El Camino
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2012
- Messages
- 166
Weird thing happened this morning. I use a Lightstar 80 as my EDC light at work (one of them, anyway). I do a lot of IT/Cabling work and this light has a high CRI, which helps me see cables, wires, etc. I've dropped it a couple of times and dented the bezel, but it's been a pretty good light.
Today, I went into a dark air handler room to trace a cable. I instinctively reached for my light and felt something weird. The tail cap switch boot had swollen up like a little balloon and was actually translucent because it was so thin. I removed the cap and the cover went back to normal, but it would no longer switch on. I paused my work for a moment and went to my tool kit to take a look. Priorities, you know.
I removed the switch mechanism from the inside of the tail cap assembly and found that there is a small plastic spacer that sits inside the boot. Because of the "swelling" the spacer has simply come to rest at an angle that prevented the switch from working. No problem. I reassembled the tail cap and the light came on with no issues.
I am at a loss as to what caused the ballooning in the first place. The light was in my holster and was not hot, and it had not been left in my car. I was using alkaline batteries, which I also inspected and found no evidence of leakage. I disposed of them anyway just in case. They are Nuon AAA batteries, which I think are rather inferior to other brands, but I've never known them to vent. I've seen the Nitecore threads, but I was wondering if anyone else had an idea of what could cause the ballooning, or if anyone else has had this issue.
Thanks!
Today, I went into a dark air handler room to trace a cable. I instinctively reached for my light and felt something weird. The tail cap switch boot had swollen up like a little balloon and was actually translucent because it was so thin. I removed the cap and the cover went back to normal, but it would no longer switch on. I paused my work for a moment and went to my tool kit to take a look. Priorities, you know.
I removed the switch mechanism from the inside of the tail cap assembly and found that there is a small plastic spacer that sits inside the boot. Because of the "swelling" the spacer has simply come to rest at an angle that prevented the switch from working. No problem. I reassembled the tail cap and the light came on with no issues.
I am at a loss as to what caused the ballooning in the first place. The light was in my holster and was not hot, and it had not been left in my car. I was using alkaline batteries, which I also inspected and found no evidence of leakage. I disposed of them anyway just in case. They are Nuon AAA batteries, which I think are rather inferior to other brands, but I've never known them to vent. I've seen the Nitecore threads, but I was wondering if anyone else had an idea of what could cause the ballooning, or if anyone else has had this issue.
Thanks!
