Nitecore EA4 - how to open it & fix the crooked Bezel etc...

Slazmo · Apr 18, 2013

Hi guys,

While emailing Nitecore service dept in China, and having the back and forward with them and them basically hounding me to send back my EA4 due to a crooked bezel and a plastic 'thing' protruding from under it and between the bezel and the lenze; I finally got a reply that I was wanting when I asked them is there a specific tool to unscrew the bezel.. :poke:

They said (modified in my english) that the "Bezel can be unscrewed by putting the torch onto a mousepad or similar eg: silicone grip pad - something that will grip the bezel while you twist the torch and push down in a anti clockwise motion".

I found that the bezel unscrewed very "VERY" easily, I also noticed that unlike others here with the EA8's that there is 'no' red locktite at all on the threads on my EA4 - not to say that they didn't put any on newer models?

Anyhow once the bezel came off it gave me full access to the clear shim washer that was offending and protruding from under the bezel and creating a shadow on the bezel while it was on. This is a friction washer that is basically stopping the bezel from touching the glass lense - simply stopping direct contact of stainless steel on glass. It was easily remedied by adjusting it a little while I screwed back the bezel.

Before I screwed back the bezel itself I put a little Inox MX3 on the threads - this in hope that it will give the torch a little more water resistancy - the o-ring is somewhere in there? I couldn't see it so it maybe beneath the lense and the reflector? Hard to say as I didnt remove the lense to get further inside as I didn't want to get dust in there...

So, now my EA4 is back together and the bezel is screwed on nice and straight and there is no protruding plastic washer from under it - and hopefully a little more watertight!

THANK GOD THE BEZEL IS STRAIGHT! :thumbsup:

Kilovolt · Apr 18, 2013

Thanks for sharing!

melty · Apr 18, 2013

Slazmo said:
I found that the bezel unscrewed very "VERY" easily, I also noticed that unlike others here with the EA8's that there is 'no' red locktite at all on the threads on my EA4 - not to say that they didn't put any on newer models?

The mouse pad trick works on my EA8W as well. The loctite has been applied to the threads attaching the head to the body.

Thanks for the tip! Although I really didn't have any reason to remove the bezel.

xevious · Apr 19, 2013

Great news, slazmo. Thanks for sharing your write-up on this.

I used a super wide rubber band on mine and it didn't take much to start unscrewing it. I didn't need to take it off, as it looks like my bezel flange/gasket is OK. I'm guessing that somewhere along the line in production, some of these were accidentally flipped the wrong way. It's very good to know that it's easy to correct.

Do you find that you still have a gap between the bezel and body? If so, it should be very minimal. Even the OEM photos of the EA4 show a slight gap.

Slazmo · Apr 20, 2013

yeh it was about 10 emails back and forth to Nitecore before they gave up and told me how to unscrew the bezel. Undoubtedly someone would have figured it but the inner nodes look to be the proper way to screw it on and off with a proper tool - undoubtedly again someone here will machine up a 'key' to fit this bezel.

The clear gasket is in every NC EA4 supposedly - production saw that the body was lengthened or the bezel was slightly shortened to close that gap that everyone can see in the photo's. I still have a gap, slightly smaller however 'straightened' and sealed with grease under it.

If I can stress to everyone that undoes their bezel - CLEAN out your threads on both the bezel and the body of the torch! Mine was dirty beyond belief presumably from manufacture? Anyhow some good quality Inox MX3 in there to waterproof it and stop any anodic reactions between these dissimilar metals...

I am thinking if I can get a thin enough o-ring I will install it into that gap that exists between the bezel and the body - to both waterproof the torch and just fill it from dust and dirt ingress.

Thats all I have lol.

Verndog · Apr 20, 2013

Slazmo said:
I am thinking if I can get a thin enough o-ring I will install it into that gap that exists between the bezel and the body - to both waterproof the torch and just fill it from dust and dirt ingress.

Better solution for that is the anti roll ring. This also protects the bezel from damage in the event of accidental drop, and covers / seals off the small gap.

http://www.officerstore.com/store/product.aspx/productId/13819/Streamlight-Stinger-Anti-Roll-Ring/?gclid=CIGgrp3d2bYCFctxQgodkEoAiw

Lite_me · Apr 20, 2013

^ Yeah these are nice. I like to set mine down on the counter face down, and this cushions the bang I'd get without it. The fit is about as perfect as you could ask for too.

KILLER_K · Apr 20, 2013

Great information as I'm thinking about ordering on of these. I'm extremely impressed by this light. Hoping to also perhaps mount it on one of my guns. But for the price it seems to be a great light. The TK75 has worn off and think this will be my next light.

T-roc87 · Apr 21, 2013

I tried this on mine and it worked great. Even though i have heard of people that had the bezel glued down which might complicate things.

xevious · Apr 22, 2013

Lite_me said:
^ Yeah these are nice. I like to set mine down on the counter face down, and this cushions the bang I'd get without it. The fit is about as perfect as you could ask for too.

I keep one on mine most of the time too. When I travel, I take off the ring and put on the diffuser to help protect the glass. Definitely accessories for the EA4 I would not want to do without.

Slazmo · Apr 23, 2013

Thats a good pic Verndog! I can assume everyone can see the small clear washer between the bezel and the lense...

