Maratac AAA not working

Howdy,

New member here. I recently dropped my Maratac Brass AAA Rev 3 and it is no longer working. The actual electronics work fine when screwed onto my copper AAA, but the copper AAA does not work when screwed onto the brass battery compartment.

I can occasionally make the brass body work by monkeying with spring (re: poking around at the spring blindly with a pick), but I can't figure out the issue. I'm assuming the spring only needs to make contact with the brass body, but it still isn't somehow completing the circuit.

This is a sentimental part of my edc, and I would appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks!

tallowwaters said:

monkeying with spring

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maybe the spring would benefit from being stretched out a bit?

you could swap springs and see if thats the issue..

the headswaps don't work in both directions due to different thread length on the different models..

btw, there is a new Copper Maratac AAA with a Nichia LED, I highly recommend you add it to your selection.

Ive been carrying one since March, and just ordered a backup.. they are very nice!

this photo shows the old knurling style on the body, and the new knurling style on the head. This Lego does not light up, its just a knurling comparison.


the old ones had PWM, the new ones have NoPWM
new heads don't light on the old body, but old heads do light on the new body
because older models had shorter threaded portions on the bodies and heads. A long thread head won't work on a short thread body, but a short thread head works on a long thread body. The short thread heads had PWM, and dimples in the knurling.

I greatly prefer the NoPWM and Nichia LED of the latest Copper Maratac AAA, and I prefer the smoother feel in hand of the new knurling with no dimples.

I emailed them when mine acted similarly and they recommended cleaning the positive contact with ethanol in a qtip. It worked like a charm.

Tarnish? Clean and lightly sand the tip of the body tube. Use alcohol and a qtip and clean the circuit board.

Already cleaned, but it's not tarnish; as I said, it worked up until it was dropped. It was as if dropping it jarred the spring. It now works intermittently.

Springs are typically the issue. But also a battery can be damaged too. I have damaged a few cells by dropping or over tightening.

Could be a damaged inductor on the driver. Sitting together so works intermittently but won't work unless the inductor (or better yet the driver) is replaced.

To check whether the driver is working then test the head without the body in the same way as the current consuption test shown by hjk. Switch mode by lifting the probe off the bottom of the battery for a split second. It should cycle through the modes.

bla2000 said:

To check whether the driver is working

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I think he said its working:

tallowwaters said:

The actual electronics work fine when screwed onto my copper AAA
...
I can occasionally make the brass body work by monkeying with spring

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so Im still hoping he will pull the springs out, and swap them, and the batteries so the cu body spring is in the Brass body and the Cu body battery is in the Brass body.. with the brass head on the brass body

the suspense is killing me! lol

Ok. Take the spring out. Sand lightly to remove any corrosion. Clean the inside of the body and try to remove corrosion. Put spring back and try Again. Also lightly sand the tip of the body tube.

5/13

gunga said:

sand the tip of the body tube.

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5/14

tallowwaters said:

Already cleaned...

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5/17

gunga said:

sand the tip of the body tube.

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OP is AWOL since 5/15 and has missed our brilliant repartee

diagnosis: crushed spring
treatment: spring extraction surgery
prognosis: treatment declined, patient non responsive

Cleaned is not the same as sanded.

gunga said:

Cleaned is not the same as sanded.

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yes, excellent advice
unfortunately, patient is non compliant with diy treatment recommendations

I suggest he mail you the light for outpatient surgery to cure Low CRI and failure to illuminate
Im sure he will find your services enlightening

jon_slider said:

yes, excellent advice
unfortunately, patient is non compliant with diy treatment recommendations

I suggest he mail you the light for outpatient surgery to cure Low CRI and failure to illuminate
Im sure he will find your services enlightening

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:laughing:

Cheeky, I like it.

I stretched the spring width and made sure it was firmly seated and it's been working fine since, knock wood. Thanks for reading my post and offering advice.

tallowwaters said:

stretched the spring... been working fine since

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Yay! Thanks for sharing your success.

now that you know you can trust my advice,
I suggest you treat yourself to an AAA Maratac w Nichia
else, you will have no idea what you're missing