A few simple checks and fixes for 18650 based Ultrafire 501b and similar flashlight. How to repair your flashlight if the LED stops working, if it changes mode by itself or if you need to make it more reliable for the application.
Your 13 years old video fixed my problem in 2024, My wuben TO40R not working, after watching your video i opened tailcap spring and then i extended it and the my problem was solved. Thank you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I was starting to feel hopeless about fixing my VG-10s. I bought my flashlight on Amazon and it never worked. I held on to the flashlight for months and gave the flashlight and sender a bad review. I had spent countless hours going over videos on how to correct the problem of getting my flashlight to turn on. You are the only that suggested using elctrical tape. Two pieces of electrical tape fixed my problem. You're the real MVP.
Thanks. I've now got me a quiet and wiggle-free little flashlight, along with some Cree basics to help keep them alive and well. I appreciate the time spent and thoroughness to patiently explain and show us how to keep 'em alive.
I just bought a A1 wowtac And it was DOA arriving at my house Watching your video I fixed it my turn in those 2 little holes tail cap was really loose I tighten it up like you said and It fixed my light Thanks so much
Thank you for the video. Cree Unique Fire didn't go. Was going to order a new bulb set, but saw your video and tightened the plate holding the button with a small screwdriver. Simple fix that I hadn't tried. Goes well now!
I have a 501 that stopped working, it would only work if u pressed the button down slightly just at the right pressure which was pointless because it was impossible to stay at the right pressure to keep it on. I had given up on it and forgot about it for a year then I dug it up and found your video and all I had to do was just tighten the back cap, thank you so much!!!!
gotta let you know, I didn't know the switch came apart more. I took it open with a screw like you showed and discover a short circuit that was preventing the mode from resetting when the torch was shut off for several seconds. thanks, man.
I have a custom light that was coming on at random, and also dimming all the time even with full charge. 18650 by the way. I had pretty much given up on it, and ordered an ultrafire 20 minutes ago to use with the three batteries and charger I've got now. Well searching for ultrafire vids and found you,,, I just tightened up the internals on the tail cap as you show here,,,,, my custom is fixed!! I can't believe it was so simple, and I can't thank you enough!!
I had the shake problem. At first I tried to put some aluminium foil to the battery ends. There was some improvement, but basically the problem remained. After your video I've put a piece of spring from pen. Now it works perfectly no matter how hard I shake it. Thanks
Thanks for the video helped me solve my issue of it switching mode. Final result was adding packing around the battery and resoldering the spring to the driver housing(looked like a bad solder joint in the first place)
Thanks I found the problem was a loose tail cap but was not sure how to tighten for the ground path, seeing the needle nose pliers was the clue I needed, tighten up the with the two points of the tail cap and now working good
Thnx to this awesome video I was able to fix my Cree XML-16. This torch uses a 18650 battery = 3000 mah battery. I had a loose positive wire on the driver board. I pulled out the old soldering iron and got fixed. Looks like the wires being used on this torch are way too small to handle the current. I put some heat shrink around as well to give it some strength.
Thank you for this video. I was having a problem with intermittent on/off when the light was turned on. Eventually it wouldn't even turn on unless I pushed the button left or right while it was on and found out I had to tighten up the retainer ring that has the two dimples on the back cap. The part at 2:20 in you video is what fixed my problem. Guess they just sent it to me loose from the factory.
Thanks for the vid. I dissassembled my mtb cree CPG350 but my issue is different. Its saying the cell is full but it doesn't light up unless it's connect via usb/ charger... Any way we could reset it?
I bought the ultra fire wf 501 b about a year ago. The other day I needed it and it wouldn't come on. I checked the battery with a voltmeter and it showed good. I thought I was going to have to get a new "bulb" but after watching your video I tightened the switch like you showed and it worked! Thanks so much for showing!
I got an Ultrafire torch today with two Ultrafire batteries. The torch was flickering when shaken or moved. Your video is great, but none of your suggestions fixed my problem. I finally tried the second battery and sure it enough, it worked great!! I then took both batteries and shook them and found that the dodgy one has something a bit loose inside it. To cut a long story short, if all this fails, it may well be the battery thats dodgy even if its new!