If I could get one of these anti rolls I would but to get one is $4 and postage from the states is $10... It is something you should have for any torch!

Verndog · Apr 23, 2013

Slazmo said:
Thats a good pic Verndog! I can assume everyone can see the small clear washer between the bezel and the lense...

If I could get one of these anti rolls I would but to get one is $4 and postage from the states is $10... It is something you should have for any torch!

There is nothing in beam and I can only see a small section where that ring runs out about .010 from the bezel. Nothing worth messing with, and most of what you see is reflection from the edge of reflector in that pic.

shuxham · May 3, 2013

Slazmo said:
Hi guys,

While emailing Nitecore service dept in China, and having the back and forward with them and them basically hounding me to send back my EA4 due to a crooked bezel and a plastic 'thing' protruding from under it and between the bezel and the lenze; I finally got a reply that I was wanting when I asked them is there a specific tool to unscrew the bezel..

They said (modified in my english) that the "Bezel can be unscrewed by putting the torch onto a mousepad or similar eg: silicone grip pad - something that will grip the bezel while you twist the torch and push down in a anti clockwise motion".

I found that the bezel unscrewed very "VERY" easily, I also noticed that unlike others here with the EA8's that there is 'no' red locktite at all on the threads on my EA4 - not to say that they didn't put any on newer models?

Anyhow once the bezel came off it gave me full access to the clear shim washer that was offending and protruding from under the bezel and creating a shadow on the bezel while it was on. This is a friction washer that is basically stopping the bezel from touching the glass lense - simply stopping direct contact of stainless steel on glass. It was easily remedied by adjusting it a little while I screwed back the bezel.

Before I screwed back the bezel itself I put a little Inox MX3 on the threads - this in hope that it will give the torch a little more water resistancy - the o-ring is somewhere in there? I couldn't see it so it maybe beneath the lense and the reflector? Hard to say as I didnt remove the lense to get further inside as I didn't want to get dust in there...

So, now my EA4 is back together and the bezel is screwed on nice and straight and there is no protruding plastic washer from under it - and hopefully a little more watertight!

THANK GOD THE BEZEL IS STRAIGHT! :thumbsup:

instead of used graphite Grease on mine I might look into this innox as I haven't heard of it before thanks for the heads up, interesting.

Slazmo · May 13, 2013

Hi guys, since doing this and aligning both the bezel and the little plastic shim beneith it - I came to a cross road. I thought how to make the lense stronger and more resistant to shattering and scratching.

I put a layer of plastic over it - via a lense protector. The plastic is very thing however very strong and applied quiet easily. These films are what you can stick onto a phone lense / screen. Within doing so I removed the plastic shim ring from reinstallation and found that the bezel screws down a lot further and it closes the gap.

Even my Inova X1's have the lense protector plastic applied to the lenses. Such a simple thing to do to protect the lense itself!

I feel pretty safe with what I have done so far - no bubbles and I cant see a difference where any light is lost due to transparency opacity issues?

P.s. "shuxham" - Inox is Australia's little known secret, one of our premier / finest quality oils and lubricants brewed locally to me and is second to none! A product that should be tried and tested and put against the rest!

Showmethelight · May 13, 2013

Funny to come across this thread as the glass lens on my EA4 just cracked so I wanted to replace it. A quick look at the head and the indents immediately made me think of one tool and one tool only, a watch case opener! I set the two widths to two adjoining slots and then backed the third right up into the slot that completes the triangle, essentially the opposite of removing a watch case (vs tightening in on it). either way the cheap little tool did the trick as well as expected and should be able to tighten things up quite a bit more than spinning on a mouse pad (hopefully without breaking a lens, though i had to order 10 anyway lol). Thought I'd share an alternate way, btw my watch case opener is a super simple/cheap harbor freight one.

Trevtrain · May 13, 2013

CPF member CheepSteal used a similar trick to get the Bezel off an Armytek Predator using the bottom of a soft-soled shoe.

Link here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ange-Peel!!!&p=3706457&viewfull=1#post3706457

I guess on the Predator it was a little easier as the bezel was crenelated and dug into the rubber.

I'm not sure I want to take the bezel off my EA4W but thanks for the tip on the Inox Slazmo. I think I've seen it at Repco or one of the auto places?

elbowtko · May 31, 2013

I have found that the plastic shim ring was my problem... however I can't realign it perfectly to fit the bezel and I wish to replace it or maybe even trim off a tiny piece of the plastic. No matter how I rearrange it I still see a shadow however much less of it.

Thanks for the post, great community here!

Showmethelight · May 31, 2013

I'd place the plastic shim under something very flat with a weight over it, overnight, to see if you can get it truly flat again, sadly it's been in the light being bent out of shape this long so it might be to warped.

Trevtrain · Jun 1, 2013

Showmethelight said:
I'd place the plastic shim under something very flat with a weight over it, overnight, to see if you can get it truly flat again, sadly it's been in the light being bent out of shape this long so it might be to warped.

Could you use a clothes iron, putting the shim on a hard flat surface with baking paper on either side?

Slazmo · Jun 2, 2013

I took my shim out and put a lense cover on the mineral glass - the bezel is closer to the body and I feel a lot safer knowing that the glass is protected against scratches and shattering.

Nitecore EA4 - how to open it & fix the crooked Bezel etc...

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