Cree life expectancy? Known Fenix T1 problem?

Hi all,

I have a Fenix T1 that seems to have lost its oomph. It used to be very bright, rated at over 200 lumen. It has had about three or four sets of batteries through it, and I have noticed that it didn't seem as bright as before. Last week I got a new PD20, rated at 180 lumen, and by comparing the two, it becomes evident that the T1 is only a fraction as bright as it used to.


Do you think this is just the case of a flashlight producer pushing the envelope, stressing the Cree to an early retirement, or is it something wrong with the LED or the lights electronics?

Try cleaning contacts and make sure that you have fresh batteries. If the problem endure it is probably defective LED and you should just send it to your dealer for a repair/replacement.

Maybe your eyes got used to it. Sounds weird but that happens sometimes your eyes just don't think it's as bright. I know that happens w/ most of my flashlights that I use, I think they aren't that bright when they really are.

jake25 said:

Maybe your eyes got used to it. Sounds weird but that happens sometimes your eyes just don't think it's as bright. I know that happens w/ most of my flashlights that I use, I think they aren't that bright when they really are.

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I was thinking the same thing, but then why is the PD20, rated at 180 lumen, at least twice as bright as the T1, rated at 225 lumen? I also compared to my P1D and L1D, and they are a lot brighter.

I'll try cleaning the contacts and let you know the result.

The PD20, by the way, is really, really bright for it's size and money.

Have you checked that you actually turned the head to high?

Marduke said:

Have you checked that you actually turned the head to high?

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Thats exactly what I was thinking.:laughing:

I recall a problem with a few T1s going dim like that but i cant find the threads.

Marduke said:

Have you checked that you actually turned the head to high?

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I did.

Low mode can be compared to the PD20 "save mode", or the P2D 1. stage, i.e. about 10 lumens.

High mode can be compared to the PD20 2. stage, and is less than the P2D 2. stage, i.e. about 50 lumens.

Ah, heres one: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/198505

He mentions that the die turned a darker yellow. Does that seem to be the case with yours?

edit: sorry don't know how that got there...

Emitter is one possible culprit. Could also be the circuit. Most circuit failures I've experienced have been abrupt (accompanied by that acrid burnt electrical smell :tinfoil. But I have seen a few circuits slowly fail over the course of several hours during a runtime or two. In those cases, max output slowly dropped until it was a fraction of its original state (and circuit regulation all but disappeared).

If cleaning all the contact surfaces doesn't help, I'd contact your dealer about repair/replacement options.

My fenix T1 went dim after 2 months of use and a hard drop.

The led started to show a dark dot at the middle and the beam was everytime more yellow, it drawed almost 6 watts from 2 primaries and runtime was only 25 minutes. Now it is disected and im planing to mod it with a 1A board, R2 and aspheric.