I tried a bunch of different 16340 and AA batteries and finally got a couple that work with the light (and with the light with the extender). By “work” here, I mean the light doesn’t turn on at all.
So I was wondering if this is normal? And if so, which batteries are known to work ok (again, both with and without the extender)?
What I’ve tried so far:
AA/14500:
Efest button top (unprotected): NO
Efest flat top (unprotected): NO
Eneloop: Most of them NO, a couple YES
Duraloop: NO
Powerex: NO
16340:
TF (protected): YES
Noname button top (blue - unprotected): NO
I don’t have a ton of different 16340s, but I kind of think that you’re right, that it may be the extender with the O-ring on. I haven’t tried without the O-ring yet, but I’m trying to see if it gets better (works with more, different batteries) as I keep screwing and unscrewing the head.
I have another question about the V11R: The only knurled area is the magnetic control ring, so when I’m tightening the light, that’s kind of the place where I end up gripping, but I keep worrying that I’ll end up breaking it by exerting force on that ring. Is that a potential problem, or is that ring/mechanism like really strong?
Ohaya. You really got me into a mess to clean up. I had to dig around for my V11R and the extender (which I’ve never taken out of the box.
Every CR123/16340 I tried works. Primary, LiIon, LiFeP04, IMR. Eagletac, AW, trustfire, Tenergy, 4Sevens.
When I tried the extender, nothing was working. It’s been a long time since I dug into my 14500 box, so maybe need charging. I pulled some lights that were working.
Eneloop is OK. Got a AW IMR working, Eagletac…flicker, AW…no,mTrustFire…no, CoolLook…no.
My V10A takes all the AA/14500 cells. I screwed the head of the V10A on the V11R and things worked. I’d never tested the extender before. I don’t know if the cells are too long, or too short. All the CR123/16340 work fine without the extender.
Sorry about that :), and thanks for the research!!
Although I still don’t get all AA/14500 to work, I think that Chibi is right, that the O-ring is preventing the extender from being screwed down enough. I think that the extender, including the threads, is anodized, except for the leading edge, so it has to screw in far enough so that it touches the retaining ring (the - contact) that is inside the head, so if the O-ring prevents screwing it far enough into the head, you get no path for current.
Try placing some copper braid between the two pieces for good contact.
Since I had a V10A in the first place, why did I bother buying the V11R extender. I never realized how many Sunwayman lights I have til you got me rummaging. I wonder if I’ll ever use them?
You might need to repack it at some point, i had to do my v10r ti after cleaning it with too much lighter fluid - dissolved all the grease which is the only resistance that stops the ring spinning too easily.
I just checked my V11R and extender with the o-ring. It works with all the cells that I have. Eneloops, Sanyo 14500 flat tops, alkaleaks, Ultimate Lithiums.
No problems with my V11R + extender + o ring on any 14500 or AA cells I’ve used. Make sure all the shiney contact surfaces on the battery tube, extender and head are clean. A couple of quick test with a DMM should help narrow down where the circuit is being interrupted.
No problems other than I lost my V11R about a week ago. But the extender never gave me any grief.
That’s also my blog post linked above, so if anyone has questions or needs clarification on anything, feel free to ask. I got lucky in that my V11R had the much-easier-to-break blue loc-tite and not the red stuff, which is supposed to be a major pain. I never did find the nick in mine mentioned in the post, so I was really happy with the outcome. The first thought in my mind when I lost my V11R was: will I be able to get the new one apart? I’ll use a little more tape if I have to do it over again.
It’s funny (ironic) that you should mention that. When I was messing around with trying to unscrew the head, I noticed that the bezel on the one I have actually started to unscrew already, without much effort. Weird, huh?