My Dead Fenix

Since my Fenix first arrived I'd heard numerous reports about tailcap problems, but since mine was working fine I didn't pay much heed. But starting a couple of days ago my Fenix starting going out on me at unexpected times. A little twist on the tailcap usually got it going again.

But then yesterday it died altogether. So I took apart the tailcap, tightened the retaining ring using a pair of jewler's needle nose pliars, which fit in the holes perfectly (and yes the ring was loose). No help whatsoever... :thinking:

I tried three times to loosen and then re-tighten the ring. One time, as I began to screw the tailcap back on, the light cam on for a few seconds and then died again as soon as I moved it in my hand ever so slightly. But then nothing.

I've checked the head to the best of my (still rather naive )abilities in these things, and everything looked fine...nothing obvious anyway.

I don't know what I should do from here. Is it possible that I may be the one guy out of hundreds, who got a lemon? I hate to see it sitting there...just looking dead. Very sad...


But on a happier note, my new McLux III-PD arrived today...
and I all but forgot about my problems with the Fenix.

It's probably a contact problem. Soak a cotton swab with alcohol or other solvent and clean the back end of the body where it's not anodized. Then clean the face of the ring in the tailcap. These two parts have to make good contact for the light to work.

please isolate your problem to switch or light engine

take a simple voltmeter and test for continuity of tailcap switch first.

then with batt in and tailcap off. short batt neg to body. light should come on if Light engine is OK.

Mine died too. Very similar circumstance to yours. 4sevens said he knew what the problem was and said it was an easy fix, representing an assembly problem, rather than a bad switch itself. He had me send mine to him for repair. So, if you bought from him, hopefully he'll be able to help you out. He did say he'd be out of town from Sat. till Weds. though. Let us know what happens! l loved my light and hope its back in service soon. . .

I dont have a fenix, but this might help as well:

I recently bought a River Rock 2aaa .5watt led light, and had same symptoms. The switch kept acting up as I turned light on/off. This happened straight out of the packaging. I kept fumbling with this for over a day and swore up and down that it was the switch. Then this morning as I was waking up trying to decide whether to return to target, an idea came about.

I changed the switch with another RR light, and it worked fine. Even shorting the negative side to case did not light up the led. I then proceeded to change battery's and that fixed it.

1 of the BATTERIES WAS DEFECTIVE straight out of the package.

Jim

Mine exhibited the same behavior after my son disassembled it. Try this:

Hold the Fenix horizontally, with the head on the left, and the switch on the right. If the text on the barrel is upside down, swap the head and tail. When my Fenix is in this configuration, it lights up erratically, and often fails to light up at all.

In other words, the text on the barrel should be right side up with the head on the left and the switch on the right.

Don't forget to flip the battery around, too.

I think the body tube is asymmetric, and that only the "correct" configuration makes contact with both the head and switch parts of the circuit. I haven't actually taken any measurements of the threads, however. Empirically, both of my Fenixes display this trait.

I recall reading on another Fenix thread that another user reported a broken solder connection in the switch, but I can't find the thread. (sorry)

I had an xnova that was working similarly and found the problem was where the tube contacted the light head.... unscrewed it and used a fingernail sanding board to clean off the metal on the end of the tube... reassembled and tightened it down and no more problems. I have also had problems of silicone and dirt and aluminum dust migrating down to the tailcap contact and wiping off about 1/16 of the end of the threads and cleaning the end of the tube off and down in the contact plate fixed that.
Now I use lube sparingly on threads and put it on the O rings and onto the first 1/16 inch of the threaded part lightly enough to make it work smooth, any excess can end up in the tailcap.

Hookd_On_Photons wrote: "I recall reading on another Fenix thread that another user reported a broken solder connection in the switch, but I can't find the thread."

I posted the link in -

Fenix L1 v2.5 (Non-Premium) ( 1 2 3 )

reproduced here -

I've found this great thread over at Homemade and Modified lights -

How to open the head of Fenix L1P?

This isn't just to unscrew the head (easy for the non loctite/epoxied ones from 4sevens' GroupBuy)
but how to take the head apart to get at the LED emitter and circuit - there's also disassembly of the tail-switch -
all with good illustrative photos....
like I said it's a great thread.

This thread is helpful....I will hold off on buying this light until the bugs is worked out.

