Sunwayman Issue and Cure

I've been treating myself to a few new EDC lights lately and was impressed by the Sunwayman M11R. I ordered one from Amazon and received it today. Very impressive out of the box, really like the finish.

Anyway, popped in a new CR123 and gave the ring a twist but no joy - not a flicker. I removed the battery and checked it on my ZTS tester, showed full charge. Tried again and got a flicker. Tried again, got nothing.

Hmmmm....

If I unscrewed the head from the body almost all the way it would work, but the slightest jiggle would send it back into darkness. I removed the battery and looked at the tensioning spring that pushed the negative end of the battery forward. Plenty of 'spring' yet apparently no juice was flowing. The spring seemed loose in the barrel, like it was undersized. This gave me a clue to the nature of the problem.

I removed the spring and using two pair of needlenose pliers I did a bit of surgery. First was to spread the bottom of the spring, so that it took a good effort to push it back into the body, thus insuring good contact with the wall of the tube. Next I took the small end of the spring, which was twisted into a flat curlique, and again using the pliers, bent the tip end slightly upwards, where it would physically dig into the battery when the light was reassembled.

On completion of this procedure, the light came up just fine, has worked with several different batteries, and is now introduced into the EDC rotation. In the future I'll inspect all the tensioning springs in the battery compartment to insure they have GOOD electrical contact. I suspect that many of the DOA or intermittent light problems stem from insufficient electrical contact, especially since we are dealing with high-current circuits. It is very important to have a low-ohm path through the battery contacts to insure full brightness and current transfer.

This is my first post after a long absence, good to be back!

Welcome back

occasionally a light shows up that needs some TLC, i havent had had a problem with a Sunwayman yet, I like the diversity that they are coming out with lately. The D20a is one of my favorites

My new M11R did exactly the same thing. I didn't perform any surgery on it. Just removed, then replaced the battery. After a couple attempts it woke up. Maybe these just get sleepy?

Regardless, I'm really loving this light. It may well prove to be the perfect EDC.

KEN

I like mine with the AA extender!14500 or AA energiser lithium or cr 123 as bakup. I use mine all the time.

My M11R flashs .........this one about every 30 to 45 seconds.
Ive returned it twice to the dealer I bought it from ............always starts flashing after some use.
They said they returned it to sunwayman to be fixed..................
Iam personally , through with sunwayman ...............these M11R,s are a piece of junk.

Does anyone know of a flashlight GURU who can make a different light out of this ??
I hate paying so much for a Titanium light thats junky electronics inside.

djdawg said:

Does anyone know of a flashlight GURU who can make a different light out of this ??
I hate paying so much for a Titanium light thats junky electronics inside.

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:thinking: i love easy questions,nip over to vinhs section,send a pm and all will be awesome:twothumbs

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?140-Vinhnguyen54

Why oh why do people who spend good money on a flash light lose touch with reality and void any warranty by messing themselves.Surely faulty goods are just that and be returned to the seller for a refund or replacement.

Successful business men who buy UK football clubs also lose touch with reality.

mcnair55 said:

Why oh why do people who spend good money on a flash light lose touch with reality and void any warranty by messing themselves.Surely faulty goods are just that and be returned to the seller for a refund or replacement.

Successful business men who buy UK football clubs also lose touch with reality.

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Time has lapsed on the dealer return , but I have sent it back to them twice and they said they sent it off to repair both times..
Its still doing the same thing ......... the dealer wont return my money because the thirty day return policy has passed.
When I bought the light , I put it in my drawer with other lights (cant use them all) LOL ......when I go to use it , it flashed when in off position.
Sunwayman has had two opportunities to fix this and has failed. So Iam moving to the next level.

djdawg said:

So Iam moving to the next level.

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What's that?
Paypal or Klarus?

PayPal ............LOL

djdawg said:

Time has lapsed on the dealer return , but I have sent it back to them twice and they said they sent it off to repair both times..
Its still doing the same thing ......... the dealer wont return my money because the thirty day return policy has passed.
When I bought the light , I put it in my drawer with other lights (cant use them all) LOL ......when I go to use it , it flashed when in off position.
Sunwayman has had two opportunities to fix this and has failed. So Iam moving to the next level.

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Tip for the future always pay with a credit card as you can get them involved and the seller has no option but to listen or there merchant taking ability will be withdrawn.

I have no problem with the seller ....................my 30 days return policy had expired.
They (seller) was kind enough to send the light to sunwayman twice for repair (or so they said)
Ive read that sunwayman has had various issues with this light on flashing issues ,
Like I said it used to flash with all batts installed .........now just RCR,s ...... but still I,d like it to work properly , even though I just wanna get rid of this light ............ it has made a rotary ring ban for me .........no more of these lights for me.
Live and learn.

Although mr mcnair is right,but now time has elapsed i highly recommend vinh,pick the led / tint,he will make ring better,and it will become probably your fav light..

Good luck either way,thats what i would do in this situation and sorry to hear of your troubles.

ven said:

Although mr mcnair is right,but now time has elapsed i highly recommend vinh,pick the led / tint,he will make ring better,and it will become probably your fav light..

Good luck either way,thats what i would do in this situation and sorry to hear of your troubles.

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Thanks ..........I have sent an email to VIN asking for help ...........I will let him do whatever he wants to the light.
I appreciate the Lead to his Email , Iam pretty sure it sounds like he can help me out here.
And like you say , it might become one of my best lights .............LOL

djdawg said:

Thanks ..........I have sent an email to VIN asking for help ...........I will let him do whatever he wants to the light.
I appreciate the Lead to his Email , Iam pretty sure it sounds like he can help me out here.
And like you say , it might become one of my best lights .............LOL

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I like to err on caution ,vinh is the man,no caution there,the caution was in "probably" being honest i know it will be your fav light if he can help you out:thumbsup:

Welcome,good luck,if he can he will,seems a shame to keep tucked away,too add its not just a current bump(usually around 900lm if want) but beefs up heat sink etc too,make control ring smoother etc etc,the beauty is on the inside..............:twothumbs

Your right .....caution is needed.
He just responded to my first email and it seems there is nothin he can do with this light :sigh:
Its seems Iam stuck with a piece of semi junk light , however it does work on just 123 batts , so I,ll keep my RCR,s for my better lights and give this sucker away.
I just hate having something that is not as it,s suppose to be.
Not that you care , but Iam definitely banning Sunwayman from my purchases and word of mouth advertiseing ......LOL
Maybe later I can find a flashight builder who can help me out on this ..... however it probably aint worth the cost.
I think I,ll try contacting Sunwayman myself.
Thanks all for your help

Sorry to hear he cant help with this light,some can be a pita..........and risky.

I mentioned after Chris about IMR16340 cells,if not tried it may be worth a look:thumbsup:

KeepPower etc do good cells and efest

I have to say that I emailed Sunwayman yesterday and they emailed me back tonight (today) and have offered to make this right.
I gotta say that Sunwayman does have GOOD customer service for sure.
There gonna send me a new circuit board and I,ll see if VINNH will install it for me.
They also offered to have me send it to them directly and pay my exspenses ...........thats good service for sure.
I opted for the part.

djdawg said:

I have to say that I emailed Sunwayman yesterday and they emailed me back tonight (today) and have offered to make this right.
I gotta say that Sunwayman does have GOOD customer service for sure.
There gonna send me a new circuit board and I,ll see if VINNH will install it for me.
They also offered to have me send it to them directly and pay my exspenses ...........thats good service for sure.
I opted for the part.

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That's interesting information about Sunwayman's service. I'm trying to decide between the V11r and the Jetbeam RRT01. This certainly is a big plus for Sunwayman.