WF-008 recoill thrower problems

Hi guys,
Complete and utter noob here.

Well I have recieved my first ever LED Flashlight from DX and It doesn't work.

Its an Ultrafire WF-008, single mode Q5 cree recoil thrower. 2.8-9v

I have stripped down the light and on the outerside of the head at the bottom where the battery touches, there is what appears to be a wire soldered to the edge of the circuit board then just left to hang on the outside of the reflector. I have taken pictures but don't know how to post them (sorry) it is a bare wire with no insulation on it just the wire strands. It just does not look right to me.

I have tried it with two rechargable cr123A's, I checked before buying that the torch was capable of supporting them (its rated to 9v) and they are 3.6v (probably a little more when charged?) and no joy.

I might have to bite the bullet tomorrow and buy some primaries but here in the UK I am looking at 20 bucks for a couple, which is two thirds of the price of the torch!!.

If anyone has any ideas of what to try I would be most greatful, I know you guys get hundreds of these "help I am an idiot" threads off us noobs but I did a lot of research before buying and read a lot of stuff on here, just gutted that its my first torch and its Kaput.

Thanks for your time

Fram.

can you post up a pic? Theres a "how to post pics" sticky somewhere in one of the sub forums.

Exposed wiring does not sound good. I played with Craigs at a CPF meet and did not see any exposed wires anywhere.

Its physically impossible to solder anything onto Alumimum (thats why light pills are either brass or copper). I wonder if the loose wire is supposed to contact the body or reflector somewhere to complete the -ive half of the circuit? Post pics though... I am having a hard time imagining what you are seeing.

hey kramer.. mine was a WF-007, not an 8.

but! there should be a little post where the wire runs down from the led, though they should not be bare. :thinking:

csshih said:

hey kramer.. mine was a WF-007, not an 8.

but! there should be a little post where the wire runs down from the led, though they should not be bare. :thinking:

Click to expand...

oh oops... my mistake. OP take note.

If it's the wire that connects to the emitter, it shouldn't be bare.
If such is the case and you're not confident in fixing it, inform DX immediately that you got a DOA.
They'll probably (a) ask you to send it back for inspection (b) send you a new one immediately, in either case, you have to prepare to wait...

Hi guys,
Firstly thanks for the replies, secondly it says I am not allowed to post attachments, probably cos I am a noob.

When I disassemble the head of the torch I am left with the whole of the reflector unit, the led is on a post at the front facing backwards coming of the led is 2 wires that are both white running inside the reflector to the bottom. These wires connect to the top side of circuit board on the bottom of the reflector assembly (opposite side from the battery spring). On the battery spring side of the circuit board there is the little spring in the middle of the board sitting in the green bit. Running around the green bit is a ring of metal (copper part of the circuit board) the bare wire I am talking about is soldered to this ring at one end and then runs down the outside of the reflector assembly where it is trapped by the bigger spring that acts as a spacer for the whole of the reflector assembly as it sits in the torch body.

Its very frustrating not being able to post pics but I have tried to explain as best I can.

I also checked the clickie switch and was not happy with the soldering so as I was going to change it anyway I have fitted a new tape switch (buttons in the pressure pad) which I have re soldered my self and hot glued to make sure I am happy it is done right.
It had 2 wires going to the circuit board 1 red and 1 black. I have soldered the black one to the middle of the circuit board and the red one to the outer position. they are good solder joints re-enforced with hot glue.

So I think this eliminates this end of the torch as a potential problem.

I know some people are saying the rechargeable 123a batteries don't work in there torches, but I not getting any angry blue led, no burning smells or smoke, in fact nothing at all.

Many thanks for your kind help so far.

Fram.

Do not tighten the tailcap too much. Open it a few degrees and try again.

Welcome to CPF, Fram.

Well I have recieved my first ever LED Flashlight from DX and It doesn't work.

Click to expand...

You aren't the first with that sort of experience with DX, I'm sorry to say. There have been hundreds of similar tales of woe about lights bought from DX & KD.

it says I am not allowed to post attachments

Click to expand...

