Handfull of Zero Trace lites. Help...

annex

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I just bought 7 LED lights, made by the Zero Trace folks. 3 of the 7 are the actual Zero Trace models, and 4 are slightly smaller, similar versions. All use the same double cell battery, and none of them work. They are used, and smell slightly of smoke--not electrical smoke--fire department smoke. I assume that some volunteer dept. tossed out several of their non functioning lights.

I only have one battery that is holding a decent charge. swapping the the battery out to the separate lights has the same results, no light output, and no charging of the good battery that is being used. The charge indicator lights all show that the units should be charging, but they are not.

Looking on Google, and searching the forums here has not turned up much info on the lights in general, or power problems in particular. Any info that you folks could point me in as how to possibly repair one or all of these would be greatly appreciated. It's hard to believe that these seemingly sturdy lights are just dainty little props, someone must have some repair info somewhere. Thank again.
 

annex

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Wow, I guess I must have posted on the the wrong site. Thought this was a flashlight forum, my bad. Sorry to have interrupted you folks. Take care.
 

mk2rocco

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Wow, I guess I must have posted on the the wrong site. Thought this was a flashlight forum, my bad. Sorry to have interrupted you folks. Take care.
Hello, I have no experience with Zero Trace lights. I apologise that I can't help you with you're problem.
 

archimedes

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I too am not familiar with this particular brand .... perhaps @bykfixer may drop by this thread, as he repairs many different types of (especially vintage) flashlights.

In the meantime, perhaps you would post detailed photos of the inside and outside of the lights, the charger, and the batteries, with particular attention to all identifying markings.

Have you used a multimeter to determine the voltage of the cells, and if so, what did you find ?

Have you tried briefly bypassing the switch, to determine if that is the point of failure ?

Welcome, and cheers ....
 
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archimedes

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A quick scan of reviews of these flashlights from the big online retailers does provide some potentially useful information about batteries and charging issues ....
 
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aginthelaw

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some lights by zero trace are the same manufacturer as ozark trail, sold by wal-mart you can try them
 

holygeez03

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I assume you can't return them? I would go hard down that route first...

Otherwise, someone with good electronic skills can probably replace the internal li-ion cells?

Seems expensive for a brand that no one around here has much experience with? And without an easy way to get a replacement battery?
 

eh4

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There's hardly any trace of them on the Internet, huh.
I wonder if they're affiliated with the Zero Illumination product line?
 

annex

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Thank you for your responses.

The things are made by Intertek. Three have what appears to be a model number of TL1KPO. Input 5VDC, 2A, Output 5VDC, 1A. The input/output are a standard USB female connector. These look like they can be used as power banks to charge other electronic device--cell phones and such when not being used as a flashlight.

Four of the lights can only be charged, via micro USB, with no apparent provision for being used as a power bank. Both types use the same battery.
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Most of the obvious things have been tried. The battery(s) is marked, samsung sdi icr18650-22fm 1p2s, and appears to be 2 18650s, stacked and factory shrink wrapped together. The one charged battery that I have reads 7.31 volts on my meter.
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The switch tests fine. Open when it should be, closed when it should be. Shorting the switch does nothing. plugging them into several USB chargers, all capable of providing at least 2 amps, results in a blue indicator light going on, but no current is drawn.
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My guess is that there is a malfunction in the charging circuitry. It just remains a curiosity that all of these lights would fail in the same manner, and there isn't any thing very informative on the net about possible solutions, or at least more bitching. They are not cheap lights, approx. $70 new. I don't expect them to be covered by any warranty at this point, just wanted to make a couple of them work.
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I am not sure if I'm allowed to post any pictures yet, I'll have to read the site rules more closely, and try to get something meaningful posted later. I'm not sure what that would be though, everything that I can access looks fine. Maybe if I mess with it, I can figure out how to access the charging circuit board.
.
Again, thank you.
 
