Quick question about my 4 Sevens Quark Pro with burst...

Greetings, i just purchased the Quark QP2L-X with burst. Great light. The batteries that came with it died and i replaced them with Pearstone cr123a 3.7v 600 mah rechargeables. Ive noticed it is not nearly as bright and there is now about .5 second lag from hitting the switch to the light powering on. Is this caused by the batteries im using? It is also MUCH dimmer than before. What rechargeable batteries are recommended for the brightest output? Sorry for my lack of knowledge here, im working on it. Thanks for your time....

I have that light and have used it with Foursevens, Duracell, Everready, Surefire, Tenagy, and Hitachi primary CR123s, Ultrafire and Eagletac 16340's and Eagletac 17670's without any issues or differences in brightness or behavior. This light is supposed to run on anything from 3-9 volts, so pretty much any battery chemistry should work.

If I had to guess I would suggest one of both of your off brand batteries are weak or defective. Charge them up and test them individually - when fully charged they should read 4.2 volts. Test them in a single battery device if you can before combining them in your Quark. If they check out ok, try a fresh new set of CR123s in your Quark and see if it works ok with them. Hopefully this will isolate your issue to batteries or light.

Good luck.

BE CAREFUL!
- Never heard of those cells, read though HKJ battery reviews and stay with top quality cells, these things can vent with flame if mishandled, and yours sound mishandled (noticeable dimming might mean the cells have already been over-dicharged). http://lygte-info.dk
- A quick google turned up an amazon listing for Pearstone and it sounds like these cells are not protected. Unprotected cells run in series is a really no no which can result in explosion if the cells are significantly mis-matched. It would be safest to run a protected single cell Li-ion rechargeable in that light 17670 or 16650.
- You don't mention the cells voltage, or charger you are using, my apologies if I'm assuming too much, but do you have a voltmeter, and have you read up on the dangers of using Li-ion cells?
- Try different batteries, get name brand CR123s (disposable), used them in pairs from the same package, and don't mix any old/new cells. Consider rechargeables after the above is resolved!

Thanks for the quick help dudes! I put a meter on them and they both meter 4.45v. These are not old batteries and came in a package together. I shall have to invest in some better brandname cells and charger.


ETA:

Is this a decent kit??

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035HCWCO/?tag=cpf0b6-20

4.45v is strangely high for one cell, or very low for two.

rlmono said:

Thanks for the quick help dudes! I put a meter on them and they both meter 4.45v. These are not old batteries and came in a package together. I shall have to invest in some better brandname cells and charger.


ETA:

Is this a decent kit??

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035HCWCO/?tag=cpf0b6-20

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I've had generally good luck with Ultrafire cells although they are not what I'd call premium. My only issue has been overall length where cells simply wouldn't fit - but this can happen with many brands of protected cells.

Never tried those cells in this light though. I can say EagleTac 16340s work and fit fine in this light. And EagleTac 17670s work great but can be a tight fit diameter wise (some slide in and out easily and some I have to coax)

Just a quick update on this. Recieved my 2 x eagletac 16340 and Nitcore I2 v.2 Intellicharger today. After metering both cells (4.2) i popped them in and the light still doesnt work right. Its much dimmer than the set of cells that came with it and doesnt step through the modes properly. I will get in touch with 4sevens for an exchange and keep you all posted how it goes. Thanks all for the help.

Moved to LED Flashlights - Norm

What to post in the General Flashlight Discussion Sub Fourum.

rlmono said:

Just a quick update on this. Recieved my 2 x eagletac 16340 and Nitcore I2 v.2 Intellicharger today. After metering both cells (4.2) i popped them in and the light still doesnt work right. Its much dimmer than the set of cells that came with it and doesnt step through the modes properly. I will get in touch with 4sevens for an exchange and keep you all posted how it goes. Thanks all for the help.

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Eager to hear how your customer experience is. Curious to what the problem is with the light. I have the same light. I use AW RCR123a Protected batteries with an ultrafire WF-138 charger from lighthound.

Sorry for the misplacement Norm!

I had gotten in touch with them earlier and they were nice enough. They suggested the very batteries that you are using (AW). I figured it was the cells i was using and bought new ones and here we are. I too am curious as to what could be the problem. I used it for maybe 2 weeks and changed batteries and Wa-lah! Not the end of the world, i have heard good things about their CS. Thanks for your input Scar.

rlmono said:

Sorry for the misplacement Norm!

I had gotten in touch with them earlier and they were nice enough. They suggested the very batteries that you are using (AW). I figured it was the cells i was using and bought new ones and here we are. I too am curious as to what could be the problem. I used it for maybe 2 weeks and changed batteries and Wa-lah! Not the end of the world, i have heard good things about their CS. Thanks for your input Scar.

