Need help with Streamlight H.I.D. Litebox not working - dead battery? ballast?

ampdude

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I just got this off of that famous auction site. Was advertised as new in box, I can't get the thing to work. I'm trying to diagnose what is going on without having to send it to Streamlight for repairs. When I first pulled it out of the box it seems to be not used, possibly just tested out. If one of the numbers on the ballast are correct it dates to January 2010. Out of the box I put it on the cradle charger and only the green light would come on, not the red charging light. Flipped the switch both ways and neither the LED navigation lights or HID would turn on. I pulled the battery and it measured 0.55V. I put it back on the charger for awhile and after a few hours the LED navigation lights will come on, but not the HID. I leave it on overnight to see what happens.

This afternoon I test it on the cradle and the HID flickers, but won't come on. I pull the battery again and it registers a bit over 9 volts (this is a 12V lead acid and has not been charging the full 24hrs). Off of the cradle the LED's will come on, but the HID won't even flicker. I've been charging it some more, and I tried it in my car as well and the HID just flickers when it's plugged in. I created a return ticket to Streamlight, but I was really hoping I could order a replacement battery and be good to go. At this point it seems to be the ballast, but the battery/charging seems weird too. Not sure what I can check on it before I mail it in.
 

skillet

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I have an odd question.. was the car running when you tried the light? I had an HID (not streamlight) that would flicker and not latch on unless the car was running. (Using the cigarette lighter socket)
 

ampdude

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I have an odd question.. was the car running when you tried the light? I had an HID (not streamlight) that would flicker and not latch on unless the car was running. (Using the cigarette lighter socket)

Yes, it was running. It was doing the same thing it was when plugged into the A/C charger directly or sitting in the A/C charging cradle inside. The only time the HID bulb will flicker is when some type of power is applied to it, either A/C charging or D/C car charging. When not plugged in the HID won't turn on at all. I just thought I would check out the car charger since the manual states the light will run continuously when plugged into the car. I'm assuming it will behave the same when plugged into the A/C charger, or sitting in the charging cradle.

When you take any power away the HID won't turn on at all, just the LED's, which makes me wonder if it even is a battery/power issue regardless of the weird charging LED behavior.

And both the red and green charging LED's on the light come on when I try to turn on the HID with continuous power applied (cradle/A/C adapter/D/C car charger).
 
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BVH

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The battery is toast having been at .55V. HID ballasts take as much as 3 X's running Amperage to start and you're probably not getting that even thru the cig power adapter with the engine on and charging voltage present. The old battery in the circuit is not helping you. If you have the wire (at least 16, preferably 14 AWG) and tools available, remove the OEM battery and carefully run some jumper power wires from your cars battery to the light's battery input terminals. Careful not to short anything out. The flickering is an indication of being under powered for starting.
 
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ampdude

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Okay, well here's another update. I tried the light just for the heck of it when I was home at lunch hour today after unplugging it last night. The HID bulb strobed a lot faster almost like it wanted to come on. I plugged the light back in and the charging indicator finally went red like it started charging as it should. It's been red since around 1pm when I plugged it in. The wall transformer is a lot warmer than it was before, almost hot, and the light is a lot warmer too. I'm not going to try the HID again until the battery shows up, maybe tomorrow. For now I'm going to leave the light plugged in. I've had experience bringing lead acid batteries back before in old spotlights, and they never work very long, so I'm 99% positive if it does work for now, it will not be a long term solution, and as a previous poster mentioned, the battery is likely toast. I just want to confirm that the bulb and ballast is fine.
 

ampdude

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I charged the light for awhile the other night with the LED on red and the transformer got super hot and smelled like burnt plastic after about 6 or 7 hours. I finally unplugged it because it was enough to worry me and seemed like it would melt. The battery I ordered and received yesterday to replace this one was incorrect (they sent me the wrong one) so I went down to Interstate tonight after work and picked up a new battery to replace the OEM Panasonic. Should have done that in the first place. The light now works great. Problem solved.
 
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