BRAND SPANKIN NEW FENIX TK15 WONT WORK WITH MY REDILAST 2900 BATTERIES.....HELP!!!

got the light, bought 2 of the brand new redilast 2900, 18650 cells, and the newest pila 4 stage charger. charge both cells, slide em in the correct way (even though i guess it doesn't matter with the light), screw the tail cap on, hit the switch and NOTHIN. I CAN'T GET IT TO TURN ON.

so i send the first TK back. he sends me another, even newer batch with the black clip and other refinements.... repeat the above process and NOTHIN. AGAIN!!!! what in the blankety-blank am i doing wrong?

both batteries measure fully charged too, as i checked

with over a hundred bucks invested in an flahlight, hopefully you can understand my frustration.....

ANY INPUT WHATSOEVER CAN ONLY MAKE ME FEEL BETTER. THANKS IN ADVANCE

Veiled obscenity removed
Norm

Well for starters :welcome:
I'll refrain from the joke that came to mind about your name Godzilla and an overseas light company getting back at you oo:
Were the cells recommended by the dealer for that light? If it's a flattop cell it may need a small magnet on the positive end to make contact.
Process of elimination, try two cr123 batteries to see if the light works. It's pretty rare that you've been jinxed twice.
May try and clean the contacts, if the cr123 batteries don't work.

Please don't take it out on Tokyo again, they don't make flashlights there :laughing:
Sorry that slipped out

And again welcome to CPF

I read some where the problem is caused by the RediLast battery's button top too big, and had make contact to the TK15 's reverse polarity protection. I guess you just need to stick some plastic sticker around the (+) spring of the bezel(the black color area) to disable it.

Hope this help.

godzilla said:

.... charge both cells, slide em in the correct way (even though i guess it doesn't matter with the light), ....[/COLOR]

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OH I'm sure it matters a great deal...

...but alas that is not likely you're problem.

thanks to all three of you so far :twothumbs

this is weird, im tellin ya.... i'm loosin faith in FENIX rapidly....

i first bought an LD01 and liked the construction, but the functions are hit n miss. IT RARELY GOES THROUGH IT SUPPOSED 3 STAGE PROCESS

but i bought another fenix product anyways and now this.....

i have no idea if it's a battery issue, this is all new to me. but the dependability of fenix's products has pushed me into the grey zone and that's why i'm here - posting frustrated emotions because i've spent over a hundred bucks on a FLASHLIGHT that won't work.

HONESTLY: i don't want to "band aid" a 70 dollar flashlight with tape just to make it work. that's pathetic in my functionality. if i've gone OVER THE TOP OF FENIX by buyin the most state of the art battery redilast has to offer (for the TK15), than i'll take up this problem with the people i bought the batteries from and get something "less state of the art". but really.... this is al;djfa;lfjalsfj

and the worst part: nobody has an answer or a solution, not redilast, not fenix.....:thumbsdow:thumbsdow

@ godzilla Who has the TK15 with a black clip now instead of the chrome one?

Thanks

I prefer AW 18650's they work in just about everything :thumbsup:

picrthis said:

@ godzilla Who has the TK15 with a black clip now instead of the chrome one?

Thanks

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here's a link to the site i bought the light from.... i think the black clip is something they're doing "now on", so as long as the supplier had a current "new batch" it should come with it..... make sense:thumbsup:

http://www.firearmspro1.com/

Thanks, I bought one a couple weeks ago from a different source and it came with the chrome clip which I think sticks out like a soar thumb; thought it should be black & match the light considering they're calling it a "tactical" light. So that was a complaint I had about the light & who knows maybe they heard me complain Now IF they would make a clip for their TK21-U2 I'd be completely happy with Fenix again..........after much searching around and trail & error I did manage to get a third party clip to work on the TK21, I'd much rather have an oem clip for it like it too should have come with.

Thanks

Question: How can it not matter which direction you insert the batteries?

Does the "reverse polarity protection" feature allow the light to work equally well with batteries installed in either direction, or does it just not ruin the light if you put them in the "wrong" way?

The reverse polarity protection will prevent the light from working, simply because you would likely blow the board or LED or both if your battery was backwards. It is just a protection that prevents an easy mistake that would cost you money.

Fenix has very good quality, but every now and then I see some people who are disappointed with them. I have mostly Fenix lights (closing in on 20) and never ever had a problem. I agree that the issue could be due to battery-flashlight compatibility (size of the button makes sense). Carpentry Hero is right, the first and easiest thing to try would be 2 CR123 primaries. If that doesn't work, clean the contacts (inside the head, tailcap spring, the end of the battery tube and corresponding area inside the tailcap.) You might also need to tighten the retainer ring inside the tailcap (use a pair of long nosed pliers on the 2 little holes. The new models should screw counter-clockwise)

I have had problems in the past with batteries that where too long and the tailcap couldn't screw in completely: take the battery out and check if the cap screws in further than if the battery is inserted. If your tailcap doesn't screw in all the way, the current will not go through.

Also, There was some talk a while ago about some cheap ripoffs from most good lights that looked very close to the real deal... did yours come from China?

Cataract said:

I agree that the issue could be due to battery-flashlight compatibility (size of the button makes sense). Carpentry Hero is right, the first and easiest thing to try would be 2 CR123 primaries.

