Before I mod my L4

MavZ28 · Jan 29, 2009

I currently use the L4 (bought in 2007) with the KL4 head and love it. However, recently becoming a police officer I'm loving it even more and use it everyday.

So I went out and bought two Ultrafire 17670 rechargeable batteries, hoping I would have the body that would accept them. I lucked out. I was told the older bodies would take them. Mine is tapered near the tail cap and its just too tight.

So I've heard you could bore it out just a bit with a dremel. I'm thinking about doing it. However, before I do it, I want to make sure I'll be getting what I need.

I also have an old E2E that I went ahead and put the 17670s in, but noticed that, fully charged, the E2E's lost about 1/4th of its brightness. I'm not too adept on what I might be losing with CR123's to 17670s, but I want to know before I bore my beloved L4.

The batteries are Ultrafire LC 17670 1800 mAh 3.7V Li-ion batteries. I believe there may be something to consider the different performance with a incandescent light and an LED, let alone two different lights. So will I lose much function if I decide to bore out the L4? Is there a better way to go about keeping the same performance of my L4 and gaining a rechargeable battery? I'm going through a set of batteries every 1-2 weeks, so its getting quite pricey! help!

1wrx7 · Jan 29, 2009

If the 17670's fit the E2E body you could just swap the bodies. It won't say L4 but the heads will swap with no mods.

Boring the L4 body won't hurt it at all. You won't have to open it much. You will lose the chem-coat SF uses, but since you're using the light daily I don't think you'll end up with cells leaking.

DaFABRICATA · Jan 29, 2009

You're going to have a hard time boring it with a dremel tool...probably no the best idea.

Why not just use the E2e body with the KL4 head?

They are the same thing

Use the L4 body for the E2e with primaries.

DaFABRICATA · Jan 29, 2009

:wave:

Nathan · Jan 29, 2009

You should be OK with what you plan to do. All of my KL4 heads run fine on a 3.7V rechargeable like an RCR123 or 17670. They even run fine on a single primary, though not as bright. I've bored a few of my tubes using the cylindrical sandpaper bit. Wrap some tape over the threads so the dust doesn't get on them or the o-ring.

As for the E2E, the MN03 lamp is designed for 6V from 2 primaries. It's being way underpowered with just the 3.7V from a 17670.

eta: beaten again...

MavZ28 · Jan 30, 2009

great, thanks for the input guys.

yeah, one thing I forgot to mention.....believe it or not...and I have NO IDEA why...but i've tried switching heads. The KL4 is not working on the E2E body?!?! I'm not 100% sure why its not. Looking at it, it almost appears the KL4 might not make contact with the positive end of the CR123, but when I shake it, theres no movement.....but regardless, first hand they aren't working. I was kinda curious to know why it wasn't.

I have a older E2E...from 2004.
And the L4 was ordered in 2007. Maybe that might have something to do with it, but I'm clueless.

I think I'm going to try to bore the L4, and the E2E may be staying somewhere shelfed as a backup and I'll get an updated head here when I have the cash.

Ty_Bower · Jan 30, 2009

If you want to run your E series head on the 17670 cell, you might want to consider purchasing one of the EO-E1R lamps from Lumens Factory. It will run at full brightness on the 17670 cell.

http://lumensfactory.com/products.php?cat_id=5

Gunner12 · Jan 30, 2009

The bulb of the E2E is meant for 6v, not 4.2 of a fully charged Li-ion battery. The lower voltage decreases the output. A LED light has a circuit to supply the voltage and current the LED needs almost none of the incan lights have this.

Ultrafire is budget brand, I wouldn't trust their batteries for your use. One of the two 17670s I got is dead.

Do you have a Surefire 6P or a P60 accepting light? If you do, a Malkoff M60F or M60LF might work. Both have more runtime and more output and a floody beam(they use a current gen LED vs the previous gen on in the L4). But the 6P is larger then the L4.

The 17670 battery should work for the L4 from what I hear.

:welcome:

1996alnl · Jan 30, 2009

MavZ28 said:
I currently use the L4 (bought in 2007) with the KL4 head and love it. However, recently becoming a police officer I'm loving it even more and use it everyday.

So I went out and bought two Ultrafire 17670 rechargeable batteries, hoping I would have the body that would accept them. I lucked out. I was told the older bodies would take them. Mine is tapered near the tail cap and its just too tight.

So I've heard you could bore it out just a bit with a dremel. I'm thinking about doing it. However, before I do it, I want to make sure I'll be getting what I need.

I also have an old E2E that I went ahead and put the 17670s in, but noticed that, fully charged, the E2E's lost about 1/4th of its brightness. I'm not too adept on what I might be losing with CR123's to 17670s, but I want to know before I bore my beloved L4.

The batteries are Ultrafire LC 17670 1800 mAh 3.7V Li-ion batteries. I believe there may be something to consider the different performance with a incandescent light and an LED, let alone two different lights. So will I lose much function if I decide to bore out the L4? Is there a better way to go about keeping the same performance of my L4 and gaining a rechargeable battery? I'm going through a set of batteries every 1-2 weeks, so its getting quite pricey! help!

I just finished boring out my L4 a few weeks ago,let me tell you i'm constantly enjoying this thing now.

I'm using 3 AW 17670 cells,i always make sure i have two cells always charged.
The runtimes will be a bit less but the brightness is the same.:thumbsup:
It's really easy to mod this light to take 17670 cells.
Get yourself a small (about 8'' or so) rounded file and file down as much material as you can while rotating the body. It's best to do this over a laundry sink.
Then you can use a half inch wooden dowel with a piece of sandpaper taped to it and mount it on a cordless drill and smooth out the inside (I got this idea from another CPF member,don't remember who though)
Rinse off the metal shavings with hot water,jam a paper towel through the tube to dry it and check to see if the battery fits.
It's not hard to do and believe me it's worth it.:thumbsup:

M I K · Jan 30, 2009

Stop!
Read this before you bore out your L4.
I hand ream E series bodies to fit the 17670. I wrap a rag around the body to prevent finish damage. I then do it all by hand. No power tools. I have done LOTS of them and they look beautiful. If you would like to send me your E series body (as I don't want your real one), I would be glad to ream it out and send it back to you. For an LEO, I will not charge you a dime. Maybe you could just pick up the shipping. For the weight of a body to go coast to coast 1st class is under 3 bucks.

Merrill [email protected]

And by the way, NEVER let metal shavings get in your sink. They settle in the sewer line and cause problems. Do it over newspapers so you can get them in the trash where they belong. Same goes for coffee grounds.

blgoode · Feb 3, 2009

I have a related question.

I have unprotected 17670's that fit in my L4 body. I could not get the KL4 to light up with the rechargable. I pulled the tailcap spring so contact issues wouldnt be an issue and now I have a KL4 head that will only reach 1/2 lumin power no matter what batteries I use!!!!
Did I fry it?

My other KL4 head works great on teh E1 body with AW rechargables. Any one have a clue what happened to my KL4 head?

Before I mod my L4

MavZ28

Newly Enlightened

1wrx7

Enlightened

DaFABRICATA

Flashlight Enthusiast

DaFABRICATA

Flashlight Enthusiast

Nathan

Enlightened

MavZ28

Newly Enlightened

Ty_Bower

Flashlight Enthusiast

Gunner12

Flashaholic

1996alnl

Enlightened

M I K

Enlightened

blgoode

Newly Enlightened

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