PD32UE Won't stay on...

ZNickey

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 19, 2009
Messages
36
Odd issue...a few months into owning, my PD32 will go momentary on with the push, but not click on, as if the battery were too short. I've used the same batteries for a while (primary is a 3400 mAh AW 3.7). I have attached a vid...any ideas? I thought when I got the battery it was OK size and the top-style was acceptable for usage, and until now I had no issues?

Any advice?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiowGuu2uIE&feature=youtu.be
 

FLAWLS1

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 18, 2012
Messages
37
You still have a warranty with Fenix? Sounds like a tail cap switch problem. Have you tried cleaning the connectors?
 

pjandyho

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 29, 2003
Messages
5,500
Location
Singapore
I don't own any Fenix PD lights but I am thinking there must be a retaining ring inside the tail cap. Try to tighten the retaining ring with a pair of sharp nosed pliers and see if it rectifies the problem.
 

Nitroz

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 29, 2004
Messages
3,258
Location
Monroe
ZNickey,

Make sure the switch it screwed down tightly in the tail cap if it has indentions to do so. I bet if you took a paper clip and used it to make the connection the light would stay on.

If all of the above is good and you have a warranty I would use it, otherwise I would open up the tail cap.

Good Luck!
 

Jash

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
1,649
Location
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Yep, my money is on the switch retaining ring. It's an issue with many Fenix lights. It's a simple fix, but really a problem Fenix needs to resolve so there's no issue that users need to remedy themselves.
 

markr6

Flashaholic
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
9,258
After seeing all these threads and having my PD32UEs for awhile now, it never really occured to me to check this. I have noticed sometimes the burst mode doesn't seem bright enough. If I unscrew the cap just 1/4 turn then re-tighten, it lights up much brighter. This doesn't happen a lot but enough that I should probably check my retainer rings too.
 

blah9

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
Messages
2,105
After seeing all these threads and having my PD32UEs for awhile now, it never really occured to me to check this. I have noticed sometimes the burst mode doesn't seem bright enough. If I unscrew the cap just 1/4 turn then re-tighten, it lights up much brighter. This doesn't happen a lot but enough that I should probably check my retainer rings too.

I have the same problem from time to time. But the retainer ring on mine is super tight. I've never really figured out why that happens.
 

markr6

Flashaholic
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
9,258
I have the same problem from time to time. But the retainer ring on mine is super tight. I've never really figured out why that happens.

Interesting I'm not the only one. I've even cleaned the threads and contacts, relubed, different batteries, etc. I don't really mind since it's intermittent and only on blast mode.
 

blah9

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
Messages
2,105
Same here. I also have noticed that sometimes the burst mode is brighter if I have the light on for a minute or two before switching to burst. For example, (this is indoors at room temperature), I will turn it on and cycle to burst with only a small jump from turbo to boost. Then I will go down to level 2 or 3 for a few minutes to perform a task, and then jump back up to burst for fun. Then the jump to burst mode often seems larger than the first time I switched to burst.
 

hydro_pyro

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 21, 2014
Messages
48
Location
SE Michigan
Battery health can play a big role. Lipo batteries do NOT like to be kept fully charged all the time. Their C rating will slowly drop until they can't muster the current for the high settings.

I keep mine around 3.9v unless I'm taking it somewhere to use it a lot.
 

blah9

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
Messages
2,105
That's an interesting point. I do keep mine fully charged and ready to go all the time. But do you know how long it would take for something like that to become noticeable? This is occurring with batteries less than a year old since I bought them, and some of them are only two months old. So I'm not sure if that explains what's going on here, but it's definitely something I'm going to keep in mind. Thanks!
 

duckied

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Messages
76
The same thing happen to my e21 over and over again after a year of uses. Which is the reason I don't own anymore fenix lights. Not to say their lights are bad.
 

blah9

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
Messages
2,105
That's very interesting. Thank you for sharing. I haven't heard about that happening to others before. I'm hoping that in my case it's just sort of normal though. Perhaps the burst mode does have a little bit of a falloff at that point in the battery's discharge state and it's normal. Most of the time I just avoid using the turbo mode anyway. If I want to see farther away or use a really bright light then I just take out a bigger light.
 

markr6

Flashaholic
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
9,258
That's very interesting. Thank you for sharing. I haven't heard about that happening to others before. I'm hoping that in my case it's just sort of normal though. Perhaps the burst mode does have a little bit of a falloff at that point in the battery's discharge state and it's normal. Most of the time I just avoid using the turbo mode anyway. If I want to see farther away or use a really bright light then I just take out a bigger light.

Same here. I wish it was just 4 modes without the Burst. Turbo at 400lm is visually close enough to Blast and enough for me. As usual, it's just a marketing/numbers game, and most people fall for it. (not saying anyone above, just in general)
 
Top