My first disappointment, Thrunite 2A v2

I've bought numerous lights over the years and even my cheapest lights from China are still working over a decade later.

I bought a Thrunite 2A v2 at the end of last year and barely used it, it has been hanging from a hook in the passage as an emergency light since December with an almost new pair of AA Eneloops in it. Walking past this morning and I noticed the light is flashing very faintly, almost like a 1 lumen flashing beacon. I thought perhaps a self discharge has drained the batteries, I tried a new set of batteries and same flashing (this is without switching on, just inserting batteries).

Original set of batteries work fine in another light, so the batteries arent flat. Tapping the light against a tabletop gently and it will then switch on and even cycle through the modes, switch it off and try and switch it back on again and it's back to the flashing beacon.

The head looks to be a sealed unit and the switch is in the head, so very little scope of diagnosis, and while it wasn't really a budget light (£35/$50 when bought) it's probably not worth trying to send back.

I suppose I'll start a list of makes not to buy, and make number one on the list Thrunite .

O man that is not cool!
Hopefully it is something silly a little pressure or twist can resolve

Is this your first thrunite product? It would be a bummer for you to miss out on their other products because of one bad egg. I’ve had several Thrunite lights and haven’t had any issues with any of them. It’s like anything you buy, there’s always a chance for a bad one. Heck, I’ve even seen threads about bad Surefires before.

That’s weird that it flashes like that. Is this the older model that has flashy modes or is it the newer one that does not even have a beacon/flashy mode? Since the light is not often in use, I would normally think of corroded or oxidized contacts, but since it is blinking, IDK. Do the blinks follow a patter or are they random?

If you are comfortable disassembling lights you could just take it apart, clean it up, and put it back together and see what happens. It would be a bummer to just throw it aside. Its a nice little light. I have been trying to find it discounted somewhere, but have not found a deal yet.

The 2A v2 had quite a few reported issues with QC. Such a bummer considering all the great features it contained.

… on an early-batch 2A v2 that flashed and stayed at about half the firefly level that later wouldn’t turn on at all. I swapped it for a NW model that sometimes would refuse to activate, and needed a bump on the tail to get working.

Now that I don’t have my Jetbeam BA20 anymore, I’m on the market for a new model of 2xAA light that offers similar fuctionality as the Archer, with very good runtimes, and preferably side-switch only, like the Olight S15 with one extension tube.

While I’m not particularly keen on the Archer 2A v2 (even because it’s discontinuded and out of stock, only HKEquipment sells it), I’m not nearly about to pass up on ThruNite. Judging by one bad sample is TREMENDOUSLY premature, and means you’ll miss out big time on awesome models like the TN12 2016, the Ti3 or the TC10 v2.

You might want to check out the Armytek Prime A2. I really like mine, in warm white. It has great runtimes for high modes, compared to other 2xAA lights I have (such as 4sevens). The interface sounds a little strange when you read it, but it’s very intuitive and saves a lot of time cycling through modes when you want to change them. Mode memory remembers your last mode, though. It’s a little larger and heavier than most 2xAA lights, but that’s because it’s built really tough. (Drop and water resistance is about 10x most lights.)

The negative is that the clip is really bad. I think the pro version might have a better clip, but on the regular version that I have is so bad I took it off and threw it away. With no lanyard (again I think the pro might have one), it would be really easy to lose it outside at night because the body is all black. (Assuming it was off when you dropped it, of course.)

Alright, seems purdy decent. Thanks, WITL.

Too bad it’s not something purchasable off Fasttech, HKE or Banggood, which are my only reasonable options for purchasing torches. Amazon doesn’t cover South America, and getting it off Going Gear would mean 20+ dollars on shipping that I can’t afford on top of the light’s retail.

perfectly spaced low intensity flashes, I've uploaded a small amount of video to show it.

The head doesn't want to come apart so I think it's going to end up in the back of the junk cupboard.

It only hung unused for around 2 months with brand new Eneloops inserted, batteries are still perfect and will hold turbo in other AA lights. The light doesn't have a flash mode.

http://youtu.be/3SYVzzHoj6Y

Checked Thrunite’s warranty?
https://www.google.com/search?q=thrunite+warranty
There’s a thread here at BLF that appears in those results first page, and a bunch of discussion elsewhere, e.g. HUGE Thrunite Warranty Change...This Happened Because Of You !!! - YouTube (24 month replacement warranty)

[quote=Jack Kellar]

[quote=WalkIntoTheLight]

Yeah, I think Armytek offers free shipping, but only over a certain $ amount. I think I bought mine from illum, but they charge shipping. Both sites have discount codes you can use, which basically pays for the shipping. IIRC, the total was slightly more from illum, but much faster shipping (from US) which is why I got it there.

I'll have a look, but to spend £25 to send a £35 light to China for warranty seems like a waste of money.

Lets see what they say.

Yeah, if I have a light that dies, I throw it away, even if it’s under warranty. I don’t have too many lights worth more than $100, so it’s generally not worth the shipping cost. Shipping to China is not all that more expensive than shipping to the US, so it really doesn’t matter where I have to send it. Luckily, I have had no failures of any “good” lights, and only some failures of crap lights (such as Maglites and a cheap 4sevens Preon and stuff like that). I don’t recall ever having a light die completely, usually it’s a flicker or mode or switch problem. Tightening the pill or cleaning and lubing never seems to help when it’s a real problem.

Is your flashlight the Neutron 2A V2 or the Archer 2A V2?

They may not want it back. Show them the video.

One time when I had an issue with a Ti3, they sent me a new one without asking for the original back.

You could be lucky.

It’s the Neutron.

Any news, Dave?

That’s a bloody shame … the Neutron was such a great light. Ahead of its time, output wise.

That’s a pity. I have a few Thrunites, and never had any problem with them (Neutron 2C V2, Ti3, T10).

Maybe one of a bad batch. Or maybe you just got the short straw.

You could disassemble it and find a fix, surely?