Sunwayman D40A Hidden Mode! Sub-Moonlight, can anyone else duplicate?

Hi again!

I was just messing around with one of my Sunwayman D40A lights, when I found what I think might be a hidden "sub-moonlight" mode! Can anyone else here duplicate this?

1 - Turn light off from any mode
2 - Turn light on in "moonlight" mode with long 2 second press of power button
3 - Turn light off with quick power button press

The LED emitter (at least on mine) now glows with a faint (I'd guess about 1/10 Lumen) output. Kind of a "sub-moonlight" mode. You can turn this mode off by either unscrewing the tailcap and re-tightening it, or turning the light back on then turning it back off in any mode OTHER than moonlight. The light will ONLY enter this mode when turned off from moonlight mode, no other mode does it - the other modes just turn the emitter completely black/off.

Could be useful! Can anyone else duplicate this? I'd try on my other D40A, but it's in storage and I don't remember which "stash" it's in, might take me a day or two to find it!

other peeps have complained/noticed this. now that you have a surefire method of triggering it, i'm on my way to test mine now, though it is a modded light...hold that thought...


nope. didn't work for me. but mine has a dedomed xp-g2

Hi Amelia,

Just checked my D40A and it goes completely off.

Thanks,
-Chuck

Mine just goes off without the sub moonlight mode. As many others have complained or stated in other threads, this seem to be a defect rather than a "hidden" mode.

Some discussion about the sub lumen moonlight mode here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?398476-Any-upgrades-for-d40a

Hmm... this is sad to hear.

I'm running mine on 4x Panasonic Eneloop Pro, I don't know if that makes a difference or not, I'll try some different battery types tomorrow. If this is a defect, I'm sure glad mine is defective! I think I'm actually going to get some use out of this "mode".

My D40A neutral white also does this. It happens 100% of the time if I turn it off from moonlight. However, it also happens occasionally (perhaps 50% of the time) when I turn it off in other modes. Always from moonlight, frequently from low, seldom from high.

Is your light a neutral white or cool white? IIRC, the neutral white had some slight modifications from the earlier cool white design, so perhaps this was one of the consequences? Or, do cool whites also do this?

I'm not sure I like it, but it doesn't bother me too much. As you say, you can stop it by turning the head a quarter-turn to cut the power. Tightening the head again leaves the sub-moonlight off.

It does draw a bit more current from the batteries. 60uA when completely "off", compared to 250uA when in this "sub-moonlight" mode. It's still very low, but I think I'd prefer it to just be off.

The only use I can think of this sub-moonlight mode, is as a locator for finding the light in total darkness. You'd have to have if facing you, though. If you camp with this light, or use it as a night-stand light and your house is extremely dark, I could see it being useful.

Both of my D40A are Neutral White. I didn't know there was any difference other than the emitter.
I'm going to experiment later today and see if I can get it to do the sub-moonlight thing from any other mode than moonlight... I'll post either way.

Amelia said:

Both of my D40A are Neutral White. I didn't know there was any difference other than the emitter.

Click to expand...

I don't know if there are any internal changes. I know they changed the battery spring (to be thicker) because of earlier problems with it kinking. They also changed the buttons under the switch, because the earlier ones were causing the plastic switch covering to crack.

I've only heard of the sub-moonlight being an issue with the neutral white version, but there's only been a few complaints, so it's hard to know.

I found my other D40A (NW Emitter). It has identical behavior.
I did some experimenting with the other modes, and I can only get the "sub-moonlight" mode from turning off the normal moonlight mode, no other mode seems to trigger it on either of my lights.
In any case, I like this "defect" - it will be useful to me.

This sounds very similar to a fault in the NITECORE HC50 where on turning off the light from certain modes, the LED remains glowing very very dimly. This is in effect a fault creating extra parasitic drain and it no the expected function (when you turn it off you expect it to turn off). To really turn it off you need to lock-out by unscrewing the tailcap.

The way you view this fault is up to you. The ultra-low output might be useful and you might be happy to have to unscrew the tailcap every time you want it to go off, or you might be annoyed that it doesn't go off when you tell it to.

IMO this is NOT a hidden mode, but is a defect.

Amelia,

Good thing you didn't buy a CW, cus they don't do that;-)

I bought mine back before they had any neutrals, but it is a good CW so I'm ok,,, I guess... <jealous>

Have a Great Day,
-Chuck

Interesting, I wonder if all neutral whites have this condition?

One work-around I found (to turn it off completely from moonlight), is the following:

- Turn light on in moonlight (press & hold power button).
- Turn light off (click power button). Note that the "sub-moonlight" comes on.
- Double-click the power button. This causes the light to turn on in turbo.
- Turn off the light (single-click power button). Note that "sub-moonlight" is usually off, and the light is truly off.

