WHY DID MY QUARK DIE? WHY?

I've kept a Quark AA2 in my travel gear since I bought it a couple of years ago. It's been my go-to general task light and got used intensively for a few weeks at a time, then would have a nice rest for months before it was needed again. Now, shiny and new looking as it is, I find it's gone totally dead, but with a strange quirk. When I first switched it on during the last trip, it was a little erratic in output so I changed out the batteries and since then it's been as lumen free as Homer Simpson's inert carbon rod- BUT I do occasionally get a nice bright flash of light just as the tail cap is coming off- said flash cannot however be repeated. Is there a fix for this or should I give the thing to someone in the third world (say) that I really want to annoy?

10 years warranty on it. Contact 47's. They'll repair or replace it.

Sounds like a connection thing to me. Try this:

- first wipe off grease or lube from the threads, batt. tube edges, and contact points in the head and tailcap
- with the tailcap off, use a paperclip to bridge the negative battery terminal to the bare aluminum of the tube edge. If the head lights up, then the connection issue is with the tailcap.
- the two most common tailcap connection issues on Quarks are the pocketclip's screw down retaining collar (if it's not screwed all the way, it will prevent the tailcap from fully tightening) and the clicky retaining plate in the tailcap, a silver disc with two indentations to hold the clicky guts in - use needle nose pliers to tighten that up.
- relube the threads.

If the problem is in the head, I would send it in under warranty... Foursevens will take care of you. Good luck

reppans said:

Sounds like a connection thing to me. Try this:

- first wipe off grease or lube from the threads, batt. tube edges, and contact points in the head and tailcap
- with the tailcap off, use a paperclip to bridge the negative battery terminal to the bare aluminum of the tube edge. If the head lights up, then the connection issue is with the tailcap.
- the two most common tailcap connection issues on Quarks are the pocketclip's screw down retaining collar (if it's not screwed all the way, it will prevent the tailcap from fully tightening) and the clicky retaining plate in the tailcap, a silver disc with two indentations to hold the clicky guts in - use needle nose pliers to tighten that up.
- relube the threads.

If the problem is in the head, I would send it in under warranty... Foursevens will take care of you. Good luck

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It was both the retaining collar AND the retaining plate, a perfecta. Working again, thanks very much!

Mr Bigglow said:

[...] Is there a fix for this or should I give the thing to someone in the third world (say) that I really want to annoy?

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Is it only me who gets slightly disturbed by the implication that those living (and frequently suffering) in Third World countries should be "annoyed" for some reason, instead of being helped by fellow humans?
It might be only me; I hope I misunderstood something, since English is not my mother-tongue.

I know it was meant to be humorous, but there is a limit to bad taste.

Anyway, I'm glad you solved the problem. Loose tailcaps seem to be the most common malfunction in this type of lights (Fenix lights as well).

400THz said:

Is it only me who gets slightly disturbed by the implication that those living (and frequently suffering) in Third World countries should be "annoyed" for some reason, instead of being helped by fellow humans?
It might be only me; I hope I misunderstood something, since English is not my mother-tongue.

I know it was meant to be humorous, but there is a limit to bad taste.

Anyway, I'm glad you solved the problem. Loose tailcaps seem to be the most common malfunction in this type of lights (Fenix lights as well).

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It's probably just you, I typically get disturbed by people that get disturbed easily.

Mr Bigglow said:

It was both the retaining collar AND the retaining plate, a perfecta. Working again, thanks very much!

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With all the sadness and misery in the world, it's nice to hear a good ending once in a while.

mossyoak said:

It's probably just you, I typically get disturbed by people that get disturbed easily.

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Too bad for you. It seems that the cultural gap is greater than what I had anticipated.

/me unsubscribes

mossyoak said:

It's probably just you, I typically get disturbed by people that get disturbed easily.

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You're so insensitive dude! Just think if Bigglow would have asked, "should I give the thing to someone in the Southland with a RedBull in one hand and iPhone in the other?" See....aches the heart, doesn't it!

That *really* disturbs me. So much in fact that I think I'll have a cigar and whiskey to calm my nerves poolside.