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QFT. Try this first. It may be the case that the Redilast 2900 batteries are too "big" for the Fenix.

18650s have been sold in higher and higher capacities, and it's not because of some new discovery that lets them build more capacity into the same size: it's because 18650s have been getting slightly larger and larger. For instance, AW 2200mAh 18650 are slightly smaller and shorter than AW 2600mAh 18650 (which are the only 18650 I have on hand to compare). The upside is that they have more capacity; the downside is not all lights may support them, depending on how the +ve and -ve contacts are designed.

It is the Redilast "huge" button top. I've had issues with it in a few lights because the diameter of the button top is too wide. That said, AW flat tops don't work in a lot of my lights too because they have no button top and their 3 button bottom chews up springs. Unfortunately these are the most highly reguarded brands and neither seem to have a good physical design on anything higher than a 2200 capactiy cell. My solution is to have 3 types of 18650 cells. If the Redilast 2900 does not work, I use the AW 2900. If that does not work I go down to the AW 2200. That way something always works. I wish it were easier than that but it is not. If you have a lot of lights that use 18650 cells, you need to have multiple types to find one that fits.

tre said:

It is the Redilast "huge" button top. I've had issues with it in a few lights because the diameter of the button top is too wide. That said, AW flat tops don't work in a lot of my lights too because they have no button top and their 3 button bottom chews up springs. Unfortunately these are the most highly reguarded brands and neither seem to have a good physical design on anything higher than a 2200 capactiy cell. My solution is to have 3 types of 18650 cells. If the Redilast 2900 does not work, I use the AW 2900. If that does not work I go down to the AW 2200. That way something always works. I wish it were easier than that but it is not. If you have a lot of lights that use 18650 cells, you need to have multiple types to find one that fits.

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ok, now that was what i needed to hear!!! :thumbsup:

as bad as the news is, an actual answer resolves my problem. thanks a lot for that. sadly.... you have obviously gone through frustrating trials and tribulations with this same deal. really really really pisses a guy off. i'm honestly really close to sending the light back and going with a different brand. FENIX has the weakest customer support infrastructure know to modern man, and that, to me, is reason enough to NOT give them any of my business. i don't care how good the light is, how nice the fit and finish is, blah blah blah...... if they don't wanna stand behind their product after an american shells out 70 bucks for one, the can kiss my ...............

@ godzilla if you are going to send the light back and you are located in the States, I'd be happy to buy it from you.....let me know in a PM or something.

picrthis said:

@ godzilla if you are going to send the light back and you are located in the States, I'd be happy to buy it from you.....let me know in a PM or something.

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i'll lecha know if i go that route

The problem is the industry has no standards for 18650 flashlight's and protected 18650's. I'd say any decent flashlight manufacturer should make their lights able to accept anything from 65mm up to 70mm (flat or button top). But thats not the case.



I have lights that both won't operate with bare cells (they are too short) and I have lights that will only operate with bare cells.

I emailed you and suggested bypassing the tail cap and using a jumper wire from the negative battery end to the flashlight body or ground. Let us know what happens.

Just another suggestion. go to illuminationGear's website and pick up a couple of the EagleTac brand 18650's. Nice small button, smooth bottom, and 2400mah. Very nice cells and about half the price of the others. Don't get me wrong here. I have some AW 2900's and love them. They're in my Fenix PD31 and Zebralight SC60w right now. But they wouldn't work in my EagleTac T20C2 MKII because of reverse polarity protection design. Soooo, after much cussing and boo hoo'ing about not being able to use my "best" 18650's, I finally bit the bullet and bought some of these ET cells and I gotta tell ya'. They're very nice cells. I'm extremely pleased with them and will buy more as needed. Just my 2 cents.

jasonck08 said:

I emailed you and suggested bypassing the tail cap and using a jumper wire from the negative battery end to the flashlight body or ground. Let us know what happens.

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wow!! that little test worked.... i got the light to light up and i manually scrolled through the 3 or 4 different modes......

so this means that the tail cap is the issue (again), but it sound like this whole reverse polarity thing is interfering? can i bypass it somehow?

godzilla said:

wow!! that little test worked.... i got the light to light up and i manually scrolled through the 3 or 4 different modes......

so this means that the tail cap is the issue (again), but it sound like this whole reverse polarity thing is interfering? can i bypass it somehow?

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I've only seen mechanical reverse polarity protection built into the head of the light. So the fact that its working when bypassing the switch, most likely means that the mechanical reverse polarity protection is not existent or is not getting in the way.

It could be that the switch is defective... If you have access to a digital multimeter, I would test for continuity in the switch. That is the setting that makes a beeping noise when you put the DMM leads together. Test the switch by putting one probe in the tail spring and one on the outer metal ring that makes contact with the body of the light. Press the switch and it should beep if the switch is working correctly.

Another possibility is that the cell is too long, and not allowing the switch to screw down and make proper contact with the body of the light. That would be surprising considering Fenix claims this light supports 2x CR123's which = 68mm, and the Redilast 2900 is about 68.8mm. If thats the case than I'd consider that a design flaw that the Fenix can't absorb an extra 0.8mm. But regardless, a potential simple solution would be to (at your own risk) clip the tail spring by 1mm.