My D10 Eats Batteries!

I have had a Nitecore D10 now for about 3 months. It has not been used heavily, and I have kept it in a Ripoff holder all this time. When I first got it I stuck an Eveready lithium AA in it. Saturday I went to use it, and it was as dead as a doorknob! I thought the light had crapped out like some I have read about here on the forum, but unlike those unlucky folks, mine did not heat up in my pocket. I tested the battery with a tester and measured .6v. Now I am hesitant to put any primary battery in it. I knew that these lights caused a slow drain on the battery, but I think a few months is a bit more than a slow drain. Maybe it was a one time thing and somehow it turned on while in my pocket, I dont know. I wonder if the D20 suffers from the same prob? Is there any way to change this thing to a standard clickie????...:thinking::laughing:

Mike

The D10 has a stand-by draw if it is twisted all the way in. You can twist it out a bit so that it just works in momentary mode and it won't draw power from the cell. I think we've all accidentally turned a light on in our pockets before and drained a cell or five.
The trick here is always have a spare cell with you.

I'd be very surprised if the standby current draw could drain an E2 lithium in 3 months.... it should take waaay longer than that.

Jarl said:

I'd be very surprised if the standby current draw could drain an E2 lithium in 3 months.... it should take waaay longer than that.

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That is what I was thinking!

You say you haven't used it heavily, but could 3 months of occasional use have added up to a lithium battery's worth? I find it really hard to keep track of total used runtime with lights I use occasionally over long periods.

If you've had a new light that you haven't used up a first cell in three months, then you're not a flashaholic.

My guess is that you've used it more than you think you have, and on high, of course.

These lights are overachievers and are really being pushed with an AA cell.

yet another reason to use rechargeables.

I went through my D10s first NiMH in 3 or 4 days
This light on high eats batteries like mad.
Could it be that it accidentally turned on?

Yes this light has a higher than normal current draw when idle, but that's just inevitable if you run it off a single AA cell and with the piston drive (dc-dc converter has to be always on to power the microcontroller). With a 3v cell, you could direct-drive the uC, then it'll consume only a few microwatts. but from a 1.5v cell... no chance, atmel and pic uC need a minimum of 1.8v to start up, more to write to the eeprom.

These lights turn on if accidentally bumped, especially if the tail of the light hits a solid surface. The D20 is worse because the batteries are twice as heavy together.

EngrPaul said:

These lights turn on if accidentally bumped, especially if the tail of the light hits a solid surface. The D20 is worse because the batteries are twice as heavy together.

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I just recently got my D20 and it's only been about 3 weeks owned and I've never had an accidental turn on from the tail end hitting a hard surface. Perhaps they have fixed whatever is causing from previous batches?
My new D10 on the other hand turns on VERY easily when placed on a table doesn't matter if tail or front end.

1anrm said:

I just recently got my D20 and it's only been about 3 weeks owned and I've never had an accidental turn on from the tail end hitting a hard surface. Perhaps they have fixed whatever is causing from previous batches?
My new D10 on the other hand turns on VERY easily when placed on a table doesn't matter if tail or front end.

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I believe that is what happened to mine. I am not sure how, but it must have turned on when in my pocket, maybe on low where I had it set. That could explain why it did not get warm. It was in a nice fitting holster, so I am still scratching my head at this one. I only use the light occaisionally, but I would like it to work when needed. It could also have some sort of short. Either way, I can no longer use primaries in it. I may try loosening the head like some have suggested and use it in momentary mode, and just tighten it when I need it to stay on, but that is not how I want to use it. I also carry an Olight T15 the same way and I have never had this problem with it. Thank you for all of your responses.



Mike

mikekoz said:

I believe that is what happened to mine. I am not sure how, but it must have turned on when in my pocket, maybe on low where I had it set. That could explain why it did not get warm. It was in a nice fitting holster, so I am still scratching my head at this one. I only use the light occaisionally, but I would like it to work when needed. It could also have some sort of short. Either way, I can no longer use primaries in it. I may try loosening the head like some have suggested and use it in momentary mode, and just tighten it when I need it to stay on, but that is not how I want to use it. I also carry an Olight T15 the same way and I have never had this problem with it. Thank you for all of your responses.



Mike

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I had my EX10 come on two different times while I was carrying it in my cargo pants pocket with nothing else in the pocket. Now, I have to unscrew the head as well which isn't the way I wanted to use it either. That's why I no longer carry it and the reason I gave it away. I still have a D10 but it's just used around the house and it's no longer an EDC.

If I recall D10 has stand by current in miliamp range rather tha microamp on other lights, and can drain a nimh in 6 months or so. Coupled with use I guess 3 month isn't unrealistic.

I've had my ND10 for 2 months and it has been running great up until now. Within the past week, I noticed it would drain a newly charged Sanyo Eneloop dead overnight. That's with hardly using the ND10 at all.

Q: Has this ever happened to anyone?

I emailed 4sevens.com and they instructed me to send my ND10 back to them for repair/replacement. I'm hoping they can solve this.

I've had this happen twice but I assumed it turned on in my pocket.
I've also had it shut off by itself. Granted it was on the bottom of the hot tub providing ambient lighting(you know...setting the moooood :naughty. Of course the wife starts laughing because I moved so fast to get it she thought a kitten was drowning or something.
Funny thing is I opened it up and there was no water inside and when I put it together again it worked fine.:shrug:

Zendude said:

I've had this happen twice but I assumed it turned on in my pocket.

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I ruled out my ND10 turning on itself by accident. When not in use, I had it sitting on my computer desk or night stand. It just started running down batteries in less than a 12 hour period.:shrug:

I edc mine and im so glad that i dont have these problems at all.......let us know if your problem just goes away......are you keeping the light bezel up or down in the holster.

Mine has now been officially designated as a shelf queen!!:ironic:. I am going to EDC my Olight T15. Quite disappointed in it actually. I have a D20 also and will keep my eye on it.

Mike

alfreddajero said:

I edc mine and im so glad that i dont have these problems at all.......let us know if your problem just goes away......are you keeping the light bezel up or down in the holster.

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I have a clip on my ND10 so I don't holster it. When I had it stored, I kept it bezel down. There is no way it turned on accidentally. I kept having to put a freshly charged Sanyo Eneloop in it as it would be completely dead by the next day. I'll wait to see what 4sevens.com has to say.

I wish they could be sent back for reprogramming so that a few millisecond interruption doesn't cause the light to come on or change modes.