Reppans, do you know if Quark has fixed these issues with the retaining collar and plate?

400THz, I think you are being too sensitive. I don't see the OP saying what you said, nor in my opinion did he imply that.

PocketBeam said:

Reppans, do you know if Quark has fixed these issues with the retaining collar and plate?

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I'm not sure of a way to build a switch that can be assembled and repaired. The only other options I can think of are press-fit (Which would get loose, and not be fixable), or something. No adhesives can be used on the existing screws since they are electrical paths. I suppose one could devise a larger switch inside the tailcap, with durable, reliable bolt-holds (Four or more) around its perimeter. These would be screwed and glued (Loctite, etc) in after being tightened. But this makes it difficult to change a failed tailcap, and adds a lot of expense and size to a part.

Every clicky is a glorified BIC pen clicker. At high current (The Quark can take nearly 2A off 1xAA) it is a service part with a definite lifetime. The only ways that I know of to prevent this are to either use electronic sensors to act on microcurrent switches, or to use extremely expensive, large, difficult-to-repair switches.

PocketBeam said:

Reppans, do you know if Quark has fixed these issues with the retaining collar and plate?..

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The screw-down clicky plate is the most common design manufacturer's use with mechanical clickies lights. I personally prefer it, and mechanical clickies in general, over anything else since it is easily field serviceable (we fixed the OP's problem, eh?) and at least are by-passable so you aren't left in the dark. The current trend toward electronic side switches does allow for some interesting UIs and features, but just anecdotally, I feel there are far more failures being reported on CPF from them, than mechanical clickies, which we know far out number electronic. It also really makes me wonder why some dedicated electronic switch manufacturers - like Zebralight and Spark - can only offer sub-industry standard warranties (1yr).

The retaining collar for the clip, and actually the clip itself, are IMHO, one of the strongest and best designed of the mid-priced/Asian-manufactured lights - I wish my other lights were as good. With no offense to the OP, you can easily see how a loose collar might prevent the tailcap from tightening fully.

So, JIMHO, there are no issues to fix here - just a little better understanding of how things work. However, it is perfectly understandable how a more casual users might overlook these things, and that's where Foursevens excellent warranty and customer service come in. A simple call to them (and they do answer, or get back to you) would yield the same discussion and resolution for the OP, probably in less time than it took to post here.

Back on the forum for a while at least, having missed the negative feedback on my little third world joke. It lacked context: I was joking about leaving it around for the Taliban to find and drive themselves crazy over. But whatever, it was just a joke about a flashlight.

did you get it fixed?

In my mind I read the title as ...

WHY DID MY QUARK DIE? WHYYYYYYYYY!!!???

tobrien said:

did you get it fixed?

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LedTed said:

In my mind I read the title as ...

WHY DID MY QUARK DIE? WHYYYYYYYYY!!!???

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1) Yes, as previously stated, the usual great advice found on this forum solved the problem almost instantly. 2) Actually we'd just done a late family Christmas for my benefit, after several months delay, and I believe I was channelling Dr Zeuss's 'Little Cindy Loo Who, who was only just 2' at the time of the OP. ("Santa Claus! why are you stealing our Christmas tree, why?") Frightening in a man my age!

Mr Bigglow said:

1) Yes, as previously stated, the usual great advice found on this forum solved the problem almost instantly. 2) Actually we'd just done a late family Christmas for my benefit, after several months delay, and I believe I was channelling Dr Zeuss's 'Little Cindy Loo Who, who was only just 2' at the time of the OP. ("Santa Claus! why are you stealing our Christmas tree, why?") Frightening in a man my age!

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Your quark died because your username rhymes with gigolo.

Must...resist....can't....hold...it!!! Jig-A-Loo!!!!!!!!

To get back on topic, I remember reading this thread and decided not to fuel the fire. For future reference in case of similar problems, see this sticky by some guy I'm not familiar with at all:
[h=1]BASIC FLASHLIGHT TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE[/h]

mossyoak said:

It's probably just you, I typically get disturbed by people that get disturbed easily.

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OP, glad you got it fixed! ...