Do you have a current favorite light ? I've bought Exposure lights but with the rate LED's improve, it's not a great investment. Most of the compact 18650 lights may not have a good beam pattern (for commuting).
amazing video. great stuff. i was just wondering. i have two of these but i couldnt tell, are they considered torch flashlights? mine seem to span out unlike others that have a beam? thanks.
Hey there..i have some issues with my flashlight XHP70... Something with the pcb board. Light is illuminating when i touch poke the pcb at a specific area with a needle....i have no idea whats wrong or happening.. what should i do
Hello, very informative, thanks. I have an Imalent DT35 with 4 cree xhp 35 leds (2017) and 2 of them are flikering, blinking... I recently bought it used, but it had very little use, so it is like new.... sometimes a 3rd led will start ok at 80lm setting, but then will turn off at 1000lm or 5000lm settings. The 4th one will never turn on. Do you think is there some solution for it? (by the way, with just 2 leds working the amount of light is impressive!)
I bought www.lightmalls.com/new-small-steel-cannon-flashlight-xhp50-led-3-6000lm-type-c-usb-rechargeable-aluminum-alloy-outdoor-led-glare-long-distance-searchlight for $30 and its really excellent. The multiple LED lights are hard to fix if the driver wiring is faulty.
@newhuskytwenty what Amps is the MC-E pulling? Actual output is very similar at the same amps, however the Xm-l is smaller so produced more lumen per mm, giving a brighter hotspot.
Hey, motorbiking. My "Wilko Cree LED Bike Light Front High Intensity", got knocked off its mount and tumbled down the road, causing the LED to come off its little silvery square mount point. I just wondered if an unbonded LED can be easily fixed (by me, at home).
That explained the physical difference between the two type unprotected and protected and thought this slight indent was the cell having protection used? In which case can the same simple test with a wire round the disassembled light-emitter and long enough to touch the negative end of a battery? Absolutely EVERYTHING is a load of great Advice, (see I bet you thought I was going to say something nasty) simple to follow and understandable, thank you for that. Take care. mrbluenun
I just mended mini that was intermittently working going bright to dim to sos then no light so I soldered copper branded wire from top to bottom of each spring front and back and now it works as it should.
That's so great! How are you able to tell just by looking at the die if it's an XP-G or XM-L? I saw some comparisons side by side of T6's and U2's and L2's and I barely saw a difference..
Cheers for your help. Its got me stymied. Its a single cell. Worked brill at first. Used the charger that came with it. No joy after recharging from Red to green. Suspected the cheapo battery cos the torch itself is good quality. Got 2 new batteries (and a new charger) , charged them both up. Put one in the torch and ZIP.. Yet if I place 2 x 1/2 sized cam batteries in there it works, albeit dully but it does show therefore that the leds (3) are working....... Pass me that razor blade.!
Hey the modes in my Q5 stopped working, it's always on low now, and when I press the button and light flickers, so it's probably a bad connection. The rear cap doesn't have those small holes, it has a plastic cover. Can it be removed? Thanks!
I have an ultrafire not sure what model but it's about 7 inches long or so. To adjust the cone of the light the head is pulled up and down and it has become VERY hard to pull up and down, i cant get it apart any ideas?
@@motorbiking18650 thanks for the reply. turns out the rubber o-ring had doubled up on itself so instead of sliding up and down it was just distorting it :)
Many thanks, One question, you said you are not using ‘protected cells ’bearing in mind I am pretty good ignoramus when it comes to ‘new’ tech things until I get used to them, I notice a small indent going round the end of the widest part of the battery where the indent is slightly smaller than the battery case, I thought and may have it wrong, that this meant the battery was a protected cell? I have only seen one channel and can’t recall which one it is as I type, that explained the
I have this flashlight (one similar) hooked up to a pressure switch. The flashlight ha modes u can cycle through, but I only want strobe. Every time I press the pressure switch, I have to press it 4 times to get it back to strobe for one use. Is this in the switch or the light that the problem is?