Thanks for the help, Vincent. You jogged my memory and I found the thread and post here:

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1112567#post1112567

Osprey_Guy, before you try to disassemble the head, I'd check the contacts on the body tube and the head and tail assembly first, and clean them if necessary. It's a lot easier than try to get the head apart.

357 said:

This thread is helpful....I will hold off on buying this light until the bugs is worked out.

Click to expand...

Yep. I'd quite like to hear from anyone with a dead or malfunctioning Fenix whether they found the reasons behind these problems.

If it's not just a contact problem I'd also rather wait until the problems have been sorted out.

Hans

Just a quick update...

I am happy to say that 4sevens was good enough to contact me and asked me to send the light back to him (presumably for repair).

Were you able to isolate the problem, i.e. whether it's a switch problem or the light it self, by the methods as cy described?

Here's the update...

I was kinda slow getting my Fenix off to 4sevens...I got busy and didn't make it over to the post office until this past weekend. Well, I already got the light back today....Everything's working great!

In a very short period of time (6 weeks) I've acquired some very nice lights...including a number of (under 4" in length) lights such as a McLux III-PD, KL4/Fb1, SF-E1, a Jil 1.3 up (arrived today)...and I have both a VIP and a Raw on their way to me from England (the England thing is just a coincidence)..and then of course there's the Fenix. There are some pretty fantastic lights in that group...and given the competition, I'm more than a little surprised at how often I find myself reaching for the Fenix.

I've given it some thought and aside from its convenient, rather slim, form factor and decent (but not overwhelming) amount of light, I think it's probably a subconscious thing having to do with the fact that the Fenix is considerably less expensive than the others, and (more importantly) it only uses a AA battery. Even though with the other lights, I'm using rechargeables whenever possible, there's something about being able to pop an easy-to-find AA into the bright and yet long-lasting Fenix....

Well...let's just say that, all things considered, using the Fenix just feels sorta "Guilt Free"...know what I mean?

My thanks to 4sevens for his attentive (and quick) service...I'm glad to have the Fenix back in service.

Hi Dennis,

4sevens also replaced the switch on mine. I've had it back for about a week and so far, no problems. A great light!

I've also been aquiring several small lights and the JIL 1.3 UP is next. Can you give us a comparision between it and the Fenix L1P 2.5?? Which is brighter? More comfortable? Spill comparison? Beam quality? Any thoughts are much appreciated.

(The ORB Raw may yet be on my list, too)

The Fenix and the Jil 1.3 (up) have similar beams. The Fenix has a brighter hot spot but I think the Jil puts out slightly more light overall...it's close. The size of the spill is just about identical but the spill from the Jil is brighter. Both are of course subject to Luxeon lottery, but my Jil is very white...slightly more so than the Fenix (which is still pretty darned white itself).

There's a huge difference in size (The Jil is approx. 2.4" and the Fenix is 3.6")...so when we talk about which is easier to handle, it's not comparing apples vs oranges. Having said that, the Fenix is of xourse very easy to handle...In spite of its diminutive size the Jil is surprisingly comfortable and easy to hold. The clickie on the Fenix is probably quicker to access and use, but the tailcap on the Jil is very smooth and functions perfectly.

Both are great lights....They are different enough from one another that I suspect that I will probably not be using them for same situations.

Hope that helps

For the fence sitters, I have read all of the switch issues and the manufacturer is aware of these issues as well. I currently own a v.2.5 from 4sevens, and I would not hesitate on but another one. I love this flashlight, for its size, common battery usage, easy rechargable battery ability, quality of light, beam spot and flood, switch, waterproof, and price. Keep in mind that no light is 100% problem free, and this is a place where you just see the problems, which makes them seem bigger.

Keith

...dead fenix... talk about an oxymoron! :laughing:
Glad to know 4sevens took care of this for ya.

I wish I had gotten in on 4seven's group buy. Sounds like he is really backing up these purchases wonderfully! I hope I never have problems with the ones I've ordered from Warren. Even if he stands behind these lights, I couldn't imagine having to send these things back to Asia for repair! Does anybody know where Warren stands on Customer service? Is there a Fenix warrenty repair facility here in the States?
I realize what PocketBeam is saying about the problem perception being magnified due to the number purchased by the CPF community. Since I ordered three lights, I can't help but worry about running into some kind of problem. I doubt that this latest batch of L1Ps have had time for the tailcap problems to be remedied. I don't want to seem like a nervous nelly, but $129 for three lights is no small change for me.

Well, 4sevens is about to do another huge group buy so that's now an option for you. . .