Question about my arc-aaa

I got my first arc aaa a couple of weeks ago and I just love it!! But.. every once in a while when I go to turn it on, it won't come on. It screws down just fine but the light doesn't come on. If I unscrew it 1/2 a turn or more and try it again, it usually works. It has the original Duracell aaa battery in it.
Thanks! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Try a new battery and see if the problem stops. When the light works, is it dim at all?

I put a new battery in it. It still does it. I turned it on 20 or so times and it did it 3 times.
No it's not dim, when it works it is nice and bright.

I see an identical response with mine. I just now turned it back and forth (1/4 turn) a dozen times. Twice it did not light. The battery tube was turned to the same spot with the same force each time.

The problem can be in 4 spots;
1) The voltage boost circuit.
2) the negative battery contact
3) the contact bethween case and head
4) the positive battery contact.


Next time it happens I'll slip a strand of 26 guage wire between the head and the body to see if that's not making a good connection. * * * Did that, no change * * *

If that's not it, I'll check the negative terminal to battery case with a volt meter. I should be able to detect an open there. * * * good contact when it was in a static position. Did not try moving the battery much. * * *

If that's not it, I suspect the foam is being deformed by the twisting action. When my garage heats up I'll see if I can find a glass rod to use as a sight while simulating a battery twisting under pressure.

Strangely, it's balks most ofetn the first time it's turned on or right after putting the battery back in.

Daniel

Try looking in the ARC FAQ. There is a section for each ARC including cleaning and such.
Hope this helps

OK, here's an observation that has me puzzled. Maybe Peter can chip in whith some words of wisdom.

I observed that when I turned the light on and off slowly, it worked as it should BUT....

If it turned on momentarily while I was turning it on it would then stay off no matter how hard I turned. This happened when I had unscrewed it several turns and had to shift hand positions while tightening just as it started to make contact. A quick flash and then nothing.

SO... I tried this. I turned it off, waited a second or two, then rapidily turned it on-off-on. It flashed on and then stayed off until I unscrewed it a little and tightend it again. This is very repeatable with my ARC AAA and with my arc AA (both about 1 week old).

It does NOT happen with my AAA premium (2 months old).

Is there a change in circuit design that knocks the step up converter out of commission when it's rapidly cycled? Is this a new programable 'lockout' feature? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Daniel

i'm pretty sure it has to do with the foam disk bunching up on itself..

Ryan wrote...
[ QUOTE ]
i'm pretty sure it has to do with the foam disk bunching up on itself..

[/ QUOTE ]

That was my thought too, but
1) I'm turning it only 1/4 turn.
2) The battery that came with my AA had the positive connector caved in from screwing down too tight. I always open things up before turning them on

I was thinking about hooking the head to a bench power supply and switch to see if I can replicate it without any mechanical influence.

If someone beats me to it, that's great

Daniel

doh.
i thought i was on to something. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

whoever gets to replicating it first, lemme know how that goes.

This sounds a lot like a thread that ran last week. If it's like the 2 AAA's I had, it's not the battery, foam retainer, positive battery contact, negative battery contact, dirty threads, etc. I did some testing on mine - I soldered a small wire directly to the head's + contact and used a large aligator clip to connect to the threads for the negative. This gave me as good a connection to the power as i could imagine. I powered it from a regulated lab supply and the problem persisted. It's internal to the head.

Only fix? - Send it back.

Hey guys,

Is this a problem that will get worse as time goes by with my ARC AAA? If not, I'll probably keep it as it is. As you have ascertained, mine does the same. If I do return it because of intermittent performance, will the next one do the same? With how busy Peter Gransee and his staff must be, I can't expect them to test each replacement light as it is shipped. Perhaps Peter can shed some light on the matter (just a figure of speech, no pun intended).

I have been having the exact same problem with one of my ARC AAA. I cut the opening in the foam and made it bigger. Still have the problem. Changed the battery. Still have the problem.

If it's simply that the oscillator is not starting, the problem should not get worse, but I'd like to hear Peter's view on it. I'm not going to bother returning them as long as I understand the problem and work around. It's more trouble to mail it off than it is to simply twist the bezel a second time.

I'll save my customer service requests for important stuff.

Besides, I owe them one. My wife says they gave her free expedited shipping on my Christmas presents so the'd be here on time. She was unable to drive due to a broken ankle and so she was unable to shop except by phone/internet. They did not have to do that.


Daniel.

This has been written about in several threads over the past year or so. This is a ground problem. We have been studying this for some time. Recently we ran another series of tests to better understand this even more.

Several of the previous revisions were designed to address ground issues.

To accelerate wear and tear on the test units, we put them in hot water and then the freezer for 4 cycles. This causes the parts to move in relation to each other. We then turn the unit off and on repeatidly about 40-50 times. Some units will last 20-30 cycles before failing. Our tests try to capture this progression.

In short, there are things you can do to possibly fix the unit. Those have discussed here in the Arc forum. But, you will also have good fortune by letting us replace the unit.

Not sure what else I could say at this point. Please let us replace any defective units. No reason to waste too much of your time.


Peter

Mine is kind of weird in that it only happens with one kind of battery so far, a cheap zinc-carbon that I tried just to see if it would work. I don't care too much about that kind of battery in real life, so I haven't worried about it too much. I believe my light is version 3.2 but don't know how to tell for sure. I wouldn't want to exchange it for a 3.3 light with the lettering running down the side. Any way to exchange for one without the lettering?

i dunno if i dare to return it for a replacement.. it's got such a pretty beam..
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

If it's a ground prob, maybe only the battery tube needs replacement--you'd keep the same led.

The ground problem that Peter is referring to is in the head, not the tube. I would think that you could request to keep your current tube.

It's weird, but I saw the same problem with the original battery on mine. After the initial battery it hasn't happened like that again. It has failed to turn on a couple of times with the 2 or 3 batteries I've been through since then, but it's been so rare that I can't even remember for sure how many times it happened.

[ QUOTE ]
Gransee said:
In short, there are things you can do to possibly fix the unit. Those have discussed here in the Arc forum. But, you will also have good fortune by letting us replace the unit.

Not sure what else I could say at this point. Please let us replace any defective units. No reason to waste too much of your time.

Peter

[/ QUOTE ]

It is a very noble suggestion and I appreciate.

From the limited purchase I have, 1 pc of version 3.2 has the problem while 4 of version 3.2 and an AAA-P has no problem. I see it is the head because I moved it to other head and had the problem with the same head.

Replacing would be the best way, but the postage from Malaysia to US and return doesn't seem to be worth the trouble. I'd rather try it myself to fix it.

Will you please point the most common thing I can try?

Thanks,
DJP