I just got a new Convoy C8+ with the OSRAM kw.cslnm1.tg emitter from Ali.ex. Took it out for a test drive last night on a local school playing field and very happy with the throw! Its the 12 group mode version.
I was having a play with it tonight however, turned on memory mode and tried a few different modes (settled on mode 8 for now as im not fussed with strobe) and im noticing some odd behaviour.
It sometimes goes into a life of its own and sort of steps down then thru % brightnesses then off and doesnt turn on again. I have to take the 18650 battery out and put a new one in. And ive noticed its quite flickery on 100% but i wonder if thats normal? I only noticed that when looking at the beam in a small room, didnt notice outdoors.
So the odd behaviour worries me more than the flickering. I put the 18650s on a multimeter and they read 4v. Have tried olight 2600mah protected and also Samsung INR unprotected 3000mah and both types showed the same behaviour so i guess its the unit not the cells? Is it using up the batteries that quickly perhaps that 4v is not enough and it switches off?
Any other thoughts on what it might be and if i can do anything? When its stable with a fresh, fully charged battery its a beauty to use but now im constantly thinking its gonna go into this weird mod and shutdown. Maybe I’ve just done something stupid when messing with the memory and modes.
Ah ok…i am quite new to this and 18650s in general! So what batteries do you recommend? I have Sofirn and Olight branded ones (protected) and 2 pink Samsung unprotected. And a charger and multimeter.
If the Samsung cell reads: INR81650-30Q / SAMSUNG SDI / 136 it’s what we refer to as a 30Q.
I own loads of them, and I would call it THE workhorse from Samsung.
You light needs a battery that can deliver 6+A, and the 30Q can do 10-15A. So that should not be the problem.
Next question is: is the charger okay? Topped up, a 30Q should read 4.2V. What brand is the charger.
Last question: are alle retaining rings in the light screwed in tight?
The retaining ring holding the driver in has a normal righthand thread (righty tighty, lefty loosey).
The retaining ring holding the switch in the tailcap combo has a lefthand thread.
With what can you tighten these rings? The general population will scream: needle noose pliers.
I stick to using two (crossed) stainless steel nails.
If all of those boxes are ticked, it might be the driver. My knowledge is limited to smelling for burnt parts and (carefully) pulling the leads to see it they are loose or burnt inside the insulation.
Thanks for the reply @zoulas. I did indeed charge the 18650s to max (4.2V) and I believe both brands (Samsung and Olight) were acting strangely. I also used them in other flashlights and no strange behaviour exhibited.
I’ve since charged them up again (the charger brand is a cheapy one, Wissblue LCD-4) and also tightened up all the twisty connections in the Convoy C8+ this morning (I am in Australia so sorry for the delay replying it was Sunday night!) and checked this morning and it seems to be ok. I’ll keep checking today and monitor the behaviour and report back if it acts strangely again with more specific conditions.
Oh and @Henk4U2 thanks for the detailed suggestions…
They are definitely Samsung INR18650 30Q (I checked my order from Aus Batteries). And they do indeed charge to 4.2V in the charger I mentioned above.
I also did have a look at the retaining rings but they dont seem loose at all. I’ll see if i can get in with some pliers today and tweak them up, but for now just tightening the cap (and body/head) seems to have helped. It wasn’t loose per se, but maybe just not tweaked up enough and making a dodgy connection, not sure.
I haven’t received a Convoy flashlight/host yet that it didn’t seem like a gorilla assembled the tailcap!
At times I thought Simon actually changed to the normal clockwise tightening, but eventually I was able to loosen the retaining ring counter clockwise!
It appears your flickering has gone away which is good.
I’ve had flickering issues in the past that I thought was due to a bad driver connection. Taking the head apart and reassembling didn’t help.
But a simple cleaning of the contact points with the battery resolved the issue. A cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol did the trick!
