Fenix L2T "whistles" on high beam mode

eggsalad

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 30, 2013
Messages
268
Hi! I'm a long time lurker, and this is essentially my first post, so please be kind :)

My EDC is a Fenix L2T. I work backstage, and my light gets a lot of use, on both beams.

Lately I have noticed that when on high output mode, the light makes a whistling or whining sound, quite audible, even with the din of backstage!

I can't quite isolate which part of the unit is actually generating the noise.

Is this something anyone else has encountered? Is there a solution, or is it time for a new light?

Thank you,

eggsalad
 

SimulatedZero

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 23, 2011
Messages
586
Location
SouthEast, USA
It's probably just an inductor whine in the electronics of the light. My old LD25 has the same issue and it never hurt it none. I find it interesting that it just now started doing that though. Is it actually loud, or is it just noticeable because of the frequency it's at?
 

Swede74

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 30, 2011
Messages
577
My two Xtar lights, a WK25B and a WK21 Meteor both whine on the low modes, and they are quite loud too, even for 38-year-old ears. Some time ago, I noticed that my Zebralight SC51 makes a whining sound too, on the PWM-regulated 100 lm level. It's barely noticeable (I noticed it the first time when I used the headband, which places the light right above your ear) but I think it has always been there.
 

selfbuilt

Flashaholic
Joined
May 27, 2006
Messages
7,005
Location
Canada
Lately I have noticed that when on high output mode, the light makes a whistling or whining sound, quite audible, even with the din of backstage!

I can't quite isolate which part of the unit is actually generating the noise.

Is this something anyone else has encountered? Is there a solution, or is it time for a new light?
As the others have pointed out, it is likely inductor whine. Short answer is that there really isn't anything you can do about it, but it won't affect the light performance of your light. It is something that tends to get worse as time goes by, for reasons that I discuss in one my video primers (jump to the last few minutes):



It it's too distracting, you may want to consider upgrading to something new. Certainly a lot of options to choose from. :)

:welcome:
 
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