser P5 vs D10 and NDI , for the ones agains not regulated lights...you wont like the results lol

Regards,

Art said:

I use my D10 mostly with nimh , it works really great with Duracell 2650mah (1h20min on high). With 14500 cells it works ok but if I leave the cell in the light for a week it will lose power and sometimes with the light off it make a sound like its on high(but it does not get warm).
I love to use 14500 but on the NDI , 1 900mah 14500 lasts for 1h20min until it starts blinking for warning

BTW, yesterday I did my first runtime graphs... will post them ASAP .. Led Lenser P5 vs D10 and NDI , for the ones agains not regulated lights...you wont like the results lol

Regards,

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My D10 makes no noise when it's on high (or low for that matter). If your light is making a sound on high (or when turned off) I would think there is something wrong with it. Neither my D10 or EX10 makes any kind of sound. I use 14500 AW's in my D10 and AW RCR's in my EX10. Both work great.

It only makes the noise with nimh and when they are getting low on charge. With li-ions the D10 makes that noise when its off... but not always.

I was having trouble with one of my two AW14500s. The problem persisted until I just gave up on the 14500s and went back to Eneloops. Well about two weeks ago I thought that I would try the other 14500. Low and behold my D10 works just fine with this one. All of these batteries are not exactly alike. So if you are having trouble with one of these LiIons, try another one. Maybe it will work for you.

Hugh

I purchased an AW 14500 and it does not work well with my NiteCore D10. It appears to be too long. It is approximately a 1.5 mm longer than my disposable alkalines that I've been using (which work just fine). The piston does not move cleanly and the ramping is very difficult to use.

The AW battery is approximately 51.5 mm long, while the disposable (which works) is a little under 50mm.

Do you think I'd have better luck with UltraFires?