Hi there. New member here :). So, my brand new WF-502B just arrived from eBay and it seems to be in need of some TLC. This is my second XM-L/18650 light, but I’d like to ask 4 small questions before I start cleaning and fixing stuff:
1. Is ceramic grease (boron nitride) good for lubricating the O-rings and threads? It's the only stuff I have at the moment.
2. Regarding the P60 drop-in, how tight should the reflector be tightened onto the dropin? Very tight, or just enough to stop it wiggling around and no more?
3. The solder attaching the driver to the pill is very poorly done. Can I use leaded solder to make it neater, or could that cause corrosion problems?
4. The tail spring is cut at a protruding angle and is scratching a hole into the negative battery terminal every time I screw/unscrew the tailcap to remove the battery. I was thinking of soldering on a small blob of solder on the tip of the spring to make contact with the battery, instead of letting the spring rub against the battery. Is this a good idea? Can you think of a better solution?
1 - boron nitride looks like it has good thermal and electrical conductivity per Wiki. The treads on my torches are all dry, no lube added except a little grease on the o-rings to keep them from deteriorating.
2 - It doesn't need to be super tight. Finger tight is ok since tightening the head doesn't loosen the reflector as both turns the same way, clockwise.
3 - Shrugs, sure try it. however, I would clean it all off and start from scratch to ensure you get a good connection.
4 - Sounds like it could work but sounds like it's a little more work then just bending it with pliers or take some sand paper/file to it.
Don't forget to check/tighten the tail cap assembly.
I always tighten the head down as far as it will go, haven't had any issues.
Unless the light flickers or doesn't work at all, I have had the best experience with, "If it aint' broke, don't try to fix it"
Lots of ways to mess with the tailspring. I have cut off a loop or two from really tight ones, and bent the sharpest parts down with a pair of needle nose pliers when needed.