Fenix TK40, WOW what happened?

Bought a Fenix TK40 in January. Used it with Sanyo Eneloop batteries ever since. Really liked the light and did nothing bad to it. After reading the torture test posted on this forum, I was convinced it was a great and durable light. Yesterday at work I dropped the light onto an indoor floor once. The button acted funny and the light worked and then didn't. I figured it was the batteries. Charged them, put them back in. Double-checked to ensure that I put them back in correctly. The light won't work.

I can't believe this. Is there anything I can do? I can't believe I spent $130 on a flashlight and it lasted for 4 months. I did nothing wrong to this light. Thanks for your advice.

Well obviously what happened was you dropped it and it broke. It happens. What happens when you click it on? No light whats so ever?

I would try the suggestions in this thread:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/253661

Please report back here what you find out.

That why I steer clear of lights with too many parts needed to function.

LightLearner said:

Bought a Fenix TK40 in January. Used it with Sanyo Eneloop batteries ever since. Really liked the light and did nothing bad to it. After reading the torture test posted on this forum, I was convinced it was a great and durable light. Yesterday at work I dropped the light onto an indoor floor once. The button acted funny and the light worked and then didn't. I figured it was the batteries. Charged them, put them back in. Double-checked to ensure that I put them back in correctly. The light won't work.

I can't believe this. Is there anything I can do? I can't believe I spent $130 on a flashlight and it lasted for 4 months. I did nothing wrong to this light. Thanks for your advice.

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There are few scenarios. I would expect the led & driver to survive most short falls. The battery holder and switch would be my first thought as to an issue.

As to doing nothing wrong, I read about the light on the Fenix website. I couldn't find anything stating that it would endure being dropped onto an indoor floor once. This omission makes me question the second sentence I highlighted in my quote. However, we all expect a certain amount of durability from a product.....being dropped onto a floor may or may not be within what it was designed to endure without damage. Maybe it landed in such a manner that only in that impact position could it possibly be damaged, who knows. Maybe it was just lucky to survive the torture test, again, I don't know.

I suggest checking the battery carrier (if it has one) and switch very carefully. Good luck, surely others will chime in.

LightLearner said:

I did nothing wrong to this light.

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Except dropped it, right? I don't mean to sound condescending but just thought I'd point out that indeed an occurrence happened that could potentially result in an effect and the effect seems to be an inoperative light. It's hard to say what exactly happened since we can't examine it and you didn't post any pictures or video or describe any of the specific areas that you may have looked at. At this point your best bet is to send it back to the retailer (hopefully you purchased it from a CPF associated dealer) and have them inspect it and make a recommendation.

If you can't sort it out yourself, see about a warranty repair, but yeah, these lights are consumer electronics and break just like any other electronic gadget. "Torture tests" are marketing nonsense. There are some lights that are really designed for rugged use, but they are quite expensive and bulky compared with other lights of comparable output.

"It" happens... delicate electronics.

Contact your AD for warranty service.

paulr said:

If you can't sort it out yourself, see about a warranty repair, but yeah, these lights are consumer electronics and break just like any other electronic gadget. "Torture tests" are marketing nonsense. There are some lights that are really designed for rugged use, but they are quite expensive and bulky compared with other lights of comparable output.

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So you're telling me that this is marketing nonsense? It was done by a member of this forum (Aussiebob). This guy did 2 tests... This is the first one:

Listed in order of occurance.
1. 15 drops 2.5ft bezel down over concrete
2. 15 drops 2.5ft tail down over concrete
3. 15 drops 2.5ft horizontal over concrete
4. 20 drops 3ft mid air spiral over crushed brick
5. Run over with 1400kg (3800lb) car approx 12 times both horizontal and vertical. Over both concrete and crushed brick.
6. Frozen in block of ice for 24hrs.
7. Left submerged in salt water 7ft deep for 12hrs.
8. Dragged behind car over gravel for 2km (1.3mi) at 20kph (12.5mph).
9. Placed in boiling water for 3 minutes.

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Then he did even more. The thing still worked. It just doesn't make sense, no matter how I think about it, that this light would stop working altogether after 1 drop on vinyl when this guy purposely dropped the thing 65 times at 4 different angles on concrete, no to mention dragged it for 1.3 miles behind a car.

