Fenix LD20 acting up

[theonew]

I've had a Fenix LD20 for about 4 years now. It gets used regularly and has been extremely reliable. But last week it started acting up. When I turned it on, regardless of the setting, it would stay only in low mode, or something which seemed slightly lower than low and would work properly only intermittently but even then with some flickering between high and low. Not good. I of course tried fresh batteries and tightened the insert in the tail cap and gave the contacts a bit of a cleaning. I found a thread on another forum where someone had the same problem but in that case it was resolved by sending it back to Fenix. I do have an email out to them but from what I gather they only really warranty a product for the first two years, after that they will repair it and only charge you for parts. Not bad, I can live with that.

But being a confirmed tinkerer I started to think about what most likely would cause this and all signs pointed to something in the tail cap. When I tried to remove the insert without the proper tool I didn't have much luck (I guess I did a good job tightening it in the first place). Playing with it more I noticed that when I pushed the clicky switch from a sharper angle than normal the light would flicker a little. So I gave the switch a good long massage from all angles and it lit up perfectly and has been working fine now for nearly two days. If it starts acting up again I'll probably just make a greater effort to open the tail cap assembly and hopefully figure out what exactly is failing. But for now it works just fine.

I thought I'd pass this experience along for anyone else who has this problem since I couldn't find a solution on the net.

[Millhouse]

Hi Theo.

A pair of fine needle nose pliers is good for removing the retaining ring in the tailcap.

I think I have a spare switch for this light, let me know if you want it.

[theonew]

Wow, great idea on the needle nose pliers and thank you for the kind offer on the switch. I may take you up on that in the future, after I have completely smurfed up the one on there and Fenix can't send me a new one

For now I'm hoping for the best with my kludgey repair

[Millhouse]

Just had a look and I do have a spare.

[tattoosteve99]

I use snap ring pliers too. The long ends really help in getting those things apart . Glad it seems to working.

[Teofilo]

I use snap ring pliers too. The long ends really help in getting those things apart . Glad it seems to working.

 

After removing the light's tailcap and head, what do you use for cleaning contacts? Pencil erasers will do.

[ryan1835]

funnily enough i was just about to post about my faulty ld20 - i cant get it to turn on or anything one minute fine next dead. If anyone wants it to see if they can revive it or anything im happy to send it out

[Millhouse]

Hi Ryan

If you think you have a faulty tail switch, quite happy to send you the spare tail if you want to try it.

[theonew]

funnily enough i was just about to post about my faulty ld20 - i cant get it to turn on or anything one minute fine next dead. If anyone wants it to see if they can revive it or anything im happy to send it out

Here's an image that was emailed to me from Fenix which shows a test to ascertain whether a tail cap is faulty. When I tried it with my LD20 it lit right up on the high setting.




As a followup to my original post, my "repair" only lasted a few days and now it only lights up on the lowest setting. On a positive note though, after a few emails with a very helpful Fenix employee in China, they are having their US distributor send me a new tail cap. Pretty great customer service from Fenix

[Gareth]

Good to hear Fenix are looking after you.

[ryan1835]

Thanks for the offer millhouse but ive tried what theonew showed and no life so i presume my bulb units gone down.

any want a spare tube or my switch just give me a heads up

[Gareth]

Thanks for the offer millhouse but ive tried what theonew showed and no life so i presume my bulb units gone down.

any want a spare tube or my switch just give me a heads up

I'd drop their warranty department a line mate, can't hurt anyway.