Issues with EX10 switch....

batmanacw · Nov 7, 2009

....and now I like it better than before.

My EX10 switch quit working today. I thought about cussing it, but I remembered that one side of the ring seemed to always be a little higher than the other side.

I tried turning the ring slightly and got it to work for a short time again, but it just wouldn't stay running right.

Once I got home I started playing with it, figuring that I would clean out the switch ring as well as possible. I realized that the ring had been split for a reason. If the switch ring was not supposed to come out without taking the head apart, they would have made it solid.

I gently pried up on it with a screw driver and the ring gradually came up and out. There was some garbage under the ring. I cleaned the ring really well inside and out. Cleaned the contact on the board, and used the tip of a rag to clean the outside walls of the light. Then I used deoxit on everything before putting it back together.

This is the reason that I like the light even better than I did before. Not many switches that are user serviceable. In fact, I don't remember any lights I own that could be so easily fixed. That kicks butt!

Some day my lights might be called upon to run for a long period of time when I can't merely send it back to the manufacturer. Being able to make it work under those conditions is very desirable. I am actually glad it happened.

batmanacw · Nov 10, 2009

I had a relapse with the problem, but I got it whipped now. The switch does not sit totally flat since it has a spring pushing up on it.

I lubed the outside of the ring very lightly with Superlube that was recommended on this site for the threads and orings.

The ring moves much easier now and has been nearly flawless ever since. The piston switch feels smoother as well. I might consider lubing the ring on my D10 as well, although it has never missed a beat.

I am surprised with all the modders here that fixing a little issue like this would not attract more discussion.

Moonshadow · Nov 11, 2009

Firstly, well done for fixing your EX10 - it really is a great light when working properly !

Although you've discovered it independently, the split ring fix is in fact quite well known, but perhaps more in context of the D10 which may be why you hadn't found much discussion of it for the EX10:

http://www.google.com/search?q=D10+split+ring&sitesearch=candlepowerforums.com

Kilovolt · Nov 11, 2009

batmanacw said:
I am surprised with all the modders here that fixing a little issue like this would not attract more discussion.

Perhaps you did not look back enough, there were long discussions about this subject some 15 months ago: link

I solved the same problem by lubricating the outside of the ring and the inside of the head at that time.

batmanacw · Nov 11, 2009

Kilovolt said:
Perhaps you did not look back enough, there were long discussions about this subject some 15 months ago: link

I solved the same problem by lubricating the outside of the ring and the inside of the head at that time.

so I am not crazy?

I didn't realize that it was a major problem. The lube really did the trick. Thankfully my D10 hasn't had similar issues. I will probably lube it anyway when I get home.

Kilovolt · Nov 11, 2009

batmanacw said:
I didn't realize that it was a major problem. The lube really did the trick. Thankfully my D10 hasn't had similar issues. I will probably lube it anyway when I get home.

Unfortunately opening the D10 head is not as simple as the EX10's one ...

batmanacw · Nov 22, 2009

Kilovolt said:
Unfortunately opening the D10 head is not as simple as the EX10's one ...

I didn't open the head at all. I just lightly pried up the ring a little at a time all the way around.

My light has been perfect for the last couple weeks. Really nice light.

phosphor · Dec 6, 2009

Typically I'm way behind the curve here on the forums....I just received an EX10 R2 this afternoon. While I've been fascinated by the Smart PD system since NiteCore released these, it wasn't until I discovered 4Sevens 40% discount on this model that I finally decided to order one.

I had problems with the UI from the outset. I messed with the light all afternoon and throughout the evening. I had to remove the piston and O-ring and clean and re-lube. I also had to unscrew the stainless bezel ring, carefully remove the lens, bezel O-ring, and then gently extract the emitter board and switch. I pried up the switch ring and wiped it down along with the bottom and sides of the switch.

On my first two attempts to reinsert the piston back into the sleeve I ripped the O-ring and once reassembled the piston wouldn't engage. Luckily I was able to use a spare Fenix O-ring and get the piston to work properly with a bit of effort. I can understand those who have had difficulty with their Smart PD's expressing frustration. The bottom line for me is I was able to get mine working properly.....and for me the effort seems worth it; the beam is a perfect bend of flood and spot......no rings....a cool, snow white in color

If this EX10 continues to "behave" I'll be very pleased with my purchase. I know plenty of folks have had good luck with their NiteCore Smart PD system right out of the box, or with just a little "adjustment". Mine was definitely finicky. However, these are nice lights when working properly. While some may disagree, I'm not sure I would consider this a perfect "entry-level" flashlight for the novice.

OfficerCamp · Dec 6, 2009

Guess I should consider myself lucky.
I've owned a D10 for a while now with 0 issues. The piston gets sticky if I use too much lube on it, but other than that it has been a very solid light.

I purchased the EX10 at the 4Sevens sale as well, as I'm slowly trying to eliminate AA lights from my collection (to standardize my cells). The EX10 has been a dream to operate also. Next step for me is to have someone pop out that awful blue emitter and replace it with a nice creamy neutral white cree. Than I will never need another light..... that is until my Arc6 arrives this week.... Than I will never need another light.... well, until my "Download" 18650 SST50 shows up...... than I......... :devil:

Elliot · Dec 6, 2009

Typically I'm way behind the curve here on the forums....I just received an EX10 R2 this afternoon. While I've been fascinated by the Smart PD system since NiteCore released these, it wasn't until I discovered 4Sevens 40% discount on this model that I finally decided to order one.

I had problems with the UI from the outset.

Me too (3 days ago actually). :poke:

I didn't have to takes anything apart. I cleaned it up and used nanolube on the o-ring and Nyogel on the piston. Got lucky with the R2 tint - perfect Northern exposure daylight, not blue or warm.

