Hi there. This is my first post here, and guess what - it’s a question.
So, is there any way to trick the nitecore TM03 to work with full potential using standard 18650 high-drain battery?
I have one dedicated TM03 battery that came with the flashlight, but there is almost no chance to buy another one since nobody is mailing them, or when they do, the shipping costs as much as the entire flashlight with battery included.
Thanks!
It looks as if the cell provided in this link is an IMR flat top cell.
If that is indeed the case, you could use any high drain IMR/hybrid (10A) cell.
I would argue that you’re better off with a 15A cell, like the Samsung 30Q, Samsung 25R, or any of the Sony VTC-5, VTC-5A, or VTC-6 and be fine with any of those choices.
If the light on Turbo/High demands less than 10A of current, then the Sanyo-Panasonic NCR18650GA, or LG MJ1 might work well, but I don’t know the current demands on the higher output modes.
Chris
The issue is not the battery per se. The issue is that supplied battery has been modified, so that both the + and - connections are on the same end. The flashlight will only operate at the highest power levels if it detects that the negative terminal in use is at the top rather than via the spring connection at the bottom. At least in theory you could modify an existing battery to put the negative terminal on a ring conductor at the + end of the battery. One of the things that was accomplished with the negative connection at the top end is the conductor area is huge relative to the size of the conductor on the other end (take a look inside the light, and look how the ring on the top of the battery connects to the flashlight. It uses almost the entire area of the ring conductor at the top of the battery). The standard negative connection is simply your typical spring. This very large area conductor makes it much easier for the battery to deliver higher currents
Maybe I’m missing something, but that cell in the review I posted, doesn’t look like it’s a special cell, ah-la some other offerings?
What am I missing?
Thanks.
Chris
The TM03 comes with the specially modified battery when you buy it. If you didn’t get it with the battery, then either you bought it used, or from a dishonest supplier who kept it. If you look carefully at the cell in the review, you will see the metal ring around the outer rim at the top of the battery. That is the required negative terminal for full power output. For a beter view, look at Nitecore NI18650D Rechargeable Battery for the TM03 and you will see what the battery supplied with the TM03 looks like and will see the ring on the top for the negative terminal. The Nitecore store can sell it to, but my recollection is www.andrew-amanda.com had a better price if you made an offer.
Thanks everybody for the comments! This is an amazing forum 
I’m well familiar with the TM03 battery and the way it works, I was just hoping that there is an easier way to get one or that somebody else makes 3rd party ones. Most of the sites (like B&H and many others) are listing the TM03 battery as now DISCONTINUED. Now, I’m worried that I’m going to end with a useless flashlight that cost 130$. I have one battery that I received with the flashlight itself, but since the runtime is shorter than an iPhone, I would really need at least another 2pcs.
I also consider the TM03 battery an over-complication, since every 30A battery could feed the hungry TM03, but they just blocked the flashlight in software to ignore if it does not get the minus on the bottom board. I’m just trying to find a way to solve this problem… or pay 100$ for two tm03 batteries where the shipping makes 70$ of the price 
Also, why so power hungry? Bad circuitry? My DN70 runs 2500 lumens from the sam LED 90 minutes on a 4500mAh battery, and TM03 can do 15 minutes on 3000mAh? It’s approx 20A of constant load! Bizzare. Bad voltage transformator?
Anyway, thanks everyone for the reply.
Unless you have discovered a perpetual motion machine, there is no way your DN70 can run at 2500 lumen for 90 minutes on a 4500mAh battery. Do the math. 4500 x 3.7=16650. The capacity of the battery is 16650 mwh, or 16.65 watt hours. 2500 lumens is going to require the battery supply at least 20 watts, and probably closer to 25 watts, so 90 minutes at 2500 lumens will require 30 to 37.5 watt hours. Obviously you are NOT going to get that out of a battery with 16.65 watt hour capacity. There are two things that come into play in how long this thing will run. First the 3000mAh battery probably has more ‘voltage sag’ at 7 amps draw (roughly what is required for the full 2500 lumen output) than a 4500mAh cell, so the losses in the battery and in the driver are likely to be considerably higher in the TM03 than they are in the DN70. The second thing that happens is how long does it take before the thermal management steps down the output to the LED. The only way your TM70 can run for 90 minutes is if the LED steps down substantially. As the math clearly shows, full power output for 90 minutes requires roughly twice the actual energy capacity of the battery. So obviously the DN70 reduces the output substantially at some point, almost certainly due to thermal management, and that lower output substantially extends the run time.
As for the 20amps, I have no idea where you got that number from. 20 amps at 3.7 volts is 74 watts (which is roughly 3 times what is actually needed), it doubtful even your 4500mAh cell can do that without substantial voltage sag, and overheating, a 3000mAh battery will run for even less time. Less capacity, more sag, and less thermal mass. Id be willing to bet that the 15 minute time on the TM03 is from Thermal management not battery capacity.