I bought a Wowtac A3S about 2 1/2 years ago, and a couple of days ago it started acting up. It may or may not come on with a click, or if it does, after holding the button down to run up from low to high (per the UI), it will shut off when I release my finger. Or it did. As of a few minutes ago it won’t come on at all. I know the battery is good (tried it in another phone), and I think the emitter probably is since it was still plenty bright even when the light wouldn’t stay on.
I don’t use this flashlight more than once or twice a month. Is it common for the electronics to go bad this quickly? And if that’s the case, are they easily replaceable, or is this one now just a different looking paperweight? There isn’t much point in spending a lot to fix it since it only cost about $30.
According to the Amazon reviews the A3(S) is their less reliable model, with a much larger amount of negative reviews than other Wowtac flashlights, you could try contacting the Wowtac support as you would need a e-switch driver for that flashlight, adapting another e-switch driver won’t be trivial, maybe they can fix it for a small fee. Anyway if something fails in a production light typically it will be the driver (or the switch in cheap tail-switch flashlights), LEDs are not driven hard enough to fail.
Check if there are retaining rings at either end of the battery tube. There will be two holes or “divots” where a small pliers or tweezers can fit. Try tightening them.
Thanks for the responses. I don’t see any retaining rings. I’m sure this is out of warranty, being 2 1/2 years old. I’ll start looking for a replacement (side switch, zoom maybe, no more than $30).
I dug out the paperwork. It has a 30-day full refund for an unopened item and a 2-year maintenance warranty with the customer paying for parts and shipping. I wrote to them to ask about the cost of repair. To be honest, I didn’t like the light all that much. There was a novelty to it, but I prefer my old Thorfire TK-15 and Sofirn SP32A. I’ll find something to replace it.