9 LED light flicker problem

I have a question about the 9 LED flashlights they make. I'm sure you know which one's i'm talking about, the one's you can buy with the tail cap on off switch, they take 3 AAA's in a plastic battery holder, made of what feels like aluminum or some other kind of weak metal. I have a dozen of these lights (most of them i got free from harbor freight) and after using a few months, one of the lights will start to flicker, then it will go completely. then after a while you wind up with only 3 burning. Is their any way to fix this or is it just permanent damage to be expected (cheap light). i have a heap of them laying around that have failed with only 1 or 2 LED's still working or half working i've held onto hoping their is so way to fix them again. i was thinking maybe it had something to do with the solder on the circuit board?

Thank

Frijid said:

...Is their any way to fix this..

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Best fix for those type of cheap lights is the trash can. Problem solved, you may want to keep the batteries, they're worth more then the lights.

+1 dump them!

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Verndog said:

Best fix for those type of cheap lights is the trash can. Problem solved, you may want to keep the batteries, they're worth more then the lights.

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LOL thanks for the chuckle. I let the kids play with them. better them trash a cheap light than an expensive one!

Frijid said:

LOL thanks for the chuckle. I let the kids play with them. better them trash a cheap light than an expensive one!

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Good point! If they keep the kids occupied then that is their greatest value....especially if they save a quality light from getting damaged.

I picked up one of those at Office Depot for $3.00 with batteries before I became educated on lights. Still sitting in my office desk drawer, 2 years, same batteries and used maybe 4 times.

These lights are horrible.

They are also everywhere.

Nine LEDs!

Compact "AAA" cells!

What a deal!

LEDAdd1ct said:

These lights are horrible.

They are also everywhere.

Nine LEDs!

Compact "AAA" cells!

What a deal!

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I keep some around to let someone use if they need a flashlight. after letting a family member borrow one of my best flashlights, i cringed when i seen them handling it. it survived, but i don't wanna take a chance. i'd rather them break a 1 dollar light than my 30+ dollar light.

Yes they are horrible but to answer your question I discovered that they stop working because of the contact board in the front that holds the LEDs works its way loose from the body. You will see that there are 4 or so contact points on the board that make contact with the tube. I soldered those points back to the body of the light and it started working again. I guess I was bored.