I recently threw my XinTD SC-82/V4 (acquired 7/2013) into my travel bag, along with a 502b, an xm-l2 c8 from Lightmalls, and a 2xAA Fenix light, and traveled to visit family in KY. After returning, I grabbed the XinTD SC-82/V4 to go walking and discovered it was not operating properly. At the highest setting, it was even dimmer than the el cheapo multi-led light driven by watch batteries that’s built into my hiking stick (from meritline), and much dimmer than my Lightmalls xm-l2 C8 set at its lowest level. I was careful with the bag, as it also had my laptop and camera in it, and had the flashlights well cushioned in their own compartments surrounded by various clothing items. The XinTD SC-82/V4 was the only light damaged, and has been tested with numerous charged batteries. What could have happened, and what should I check first?
Hi Illuminatee,
2 questions first:
Are you sure the light worked in this setup, e.g. with this battery, just before travelling?
Do you have a Digital Multimeter (DMM)? That might be useful to know for further steps.
Then you might try the following in sequence.
- remove the tailcap
Look into the tube and the tail, is there anything inside that doesn’t belong there and is shorting or blocking the current?
- try a charged cell
XinTD driver (Qlite 3A) goes into low mode at low battery level.
- bypass the switch
Bridge the battery-minus and the blank threads on the body with a thick cable (1,5mm² or thicker).
If you have a Digital Multimeter (DMM), measure the current at tailcap.
If it works bridged, its the tailcap/switch. We’ll see from then.
If it still doesn’t work, it’s current path or pill. So next step:
- carefully remove the pill (unscrew crown, then reflector, then the brass pill)
Hook the pill at a fresh battery. Take 2 long and thick cables, connect driver spring with battery(+) and pill brass body with battery(-). It might help using a 2nd person who works the cables on battery or driver.
Don’t short the battery.
Use correct polarity.
Tell us the result, and we’ll see from then.
If anything I wrote was unclear, feel free to ask.
I’d definitely first bridge from the negative of the cell to the end of the battery tube/body to rule out the tailcap.
- Removed the tailcap, nothing in ther blocking the current or shorting it out. (I did add some extra Supergrease to the tailcap threads shortly after receiving, but not so much to make a mess or cause a short, AFAICT).
- Tried multiple charged cells, same results. (These same cells worked perfectly in my other c8s).
- Bypassed the switch;got the same weak output as with tailcap in place.
- I’ll have to locate my Digital Multimeter (DMM) if taking measurements at the tailcap is necessary. (This may take a while since the last move leaves me finding a needle in the haystack when looking for small items).
I’ve never taken the light apart, as there were no rattles or indications of anything being loose. Please tell me the head isn’t glued on.
Ok, so pill next. No good, tbh.
V3 wasn’t glued, V4 shouldn’t be either.
A DMM might come in handy. At least a continuity tester…
- Do the modes still work or is it single mode now?
- Is the light steady or does it flicker?
- Remove the tube from the head. You see the driver with 4 stars. Any star bridged to ground?
- Did you solder anything at the driver yourself, like changing the modes or changing the spring?
- Remove (unscrew) the crown, crown face down so the glass stays inside.
- Remove the reflector, don’t touch it inside.
Foys V4 looks like this:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3766/8787791441_d7ef70027d_b.jpg
These are the parts of a V3:
http://i1365.photobucket.com/albums/r750/soLwnndz78/xintd_pill_zps6900343d.jpg
- Unscrew the pill from the front.
- Use a cell on the pill alone as I stated in my last post.
Still low? Pill.
Full fledged again: Somewhere else in the body.
If pill:
- Check for loose cable or short on emitter and driver, check continuity led(-) and led(+) to ground (shouldn’t be), is the emitter dark somewhere, post pics from both sides of the pill.
Driver might be just dead, or mostly dead. But, mostly dead… is slightly alive.
Good luck.
The modes (L,M,H) still work, but the high is now much dimmer than the low used to be, with no flickering.
Except for removing the tailcap to replace batteries, nothing internal had been touched; nothing has been soldered or modded.
I’ll open it up in a day or two and test it. Thanks for the guidance.