Quark Turbo and 18650 body problems..

riccardo

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Apr 27, 2010
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Hello,
I just received a Quark 123*2 Turbo (warm white), a Quark AA*2 (natural white) and a spare 18650 body. Both the flashlight are working correctly in their original configuration but:

  • The Turbo tailcap cannot be screwed on the 18650 body (it is locking after 1/2 turn)
  • The Turbo tailcap it is fitting and working on the Qark AA*2 body
  • The AA*2 tailcap it is fitting and working on the 18650 body
  • The 18650 body it is not activating the main mode in the Turbo head (screwed = unscrewed).

May be I'm doing something wrong.. both tailcaps (AA*2 and Turbo) are fitting without issues the AA*2 body but only the AA*2 tailcap can be screwed on the 18650 body, moreover it seem that the 18650 body cannot touch, when fully screwed down, the contact ring on the Turbo head (but it is working fine on the AA head).. in fact if I put inside the Turbo head a properly sized washer the mode switch functionality is restored.

I bought the 18650 body mainly for the Turbo head after I saw pictures of other users here on CPF that are using the same configuration..

Is something changed or I just got an unlucky 18650 tube?

:thinking:
 

glockboy

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My 18650 tube work fine with Turbo head and Turbo tailcap.
Be sure the tail cap is where the clip at.
 

Henk_Lu

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My 18650 tube work fine with Turbo head and Turbo tailcap.
Be sure the tail cap is where the clip at.

Both of my 18650 bodies work with every head I tried and with every tail, I currently use one of them with a turbo.

Be very sure you use it the right way, there's no polarity protection with these bodies and if you manage to screw it on the wrong way... :poof:
 

RepProdigious

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Hi there!

I had the exact same problem!

I have a 18650 body and for some reason my titanium tail will fit it perfectly but the aluminium will not, like you said, half a turn at best (and then it starts to feel like combining threads with different pitch).... and i want the aluminium tail to fit the bloody 18650 body!!

My theory is simple; the quark line isnt built to very tight tolerance! For two square threads to match the space between the threads of one part has to be larger than the width of the threads on the other part. If there is some variation in the manufacturing process or finish on some parts (ie anodized or not) chances are that part 1 will fit part 2 from one batch but will not fit that 'same' part from another batch.

My solution was simple: The 18650 body has to ends, the side with the clip that has the anodised (read thicker) threads and the side without the clip with the bare alu threads. My alu tail wouldn't go on the 'clipside' but would match up just nicely on the 'wrong' end..... So i took the 18650 body apart and switched the boards that hold the springs from one end to the other (you have to stretch the small spring quite a bit for this to work) so you can now assemble the light with the body the other way around. Don't forget that you will still have to put the cell in with positive end to the head!!!

This worked like a charm for me but this is only a viable solution if the head you're using does fit the anodized side of the tube! If this is not the case there's only one final solution i can think off (apart from returning the parts to 47 and keeping your fingers crossed the quark lottery will smile on you this time around); remove the surface layer on the 18650 body threads with some crofty until its all thin enough to match! If you do go this road you will have to re-work the threads with some polish to make em smooth again or else they will feel gritty for a long long time!
 

shark_za

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My 18650 body had the same issues with tailcaps.

I could fit a regular cap on the end but the cap from a AA^2 Tactical would not fit.
I just used force, tightening, loosening, tightening and it now fits.

The mode selection works fine on the front.

I think there is just additional anodising on the threads that must come off.
 

pjandyho

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The warm white Quark Turbo came with manufacturing defects whereby the threading is trapezoidal or sharp when it should have been square threading instead. That is why you cannot screw the tail cap in nor the head properly screwed to the 18650 body. I know because I was one of the first few who brought up this issue. 4sevens had kept mum about this and had acted like the issue had not existed. I don't see them openly acknowledging this after so many had complained. So much for good customer service.
 

Henk_Lu

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The warm white Quark Turbo came with manufacturing defects whereby the threading is trapezoidal or sharp when it should have been square threading instead. That is why you cannot screw the tail cap in nor the head properly screwed to the 18650 body. I know because I was one of the first few who brought up this issue. 4sevens had kept mum about this and had acted like the issue had not existed. I don't see them openly acknowledging this after so many had complained. So much for good customer service.

Hm, I now remember that I also had an issue with the tailstanding tailcap, which I wanted to screw on the warm white Turbo and which "blocked" after half a turn or so. I just used it in my 18650 Turbo, where it fits...

I'll have a look at those threads this evening! :thinking:
 

pjandyho

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Hm, I now remember that I also had an issue with the tailstanding tailcap, which I wanted to screw on the warm white Turbo and which "blocked" after half a turn or so. I just used it in my 18650 Turbo, where it fits...

I'll have a look at those threads this evening! :thinking:
If I am not wrong, this threading issue only happens in the warm white runs. Is yours' from the warm white run too?