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Just curious if you received your new batteries and how the flashlight is working?

Any news?

Sorry for the lengthy wait for an upadate, busy time of year. So i informed 4Sevens that the new Eagletac batteries still did not remedy this problem and they insist that i try the light with a matched pair of primaries. A stop by Walgreens and $20 later i tried some Duracell Ultra cells.... same problem. I reported this and they immediately sent out a replacement unit with a prepaid shipping package included for me in which to return the old unit.

I received the unit in a timely manner and it seemed to function fine. Im noticing that both the head and tail cap need to be in the "right" position for the light to function properly (with any battery set i have tried). If not, it may start on strobe and i have to mess with the head position a bit. It does not suffer from the inability to hit high or "turbo" mode like tha last unit did. To be quite honest, this light functions properly about 50% of the time i pull it out. I can always get it to work but it has been an over-all negative experience for me and not what i expect out of a light at this price point. I have not notified 4Sevens of this and have no plan to as i dont want to RMA a second light. It works.... kinda... when it works.

Any questions, feel free to ask. Have a great holday guys....

rlmono said:

I received the unit in a timely manner and it seemed to function fine. Im noticing that both the head and tail cap need to be in the "right" position for the light to function properly (with any battery set i have tried). If not, it may start on strobe and i have to mess with the head position a bit. It does not suffer from the inability to hit high or "turbo" mode like tha last unit did. To be quite honest, this light functions properly about 50% of the time i pull it out. I can always get it to work but it has been an over-all negative experience for me and not what i expect out of a light at this price point. I have not notified 4Sevens of this and have no plan to as i dont want to RMA a second light. It works.... kinda... when it works.

Any questions, feel free to ask. Have a great holday guys....

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Functioning ~50% properly sounds like the clicky retaining disk may be loose (tighten with needle nose pliers), or the screw down collar over the clip may be loose, which will prevent the tailcap from seating fully. The tailcap should only be tight, not sure what you mean "in the right position." Agree the head needs to be in the right position though - either tight, or ~1/3+ unscrewed, otherwise sideways pressure to the head can activate tight bezel max. Truth be told, though, this one of my all time favorite pseudo-features of any UI - If you are ~ 1/10th turn away from the tight bezel position, any sideways pressure to head gives you momentary maximum for as long as you apply pressure, and the light returns to the previously used low mode when you release. Favorite off-leash dog walking UI, single-handedly and without having to change modes, I can quickly spot my dog, investigate that bump in the woods, or fire a couple millisecond flashes at approach vehicles to warn them pedestrians are ahead, and/or to lower their high beams.

If a loose clicky retaining plate/clip collar do not fix your issues, then absolutely RMA (whatever it takes) and make 47s make it good. It's what they are there for, and what you paid for.

PS, you can also test if the issue is in the tailcap or the head by by-passing with piece of tinfoil... just remove the clicky and touch both the neg battery terminal and bare edge of the battery tube.

reppans said:

Favorite off-leash dog walking UI, single-handedly and without having to change modes, I can fire a couple millisecond flashes at approach vehicles to warn them pedestrians are ahead, and/or to lower their high beams.

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This is a total tangent, but is it common etiquette to turn down your high beams when you see pedestrians? I've always done the opposite. As a driver, I leave my high-beams on when I see pedestrians, because I want to be able to see if there are more people or if they are walking dogs, kids, etc. Even if they have a flashlight so they're easily visible, I have no idea if they also have a dog or someone else with them. I want to see them.

As a pedestrian, it can be a bit annoying to have high-beams on you, but I just look away and figure they're just making sure they see me. I've never considered flashing the driver because he has his lights on me. Last thing I want to do is disorientate them.

I do, of course, flash my high-beams at other drivers if they have theirs on.

Etsu said:

As a pedestrian, it can be a bit annoying to have high-beams on you, but I just look away and figure they're just making sure they see me. I've never considered flashing the driver because he has his lights on me. Last thing I want to do is disorientate them.

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Following up on this, I just noticed how bright and annoying my Quark (with the XP-G2 LED) might be to drivers, even on medium output. I normally use the light on medium and shine it at cars as they approach me, figuring it would show up to the drivers but kind of like a reflector. My intent was certainly not to distract them, but just show them where I am.

However, I left my light on a post and walked down the road 500' or so. The light was still annoying bright! When I tried it out on low, it was more the effect that I wanted, so maybe that's the setting I'll use from now on. (Oh, and I also tried it on max... that was distracting!)

Just a note to users of Quarks and similar lights, especially if they're designed for any throw at all, that even a moderate setting can appear very distracting to oncoming traffic.