You can post links to images that are properly hosted on sites such as photobucket.com.

Fram said:

Hi guys,
Firstly thanks for the replies, secondly it says I am not allowed to post attachments, probably cos I am a noob.

Its very frustrating not being able to post pics but I have tried to explain as best I can.

Click to expand...

On CPF no one is allowed to attach pics, etc. Just simply host your pictures on a hosting site like tinypic.com and enter the img code tagged url given to make the pic show up in your post.
There is a stickied thread here which gies into a bit more detail in case you haven't found it.

OK sorry guys,

I have tried to undo the cap a few degrees, and still no joy, thanks for the tip though.

OK hopefully some pictures....

http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo14/jsfram/loosewire1Small.jpg

http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo14/jsfram/loosewire2Small.jpg

http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo14/jsfram/headSmall.jpg

If this works you should now see the wire I am concerned about, it is trapped to the body of the reflector by a large spring that fits over it and acts as a spacer/tensioner when screwed to the body.

Once again big thanks

Fram

I don't have experience with this particular light but lots with other lights including Ultrafire ones.
I suspect that the insulated negative lead is supposed to come out of that hole and be soldered to where those wires are. Looks like the lead has been pulled from the inside during construction and ripped the wire apart. You are left with a loose lead inside somewhere and a few loose strands still attached at the solder blob. I suspect that if you send DX a copy of the pic, they may bung you another one in the mail. It doesn't look self repairable.
Have to say, I've had loads of lights from DX and never had a problem with one. The number that have been sold to members on CPF means that there will always be a higher percentage of posted failures. And before people jump on me for saying that, no I'm not suggesting that they are as good quality as Fenix, Jetbeam, etc.. I'm just saying that they are usually reasonable quality. Certainly a lot better than the 'Tescos' Led torches.

Hi there,

I also have a WF-008. I can in fact confirm that it will _not_ work with 2 x rcr123 (3.6V) batteries. It does, however, accept 2 x rcr123 (3.0V) and 1 x 18650 (3.7V).

Mine is a 3-mode (high-low-strobo), silver-coloured version. The specs are obviously wrong, as DX claims it only has 1 mode and accepts an input voltage of 2.8 to 9V. Then again, they might use whatever drivers they happen to have in stock, so YMMV.

As for the loose wire, it seems that there is in fact a wire soldered to the pill in mine as well. It is routed under the spring on the head side.

I'm quite happy with the torch. Bought it to use as a searchlight on my boat to help spot beacons in the dark.

Welcome to CPF Fram,
Here you go







BTW there's no such light made by Ultrafire, the 007 is made by Ultrafire, the 008 is not. If you look at the Ultrafire website the 008 is not there. I would have a guess that as the 007 was so popular, someone had these made to jump on the bandwagon and make a quick buck.


.

Hi mate,
Thanks for that, at least its nothing I have done wrong then.

I am quite good with a soldering iron so wouldnt mind having a go myself if it was possible, as I dont fancy the 2 month wait from DX again.

I suppose if I can somehow remove the board then it would be self explanatory where the wires should go?

I just hope I havent done it any damage by putting batteries in it.

Once again thanks to all

Fram.

Thanks essex man :thumbsup:

Fram.

Fram said:

Thanks essex man :thumbsup:

Fram.

Click to expand...

No problem :twothumbs

OK I have managed to get to the other side of the board, but there doesnt seem to be any loose wires or anything missing, the bare wire on the outside doesnt seem to serve any purpose, unless its a ground?

Fram.

Fram, please see my post above (moderated 1st post, appeared a bit late).

Mine also has a loose wire and will not work with 2 x 3.6V cr123's.

Finjaskafin, sorry just seen your post, do you mean yours has a wire like this as well

If so then maybe it is supposed to be there and I am using the wrong batteries.

here is a pic of the inside of the board if it helps.





I am hoping to pick up some 18650 tonight.

Many thanks

Fram.

finjaskafin said:

my post above... moderated 1st post, appeared a bit late

Click to expand...

It was in the moderation queue for 16 minutes. That's not really all that long, is it?