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archimedes

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Unless there is some unusual custom circuitry, a fully charged 1p2s-18650 pack would typically be expected to be near ~ 8.4V ... so that may suggest battery problems
 

annex

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Unless there is some unusual custom circuitry, a fully charged 1p2s-18650 pack would typically be expected to be near ~ 8.4V ... so that may suggest battery problems

You are likely correct, however I have no way to try to charge the double cell configuration outside of the light, without cutting the battery's plastic case, and charging them individually. Two batteries came with the flashlights, 1 with just a tiny charge of 0.43, and the other with 7.31.
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I loaned out my only 2 cheapo, Chinese lights that each contained a 18650, curiously I never got them back. I'll likely have to order something from Ebay in order to get a couple of batteries to test with. It does make sense that the 2 batteries I have are shot, rather than the charging circuits in all 7 lights failed in the same manner. Thanks.
 

archimedes

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:caution: Those batteries are likely not safe to use or charge at this point, FYI ....



Also, somewhere on one of the reviews I mentioned earlier, it was noted that this brand may use a "custom" charging cable with a non-standard pinout :ironic:
 
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bykfixer

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I too am not familiar with this particular brand .... perhaps @bykfixer may drop by this thread, as he repairs many different types of (especially vintage) flashlights.

In the meantime, perhaps you would post detailed photos of the inside and outside of the lights, the charger, and the batteries, with particular attention to all identifying markings.

Have you used a multimeter to determine the voltage of the cells, and if so, what did you find ?

Have you tried briefly bypassing the switch, to determine if that is the point of failure ?

Welcome, and cheers ....

Who me? lol.

You pretty much covered the basics.

My thoughts are this:
Is the cord an OTG (on the go) with the extra pins in it?

I set my DVM to ohms, with sound. Then using probes I touch all kinds of points listening for a chirp. Touching the switch at various places both on and off. Touch the tailcap at various places making sure electricity is conducted from point A to B. The chirp indicates flow from one probe to the other.

Touch both sides inside to body at various places including threads. You may find that a tiny amount of oxidation on a spring, on threads or elsewhere interupts the current flow.

Also sounds like most of your batteries have lived out their lifespan.

In the meantime I'll do some searching about "zero trace" as that is a new one on me.
 

snakebite

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if the protection board is in the pack they are simply in low voltage disconnect and should reset when you connect the charger.not unsafe.
if the pack has no board any below about 5v are shot.so the 7.31 is safe and should power a light.
You are likely correct, however I have no way to try to charge the double cell configuration outside of the light, without cutting the battery's plastic case, and charging them individually. Two batteries came with the flashlights, 1 with just a tiny charge of 0.43, and the other with 7.31.
.
 

archimedes

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I'd rather know the individual voltages (and other details) of the 1p2s pack, before being convinced it is ok to use, especially with cells of unknown age, storage condition, possible damage, etc ....
 

bykfixer

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^^ Agreed. Best bet is to hope the manufacturer has some replacement items for sale.

The lights themselves? Well they haven't been around all that long. And yes it seems like they are good for props.
These days there are a myriad of so-called "military", "navy SEAL", "weapons grade", something for nothing junk being sold to the public as overpriced and over promised dangerous toys.
The reason there is no real speak of them at CPF is most here recognize them and stay away... unless they end up being discussed in a way indicating "we pity the fool who buys this" type of thread. And after spending a couple of hours researching the zero trace it seems they fall squarely at the center of those products. Darn shame too because it sounds like fireman were using them thinking "yup Navy SEAL, $78, 1040 lumens, they must be good" and and potentially placing their lives on the line with inferior protection.

There are folks here and elsewhere that would know how to repair them or rebuild the fuel system, but they tend to be busy building or fixing stuff and have specific threads elsewhere at the site and only lurk there... or don't do repairs to the general public anymore for the same reason my lawn mower mechanic won't touch anything sold by WalMart... the cost of parts and labor is more than the light(s) costed or more than the WalMart shopper is willing to spend.

May sound kooky, but a computer repair shop may be the best option for advice now that the "tv repairman" is all but extinct.
 
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