Nitecore SR3 ramping fault

I finally splashed out and bought myself another gorgeous light yesterday, a Nitecore SR3 which I've been pining for since they were released. I also got a D20 for Dad although I think the Preon II that's arriving later in the week is more suitable for him in size and function. Anyway, I'm pretty sure the SR3 is faulty, but I'm asking just in case this is a common problem with the complex SR design.

When ramping between brightness modes (i.e. twisting the smart ring) the light flicks into turbo or full brightness mode between some of the brightness levels, and between the "detents" as I've heard them referred to. By this I mean when I move from one level to another, before the ring clicks into place, the output jumps temporarily to max mode before ramping down to the correct brightness level for that position of the ring once it has clicked into place. This happens between four locations of the eight on the ring (a total of three times), and happens both when ramping brightness up and down.

So is this a blatant fault, a sign of a flawed design, a simple user error or even normal behaviour for a smartring light? I've gotta be honest, I love the light for the output, build quality, overall design and tint. If it worked properly, I'd love the new UI as well, but at the moment having shelled out £80 and being rewarded with what I believe is a faulty instrument - I'm mighty disappointed. I was also shocked and incredibly disappointed to hear that Nitecore only manufactured something stupidly low like 100 (?) of the 18650 extension tubes for this light. Why?! What could possibly have been the point in producing such a small quantity of an accessory which has been proven to greatly enhance the functionality and flexibility of one of their flashlights?

I seem to get all the faulty lights One of my RA twistys has recently re-developed the all too common "unselectable mode" fault. It's an 85-Tr and there's now 95% of the turn in red mode, 0.5% in medium mode (that's right, I can't access it at all) and the rest in turbo mode. I'm obviously really disappointed with that. As it's one of my main EDC rotation lights, I really miss the medium mode on it and find that I can't get a good day or nights work out of it having only the turbo mode without carrying one or two spare RCR123's everywhere I go. It's already been back to Henry once to get that sorted (and if I'm honest, wasn't 100% right when it eventually came back).

Mine does it too. I've seen other people complain about here. I assume they all do it. Expirment with changing the ring at different speeds. If you do it at the right speed, you don't have the issue. I never have the issue in the last three positions or the first two. You can also change the ring position with the light off. I think the problem seems worse when I have the strobe in the last position. When I remove the strobe mode, I don't see the issue as much. The issue is there but can be worked around.

This is a fault with the SR3, mine does it between the middle levels. I have found that if you are decisive and fast in switching modes, you don't notice it as much... But it's still there. Otherwise, I've found this light to be brilliant love the output and the size. As for the 18650 tube, I'm going to build my own, as I doubt I'd ever find one of them on the marketplace...

tre said:

Mine does it too. I've seen other people complain about here. I assume they all do it. Expirment with changing the ring at different speeds. If you do it at the right speed, you don't have the issue. I never have the issue in the last three positions or the first two. You can also change the ring position with the light off. I think the problem seems worse when I have the strobe in the last position. When I remove the strobe mode, I don't see the issue as much. The issue is there but can be worked around.

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Mine does it as well. The only options I have found are what Tre suggested Select level with light off or you can try selecting the level with you palm covering the head slightly to minimize irritation. I personally was bothered more by the holster that came with it than the flashing.

I found this as well, as posted in my review. Fortunately limited to the mid-levels (L4/L5) in my case. :shrug:

Well you might be surprised to hear that I feel somewhat more at ease knowing that mine is not a fault and that it's just a common problem with the smart ring design. I'll just have to get used to switching modes and making sure that the flicker is not too noticeable. Like I said, this is definately among the nicest 1x CR123 lights that I now own. If I could get a Nitecore extension tube for it I'd use it as an 18650 light, but that looks like a pointless search at the moment. Does anyone know roughly how many were produced? I might get around to designing one of my own and having it machined locally in the future. Time to fire up SolidWorks

Mine has the same issues, but only in like 2 of the mid modes.
I grabbed one from 4sevens when they were running with the 50% discount for $60. I knew of the fault when I grabbed it, but hey, at the price point i was able to overlook it. Honestly I don't think I could have lived with it as happily at full price.
I also having been wanting an 18650 tube for mine (rare as hens teeth), even if somebody made a 2AA tube would be ok IMO. For me its quite big for a CR123A light anyway, so any added length wouldn't be such a big deal to me.

Yep, mine too. Doesn't bother at all though as I hardly ever use any other mode other than the 60 lumen mode.

Slightly off topic. My SR3 won't run on lithium primaries. It runs fine on a 16340 but on a primary it flickers on any mode above the 20 lumen mode and won't go into high at all. The batteries are brand new 4sevens showing 3.2v.

Are the 4sevens batteries a bit dodgy? I've put six different batteries in it and the same result each time.

I only run mine on primaries, either Duracell or Energizer. Mine has never been exposed to 16340's.
Did it ever work ok on primaries or did you use 16340 from the get-go? Perhaps the additional voltage of the 16340's have damaged the boost circuit? If so you'd assume that could be claimed under warranty (think there is an 18 month warranty if that still applies for you)?
Although I guess if you don't care for primaries much it might not be much of a problem

Jash said:

My SR3 won't run on lithium primaries.

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That sounds like a dodgy boost circuit, the SR3 is designed to run on either 3v primaries or 3.7v li-ions. Try contacting Nitecore customer support, they may be able to fix it for you.

Matt7337 said:

this is definately among the nicest 1x CR123 lights that I now own. If I could get a Nitecore extension tube for it I'd use it as an 18650 light, but that looks like a pointless search at the moment. Does anyone know roughly how many were produced?

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I agree with you 100% on that, (except for the flash issue) the SR3 is a really well designed light. In the 18650 format it looks like an absolute champion. Nitecore only made 100 numbered examples of the 18650 tubes, so it seems quite a futile effort to search for one...

My SR3 does the exact same thing, but I knew that before I obtained it. It doesn't bother me at all, other than the annoyance of Nitecore releasing it this way without correction.

While I prefer the smaller pocketable size of the NEX, I like the SR3 a LOT more due to the anti-roll and much more easily selected brightness modes. With the NEX, I would either use low-low or turbo, nothing in between because of the hassle of re-programing the low mode. Not only that, but the NEX's head would get hot FAST, where as I haven't noticed this at all with the SR3.

For the length, I wish the SR3 would tail stand, but that LARGE / deep reflector really makes this baby throw...almost as much as my M60 in SF 6PD host.

If the new Infilux had anti-roll without the clip, crenelated bezel, and was capable of tailstanding, I'd have pre-ordered already. As it is, I think I will try to score a used one, but it's a must have none the less. I'm just not a fan of pocketclips on my lights, but it's a must for my pocket knives.

I'm also REALLY waiting to see a beamshot comparison with the SR3.

Jash said:

Slightly off topic. My SR3 won't run on lithium primaries. It runs fine on a 16340 but on a primary it flickers on any mode above the 20 lumen mode and won't go into high at all. The batteries are brand new 4sevens showing 3.2v.

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Mine works perfectly on primaries and rcr123a. I use the Titanium Innovations cr123a.

Add me to the list of bright flashes at 4 points on the ring. I cleaned all contacts - no different, so it must be the magnets in the ring. What the heck, its a really bright 1xcr123 light that throws good and changes all modes fast and easy (preflash and all). I've had as much luck as everyone else on the 18650 tube - when one shows up that works, let us know!