The mode is on the Driver not the switch. The driver switches mode with a short disruption of power "The half press" Your trigger switch is causing the driver to switch mode. You could change the driver, but I'm not aware of any that can be set to single mode strobe. Most people want the remove the strobe mode.
I got a pair of UF WF501B with XM-L drop-ins, one is the DX 5 modes and the other the famous MF 3 modes, which draws almost 3 Ah. I guess a MC-E drop-in would be less bright than them, am I right ?
Great video,although after trying all your advice the problem still remains.....the torch switches on as it should but is very very dim!!! Has the driver failed?
i have the same problem...i've got one smaller(battery inside 16340) and one bigger(battery inside 18650) ultafire torch. i've tighten all "screws" but problem persists... what to do?
..i had issues on similar new flashlight...got it working by removing the 18650 protective o-ring near the positive terminal which is negative ..the LED circuit should have direct contact on both terminal before the switching happens on its bottom....the gap between this terminals are so close ...normally covered by shrink tube or similar to prevent oxidation (tenderites) and batt short...point that as well..
I have a XML T6 flashlight and it have stopped working. I see that you've included this video for the flashlight too, but my tail cap is sealed with tape instead of the two dots to check if its loose. I also can't take out the chip. Is there anyway you can do a video on how to take it apart and how to make it stay on one mode instead of clicking several times to get to the same mode?
Remove the tail cap and use a piece of wire to connect the body tube to the -ive of the cell to check the light works. you might need to pack the tail out with some washers if you cannot tighten the tail cap. I have no idea what an XM-L T6 light is as this just refers to the LED.
If your torchlight is flickering or goes no light when you drop, all you need to do is put a the smallest coin you can find and place it between the spring and end of the battery
Very good video, well put together. I have a problem with a different type of torch and I wonder if you could help. It came from China I reckon via Hong Kong as a gift. Its a 3 led Cree and the wording on the body is CREE 3XT6 on one side and Angel-Fire A-11 on the other side. It worked great until it ran out whilst turned on. Now Zip after recharging. It. It works (dimly) if I put in 2x 3 v lithium cam btys but its very weak. ODD. Can you enlighten (groan) me mate? Any advice?. THANKS
I hope to get my cree 12x led five mode xm-l t 6 soon .i bought it used from eBay ,sellers says that it comes on but stays on strobe mode ,doesn't switch through the rest of the modes. What do you think is wrong with the light ??
Any idea if it has a separate mode switch? My guess is a fault in the switch circuit, bypass the switch manually using a piece of wire and see if you can get the modes to change. you might need to strip it down to the driver to see.
Its possible you got some dirt on the LED, however they tend to go blue when they are damaged. I would just check everything is tight or perhaps strip down to cell, wire and drop in as per the video and see if it looks different. Sometimes a lose connection can cause a kind of arc in pre-driver and this can affect resistance/current.
I tried your tip to connect coil in led light element to one end of battery with a wire and other end of wire to other end of battery, but it causes the battery to instantly smoke and burn?!
I just bought the XM-L T7 8500. I have charged the batteries to full and made sure they are in properly. I have figured out that a half press of the button changes it from 1 LED, to 3, to 7. However, for some reason the torch just keeps flashing and won't stay on a solid light. It is brand new and I have had it 2 days. Is there a reason for this or any way to fix it? I have searched the internet and and still come up with nothing. Seller hasn't replied yet.
@motorbiking No, I haven`t any MC-E drop-in, I just would like to know if pulling for example 2,8Ah would be as bright as my XM-L drop-in. A black hole in the middle wouldn't disturbe me outdoors
Great video. Took my torch out last night for some rough stuff (cyclo cross) and found that every time I hit a bump that it would change modes i.e. from high to medium to flash/strobe. Is there any way to stop this? It's an Ultrafire 502b. Thanks
I suffer with you bother. I did this to a Lumify x9 Basically the same. Bypass the control circuit 👍 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-28G6EMr59aA.html
Hi...my flashlight BRIWAX model BX-8455 in turning on because when looking toward the len I can see that it is on but light is very very poor...anyone know the problem? The battery is new and I charged it by 4 hours after de green led turned on. I don't know if my son dropped the flashlight and the led got damaged.
