Klarus XT11 high stand by drain

I have a Klarus XT11 which seems to have an unusually high stand by drain. The light shows signs of low battery* after a couple of months(!) During these months the light has been on for a maximum of 10-20 minutes on high. I always use fresh CR123 (non-rechargeable). The light is stored in a holster with no risk of unintentionally being turned on.

I use Battery Station CR123 batteries but will try SureFire to compare.

*When I turn on the light it dims down after less than a second and then the light flickers.

/Johan

Have you contacted the seller? See if they will do an exchange for you. If they won't, contact the manufacturer and see if they will inspect it under warranty.

Not saying perfect answer but can it be locked out(turn tail cap 1/4) when not in use.

XT11 has regular switch, there is no standby drain at all.

phantom23 said:

XT11 has regular switch, there is no standby drain at all.

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Per selfbuilt's 2012 XT11 review oin 03/07/12: "Since the secondary switch is an electronic switch (can be activated from Off), there needs to be a standby current when the tailcap is fully connected". "However, I have measured it at the negligible level of 1.4uA on an 18650 cell. At that level, it would take centuries to fully drain your typical 18650".

Assuming you've cleaned all contacts possible through the electrical path, then you probably have a faulty electronic switch. It happens - more complexity = more chance of failure. As mention, you could just lock-out the tailcap every time.

I don't think a dealer will support you months after purchase though. I would go back to Klarus and request them to send you a new electronic tailcap as the problem is probably centralized there (maybe show them a video of its operation). Unlike most electronic side clicky lights, a stand alone electronic tailcap might be cheap enough for them to send it alone without a swap. I'd ask for them to include a postage paid return envelope though, to return the bad electronic tail cap, and perhaps the whole light if the part swap doesn't work.

Let us know how it goes... Interested in hearing how good Klarus' customer service is.

The answer from Klarus:

Please try to use a 18650 battery to test the light, we don't recommend use the CR123 batteries.

Kindly let me know if still the same problem when you used 18650 battery.

Crappy response from Klarus, very sorry to hear it. Do you have a suitable DMM that can measure the parasitic drain at the tailcap? If so, and it's significant, then I'd demand that they fix it - their specs state that they support 2xCR123.

reppans said:

Crappy response from Klarus, very sorry to hear it. Do you have a suitable DMM that can measure the parasitic drain at the tailcap? If so, and it's significant, then I'd demand that they fix it - their specs state that they support 2xCR123.

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+1. Especially when the XT11 seems to be highly recommended to LEOs, who often will only use CR123 batteries.

Did you contact the person you bought it from? They might be willing to do an exchange. Agreed, crappy response from Klarus.

Although it's probably something in the switch, if it were me, I'd just buy another tailcap/switch assembly from illumination gear for $12 versus waiting weeks for Klarus to send a replacement. Sorry that the customer service isn't helpful to you right now, but is assume they would want you to ship it out to them so they can test it. In 2-3 weeks you may have a response from them, then wait another 1-2 weeks for the tailcap to be returned.