Ok, well i had to hold the driver spring centered while tightening the ring. But i asume everyone will do the same. If the driver is a bit larger than the seat pocket then some rework of the head can be done via elbow grease system
Well, mine is mainly a shelf queen, due to the fact the button way-too-easily activates when pocket carried. But, after reading this discussion, I’m going to make it a shelf queen-on-a-metal-lid. I suppose I could take the battery out, but I prefer to keep cells in all my lights or I’d never use them.
The FW3A has a hair-trigger switch. To avoid accidents you can:
a- Lock it out. Turning the head ¼ turn does not really mechanically lock it out since there a two parallel electrical circuits. To make that happen you have to unscrew the head so far it almost comes of.
b- Electronically lock it out. But you still can drain the light accidentally because in lockout the switch provides you with a momentary moon mode.
c- Do what I have done HERE. The light is “alive” but it will take a miracle before you accidentally can press the switch.
As for the rest of it: on receiving a new light I always take it apart as far as possible. Look for coarse threads, foreign particles and debris, and lube various threads and rings before I put in a battery. And please do remember, this light was designed to accommodate an UNprotected flat top battery. Like the 30Q.
Hey there, thanks for the info. Mine are 3 prongs. That angle just makes it look like a 4 prong. Watch from this point: https://youtu.be/EncF1elFhyk?t=53
Those still don’t look correct. The prongs are way too big. Look at my picture and the spacing between the prongs, then look at yours. Or post an up close still picture
edit… looks you have a button top cell there. These FW3A’s require flat tops for spacing purposes. Button tops will add a few extra mm to the length of the cell. I’d bet that light will work just fine with a flat top 30Q
I cannot tell from the video clip, if that is a button top… you will likely have to stretch the springs to get it working with a true flattop. Don’t ask me how I know…
Hmmmm, very interesting. My batteries are flat tops with 3 prongs. However, I do see your point about the prong width. Mine are significantly wider. I’ll start another thread in the battery forum. Thanks for the heads up.
After reading this thread, it makes me nervous as hell now about this light. I’ve had a couple instances myself of this light not turning off right away. Sometimes when double clicking to turn on turbo, the light won’t shut off after clicking multiple tries. After fiddling with the switch some more it will finally shut off. This is not a good thing. If a light can’t be trusted, what good is it?
Was I just extremely lucky with the two examples I had in-hand? Both were slightly flaky upon re-assembly, but following the troubleshooting steps made them super reliable. I haven’t had a single problem since the switch O-ring mod, and the only problems before that were accidental button presses.