Anyway, just to set things straight. I have nothing against 4sevens. I would still buy their products if they come up with something that interests me. I am just unhappy that they do not have the courage to openly admit that they had screwed up and make it right. Few months after the release of the warm white series and we still have folks buying warm white lights with trapezoidal threading and expecting it to be LEGOable with their existing units with square threading? How great is this for customer service? I can't help feeling that 4sevens is going down that road of taking customer service and requests for granted. If they do not wish to incur additional costs of having the warm white redone then they should at least have highlighted that in the website to advice buyers to buy at their own risks.
 

riccardo

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Apr 27, 2010
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Yes, my turbo is a warm withe..

I think that passing the 18650 body threads with a proper die will allow the fitting of the turbo tailcap. Otherwise I can try before just removing anodization from 18650 body and... tightening/loosening the turbo tailcap several times.. but it's quite barbarian..

Anyway, I like so much my Turbo 123*2 warm withe that I almost don't care about not being able of using it on 18650! it's so nice in it's original form factor...

But now to use it on rechargeable I'll have to buy two AW 16340 because the original body is too short for protected Trustfires.. If I knew before I could avoid buying the 18650 body!
 

riccardo

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Apr 27, 2010
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Another question a bit OT..

I noticed that the Quark AA*2 with standard UI is a bit "slower" than my Preon 2, it mean that with loosen head it will keep advancing mode if it is not kept off for, at least, 13/15 seconds.. instead of the 3 advertised. With tightened head it seem faster, may be 5 seconds, but still more than 3.

It looks i've not been lucky with this order, shipping back to 4s it would be a pain since I'm living in Russia and I do not manage well the language (I'm Italian). Does anyone know if there is any workaround for this problem? Is it known?
 
Last edited:

ResQTech

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I "built" a quark tactical 18650 by ordering all the parts separately. The tailcap fit fine but the threads on the head didn't feel like it fit right and sounded "gritty" when I loosened and tightened it. Everything works fine now after putting some lubricant on the threads.
 

Henk_Lu

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Indeed, I had a closer look on the threads of my Turbo AA-2 warm white, they are not square...

The head fits on other bodies though, I had it on an 18650, the tailcap doesn't fit. :shrug:
 

pjandyho

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As long as you don't do any Lego then you should be fine. I don't bother to send my back to 4sevens as I intend to use the turbo stock and as it is.
 

riccardo

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You have tried it with other brand 18650?

I'm saying that to use the flashlight on two RCR123 (16340) instead of two CR123 (primary) I need to buy the AW because other protected 16340 are too long.

The 18650 body problem is a difference in threads between the Warm White Turbo and the rest of Quark production that make this lamp not easily legoable. Anyway, the 18650 body it's fine and can host all the 18650 that I have like the EagleTac's or Trustfire's.

Has anyone idea about which can be the runtime on turbo with the following configurations?

2*CR123 (primaries)
2*RCR123 AW (rechargeable)
1*17670 (rechargeable)
1*18650 (rechargeable) ...I can't use this option, but let's say just to know...
 

riccardo

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Hi all,
after reading some thread I decided to use AW's R17670 in my Quark Turbo 123*2 Warm White. I also took a caliper and measured the internal bore of the Turbo's battery tube, it appear to be 16,98 mm.

I searched a lot in the forum but I was unable to find the actual external diameter of AW's R17670 measured by users (the nominal should be 17 mm). I'd like to understand, before buying two new AW's, if I'll have any chance that they will fit (I've read about some really tight fit and some don't at all).

It is not a big problem if I'll need to lap the inside of the tube of about 0,3-0,4 mm but if it will not be enough I'd rather go for the two AW's RCR123A that will surely fit. What I don't like of the two RCR setup is the shorter runtime and the fact that a multiple cell setup is less practical in common use than a single cell.

I'd be glad if someone of you guys who are using new AW's R17670 in Quark's 123*2 bodies could measure the internal bore of his body, the external diameter of the AW's R17670 and describe how they fit (slip inside easily, bit hard, problems in switching modes, don't fit at all).

After having bought the wrong 18650 body I don't want to buy also the wrong battery!!

:thinking:
 

Hellbore

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I didn't see this thread before, I recently placed an order for a Quark Turbo Warm, with an 18650 spare body.

4sevens didn't say anything or warn me that the body won't fit, and nothing is mentioned in the product information about the Turbo Warm not having square threads... In fact it says that it does.

I'm going to be very angry if I receive the light and without any warning from 4sevens, it turns out it doesn't have square threads and doesn't work with the spare body.

I'll keep you posted what happens...
 

jorn

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They don't fit. Got a warm turbo (normal threads), and bought a single 123 body (square threads), they dident fit well. I got a refund, so I think customer service will take care of you if your not happy with your products.

I did recut my threads, took 10 min. 8 min eyeballing for the right tool, and 2 min cutting by hand. The result is perfect, smooth threads with no play at all.

IMG_4852q.jpg
 
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