FW3A Troubleshooting / FAQ

Huh. For me that would be a valued optional feature, please post if you find there’s a way to set that up.
Not that it should always do that, but for pedestrian safety in crosswalks I do that “strobe on … stun oncoming drivers …. scuttle across the street …. strobe off ….” a lot.

That’s the default. It remembers which strobe was used last, so a “click, click, hold” from off goes back to whichever strobe-group mode you left it in.

For street-crossing purposes, the bike flasher is probably appropriate… and it can be accessed from off within about a second if it was the last strobe-group mode used.

+1 …. Quoted with picture so this good info won’t be lost right away in the thread.

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EDIT: head (bezel)

so, we need another warning card now?

Not really. This applies to any single, triple, quad, or other MCPCB if it is not fixed in place.
This is not just a FW3A phenomenon.

is the MCPCB on the FW3A fixed in place? Do I need to worry about anything when unscrewing the head? If the retaining ring is tight, do I need to worry about anything? We shouldn’t have to worry about taking the tailcap off, or changing cells, or, or …… in my opinion. I don’t worry about that on any other lights I have.

The mcpcb is not fixed in place, there are no anti rotation screws.
Head is fine to unscrew.
The tail cap should not be unscrewed.
Change the battery by unscrewing the head.

BTW, the optics and mcpcb are only effected if you try to unscrew the bezel on the head, which is not recommended. This is seperate from the head itself. You might be confusing these two things.

  1. No
  2. No
  3. No
  4. Nothing to “worry” about. Just keep it tight & leave it alone. If you do take it off, put it back on and tighten it… as with any light.
  5. Not a thing to worry about here either. Take the head off, change the battery, put the head back on, tighten the head.
  6. Not sure what you mean in this one???
  7. Nothing to worry about in the FW3A either.

A mountain is being made of a molehill by some concerning the FW3A.

It is the same as any other light:

  • If the tailcap in not tight…… it will not work.
  • If the head is not tight…. it will not work.
  • If you put the battery in correctly…… the light will work.
  • Sometimes a True DOA happens.
  • As with any light, if you remove the bezel & the MCPCB is not fixed; when you screw the bezel back on if the MCPCB &/or Optic turn with the bezel… a wire may well be pulled loose.
  • If the bezel is fixed on a light and certain type centering rings turn while tightening the bezel…. the LED may be sheared from the MCPCB.

This is just all normal stuff that applies to ANY light, nothing more.

I sent Neal an email yesterday but haven’t received a response yet. I’ll make sure to request for replacement/return when he does reply, now that I’ve found the problem. This is the first time I’ve taken apart the head like that. It must have arrived like that, since it was never operational.

If you guys need better photos or the original, unedited photos for reference in this thread, I can go ahead and post/send them to you guys!

Alas, those used to be a feature, which some of y’all are too young to recollect.

EDIT: djozz described one here, around the time the assemblers forgot what the holes were for; they started showing up misplaced and eventually not even threaded, then quit appearing at all.

Circuit boards used to come with notches, the screwheads appeared in the notches, and the board wouldn’t turn.

Saved a nickel apiece by eliminating that step of the construction, perhaps trusting the thermal goop to be glue.

Ah, I know I’m a fossil remembering back when they used to build these things by hand.

This is sarcasm, in case anyone thought he was serious. :partying_face:

Wait… by “bezel” I understand this to be the front most piece on the light. You need to remove that to get access to the optic. So why would it be not recommended? I’ve removed it about a dozen times thus far to experiment with different optics. No problems. I do not get any MCPCB rotation going on.

> anti-rotation screws
as described by djozz here: My impression of the Sofirn SC31, almost right - #4 by djozz

This front bezel gets a lot of folks in trouble. It depends on the light, though so some companies just glue it shut. Some lights have optics that sit on top of the mcpcb and if the optics get twisted you can dedome all your leds.

In the case of the FW3A, removing the bezel can twist the wires off the mcpcb. I didn’t know this was a possibility until just now. So we should all use caution when loosening and tightening the bezel and it’s probably a good idea to apply some downward pressure on the lens to keep it from rotating.

It’s like TK says, the more you take a light apart and put it back together the greater the chance you’ll break it. :stuck_out_tongue:

Ah, just noticed Berkley………… spent a few months there in …… probably ‘68. ’Spare changing’ on Telegraph Ave and sleeping in Peoples Park in a ’59 Pontiac someone gave me in Huntington Beach. Those were the days

  1. Yes, correct.
  2. Yes, correct.
  3. Because some people never pay attention to any detail & would screw it up. So… it is “not recommended”. If you do it anyway:
    ……. a. You hopefully know how to properly do the simple procedure.
    ……. b. If you break something, that is on you.
  4. OK… good deal.
  5. Even better.
  6. Great! But just because ’you’ got no rotation of the MCPCB, Does Not mean it cannot happen.
    And when it does happen, and ‘you’ are not aware of it…. things can & will break.

Berkeley was interesting back then. I still remember going to classes with all the National Guard and police walking around. And being teargassed was…….interesting; especially when they used a jeep spraying teargas out of it and being stuck in traffic.

I guess “interesting” is one word for that…… ’sucks’ seems more appropiate to me however. :wink:

Very true. Back then it was awful and really was a terrible experience. But now it doesn’t seem like it was all that bad since one tend to forget how bad things were long ago.

I won’t even go to how “interesting” it was getting shot by rubber bullets or how fast one can run when being chased by people with big clubs who had legal authority to use them :weary:

Ouch…. “rubber bullets & big clubs” could get “interesting” real fast!! :person_facepalming: :+1:
That really would “suck”. :wink:

I guess looking back…. time does put a different perspective on things.