HELP with Nitecore SRT3 please!!!

I bought my Nitecore SRT3 along with a Nitecore 16340 high drain and protected. This evening, I was checking my car for a lighter had dropped from my pocket so I reached for my srt3 and clicked it on. It kind of flashed and turned off. So i tried again then it stayed on for about 20 seconds until I found my lighter and switched it off.

When I got to the house, I switched it back on and left it on for around 2-3 mins before it shut off. I clicked it off then clicked it on and it still works. My question is, would this be the battery's discharcge protection kicking in or do I have a faulty light? I've been playing with the light quite a bit last night too if that's any help. Doesn't the Nitecore SRT3 come with a low battery warning such as those in klarus lights wherein they flicker to indicate a low battery?

Have you checked the battery Voltage?

Norm

I have a DMM but i've no idea how to use it... How do you check the voltage of the light?

you don't check voltage f the light you check the battery voltage. put it on V or V DC mode and connect the terminals to two battery poles. the reading is the voltage.

viperxp said:

you don't check voltage f the light you check the battery voltage. put it on V or V DC mode and connect the terminals to two battery poles. the reading is the voltage.

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There are three slots wherein I can insert the red and black wires, 10A and V and the other an omega symbol? Is that right? And on the dial, The V mode starts with 20... Not sure if im doing this correctly, I really dont want the cell exploding in my face

could you please take a picture of your DMM ? Or tell the model ? that way it will be easier to advice.

The black (negative) lead goes to the negative socket (often labelled "Com" and / or coloured black). The Red (positive) lead goes to the socket labelled "V" for Voltage.

The socket labelled "10A" is for current measurement so be careful not to use that, as you could short the cell. The Omega symbol stands for "Ohms" and is for resistance measurement.

Do you have an instruction manual for your meter somewhere ?

Thank you so much for the help and reply, guys. Im kinda freaking out if my light is the problem or if it's just the battery protection kicking in. Just got this light last week so I'm like a kid with a broken toy

I'll take a pic of my dmm tom as it's in the basement at the moment. It didn't come with legible instructions (couldn't follow its english), it's one of those el cheapo dmm's that I got for around $10. Will post the pic right away in a couple of hours.

When was the last time you charged your battery? You said you used it quite a bit the night before, maybe its just dead and needs recharging.

It's likely either a dead or possibly defective battery. Measuring the voltage may help reveal if this is the case.

I would throw a non-rechargeable CR123A battery in the light and see if it functions correctly.

From my sigline Simple guide to using a DMM for measurements .

Norm

@outlander I charged my battery a few days before the incident bu I have been playing alot with after charging and most especially the night before. But shouldn't the light give off a low battery flash to warn me or is this non existent for nitecore lights?

@iclight I threw in some AA's in the light and they do work. I charged my rcr123a again and the light works as normal. Could it be because the battery is high drain and protected? It's my first time to have a high drain battery, none of my 18650's mention of being high drain...

@norm Thank you. Your guide has been very informative. I'll take a pic of my dmm settings before actually placing the needles on my battery. Still scared it might go "boom"

Norm, are my settings here correct along with the negative and positive terminals?

sounds more like a switch, or contact issue to me... :duh2:

skyfire said:

sounds more like a switch, or contact issue to me... :duh2:

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The switch and contacts are fine, they work perfectly in fact. I tried running down an eneloop with it and the light flickers randomly without pattern when the battery was low. It doesn't seem to have a low battery warning... I also contacted nitecore about this, they said they undergo testing and will get back to me when they have the results.

the dmm seems to be in correct setting for measuring voltage now.

HaileStorm said:

I bought my Nitecore SRT3 along with a Nitecore 16340 high drain and protected. This evening, I was checking my car for a lighter had dropped from my pocket so I reached for my srt3 and clicked it on. It kind of flashed and turned off. So i tried again then it stayed on for about 20 seconds until I found my lighter and switched it off.

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Sounds to me like your batrery needs recharging. I have an SRT7 and the battery indicator will NOT show the low voltage reading if I use IMR16350's or RCR123's (even if they are good quality) and will turn iitself off until I switch it on again, every time taking longer to turn on after the previous attempt. The indicator will only show a low voltage reading if I use good quality 18650's or primary CR123's. even the strob frequency changes drastically on my SRT7 with RCR's or IMR's.

Thanks, viper. I just checked now, its voltage is at 4.04. I just charged it last night and will wait for it to run down and measure again when the light cuts off. Would you know the minimum voltage of these rcrs?

@lomandor thanks for your input! Im really starting to think that the srt3 doesnt come with a low voltage warning. Nitecore seems to have overlooked that function in this light. It's not such an important feature but it does prevent unknowing owners from freaking out about the light...

HaileStorm said:

@lomandor thanks for your input! Im really starting to think that the srt3 doesnt come with a low voltage warning. Nitecore seems to have overlooked that function in this light. It's not such an important feature but it does prevent unknowing owners from freaking out about the light...

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You forgot a very important feature of this light.

This light accepts AA sized batteries with the extension tube. Given AA NiMh nominal voltage is 1.2V, even if the light has a low voltage cutoff, it will be WAY below your 16340 low voltage protection circuit. The light is probably designed to operate between 0.8v to 4.2v. I seriously doubt the light has battery chemistry detection for different low voltage cutoff for different type of cells.