Re: Zebralight SC600w IV Plus - Unwanted brightness stepdown
I've had this light for a couple of years now and recently it has consistently (by that I mean every time) automatically stepped down in brightness after a second or two at the top setting. This is regardless of the battery or its charge (behaves the same with two different, fully-charged batteries), Never did this before, but it's every time now. It has gotten daily but usually quite short use, but I'm wondering if it has reached the end of its service life, although I was expecting to get a few more years out of it.
Any ideas? Up until now, it's been my all-time favorite light.
Yes, what Connor suggested. Clean ALL the electrical contact points. Electrical Contact Cleaner is best, but rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip will work in a pinch.
Never spray the cleaner directly into the flashlight, always apply a small amount to the Q-tip, then use that to clean the contact. When cleaning the contact up inside the batter tube at the head of the light, be sure and hold the light UP with the opening of the tube facing down, so you don't have any cleaner running down into the driver area of the light.
Next clean the contact bumps in the battery tube cap, and while there, see that metal ring around the outside of the contact bumps? That's where the end of the battery tube makes contact with the cap (when it's all screwed together), so clean that too. And finally, clean the end of the battery tube. That is what fits down inside the cap and makes contact with that silver ring, and since it is close to the battery tube threads, sometimes a bit of lube gets on there. Oh, and don't forget to clean both ends of each battery.
After you've thoroughly cleaned all those points, if you're still having an issue, I'd probably check your batteries. What brand are they, are they protected, and how old are they? Do you let them run all the way down before charging? These lights demand a LOT from a battery when used at the highest level, so the battery needs to be in primo condition.
The thing is, this light should have a service life of many, many years. I got one of the first ones they sent out, and I've been using it nightly at work ever since, so some pretty hard use, and not only does it still look new, but it operates perfectly, so I'd consider all other options before thinking it's an issue with the light.
However, if it does turn out to be an issue with the light, Zebralight will fix any of their out of warranty lights for $15. You simply contact them to let them know of the problem, then send your light in (with tracking), and it usually takes about a month before you get it back, although it might be a bit longer with the current world virus situation.