What is this strange green/yellow fog behind the lens of my light?

InquisitiveInquirer

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Jul 17, 2010
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Something odd has happened with my itp A3 E0S. When the light is turned off and you look at the lens (first pic), it looks nice and clear as it should. However, when you turn the light on, i notice a weird green/yellow foggy almost like a coating of something on the lens (pic doesn't really show the green/yellowness very well, but it shows the fogginess clearly -- second pic). Weird thing is it's not noticeable in the center of the lens, but on the periphery, it is more apparent. For reference sake, third pic is of another light i own, which shows nothing behind the lens when turned on as it should!

I've never run it on akalines or anything but loops so i don't think it could be venting or guts spewing or whatever. It's really rather bizarre. Anyone have any ideas?

itp a3 eos light off showing clear lens:
img1554vd.jpg


itp a3 eos with light on low mode (showing green/yellow haze):
img1549gr.jpg


l3 illumination l10 light on low mode (showing no green/yellow haze):
img1550xn.jpg
 

skeeterbait

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Oct 26, 2003
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Is one lens anti reflective coated and the other not? Wondering if you are seeing a reflection of the emitter.
 

Fireclaw18

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Mar 16, 2011
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Anti-reflective coatings usually have a purplish tint. Not green-yellow. Also from the pic of the itp in action, it looks like the "fog" is actually interfering with light transmission. The OP reflector on the far side of it looks blurry.

My guess is you have moisture in your light. Maybe take it apart and bury it in a bag of uncooked rice for a couple days to suck out all the moisture. And then check all the o-rings to prevent moisture from getting back in.
 

pjandyho

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Oct 29, 2003
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This happens on a few of my lights from 4Sevens. One of the warm white MiNi 123 got so bad that when I shined the beam onto a white wall it now has a warmish hot spot and a rather cool tinted corona. Some of my Chinese manufactured lights do exhibit a mild layer of fog under the glass window too, including a couple of Zebralight SC600. I suspect it is moisture. None of my US made lights exhibit any signs of fogging. I wonder if this has anything to do with the tolerance during the manufacturing process.
 

InquisitiveInquirer

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Jul 17, 2010
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My guess is you have moisture in your light. Maybe take it apart and bury it in a bag of uncooked rice for a couple days to suck out all the moisture. And then check all the o-rings to prevent moisture from getting back in.

I'll try that. If it was moisture, wouldn't i even seee when the light isn't turned on in the first pic? It doesn't show though... wwwweeeird.
 

InquisitiveInquirer

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Jul 17, 2010
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This happens on a few of my lights from 4Sevens. One of the warm white MiNi 123 got so bad that when I shined the beam onto a white wall it now has a warmish hot spot and a rather cool tinted corona. Some of my Chinese manufactured lights do exhibit a mild layer of fog under the glass window too, including a couple of Zebralight SC600. I suspect it is moisture. None of my US made lights exhibit any signs of fogging. I wonder if this has anything to do with the tolerance during the manufacturing process.

What did you end up doing with those lights? How'd you solve it? I wonder if i contacted the company if anything could happen.
 

pjandyho

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What did you end up doing with those lights? How'd you solve it? I wonder if i contacted the company if anything could happen.
For 4Sevens I sent the whole lot to them asking if they could clean it up. They returned them to me saying that there is nothing wrong with the lights. Trevor told me that the beams are not affected even though it clearly was, and they did nothing. 4Sevens is the only company I sent the lights back since I have more of their lights than any other Chinese manufactured ones and have accumulated enough quantity to send as one package to cut shipping costs.
 

GordoJones88

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I believe 4Sevens and Olight are made at the same factory. Mine all have a sickly greenish tint.
 
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