Zebralight SC52 Owner's Thread

[bansuri]

Actually there is an interesting circuit behavior with all SC52's and Eneloops, do the following to reproduce it:

1. stop using the light, unscrew the tailcap, and take out the cell
2. wait for 3 minutes
3. reinsert 1x Eneloop AA into the battery compartment
4. measure the standby current drain with your DMM; the DMM reading will be ~60-100mA
5. put the DMM aside and "lock-in" the tailcap. the LED will produce a short pre-flash and after this 'automatic activation' the drain is the usual 0.020mA: you can unscrew the tailcap and do the tailcap current measurement, the DMM will read ~0.020mA.

It's not a bug. Just very interesting.

I verified this but noticed something else: when drawing higher current the light will not operate, however, if you lift a test lead momentarily and replace it the light will flash AND turn on when the button is pressed with the DMM in the circuit.
The light does not act like this if you merely remove the battery for 3 minutes and try to turn it on. The driver must recognize whatever effect the DMM has on the negative battery path.
I have had other lights that didn't like having a DMM connected like this.

 

[Ch3mical]

Hi all, this is my first post and i am sorry because i have to ask for help before even introduce myself....:shakehead

I bought a zebralight SC52 a few months ago, i used it 3 or 4 times without problems until now. I just turned on and start behaving weird. Its cycling between the modes non stop. Clicking or holding the button doesn´t do anything...removing or changing the batteries doesnt´ do anything either.


is this is normal? or my zebra has a problem?

is there a reset or something like that??

i dont speak english very well so i hope you understandme.

thanks!

 

[moldyoldy]

Hi all, this is my first post and i am sorry because i have to ask for help before even introduce myself....:shakehead

I bought a zebralight SC52 a few months ago, i used it 3 or 4 times without problems until now. I just turned on and start behaving weird. Its cycling between the modes non stop. Clicking or holding the button doesn´t do anything...removing or changing the batteries doesnt´ do anything either.


is this is normal? or my zebra has a problem?

is there a reset or something like that??

i dont speak english very well so i hope you understandme.

thanks!

Electronic switches are susceptible to static discharges which sometimes can be "cured" by leaving the light unpowered for a few hours.

In other words, try removing the cell and leave the light sit for a few hours, even overnight.

 

[Fireclaw18]

Electronic switches are susceptible to static discharges which sometimes can be "cured" by leaving the light unpowered for a few hours.

In other words, try removing the cell and leave the light sit for a few hours, even overnight.

If that doesn't fix it, you almost certainly have a defective light and will need to return it for warranty repair.

 

[Ch3mical]

Electronic switches are susceptible to static discharges which sometimes can be "cured" by leaving the light unpowered for a few hours.

In other words, try removing the cell and leave the light sit for a few hours, even overnight.

Thanks man! I will try that!

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[Ch3mical]

If that doesn't fix it, you almost certainly have a defective light and will need to return it for warranty repair.

That's gonna be a problem for me because I'm from South America. I bought the zebra via Amazon....

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[Toons]

Make sure the battery compartment cap is secure. I have had the same behavior with a SC51 and tightening it up cured the problem. Good luck

 

[Ch3mical]

friends...i think my zebra is defective...and theres nothing i can do about it...i just feel like i just throw 70 dollars to the toilet....the flashlight was barely used...

it is my first light...dont know if im feeling sad...or mad.....dissapointed..

i made a video with the problem

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36973844/zebraSC52%20malfunction.mp4

 

[shelm]

i made a video with the problem

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36973844/zebraSC52 malfunction.mp4

you sound very sad, i can hear you sniffing in the clip oo:

 

[Erik1213]

Looks like your button is stuck. Either internally or the tiny solder points for the button leads are stuck. Why is there nothing you can do with it? They come with a warranty.

 

[Ch3mical]

you sound very sad, i can hear you sniffing in the clip oo:

lol, i was inlove of my zebra man...

 

[Ch3mical]

Looks like your button is stuck. Either internally or the tiny solder points for the button leads are stuck. Why is there nothing you can do with it? They come with a warranty.

im from south america erik... i will have to spend money again to send the light to repair...the light per se was expensive for me...

 

[Bumble]

well i recieved my sc52 package (it came with a zebralight li-ion 14500) for $59. overall im very impressed with the light. some of the edges of the flashlight body do seem a little sharp though.it may become my new "out of work" EDC soon

 

[moldyoldy]

one last check: when the cell was removed for "a while", did you also press and hold the power button a few times?

 

[Ch3mical]

one last check: when the cell was removed for "a while", did you also press and hold the power button a few times?

No man, I just clicked once and then started to cycle again... May I ask why this question?


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[DavidMB]

Ch3mical, it's defective. Looks like the switch. Contact Zebralight, I'm sure they will repair or replace it.

I am sorry to hear it, it sucks when that happens. Hope the shipping isn't too expensive.

 

[Erik1213]

If you're not going to send it back... Pop the lens retaining ring off and remove the reflector. I bet a bit of swarf is bridging the contacts for the switch on the main board.

 

[moldyoldy]

No man, I just clicked once and then started to cycle again... May I ask why this question?


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If the problem is that the internal capacitors (on the IC gates) have acquired an improper charge, removing any power cell first, then pressing and holding the power switch down will provide an alternate discharge path for the caps rather than letting the charge slowly bleed off over a day or so. The key is that all power has to be removed from the case. You might still need to wait a few hours anyway. YMMV!

eg: HP found this out the hard way when a lot of HP41s were being returned to Corvallis as defective, yet when the packages were opened, the HP41 functioned correctly. Corvallis OR is relatively humid and any static charge problems are relatively minimal.

 

[Ch3mical]

hi all again...thanks everyone for your input....i just want to let you know that my zebra its magically working fine again...i dont know how long will last...but i think its better than nothing...right?:shrug:

thanks again!!

 

[Derek Dean]

Ch3mical, I'm glad to hear your light is feeling better . In case you haven't done it, it's generally a good idea to clean all the electrical contact points on a new light. Although it's new, sometimes things can get hectic at a factory, so I always clean my new lights, and if I ever have problems, the first thing I do is clean all the electrical contact points.

This includes not only the tail spring and battery contact in the head (and both ends of the battery), but also the end of the main battery tube and where it contacts in the bottom of the tail cap, and the area in the tail cap where the end of the main battery tube makes contact.

I like to use a good quality electrical contact cleaner, available at most electronics stores, but in a pinch you can use 70% isopropyl alcohol and a Q-tip (being careful to not leave any lint behind). Don't spray or let the cleaner drip into the head, instead, apply it to the Q-tip and use that to swab the contact in the head, holding the head UP so that any drips will come down away from the electronics.

You're issue probably wasn't related to needing to clean those areas, but it never hurts to keep the electrical pathway clean. Good luck with your new light, and by the way, welcome to CPF!