So…I get my mate at work an Astrolux S1 from BG.
He loves it…until I put an 18350 in it…then it stops working.
With the long tube it works with a 30Q no probs whatsoever. Chuck an AW or Nitecore 18350 in it and nothing!
Any ideas of what to try? I jigsawed it with my BLF A6 in every possible way, still the same. So so weird…spooky even.
Is it possible you reversed the body of the 18350 tube? I learned the hard way that the knurling on the body tube must face towards the HEAD of the flashlight. This is true for both the 18350 and 18650 tubes.
Yep, tried it both ways! Thanks for the suggestion though mate
It must be the springs try a paperclip on the tail cap or a multi-meter to see if it works.
I don’t understand why the springs? They are the same springs that contact fine with an 18650 (Samsung 30Q)
Try the paperclip mod , on the head size .
Problem is , short tube is a little shorter .
Yes, it probably is the electrical conductance through the body tube: anodisation does not conduct, the electrical contact depends on the top and bottom of the tube being bare (my short tube had ano on top, had to sand it off) and in electrical contact with resp. the tail and head (hence the paperclip to bridge any gap).
People, be careful with that paper clip cure. A couple of times in the past I’ve done that only to have the paper clip jam it the threads so I could never unthread it again. Even strap wrenches wouldn’t work. The only solution was a hack saw. Beware!
Righto, I’ll give the paper clip mod a crack and report back, thanks guys
More than likely one end of the tube is short, perhaps both…
I use a Keepower protected 18350 in my S1 and I do have to tighten it down pretty good for it to work. You may have already tried that.
+1 On this. If the threads are anodized the very ends of the battery tube must butt up against what they screw into.
Apparently he hadn’t in fact tried this, fixed the problem, sorry for the stupid thread.
It only seems stupid when you know the answer. I was experimenting with swapping parts between the BLF A6 and the Astrolux S1. Suddenly, the BLF A6 wouldn’t turn on, and I got into a mild panic thinking that I had somehow broken it.
Yeah, hindsight is always 20/20… It’s not like all the tubes were made correctly and the QC is perfect on these lights anyway. The important part is your mate is happy with it working now…