Arc AAA

I use to EDC my arc AAA, but not, it has serious flicker problem, the circuit seems to go heywired.

Since den i have left my AAA hanging by my bed UNUSED for MTHS.

anyway, nice to be back, my last post is like more den a yr back

Sounds like one of the very last ones with the wacky chip that was giving problems. Hopefully Peter will see this and fix you up!

Peter, its it possibel for u to help replace it?
linfeng

or maybe it's a problem with the crimp. I think a fix for that is somewhere in the FAQ or DIY Maintenance sticky threads.

A few people I know were having problems with their Arc AAA's it in one case the head needed more solder applied because it was barely making contact (or use a longer battery). In the other two cases the problem was battery corrosion in the bottom of the battery tube.

If you can rule those out then it it's probably the chip.

Head part is recoated with sholder and i am very sure thats not the problem,
the battery contact in the tube is clean with a pencil eraser..

anyway, wat can i use as an subsitude for the retainer?

not enough mention has been made of Arc AAA's bottom post not making proper contact.

for some reason AAA alk cells seems to leak more than any other size.

note bottom post on some Arc AAA is concave, not flat. this means only a thin edge of aluminum makes actual contact.

meaning any corrosion caused by a leaky cell will cause contact problems.

many times this contact problem caused by leaky cells is falsely blamed on chip issues. which only occurred during last 1/2 year or so of old Arc production.

to fix... simply scrape off corrosion and aply 959 nyogel

note New Arc AAA has stainless post to hopefully eliminate contact issues.

CY is right, most problems are caused by a leaking battery.

First off, we will fix the light for you regardless. Just send me an email.

Some of the leaking cells could be because it is easier to overtighten the head. This could be literally squeezing the 'juice' out of the cell. The Arc-AAA should not take a lot of force to turn on.

Another contributing factor to a cell leaking is draining it dead. The Arc-AAA is really good at that. Now, I too like to get every last bit out each battery I buy, we just need to buy good brands and watch the cell. If it leaks, clean it up right away and the Arc-AAA will be no worse for wear.

And finally, some cells just leak even with good care. If that happens, it usually affects the negative contact area in the bottom of the battery tube. That can be cleaned with a wire brush, sandpaper on the end of a pencil eraser, steel wool, etc. Sometimes people either don't know their battery leaked or they couldn't clean it. In either case, this is by far the number one cause for lights sent in for service. Symtoms include flickering, intermittant startup, dim output and complete non-function.

Even though the battery is the culprit, we still clean the pack out for you free of charge.

Now, even though battery leakage is the number one problem, there are other things that can go wrong. For those cases, our offer to repair the light still stands.

Peter

My Arc AAA used to occasionally not light up on the first try. I suspected it to be the negative contact in the tube. Cleaning always helped, but not for long. What seems to have solved the problem was putting a small steel ring from a keychain in the bottom of the battery tube, circling the contact stub. It's about the diameter of the battery contact. This has worked well, though maybe no better than a blob of aluminum foil. Works well in an Infinity, too.

Geoff

Flying Turtle,

A theory of what might be happening with your battery pack is the old style contact point eventually was worn down to where it couldn't make good contact with the battery. In that case, we can just replace the battery pack for you. Since the thread style is different on some of the older revisions, we ask that you send the entire light in for repair, even if the problem is only with the battery pack.

And of course, the new pack will have a stainless steel rivet which should last a bit longer.

Peter

Thanks for suggesting a solution, Peter. I'm really not having a problem now, and I don't think I could stand not having my little Arc, even for a few weeks, as long as it's working. We all appreciate your interest in keeping us happy.

Geoff

CY is right, most problems are caused by a leaking battery.First off, we will fix the light for you regardless. Just send me an email.

Click to expand...

Now, even though battery leakage is the number one problem, there are other things that can go wrong. For those cases, our offer to repair the light still stands.

Click to expand...

That's what I like to hear!

I use to have a Arc AA and for some dumb reason I sold it.
I was lost without it and when I decide to get another one I had found out Arc no longer sold them and I could not aford to get one one eBay. I think they were going for around $100 at the time.

Now I see Arc is around again and I like what I have heard.

for some reason, the retainer is badly worn out. is it possible for me to cut it out of somethng??

i will try to clean the contact again although i am pretty sure that wasn't the problem.

Tx

The foam retainer can just be pulled off in bits using your fingers or a needle nose pliers.

We can send you a new retainer if you send us a SASE. Or, we can include it with your next order no charge if you ask for it in the comments line.

Peter

I in singapore.
too troublesome to sent it all the way here
just wondering if i can make do with something else

You can make your own using Dr. Scholl's small corn pads and a 7/16 punch. Here's the link from Google's cache:

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:ncTSOMsnlkcJ:www.candlepowerforums.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php%3FCat%3D%26Number%3D746703%26Main%3D742235+scholl%27s+arc+aaa&hl=en

What do you use to re-attch the foam donut with? What's best?

The material is already prepared with a contact adhesive normally used to adhere to skin. In this case, it adheres to the head of the light.

Is that strong enough not to twist off? What if you were to re-use your old foam donut or had a spare? Thanks.

I don't know if this is recommended. When the foam comes off my AAA's (from twisting or cleaning the threads with rag) Its usually still in very good shape. I have several lights where I simply placed it in the tube, and pushed it to the bottom with the battey. It still works fine on top of the battery, but requires something to get it out when you need to change the battery. In the bottom it clears the contact, and seems to do just fine preventing rattle. The cushion effect might not work for the head, though. And when you do need to remove it for contact cleaning, you're going to need some twezers or the like. My 2 cents.