So the LED is on very dim? You have a lose wire somewhere or the LED is burned out. Strip it down to the drop in and use some wire to hard wire the cell, If its still dim then the LED is cooked.
I bought same one but got the longer one the same day I got it the very tip of the flash with the lens ended up falling off I couldnt find it how can I find the tip and lens to repair it
You can get replacement lenses on ebay, but the bezel may be harder to find. To be honest given that you can replace them now for about $7 and the lens is going to cost you $2 you might as well get a new XM-L2 based one and then either use it for spares or use your old one for spares.
@motorbiking Well, my tail switch is ok, I check it with a friend’s one. So the malfunction is in the chip in the head. I can’t find how I could fix it, maybe a little “surgery” will help, but I’ll wait for the replacement and then I will try. Any additional help will be appreciated. Thanks
i have a strange problem in my LED. When i use a AAA battery the light is bright. But when i use 18650 battery the LED is substantially dim! I have to put in a holder when i am using 18650 battery.There is no problem with the battery. Any idea why this might be happening? I tried tightening the tail cap. but still the problem persists
Well AAA cells are 1.5v so 3 X 1.5v is 4.5v 18650 are 4.2v fully charged, but you probably wont get the amps out of AAAs So my guess is a weak connection on the 18650. Have you tried a washer or something metal on the tail to make the connection tighter?
Excellent video, however, my issue was not addressed. My newer model torch doesn't stay at the same level of brightness. It suddenly dims for a time, then becomes fully bright again. It takes about 10-20mseconds for this to occur. Do you have any thoughts on how to remedy this issue? Thank you very much, Ron
Hi I have a question and was hoping you'd be able to help, I just got an LED flashlight with a Cree XML T6 LED. The LED turns on but it's EXTREMELY dim when I turn it on, it's not the batteries or the button, any idea how to fix this? When I say extremely dim I mean like really dim I can look straight into the LED. It's like the LED is getting the least amount of power it will accept to turn on. It also will not switch between modes but I wouldn't really expect it to considering the LED seems like it isn't getting much power at all.
yes. it sounds like a lose wire causing a micro arc. strip it down to cell and driver as per video and test. if it's bright then lose connection so tighten everything if still dim. duff driver.
+motorbiking Okay I'll try that. I appreciate it. Mine isn't exactly like yours it has the led on a circular board with two wirea connecting it to the driver that sits in the tube. So should I use a soldering gun and take the wires off the board and connect the wires from the led to the battery?
+Josh J No - your LED will go blue and die if you do that. The driver regulates the current, the reason I strip down cell and driver at 7:05 is to remove the switch from the circuit - have you tried this?
If you can strip down to the drop in and the cell to test then this is the best place to start. If not remove the tail cap and use a piece of wire to make the connection. The mode switch just briefly breaks the connection, you can simulate by tapping the wire off and then on again. If that works you have a connection issue.
I bought one off the Internet.. I like these torches very bright it didn't work at first.. But after watching your video I managed to fix the problem thanks... I have a question tho how would I go on about upgrading the torch for max brightness?? And is it possible to get rechargeable batteries? batteries??
usually the XM-L MC-E P bin is 962-1085 at 2.8A XM-L U3 bin is 1040-1105 3A but the most common bins are the T6 and the M or K bin which leaves the XM-L out in front. Plus the XM-L is much smaller, so the light per 2/mm is much higher.
@sparkysteve73 This is usually a loose connection somewhere. You may need to peel the "paper" disc off the LED drop in and check the wires. Have you tried stripping it down to just battery and drop in as per the vid? If its still dim then, then its going to be a loose wire on the drop-in driver or LED. If you have an amp meter measure the current when connected. If its still drawing normal amps, then the LED is cooked. If the amps are low, its a connection issue.