The next time you turn on your light, it will come on in moonlight mode, as intended.

The above procedure allows you to set up your light with the appropriate mode-memory, so it will come on in moonlight, but without leaving it in "sub-moonlight". Alternatively, you can unscrew the head a bit to cut the power, but that will mean your light comes on in turbo next time.

Overall, if you don't mind a bit more parasitic drain, I don't think the sub-moonlight causes any issues. It uses 250uA, compared to 60uA (for the normal drain). It would take almost a year to drain a set of Eneloops if you leave the light on in sub-moonlight.

I have a neutral white and it doesn't do this. Well, maybe for half a second. When I turn it off, I can see the faint glow for that half second before it goes off completely. Does that from low too but I can't tell with the other levels. I see spots for a while after looking at the other levels

Mr Floppy said:

I have a neutral white and it doesn't do this. Well, maybe for half a second. When I turn it off, I can see the faint glow for that half second before it goes off completely. Does that from low too but I can't tell with the other levels. I see spots for a while after looking at the other levels

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That's normal behaviour, as the phosphors cool off.

WalkIntoTheLight said:

Overall, if you don't mind a bit more parasitic drain, I don't think the sub-moonlight causes any issues. It uses 250uA, compared to 60uA (for the normal drain). It would take almost a year to drain a set of Eneloops if you leave the light on in sub-moonlight.

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Hey, I just thought of something. Could this sub-moonlight mode be used in a test for longest runtime? A year! Might be a new leader in longest moonlight run times.

My D40A NW does that too. It actually glows when turned off from any mode (moon to high) but when turned off from moon, it is the brightest. But it is way lower than 0.1 lumen, no way to test, probably at 1/1000 lumen.
My guess is that the e switch does not turn off the current to LED completely. But it never bothered me because I never got depleted batteries even after a few months storage.

WalkIntoTheLight said:

That's normal behaviour, as the phosphors cool off.



Hey, I just thought of something. Could this sub-moonlight mode be used in a test for longest runtime? A year! Might be a new leader in longest moonlight run times.

Click to expand...

In my experience, the phosphor after glow is very fleeting. Extended after glow sounds more like a tapering off the LED current.

Who is prepared to set aside their D40A for a year (with daily checks) to confirm this mega-runtime? :twothumbs

WalkIntoTheLight said:

That's normal behaviour, as the phosphors cool off.

Click to expand...

I am not sure about that. The phosphor cooling off is a gradual fade. This shuts off in an instant. Like a two step off

subwoofer said:

In my experience, the phosphor after glow is very fleeting. Extended after glow sounds more like a tapering off the LED current.

Click to expand...

Okay, could be. I know that mine takes a few seconds for the LED to go completely dark (if it doesn't go into sub-moonlight), especially if I turn it off from turbo.

Who is prepared to set aside their D40A for a year (with daily checks) to confirm this mega-runtime? :twothumbs

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I'm pretty confident that my current measurement will give an approximate run-time of a year, longer on Eneloop Pros or alkalines.

I had to do a similar test with some SC52's, when people didn't believe my estimates. Luckily, that was just for a couple of weeks. No way am I putting aside my D40A for a year!

WalkIntoTheLight said:

I'm pretty confident that my current measurement will give an approximate run-time of a year, longer on Eneloop Pros or alkalines. I had to do a similar test with some SC52's, when people didn't believe my estimates. Luckily, that was just for a couple of weeks. No way am I putting aside my D40A for a year!

Click to expand...

The proof is in the pudding - The ArmyTek 120 day Challenge!!! The only issue with this sub-moonlight mode is that it is not an official feature. This being the case, it is effectively a fault and may not be consistent between different units. Not sure it would count as a record runtime even if it did cross the line. However the PALight has an 18 month 'glow' from a 9V battery, so even a year is not going to beat this.

subwoofer said:

The proof is in the pudding - The ArmyTek 120 day Challenge!!! The only issue with this sub-moonlight mode is that it is not an official feature. This being the case, it is effectively a fault and may not be consistent between different units. Not sure it would count as a record runtime even if it did cross the line. However the PALight has an 18 month 'glow' from a 9V battery, so even a year is not going to beat this.

Click to expand...

I think it could beat 18 months with some Energizer lithium primaries in it. It might not be an official feature, but it sure seems common on the D40A neutral whites. However, it's really far too dim to be of any practical use except as a locator light. You can see it shine on a wall from a few inches away, but only once your vision is well dark-adapted.