Help me fix my Arc AAA

Hi, I have an Arc AAA (possibly Premium) and it stopped working. I have tried different Alkalkine and NiMH AAA batteries and none work. The donut seperated from the head but even when I put it back, nothing. I didn't store it with a battery so I have no leaks or corrosion but I still cleaned off the driver portion just in case but that didn't help. Any advice?

If that's the old Arc from now HDS maybe ask if it had the lifetime warranty or if they can fix. Even if it's not lifetime warranty but can be fixed shouldn't be too expensive.

Is the solder blob worn down where it's not contacting the battery anymore? You could make a little ball of aluminum foil and stick it in the donut and see if that helps.

nbp said:

Is the solder blob worn down where it's not contacting the battery anymore? You could make a little ball of aluminum foil and stick it in the donut and see if that helps.

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I didn't think of that. That's a great idea. I'll try it tonight and report back. Thank you.

Boy not much can go wrong with that thing ya try putting some foil or a very small washer and see if it makes contact and works. Also if I'm seeing it right it's looks burnt or melted on head. The black area. Is it?

I think that is the adhesive from the foam donut.

Yep my bad you know just though of this. If you put that donut in and it's bent or out of shape that could be what's stopping the contact of the battery. Did it to me before

Take a pencil eraser and clean the post at the bottom of the battery tube. This is still one of my favorite lights. When I travel over seas I always carry one on me. It's bullet proof, even when swimming. I was going through some of my stored parts and I found an Arc AAA, black new in the package! Fortunately I removed the battery from the packaging before storage. I still use an Arc AA. This is a timeless light IMHO!

Foil trick didn't work. I'll try erasing the bottom of the tube next and will report back.

The driver needs contact to the head for the negative path. Had issues with my arc, gave it a little solder between the driver and the alu in the head. I bet that's your issue too.

jorn said:

The driver needs contact to the head for the negative path. Had issues with my arc, gave it a little solder between the driver and the alu in the head. I bet that's your issue too.

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What do you mean exactly? Add solder into the threads? Add to the solder blob of the driver?

sygyzy said:

What do you mean exactly? Add solder into the threads? Add to the solder blob of the driver?

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between the outer ring of the driver and the head. You can test it with some wires before you solder. Connect two wires to a battery. + wire goes to the center, - goes to the outer ring of the driver. If it lights up, then Just place some solder here. If it wont light up connecting the + to the center and - to the outer ring, the driver is prob dead, or the led is dead.

Well I'll be. Learn something new every day.

thermal guy said:

Well I'll be. Learn something new every day.

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Yep, me too! Thanks for the photo/diagram, Jorn. Very interesting.

The arc is a battery crusher, and all that mechanical pressure on the driver board may make the solder between the head and outer ring of the driver crack over time. Every time you tighten the head the + nipple on the battery adds pressure on the driver. If the solder cracks, the circuit from the negative path is broken. The current is supposed to jump trough the tube, to the head, and from the head to the outer ring of the driver.

Wow that picture and your explanation are exactly what I needed. I'm done with my lunch break but after dinner tonight I'll get the wire test you suggested. I agree the light is a real crusher. I have dimples on the bottom of my AAA's and the crimp around the driver looks inconsistent (similar to the picture). A poor design in retrospect.

Update: I did the wire test and the LED lit up just fine so the driver is good. However, I cannot see any place where the negative perimeter of the driver board is exposed so it's not clear where to put the solder. In your picture, you can see a clear divide between the driver board and the crimp of the head. In my case, the crimp is still pretty much wrapped up and over the driver's lip.

just try to put the solder as close to the crimp as possible, it will prob creep in under the crimp when heated.

I have an update! I tried putting a big blob of solder on the positive of the driver. I also tried stuffing the hole in the donut with some foil. I also tried putting solder near the edge but it's actually pretty hard to get the solder to flow and and stick at the junction between the edge of the driver and the crimp. Again, when I test it with two wires hooked up to the battery and head, it works great.

But I have some more test data! I have another Arc AAA Premium that works fine.

Working head + broken body = no light
broken head + working body = no light.

So I think what is actually wrong is the inside of the body. I assume the inside is coated in aluminum or something for electricity to conduct. If I look inside my tube, there seems to be some sort of light flim or corrosion halfway down. I sprayed it with contact cleaner and wiped it out with a Q-Tip but it didn't seem to change anything. I think electricity is pretty resilient so I am surprised that anything could stop it from reaching the threads but there is no way for me to test this. I would try using a multimeter and touch the bottom of the tube and then the top but the tube is too narrow and long and my probes can't reach. I might try rigging something with with some wires and the probes. Has anyone heard of the body causing conductivity issues?

Wait if the working head doesn't work on the old body and the broken head doesn't work on the new body then you have more then on problem. Yes?

Sara by cleaning the threads on the non working body. Next, insert a pencil with eraser in it and clean the bottom of he tube. It doesn't have any coating in the inside, it's just an aluminum tube.
Try it with the working head.
In order to get the solder to stay put, you need a very clean surface, and a small amount of flux.
try cleaning the edge of the head and the driver by lightly sanding them with a fine sand paper. Clean them again.
now try to flow a small bit of solder.