"Too tight" ARC AAA's

"Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

I've given many ARC AAA's (LE's and others) as gifts and extolled the convenience of one hand operation.

Everyone loved the lights but several have complained that the last revolutions before the ON point were very stiff for one hand use. I took every one of those ARCs back and thoroughly lubricated them with SUPER LUBE and other products, and rotated the heads dozens if not hundreds of times. This worked fine for some of the lights, but many others had a limited response to this treatment.

Has anyone else encountered this, and have you found a solution?

Brightnorm

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

Man, you've already done the "Darell" job on 'em. I clean and relube the threads several times during my hundres of on-off cycles. Sometimes the threads need to be chased too. One little piece of crud in there will screw it up quickly.

Some batteries have taller nipples than others as well. The taller batteries will be easier to turn on than shorter ones. One solution is to drop a blob of solder on a couple of AAA + contacts. That'll help.

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

Be careful with the solder though and don't go overboard like I did, not that it's terrible or the end of the world--but right now I have about 1/8 of a turn between "off" and "battery rattle"

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

Originally posted by brightnorm:
I took every one of those ARCs back and thoroughly lubricated them with SUPER LUBE and other products, and rotated the heads dozens if not hundreds of times. This worked fine for some of the lights, but many others had a limited response to this treatment.

Has anyone else encountered this, and have you found a solution?

Brightnorm

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Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

Originally posted by Saaby:
Be careful with the solder though and don't go overboard like I did

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Ryan - just heat the blub up with your iron again to level it, or drag a file across it. You could even reduce the blub by rubbing it on concrete. "Going overboard" really isn't that big of a deal.

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

It'll wear itself down...I tent to twist the head on a little, uhh, tight? Yeah...tight. I write heavy too, and tend to oversteer more than understeer. I TEND TO USE CAPS MORE THAN I SHOULD. I overdo stuff all the time, give me a break

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

I actually "machined" my O ring on a Dremel Tool. Shave bits off, and re-attach.

Also:

Lube the space between the HEAD and the O ring as well. Everyone just lubes the O ring-Barrel gap.

The other part needs lubing too!

Also:

Smear Toothpaste on the threads and turn the light on and off about 100 times.

Smooths the action nice.

Don't forget to rinse.

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

I'm going to try that conductive lubricant first; I recall from the "double barrel Arc" thread that there was a measurable amount of variation between different models/versions of the AAA in the thread diameters -- which ought to disappear now that they're moving production in-house.

Meanwhile, I've had success when caught far from the toolbox by using the Universally Available Lubricant -- nose oil -- as needed.

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

Originally posted by hank:

Meanwhile, I've had success when caught far from the toolbox by using the Universally Available Lubricant -- nose oil -- as needed.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I can't speak for anybody else, but I'm certainly glad that I read this *after* dinner.

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

My best friend is a guitar/bass player. That's one of the more popular ways to fight blisters, that and keeping a chicken bone in your gig case.

Oy! 16 and plenty more than a wealth of useless and near useless trivia.

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

google on "nose leech" and read the travel story. while not eating :>

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

Originally posted by hank:
I'm going to try that conductive lubricant first;
.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I also put the conductive lubricant on the bottom of the AAA to help it turn.

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

Nose oil, as in, "off the side of your nose". Forehead oil also. It's an emergency "quick fix" and it really works. Try it out, or at least keep the idea in the back of your mind for future use.

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

Originally posted by PhilAlex:
...smear Toothpaste on the threads and turn the light on and off about 100 times.
Smooths the action nice. Don't forget to rinse.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I'm not sure if you're joking or not.

Brightnorm

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

I removed my o-ring, and it makes it much smoother operating. The o-ring puts more side pressure on the threads when operating, which makes any irregularities and debris more noticeable, as well as more friction, so it makes it harder to twirl it on with one hand, using your forefinger and thumb.
The foam spacer supplies just enough friction to hold position, and I don't need the waterproofing afforded by the o-ring, since I don't take it underwater.

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

Instead of smearing toothpaste I have used Brasso. Works real well.
--Ðøug

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

Originally posted by Saaby:
...I overdo stuff all the time, give me a break

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">You forgot to mention overpost...

Re: "Too tight" ARC AAA\'s

Thanks everyone, for all the good ideas.

Brightnorm