Now, I understand that it is possible. I understand that it's possible that I was just super unlucky, but really, this is just strange. And I know you guys can relate. I'm sure you've all dropped lights and I'm sure you'd be upset if they stopped working after 1 drop. It's just weird and nonsensical. I have plastic lights that don't do that, let alone "tactical" lights. I guess I'm contacting my dealer as well as Fenix. This needs to be taken care of.

When you buy a Streamlight product example say the Microstream,the tech sheet states:-

Shock-proof; drop test verified above the industry standard of six feet

And they do,dropped mine a fair few times.

Somehwere in that torture test the battery stopped making contact with the switch (or something like that) and the TK40 stopped working. I read that a while ago so I can't remember the exact details but he said what he did to fix it in that thread as I recall.

LightLearner said:

Bought a Fenix TK40 in January. Used it with Sanyo Eneloop batteries ever since. Really liked the light and did nothing bad to it. After reading the torture test posted on this forum, I was convinced it was a great and durable light. Yesterday at work I dropped the light onto an indoor floor once. The button acted funny and the light worked and then didn't. I figured it was the batteries. Charged them, put them back in. Double-checked to ensure that I put them back in correctly. The light won't work.

I can't believe this. Is there anything I can do? I can't believe I spent $130 on a flashlight and it lasted for 4 months. I did nothing wrong to this light. Thanks for your advice.

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Lightlearner, the switch is the weak link on the TK line of lights. Inside the switch itself there's a tiny spring that is mounted on top of a thin plastic post. That post tends to shear off when the light is dropped "just right".

My guess is that it's the switch, not the entire light/circuit that broke. Try bypassing the tailcap with a clip or a piece of wire. That should confirm my hunch. If true, then simply contact the seller and get a replacement switch.

Good luck.

Check the battery carrier first. Maybe some spring is just jammed or something.

mine has more dents, dings and whacks than a tent stake and still works faultlessly, just bad luck i would say? send it back to Fenix

Send it back, I'm confident it is covered by warranty.

greenLED said:

Lightlearner, the switch is the weak link on the TK line of lights. Inside the switch itself there's a tiny spring that is mounted on top of a thin plastic post. That post tends to shear off when the light is dropped "just right".

My guess is that it's the switch, not the entire light/circuit that broke. Try bypassing the tailcap with a clip or a piece of wire. That should confirm my hunch. If true, then simply contact the seller and get a replacement switch.

Good luck.

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Might be... I'll wait a day or two for them to get back. If I need to take matters into my own hands, I'll test it myself. What would I need to do? What function does the tailcap provide the flashlight that I'd have to imitate?

It can happen like you say and probably is just a bit unlucky. I dropped my 6D Mag ROP head over tail down a full flight of stairs and it worked when I picked it up. My Fenix TK11 has been dropped a few times and always been fine.

A carrier for 8 batteries has always put me off this light though, as do battery holders of this sort generally.

I would try to return it for warranty repair if it was me.

LightLearner said:

Might be... I'll wait a day or two for them to get back. If I need to take matters into my own hands, I'll test it myself. What would I need to do? What function does the tailcap provide the flashlight that I'd have to imitate?

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The electricity has to travel from the tube threads to the end of the battery or cell. If a tailcap were a solid piece of metal, attaching it would cause the light to be on all the time. Thus the switch, which can interrupt or complete the circuit depending on it's position (on/off).

Take a paperclip or some metal object. Touch it to both the tube threads and to the end of the cell. The light should come on. If so, most likely the switch is damaged. If not, most likely it's something in the business end of the light. Make sense to you?

LightLearner said:

So you're telling me that this is marketing nonsense? It was done by a member of this forum (Aussiebob). This guy did 2 tests... This is the first one:...

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Can't really determine anything from a sample size of one. Have him repeat that test on 100 more TK40's and if all 100 of them survive then we've learned something. If some of them fail, well, that explains what happens to yours.

LightLearner said:

If I need to take matters into my own hands, I'll test it myself. What would I need to do?

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Please click on the link that I provided in my post 3 of this thread. That link to another thread lists in detail all the things that can be checked in a TK40.

The first thing to do is determine where the problem is, in the tailcap switch, the head, or the battery carrier. The link that I provided will help narrow that down.