Why won't a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear body?

Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear body?

I bought one of the new clicky Vital Gear bodies for my (older; first generation) KL1. It works *great*. Nice package. I love it.

On a whim, I decided to try my KL4 head. Nothing.

Tried a new battery.

Nothing.

Tried every brand of new 123 I have: Sanyo, Toshiba, Duracel, Energizer, SureFire, and a generic.

Nothing.

Put the KL4 head on my E1 body. Works with every battery.

Checked the resistance through the VG switch: reads 0.1 ohm, the limit for my cheap DMM. I can't zero it; if I hold the leads together, it reads 0.1 ohm, on the lowest scale, which is 20 ohms, not exactly optimal, but should show if resistance is a factor...

(The SF E1 with Yclo clicky meters the same, BTW)...

Tried a 123 made from a 223 that is longer, by about 20 thousands of an inch (with a solder blob) than a SureFire 123. Succeeded in 'collapsing' the curious little springs in the base of the VG body; but still nothing. Had to pry up the springs to get my KL1 working again.

I bought the VG specifically for my KL1, but I can't figure out why the h*ll my KL4 won't work on it.

This makes no sense. If I had bought it for my KL4, I'd be *really* pissed, but since I didn't, I'm merely completely mystified.

Anything I've missed?

Ideas? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear b

I think that the TW4 combo depends on the KL4 you get, which is a function of the Luxeon Lottery - perhaps the Vf on the LED's too high to allow it to use the 1x123 cell body, at least without a higher-voltage r123?

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear b

[ QUOTE ]
Haesslich said:
I think that the TW4 combo depends on the KL4 you get, which is a function of the Luxeon Lottery - perhaps the Vf on the LED's too high to allow it to use the 1x123 cell body, at least without a higher-voltage r123?

[/ QUOTE ]

But it works on a SureFure E1 body, with one of Yclo's clicky swiches, and the same batteries.

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear body?

Weird. Is possible the battery isn't making contact that the bottom of the body by the switch. The new bodies have some pretty cheap contacts down there so be careful with the pliers. There is a thread here that might have some better suggestions.

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear b

It's probably not making contact with the head. I've had this problem with some combinations of heads and bodies.

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear b

My KL4 is working with my VG FB1, however, it is working in full regulation only with a 4.2V R123A. With a 3V CR123A, it is very dim. There is certainly a contact problem with the VG switch. I worked it out by twisting the tail cap until it works. For every different batteries, I re-adjust the twisting again. I won't bend the tail spring because it looks easy to break. Good luck.

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear b

[ QUOTE ]
AW said:
SNIP I won't bend the tail spring because it looks easy to break. Good luck.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, it looks pretty fragile. My KL4 doesn't do very well on a single 123 anyway; it gets that dark center that's pretty pronounced; I was just playing around with my SF parts. Slow night....

I'm happy with the KL1 on the VG 1 x 123 body. Nice small package, with a clicky.

Just can't figure out the continuity problem.

It's not worth any real work, since my KL4 head isn't a good 3 volt candidate, anyway.

Just wondering if it was something really simple that I was missing.... that's usually the case.


Looks like other people have had similar problems with various head and VG body combinations, too.

Best just be happy mine works well with the head I bought it for, I guess!

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear b

Does the battery rattle on when you have the KL4 on the VG1 body? If it does, you might need to tighten down on the switch housing some.

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear b

My kl4 work with my VG1.

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear b

Deleted - this was the "old" VG twistie

Klaus

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear b

[ QUOTE ]
Chop said:
Does the battery rattle on when you have the KL4 on the VG1 body? If it does, you might need to tighten down on the switch housing some.

[/ QUOTE ]

No. And I tried a longer battery, to the point it crushed the spring; it's in my original post...

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear b

My KL-4 works with my FB1....

Not sure if I can help diagnose the issue you are incountering, but let me know if I can help.

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear b

Have you tried backing the tail cap out? If the battery is too compressed by the tail cap, the batt will actually push the switch away from the retaining ring that it needs to contact to make an electrical connection. I've gotten into the habit of deciding what configuration I'm going to use to run the VG1 body and choose an appropriate o-ring for the tail cap that will allow the tail cap to be tightened sufficiently to prevent battery rattle, yet no push the switch into the tail cap.

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear b

The Vital Gear clickie uses rather soft copper leaf springs as contact instead of the coil spring most flashlights use. I think the design offers better conductivity at the expense of reliabiity since it's not as "self adjustable" as the coil spring designs. To use the clickie with KL4, you'll need to adjust (pry) the leaf springs to make them taller.

Re: Why won\'t a KL4 work on a 1 x 123 Vital Gear b

Check if your vital gear body is connecting properly with the KL4. It's between the body lips and KL4. Try a piece of aluminium foil and the O-ring removed.