HELP! Nite Ize has rendered my AA Maglite useless.

Captain Spaulding

Captain Spaulding

Joined
Apr 4, 2009
Messages
1,140
Ok, I need some help here.

I am not tech retarded and I am quite handy but this one has stumped the hell out of me.

I have a AA mag light. I put a Nite Ize IQ tail cap on it and it worked fine.

I then put a Nite Ize 3 led drop in in the light and it ceased to work at all. I put the old incandescent bulb in and still nothing. I ordered and replaced the guts of the light...still nothing. I have reversed the poles numerous times...still nothing.

Nite Ize sent me a single led replacement instead of the 3 led unit and that doesn't work either.

WTF!

I have spent way too much money on this stupid light. Any thoughts?
 
these are near certainly something you have allready thought of, but:
1) are you sure you are testing it with fresh, working batteries? (even fresh out the packet, could they be duds?)
2) are you sure the incandesent bulb is still in working order?
3) have you tried it without the IQ switch?

I know these are probably insultingly simple, but you would be amazed at the number of people I've had ask me to help them because their torch isn't working, only to find out it's something mind bogglingly simple. (some even have trouble getting the hang of a button on the base, and spend ages twisting it)
 
phaserrifle said:
these are near certainly something you have allready thought of, but:
1) are you sure you are testing it with fresh, working batteries? (even fresh out the packet, could they be duds?)
2) are you sure the incandesent bulb is still in working order?
3) have you tried it without the IQ switch?

I know these are probably insultingly simple, but you would be amazed at the number of people I've had ask me to help them because their torch isn't working, only to find out it's something mind bogglingly simple. (some even have trouble getting the hang of a button on the base, and spend ages twisting it)
Click to expand...

The batteries were new out of the package and I have since tried fully charged rechargeable batteries and 2 other pairs so it isn't the batteries. moreover the red led on the IQ cap blinks and is getting power.

The incandescent is in good shape and I find it hard to believe they sent me 2 factory defective leds.

I no longer have the original tail cap so no on the attempt minus the iQ cap.

I have owned mostly surefires and I am no stranger to lights. I was "upgrading" this to use as a night time bathroom/kitchen light.

No questions are stupid here.
 
PM me your address, I'll send you a tail cap out of my parts bin. My first suggestion though would be to throw it away and get something else...
 
I can't pm you, but feel free to email me @ pscales @ gmail dot com.

Thanks man. I am actually shopping for a weapon light right now so I am trying to get this thing up and running with what i got. What a PITA!
 
Captain Spaulding said:
I no longer have the original tail cap so no on the attempt minus the iQ cap.
Click to expand...

definately sounds like the IQ cap is the problem, and as you say the red LED blinks it's probably an internal issue with the circuitry in there, rather than a simple battery/switch internals or switch internals/torch body connection issue.
 
SuzukiGS750EZ said:
Is the LED in backwards? There's only one way to put an LED light in. Flip it 180*.
Click to expand...

Read my first post.

phaserrifle said:
definately sounds like the IQ cap is the problem, and as you say the red LED blinks it's probably an internal issue with the circuitry in there, rather than a simple battery/switch internals or switch internals/torch body connection issue.
Click to expand...

Possible. When I get an original tail cap I will check that hypothesis. Although the IQ cap worked flawlessly until I switched out the bulb with the led drop in and now no bulbs work in it at all...quite bizarre really. Perhaps some kind of wizardy or foul play is afoot.
 
The Nite-Ize IQ Switches are known to fail pretty easily. You'd be better off going back to stock parts and replacing the incan bulb with a Terralux drop-in of some sort.

If you don't want to do that, I'd recommend going down to Costco and picking up the Mag-Lite pack. They currently have a pack of a 2AA Mini-Mag LED Rebel and 3D Mag LED Rebel. If the tailcap on the 2AA has a lanyard hole, most likely you're getting a pair of Rebels. Best method is to look down at the emitters and see if it's resting on a rectangular platform, rather than a star. It is best to try and search for the Rebel versions, as the regulation on these are much better, and the emitters put out a brighter beam.
 
Captain Spaulding said:
Ok, I need some help here.

I am not tech retarded and I am quite handy but this one has stumped the hell out of me.

I have a AA mag light. I put a Nite Ize IQ tail cap on it and it worked fine.

I then put a Nite Ize 3 led drop in in the light and it ceased to work at all. I put the old incandescent bulb in and still nothing. I ordered and replaced the guts of the light...still nothing. I have reversed the poles numerous times...still nothing.

Nite Ize sent me a single led replacement instead of the 3 led unit and that doesn't work either.

WTF!

I have spent way too much money on this stupid light. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

This exact thing happened to my father and he took it to me for troubleshooting. After trying everything I switched the parts one by one with another light and they all worked, even the Nite Ize upgrade. The only thing I didn't switch out was the plastic thingy at the top that holds the lights, so I will assume that's the culprit. Anyone know how to fix those things?
 
May I suggest a FENIX PD30 R2 (235 lumens) or a PD20 R2 (190 lumens) on ebay all day long. My PD30 R2 is all I use now, it blew away my streamlight stinger.
 
Quarks are definately top-notch. Just flipped my Mini AA and will be replacing it with one of their full sized AA models soon, just can't decide whether I want the programmable UI or not...
 
kfranz said:
PM me your address, I'll send you a tail cap out of my parts bin. My first suggestion though would be to throw it away and get something else...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tail cap...problem solved. Nite Ize now has a new non-defective IQ cap on the way to me and I will make sure the tail cap you sent me is stored in a very safe place.
 
I used to lean towards the mini-mag lites because I prefer a twist on/off kite. Seems like every one with a button or switch gets bumped on & you're left with dead batteries. Problem withe mini-mags was that to get the light output up, they had to burn the bulbs at HIGH temps & they always seemed to burn out.
Ever try to dig that TINY little replacement bulb out of the tailcap (IN THE DARK) & get it in right? No fun, so I installed the nite-ize LED only, not the tailcap switch. Worked OK for a bit, & then something shorted out internally. The whole flashlight got hotter & hotter in my pocket, even thought it was turned off. Took it apart & found all the guts melted, Tossed it & bought some Pelican twist on's. Very happy now.
 
I have two AA Mini mags. Both of them have a Terralux TLE-5EX which supposedly puts out 140 lumens. One has the stock switch, and the other has the NiteIZE IQ Switch. I use the IQ switch one around the house and on short walks because i like having the variable power, it does cut down the 3 watt's power because of the resistance in the tailcap (It's supposed to be used by the 1 watt nite ize LED). It's still pretty bright though. My other mini mag is extremely bright, but that's only when i need a ton of light. When i only had one light, i was disguisted by how the IQ switch dumbed down the output of the 3 watt LED, but with one bright and one variable, i wouldn't have it any other way.
 
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