Glad I didn't ask for a refund on my 4+

Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

After much thought I decided that rather than asking for a refund on my 4+ with a switch problem, I would give Arc the chance to fix it. I got it back in one week, and I can't tell whether they fixed it or just gave me a new one. It is however, a great improvement over the first one. The switch has a nice feel with a slight click, and I can finally access the levels and functions without getting bursitis in my thumb. No flicker at level 1. If all the new 4+'s are like this I think people will be very pleased.

Rick

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

Rick,

I did the same. At first asked for a refund. A few days passed before the light arrived back at Arc. I got a nice call from Merri verifying which way I wanted to go. I figured there wasn't any risk in having them rework. It came back with the push reduced from 6# to 4#, no discernable switch action changed to a soft (but recognizable) thud, and it now works about the same with all 3 brands of 123 that are around my house. I'm going to hang onto it.

The Arc4 really is an impressive light. I figure that well built regulated 1x123 Luxeons will be at Walmart for $20 - $30 in 10 years. I don't know if lights like the Arc4 will make it into mainstream as quickly. There's a lot in this light. A surprisingly mature product considering its short development cycle. One purchase and almost every light in my inventory has been rendered obsolete. Honestly, the only light that the Arc4 doesn't replace is my Inova 24/7.

Enjoy your light!

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

My rev 1 Arc 4+ is certainly my fav light due to its versatility and great form-factor. Glad those switch issues are apparently resolved for you. The Arc 4 is too expensive and worth it!

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

Hi Rick,

Similar here. Got My Rev2 a couple weeks back. Lots of trouble with the switch. Sent it back, and got the fixed version a week later (very fast turnaround IMO). The replacement works like a charm. Excellent light. Not perfect, the tailcap needs a guard and the clip looks like an after-thought, compounded by the lack of HA on the countersink. But, apart from those items, this light is a nice bit of design work.

Looking forward to the new tailcaps!

-lc

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

I'm looking forward to the new tailcaps too, but suspect that they will be delayed by the switch issue. The switch works fine once tweaked at the factory. There may be enough variation in the tailcaps (2 versions + manufacturing tolerance) to make the switch problems reappear when screwing on a new tailcap. The tailcaps may be best installed and tweaked at the factory, and considered considered a non-reversible upgrade.

Pure speculation. Anyone have word on this item?

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

I got mine back today (4 days turnaround!) and I'm still not sure. The switch feels really soft and I have a really hard time turning the light on.. no matter how much I press it acts like momentary mode.

If I press a couple of times it will stay on. I would think that if you press it quickly it turns on... anybody else experienced this?

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

!

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

ROBSTAR,

If the light only latches on if you double click, the light is in Semi Momentary Tactical mode. This means that a double click is needed to latch on, a single click will turn it off once its on, but if you press once only it acts like a tactical momentary switch. The ARC 4 has so many user settable choices that you need to read the whole instruction set to learn to use it. Things like the Semi Momentary Tactical mode can all be turned off so the switch acts like a clickie switch. You need to read the instructions on this website. First read the ARC FAQ and look up the ARC 4 section. Then read the advanced instructionsl which are linked in the FAQ or you can find them here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB31&Number=436125&page=3&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

I love my ARC 4+ but I found that the instructions included with the light don't explain the advanced functions of this light.

Have fun

Ted

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

In my haste to return my light quickly, I only sent in the battery compartment and switch (no head). I later read here that the whole light needs to be sent in for a custom retrofit. After two weeks, I got the body and switch back but it still was failing about 20% of the time. And, it did not work at all with Surefire123s. I just sent the whole light back for retrofit #2. Hopefully, it can be straighten out this time. Just be sure to send the whole light in.

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

Yup, that would do it! I did try the semi-tactical mode and I figured that a reset would get rid of it... guess not!

Now that everything works again I think this light is amazing!!

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

Well, I spoke too soon. I took my repaired 4+ and put a Surefire battery in it and the switch no longer worked. Got the initial sequence, but the switch did not respond to squeezing. If I did not have 3 dozen Surefire batteries it might not be as big an issue.

Rick

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

I have a new problem in my ARC42r. It flickers once when I click on level 1. It just started doing this. Any thoughts?

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

Indenial,

If it blinks once, when on level 1, this could mean that the light thinks the battery doesn't have enough juice to power it on level 1 and it is dropping down to level 2. If it's a new battery, I'd call ARC and see if it needs to be sent back.

I've got a rev1 ARC 4+ second and I've tested it to work great with Duracell, Surefire, and Sanyo batteries. I find it interesting that the switch revisions in rev2 are causing so many problems.

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

It's the original battery and I haven't used it much since receiving the light last month. Anyway, I've replaced the battery and the blinking has stopped. I guess level 2 must be very close to level one because I didn't notice a difference. I still have some questions and have e-mailed Peter, but that has solved that problem for now. thanks!

Re: Glad I didn\'t ask for a refund on my 4+

I finally returned my #1087 for the switch adjustment. It worked fine using Duracells but would barely work at all on Surefire batteries.

I certainly don't want a refund or a replacement. This one is bright, seems to have excellent run time and a beautiful white beam. When Peter has the switch tweeked to use different batteries this will be one heck of a light!

TerryF