Issue with Fenix E30R

[pageyjim]

There are times when I have to loosen the cap and retighten it for it to work. It doesn't seem to be because it isn't tight enough because I have tried to tighten it more in these cases. It only works if I loosen and retighten the cap. Seems odd to me. It gets to be somewhat of a pain at times. I am using the recommended battery also, the ARB-L 18-3500.
Very happy otherwise. Like others I wish it had a memory and a lower low.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

This sounds like the microcontroller is locking up. It's happened to me with MY PD3x lights a couple of times in the past but it hasn't been enough to be bothersome for me. If this is happening to your light frequently it might be corrupted firmware or a failing component on the PCB which is not user serviceable.

 

[aznsx]

There are times when I have to loosen the cap and retighten it for it to work. It doesn't seem to be because it isn't tight enough because I have tried to tighten it more in these cases. It only works if I loosen and retighten the cap. Seems odd to me. It gets to be somewhat of a pain at times. I am using the recommended battery also, the ARB-L 18-3500.
Very happy otherwise. Like others I wish it had a memory and a lower low.

• Is this a new light problem, or one that's developed in an older, previously known-good light which has just started failing?
• When you loosen>tighten to clear the problem, are you loosening enough to break connection with the battery (which might clear a 'tripped' safety circuit in the batt) [or a problem like @PhotonWrangler is referring to], or just loosening a small amount (which might be making a defective connection 'make' contact again temporarily, or temporarily clear up an oxidized connection)?
• After you clear the problem, does it return immediately, or is more highly intermittent and takes a while to reoccur?
• Do you have more than one batt to work with, and if so, have you tested w/ both?
• Last but not least: Does the failure occur when using any of the output levels, or only the highest one(s)?

 

[pageyjim]

I have 2 batteries and it happens with both batteries. It can happen when batteries still have a decent charge left in them. This is an issue that happened after having a couple years or so. I believe I am loosening the cap enough to break the connection. The light does not have a memory, I believe the default is low. It seems to take awhile for it to happen again.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[pageyjim]

I will clean the threads and see if that helps. I will report back if that helps. Thanks again for the replies.

 

[aznsx]

I will clean the threads and see if that helps. I will report back if that helps. Thanks again for the replies.

That's a good move, just on general principle. This does have the sound of a flaky loose / oxidized connection, and if it's the latter cleaning could help. If mine, I'd definitely be 'De-Ox'ing any accessible interface / connection points. That has cleared many flashlight problems for me.

 

[aznsx]

That's a good move, just on general principle. This does have the sound of a flaky loose / oxidized connection, and if it's the latter cleaning could help. If mine, I'd definitely be 'De-Ox'ing any accessible interface / connection points. That has cleared many flashlight problems for me.

BTW. I'm not very familiar with that model, but it appears to be side-switch only. I'm assuming what you're loosening / tightening is the head of the light. Does it also have a removable tailcap, and if so, is it just a spring in there? Keep in mind that in that case, the interface / connection point of the spring with the body of the tailcap is another potential failure point in terms of a loose component or oxidized electrical interface.

 

[pageyjim]

Cleaned it and it didn't help any. It doesn't have a removable tailcap, I didn't do anything with the spring because of that. I will give that a shot later today probably.

 

[aznsx]

I'm not a pessimist and don't want to sound like one, but given your answers to those questions (thank you), and your other comments, I'm afraid the chances are diminishing that this is a problem that you (or I) are likely to be able to resolve. An internal electronic component or physical construction failure / defect in the head would probably be difficult to isolate / repair (unless you can see a 'cold solder' joint [visibly dull or grainy looking] or other issue visually), and the lack of a removable tailcap on that model also renders any issue with the physical aspects of the spring and its connection &/or oxidation issues there difficult to isolate / resolve as well. Some aerosol DeOxIt or other good electrical contact cleaner sprayed down into the tail could have an impact, but barring that, this is starting to look doubtful. Someone else may have an idea I'm not thinking of, but barring that, you could be limited to 'factory' service to resolve this.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I'm not a pessimist and don't want to sound like one, but given your answers to those questions (thank you), and your other comments, I'm afraid the chances are diminishing that this is a problem that you (or I) are likely to be able to resolve. An internal electronic component or physical construction failure / defect in the head would probably be difficult to isolate / repair (unless you can see a 'cold solder' joint [visibly dull or grainy looking] or other issue visually), and the lack of a removable tailcap on that model also renders any issue with the physical aspects of the spring and its connection &/or oxidation issues there difficult to isolate / resolve as well. Some aerosol DeOxIt or other good electrical contact cleaner sprayed down into the tail could have an impact, but barring that, this is starting to look doubtful. Someone else may have an idea I'm not thinking of, but barring that, you could be limited to 'factory' service to resolve this.

I think a last ditch effort might be using component freeze spray. If you can catch it in the act and start chilling down individual components, you might get a useful reaction out of one of them.

 

[pageyjim]

New E30R arrived. I will carry the new one and probably stick the other one someplace handy in case.
If I wanted to switch parts to see if the issue was in the old tail section etc is there any way that it would effect the new light?

Thanks again to all.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

New E30R arrived. I will carry the new one and probably stick the other one someplace handy in case.
If I wanted to switch parts to see if the issue was in the old tail section etc is there any way that it would effect the new light?

Thanks again to all.

I don't see a parts swap causing any damage to the new light. Go ahead and experiment with it.