Astrolux S3/BLF Kronos X5 switch problem

[Swedpat]

Last year I ordered two BLF Kronos: X5 and X6. Nice lights. But the switch of X5 now and then works and now and then it does not shut off, unless I loosen the tailcap. This problem has never occured with X6.

At first I thought that I was unlucky with the switch of X5 and because of the low price and long shipping times from Banggood(no complaints over it, that's the price for free shipping from China) I didn't bother to ask for a replacement.
So I ordered two Astrolux S3s, exactly the same light as X5. Today I recieved them. And believe it or not: both the switches of S3s suffer from the same problem as the switch of X5!

I didn't find any discussion about such a problem with these lights so I put the question here. Is it anything I missed?... As I mentioned: never happened with X6.

 

[gravelmonkey]

I can only suggest the obvious - it's not the 14500 cell(s) you're using? :thinking:

 

[Swedpat]

I can only suggest the obvious - it's not the 14500 cell(s) you're using? :thinking:

Yes it is. What I know it's the only cell this light works with.

 

[caram]

Maybe a bad batch? So once you loosen the tailcap, the light turns off? Do you have the versions with the lighted tailcap?

There was some talk about bad drivers.

 

[Swedpat]

Maybe a bad batch? So once you loosen the tailcap, the light turns off? Do you have the versions with the lighted tailcap?

There was some talk about bad drivers.

Yes it always shuts off when I loosen the tailcap but periodically it refuses to shut off with the switch. All of the switches are lighted.

 

[jorn]

Sounds like the switch is too close to the rubber boot, so it dont have the space needed to go all the way off. Try to loosen the retaining ring for the switch.

 

[redvalkyrie]

I just got a Astrolux S3 in plain black and I too,have trouble with the switch. Sometimes, mine simply won't turn the light on. If I unscrew the head co pletwly and then retighten, it's like everything resets and we're back to normal. I did notice in the brief timeI'vehad the light that this problem is made worse by running Efest 14500s. Fenix 14500s seem to fair better.

 

[Fireclaw18]

I do not have this particular light, but here is some generic advice for clicky tailcap switches:

1. Check the switch retaining ring on the inside of the tailcap. Make sure it is tight (may need needle-nose pliers). This ring can also periodically loosen over time and need to be tightened.

2. If after doing that you still have a problem with the switch not clicking properly, as others have mentioned the cause could be that there isn't sufficient space for the the clicky to pop back up before hitting the inside of the rubber boot. Here are some possible things to try:

(a) Remove the clicky switch mechanism from the light. Depress the switch several times to verify that the clicky works properly when outside the light. If it works, then the problem could be insufficient space inside the boot.
(b) Add an o-ring between the boot and the clicky switch mechanism. The purpose of the o-ring would be to gain another 1-2mm of space inside the switch so the clicky won't hit the back of the boot without the boot being depressed.
(c) trim off a bit of the numb on the inside center of the boot using a small scissors. Note: Be very sure you want to do this before starting since if you take too much you may have to get a replacement boot. Start by removing a very small amount then checking to see if it works.

 

[Swedpat]

Thank you all for the response! I will check it out.