Nitecore EA45S Review. Lots of Pics.

There is parasitic drain; the light is continuously monitoring to be unlocked while it is in lock mode.

Funny y’all should bring up “parasitic drain during lockout” concerning this light. I got curious about that too after reading about that little Nitecore key chain light thing.
I just started testing one of my EA45S’s back on 19 September 2016.
Here are the results so far.

  • Light Nitecore / EA45S
  • Batteries / Eneloop ‘PRO XX’ AA _ (HR-3UWX min 2400mAh / 11-05-EE) _ Batteries fully charged, rested over 24 hrs. then installed.

Date…9-19-2016……10-3-2016
Time…08:00…………16:10

  1. … 1.387v…………1.326v
  2. … 1.388v…………1.328v
  3. … 1.391v…………1.326v
  4. … 1.391v…………1.327v

My Eneloops are flat, light doesn’t turn on after a few days without using AT ALL! I have tried many sets of fully charged batteries, all dead within few days.
Is my light faulty?

Hmmm, how many days is “a few”? Something doesn’t sound exactly right with it for sure.
The post above yours is what mine measure after two weeks. I am gonna update that post every two weeks or so and see what happens.

Even for Nitecore parasitic drain, that sounds excessive. One tip to pass on: On many Nitecore lights, Once you put the cells in, turn it on for a second or two before putting it in lockout. Seems to cut down the drain considerably.

That certainly sounds bad. I’ve heard of high parasitic drain with other models, but not the EA45S.

I rechecked mine with my new UT139C DMM, I’m seeing 96 microamps which is a little over a 1000 days to dead cells.

Yep. The same amount of parasitic drain as when the light is not locked out. The lockout just prevents the light from turning on accidentally.

that would be logical, but not sure it holds true in all implementations

UPDATED / 11-1-2016

What do these results indicate so far?

Just the parasitic drain with the light on “Lock Out” and zero light use.

What I was asking is do the numbers tell you anything yet? The drain can’t be too bad, right?

My bad ‘arow55’………. :wink:
Looks like in six weeks of being on “Lock Out” with absolutely zero use, the average loss per battery is 0.08525v.
That seems like a pretty minuscual loss to me.
We will see what happens with more time though…. but I am thinking it will be nothing drastic. :wink:

  • Light Nitecore / EA45S
  • Batteries / Eneloop ‘PRO XX’ AA _ (HR-3UWX min 2400mAh / 11-05-EE) _ Batteries fully charged, rested over 24 hrs. then installed.

Date…9-19-2016……10-3-2016……11-1-2016
Time…08:00…………16:10………….11:35…………

  1. … 1.387v…………1.326v…………1.304v
  2. … 1.388v…………1.328v…………1.305v
  3. … 1.391v…………1.326v…………1.303v
  4. … 1.391v…………1.327v…………1.304v

Thanks for reporting the parasitic drain. Mine still on the way.

UPDATED / 11-14-2016

You can calculate the mAh drop from the voltage drop by knowing the discharge curve, no? Then parasitic drain in mA is easy

Probably, but I have no clue how to do it……. :wink:

Received mine on the weekend. It turned on one day and does not turn on anymore. Tried numerous batteries and no-go.

Anyone encounter issues with their EA45S?

Mario
Ottawa

MarioP, I have had no issues with the latest EA45S’s I have bought. But that being said, in the last few days the first one I bought, about a year ago IIRRC; developed a problem.

It comes ‘On’ in ‘Low’ when the ‘Off/On switch’ is pressed. But when the ‘Mode switch’ is pressed it turns ‘Off ’. :frowning: :question:
I assume something has gone wrong with the switch, but that is just a guess.

I have the reflector out, all the solder joints & wires I can see appear OK. I am now trying to figure out how to get the switch, boards, LED, & the rest of the “innards” out (without destroying them) to check what I can’t see.

This is the first Nitecore of many I have ever had any problem with at all.

So, when I get the “innards” out and check them maybe I’ll know more.

As far as your’s goes, sorry; I have no idea my friend. :frowning: Good luck though.

IF I find out what is wrong with mine I’ll report back. Maybe that might help you.

Please keep me informed. I too assume something in the switch went bad….but I am not knowledgeable (or brave) enough to take it apart.

Mario