3w luxeon problem

Hi to all you en-lightened ones /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. I'm a lurker who's coming out of the closet /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif. I just purchased the NiteStar 3w luxeon from the GoldenGadgets ebay site. Very nice light. Nice size, bright beam with good spill, color a little to the yellow side, but not bad. The problem I'm having is when the light gets cold it will not come on. Setting next to the bed on a cool evening will take about 1 minute to lite up. I tried putting it in the freezer for 3 minutes and it ended up taking about 10 minutes to come on. As it warms up the light starts dimly then eventually brightens. I believe the problem is in the tail cap clicky. Perhaps a hairline crack in a solder spot? Well I only have a couple days to decide if I need to exchange this for a new one, so I could use some advice. If I can easily fix it I'd like to hang on to this one because you never know what you might get the next time in the luxeon lottery /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif.
Thanks,
Bill

what battery is it using? akaline cannot be used in cold weather. only Lithiums can be use in cold weather..

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BillMPL said:
Hi to all you en-lightened ones /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. I'm a lurker who's coming out of the closet /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif. I just purchased the NiteStar 3w luxeon from the GoldenGadgets ebay site. Very nice light. Nice size, bright beam with good spill, color a little to the yellow side, but not bad. The problem I'm having is when the light gets cold it will not come on. Setting next to the bed on a cool evening will take about 1 minute to lite up. I tried putting it in the freezer for 3 minutes and it ended up taking about 10 minutes to come on. As it warms up the light starts dimly then eventually brightens. I believe the problem is in the tail cap clicky. Perhaps a hairline crack in a solder spot? Well I only have a couple days to decide if I need to exchange this for a new one, so I could use some advice. If I can easily fix it I'd like to hang on to this one because you never know what you might get the next time in the luxeon lottery /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif.
Thanks,
Bill

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It uses two CR123A lithiums. Besides, it doesn't have to get real cold not to work. Just setting out in a room around 50-60 degrees will do it.

i put my 3w in the freezer for 20 minutes and no problem: it light up immediately

so you must change the yours

I was right, the problem lies in the clickie tailcap. I tried putting just the tailcap in the freezer for 1 minute and the light wouldn't work until the cap warmed up. I can't figure out how to disassemble the cap to check it out. Any suggestions?

You can verify that it's the tailcap by removing it and jumpering the exposed battery terminal to the housing. If the light turns on immediately, you've isolated the problem.

If you have a multimeter, you could check continuity on the cap - or at least resistance when cold.

It sounds like you need to return it for warranty service/exchange regardless.

Yes, I tried that, (jumping), and it did work fine then. If I could just get the tailcap open I might be able to save the hassle of exchanging it. By the way does anyone have experience with exchanging/returning anything to Golden Gadgets?

Success! I finally figured out that you can disassemble the cap by turning an inner collar that I thought was spot welded. I realized I could tighten this a bit more and that solved the problem. I guess it just wasn't making good enough contact before.

Thanks,
Bill

Interesting experience...though

low ambient temperature vs. Luxeon <= exciting issue
...but

temperature vs. tail cap switch <= boring issue

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BillMPL said:
Success! I finally figured out that you can disassemble the cap by turning an inner collar that I thought was spot welded. I realized I could tighten this a bit more and that solved the problem. I guess it just wasn't making good enough contact before.

Thanks,
Bill

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Thanks for posting that fix. Perhaps that is what is causing mine to incessantly flicker? I'll have to borrow it back from the GF and check it out.