Surefire P60L is getting dimmer

Hello,

I have a P60L in a Surefire Z2 and, last week, I noticed that the output was getting, visibly, dimmer. In order to rule out variables, I changed cells, installed it in another light (C3, running on 2 x 17500), but the result remained the same.
In the past, output equalled a Malkoff P60LL, a Surefire E2LAA or a Minimag with a Terralux TLE5EX.
Now these lights are really brighter and the poor P60L compares with lights in the 20-25 lumen output range. When ceiling-bouncing, my old KL1 (25lm) even seems to light up a room better.

I must say that this P60L was never used very intensively, nor for prolonged periods of time. I will take contact with the Surefire dealer in the Netherlands, where the module was bought (originally it sat in a G2L)

Kind regards,

Joris

What battery setup were you using to drive it?

I had mine (old 6PL) go very dim a ways back. Aparently it's a known issue with the module (no good heat sinking, likely why the P61L never made it)

I got an RMA and sent it back to them, after more than a month I was sent a brand new one which is still going. I'm in Canada, but I'm sure US customer get first dibs. YMMV.

Look at the LED and see if it has any dark spots/marks in it, mine was darkening quite a bit and was becoming more purple in tint.

It's a P60L
They suck
They all did, do, and will suck.
In an effort to fit ints spares carriers, look like the incan modules, and be different from the other P60 LED makers they designed a nice flaw that can not bleed off heat.
Thank God for Mr Malkoff

haha, in their defense they were pretty durable, and have a thermistor to drop output when they get too hot (perhaps the thermistor in yours is defective?).
they used to be decent, but nowadays are quite outpaced!

Craig

I was a big believer in the P60L up until the last few months, but since they are selling for $30-35 used it just makes more sense to buy a Malkoff for a few dollars more. You get MUCH better runtime and/or brightness depending on the model you choose.

csshih said:

haha, in their defense they were pretty durable, and have a thermistor to drop output when they get too hot (perhaps the thermistor in yours is defective?).
they used to be decent, but nowadays are quite outpaced!

Craig

Click to expand...

Hello Craig,
Should it really been well made and durable, mine shouldn't be defective.
For the price they went for, it should be pretty flawless.

I also have two Malkoff drop-in kits (P60LF and P60LL), and these are pretty well made but they render the flashlights a lot heavier. That is why I continued using the Surefire P60L kit.

I think output is OK. Around 70-80 lumens is just fine. More lumens seem to blind me too much and destroying any night vision I still have.

Kind regards and thanks for the comments,
Joris

I have to chime in as well. I'm glad I found this post as I was beginning to think my mind was playing tricks on me.

I purchased my p60L sometime in later 2007 or early 2008. At the time, I was pleased, especially as I was unaware of the vast variety of other p60 drop ins available (I was a super noob then). Within the last month, I have experienced the same issues described by the OP, but I would say mine is worse. A co-worker gave me a 20 year old R60 bulb to play with, and it spanks the p60l. I will be calling Surefire to find out what they will do about it. If they still have a stock of these, I guess I can handle it, but I wish they would improve it and perhaps offer an upgrade, given how outclassed it is now. I don't know if I would even use the p60L if they sent a new one, but the principle of the matter is what is important. I will update this post with what I find out.

One of mine failed recently. It was so dim that you had to turn the room lights off to tell if it was on or not. The LED dome had turned brown from the heat. I sent it back to Surefire and they replaced it promptly at no charge (other than cost of shipping it to them). Hopefully the new one has been redesigned with better heat sinking.

As csshih has stated the module was designed with a thermister to prevent the LED frying itself to death. Unfortunately, components do fail and given the large number of P60L's out there the reports of failure on this forum seem relatively rare. However, there were and indeed still are many LED lights that rely on electronics dropping the output to prevent the LED's overheating. I replaced all my incandescent and P60L modules with Malkoff products because the inefficiency of the P60L's driver and the low output was more of a concern to me than longevity. Whilst I do still have a couple of lights in the glovebox of our cars fitted with P60L's the limited amount of time that they are used means a failure or drop in output isn't so important to me. I hope that Surefire can replace you P60L for you. It would be nice to hear what they say?

cbdudley said:

One of mine failed recently. It was so dim that you had to turn the room lights off to tell if it was on or not.

Click to expand...

Mine is so dim that if I'm in an absolutely dark room it becomes brighter when I switch off the flashlight.

Makes me think of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo







No, actually I think it still works but I have better drop ins.