I am glade I didn't pay full price, although I find the UI great fun to play with for me it's just so so in everyday type use. Having no memory really hurts it, and I really don't see the advantage of semi-instant switching to moon mode. I will probably try one of those ring switching bezels or the new ITP bezel clicky.

hyperloop · Dec 6, 2009

just got back from Bali yesterday, saw that my package from 4sevens was in, yeah! My EX10 R2 and clip had arrived.

The clip is a b*tch to install but once you get it in, its such a relief. No issues with the piston, opened it up removed the piston, cleaned it and relubed with BreakFree, smooth as silk now.

batmanacw · Dec 6, 2009

Well, its been one day shy of a month since I posted this issue. My light has been nearly perfect ever since I got it fixed. The super lube on the ring seems to have been the clincher. I continue to carry this light almost every day since I want to establish its reliability for when it might really matter. I usually have more than one light on me anyway.

Of the several hundred times I have turned this light on, I didn't press far enough to activate the light. A second press was enough to get it lit and working fine.

I will say the UI is slow. It has not been an issue with me so far. Just different.

I have to stop by the machine shop this afternoon. I might take the ring out and buff the outside with a buffing wheel just to really slick it up so there is much less chance of it ever catching due to friction.

ETA: I went ahead and polished the outside of the ring with a felt bob on my dremel, using hoppes gun metal polish. It worked great. I was careful to bias the wheel so it was not running along the lathe tooling marks so it would not deepen the cuts. This light has never felt so smooth. I might have to do the same thing to the D10 just because I can!

ETA2: I easily pried up the ring in the D10 with my dental pick. Didn't have to disassemble anything else. I polished it to a bright shine. What a difference! I thought it was smooth before, but now its incredibly smooth. I can't imagine that there would be any down side to this mod.

Woods Walker · Dec 6, 2009

I have a hard time gettting mine to jump from low to high. The ramping is ok but the fast mode change thing not so much. Hummm going to clean the contacts.

edit.

Ok that works.

and never knew that I could stop the ramping and it then goes the other way. Cool makes it easy to fine tune the output!

Ajay · Dec 6, 2009

batmanacw said:
This is the reason that I like the light even better than I did before. Not many switches that are user serviceable. In fact, I don't remember any lights I own that could be so easily fixed. That kicks butt!

User serviceability! I hadn't thought of that until you mentioned it since I never had an issue with a clicky, but then again I use my clicky lights way less than my D10. I had similar issues with my D10: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/3175760

That ring has to be very close to flat when re-installed or else it will have problems with changing modes or turning on too easily.

Ajay

phosphor · Dec 6, 2009

batmanacw said:
Well, its been one day shy of a month since I posted this issue. My light has been nearly perfect ever since I got it fixed. The super lube on the ring seems to have been the clincher. I continue to carry this light almost every day since I want to establish its reliability for when it might really matter. I usually have more than one light on me anyway.

Of the several hundred times I have turned this light on, I didn't press far enough to activate the light. A second press was enough to get it lit and working fine.

I will say the UI is slow. It has not been an issue with me so far. Just different.

I have to stop by the machine shop this afternoon. I might take the ring out and buff the outside with a buffing wheel just to really slick it up so there is much less chance of it ever catching due to friction.

ETA: I went ahead and polished the outside of the ring with a felt bob on my dremel, using hoppes gun metal polish. It worked great. I was careful to bias the wheel so it was not running along the lathe tooling marks so it would not deepen the cuts. This light has never felt so smooth. I might have to do the same thing to the D10 just because I can!

ETA2: I easily pried up the ring in the D10 with my dental pick. Didn't have to disassemble anything else. I polished it to a bright shine. What a difference! I thought it was smooth before, but now its incredibly smooth. I can't imagine that there would be any down side to this mod.

....that the piston "issue" has been eliminated after polishing the ring leads me to believe my hunch that the tolerances on some of these lights are off to the extent that it affects reliable operation; for some owners, if the piston sleeve isn't lubed "just right".....the light doesn't operate reliably.

I'm not saying these are "bad" lights, or every NiteCore PD system is "off". I'm just saying my particular light needed quite a bit of "attention" before it would work as advertised. Now that mine is working correctly.....I like this light !

- regards

batmanacw · Dec 6, 2009

phosphor said:
....that the piston "issue" has been eliminated after polishing the ring leads me to believe my hunch that the tolerances on some of these lights are off to the extent that it affects reliable operation; for some owners, if the piston sleeve isn't lubed "just right".....the light doesn't operate reliably.

I'm not saying these are "bad" lights, or every NiteCore PD system is "off". I'm just saying my particular light needed quite a bit of "attention" before it would work as advertised. Now that mine is working correctly.....I like this light !

- regards

My light had plenty of clearance for the parts to move inside of each other. The issue stems from the surface finish of the two parts. Both pieces are turned on a lathe. This produces tiny thread like ridges in the surfaces that like to mate to each other and produce friction. Believe it or not, merely changing the feed speeds of the lathe as it cuts the two parts would help this. Polishing the brass ring with cratex for a few seconds would also help. Maybe just using a carbide tool that has a larger radius to give a more polished look and less depth to the ridges.

The ring does not seem to grab unless it is tilted slightly. The spring underneath does not lend itself to sitting perfectly flat.

I would have been happier if this light was perfect out of the box, but it does help develop confidence in a light when you get to see how it works and how to make it run.

Issues with EX10 switch....

batmanacw

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batmanacw

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Moonshadow

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Kilovolt

Flashlight Enthusiast

batmanacw

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Kilovolt

Flashlight Enthusiast

batmanacw

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phosphor

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OfficerCamp

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Elliot

Newly Enlightened

hyperloop

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batmanacw

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Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim

Ajay

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phosphor

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batmanacw

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