I also am a maglight fan. I always take waxpaper and make a inner sleeve to slide my batteries inside of to prevent them from sticking inside the flashlight. Keeps batteries from rattling too.
These "impossible to find" keys for unscrewing the switch are super common in Europe with the smaller ones costing mere cents at any hardware store. In Germany we call them "Inbus Keys", and they're probably the third most common type of screwdriving implement. The 2mm one seems to fit the older D Mags up to the mid 2000s perfectly, newer ones use Torx I believe.
I have a two C cell maglite I've modified. First, the batteries. I replaced the C cells with one 18650 Lithium Ion. I made a spacer out of cardboard for it's width. Then for length, I cut off about 3/4 inches of a steel bolt to act as a spacer between the spring and the battery. Then the light. The 18650 operates between 4.2 volts to about 3.0 volts, so a two cell bulb would likely burn out quick at 4.2 volts. I found an LED drop in replacement that is for the 2 and 3 cell Mags with the perfect voltage ranges. Next I added a convex lens. This nearly eliminated the rings and halos that Maglites make, so now it made a mostly perfectly even circle of light. To eliminate the remaining haloing, I sprayed the reflector with clear acrylic, just a couple of quick spurts. This diffused the light, eliminating any halos, and then the lens just refocuses it to now a perfect circle of light in bright white with a rechargeable battery. It still retains some of it's focus although it's not as tight as stock, and the wide beam isn't as wide as stock. Finally, I installed one of those crowned bezels to protect the lens which jutted out past the stock bezel. It's a perfect flashlight to go camping with and it lasts hours on one charge (I've never actually measured it). My next goal will be to find a good 26650 which will add much more capacity and not need the spacer, because it's just 0.2 mm thinner then a C cell. After that, it's finding a way to charge the battery inside of the flashlight instead of taking it out all the time.
Thanks for the Vlog, I just purchased the LED 300 Lumen buld and the glass lens for my 3 d cell Maglite. The difference is incredible. The only other thing I think I would like to purchase would be the glass breaking in cap.
Any idea a good kit for a 3 D cell maglite? I tried the LED upgrade in your video description but it only works on my 4 D cell maglite. I want to upgrade my 3 D Cell maglite also.
This is awesome. Do you have any idea where I can get the bezel and rear cap in the UK? I can get them shipped to me but it'll cost me $55 for shipping alone. Thanks!
Excellent. Once I was able to unscrew the switch, I was able to softly drive the stuck leaky battery out. I did not know until you showed it that the hex screw in the switch was the key.
I found that a 2mm allen wrench fits perfectly in all my D Mags. Stupid thing though, the 3D Mags are a different body diameter than the 2D and 6D (I don't have any 4D to compare) so the head and endcap won't fit either way and the 3D switch wobbles around in the 2D/6D. What were they thinking? Were they thinking at all?
Are you sure they aren't just from different eras? Different eras have slightly different dimensions, but different cell capacities from the same era should all be the same
I was considering coming up with a way of wrapping the batteries in a shrink type wrap to keep the batteries from swelling and rupturing and fusing the end cap shut if they did. Not sure how you could do it without it covering the contacts but I think there's gotta be someway to do it. Mine literally welded itself shut nearly and I was so mad.
Although your tutorial is totally clear and helpful, especially on how to dismount and mount the switch, I would like to advise you: Never ever touch the contacts, not even the spring or the battery-poles, with your bare hands or fingers unless you clean those contacts very thoroughly afterwards. The residu your fingers leave on the contacts will result in electrical resistance and is the wake-up-call for corrosion. It's only 9volts at the max remember! In addition to this you should not touch the innerside of the glass nor should you touch those beautiful new led's. That same residu will burn into the ledcover. The cleaner those parts are, the better the rays get through.
Nice, i did the same to my 4D mag. But the glass breaker and bezel only come in black or gray. I have a red mag, i plan to put a battery extender to get up to 6 cells. But only comes in black. I put those AA spacers in so its not too heavy when i hike or go on my late night walks. Nice flashing light.
Thank you for making this video. I have the same Maglight 6D and I just had the same problem with my batteries swelling up from the corrosion and I still haven’t gotten them all out yet because the only other videos that I could find all said that I needed a 2mm hex wrench and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why I couldn’t get the screw loosened up.
@@randomstuffguy1731 Mine too. One totally wrecked. Another I managed to save. Also had the old ‘smoke cutter’ flashlight made by LA Screw company, which I managed to rescue from leaky Duracells. I guess I’ve learnt my lesson with those batteries.
I had a battery in a mini maglite go bad on me. Once I got the bad batteries out. I used a .50 caliber bronze bore brush on a electric drill to clean out the corrosion, which got most of it out. Then, I got some fine sand paper rolled that around a dowel and finished cleaning up the inside of the light. Used canned air too clean out the inside of the light, put new batteries into it and it worked. Maglites are great.
I know this is an older video but as a Mag man myself I noticed you installed the old version of the tri emitter TerraLux. I have the current 1000 lumen verison. For people watching this video and are not to knowledgeable about Mags and the sea of upgrades and mods available for them the tri emitter TerraLux drop in turns your Mag into a flood light specifically. You will no longer have much beam throw at all. The three emitters are under small short optics this is what makes it into a flood light. Totally huge lumen output yes but the beam that comes out is just a very wide undefined "cloud" of light. Perfect for lighting up a larger backyard though. Yes do get a glass lens for any D Mag. There are several sources of glass Mag lenses now. From anti glare coated to the more durable but non glare coated borofloat lenses your beam definition becomes sharper either way and the glass lenses do not melt like the stock plastic one would if you are doing a mod that really puts off a lot of heat.
That's a great question. With so many companies pumping out amazing lights i find it's not always worth spending the money to upgrade because you'll sometimes spend more on the upgrades then it would cost to buy a new light and there's still no guarentee that the upgrades will make it better than the newer lights
Make a maglite go where the sun don't shine... The very best (just my opinion) light out there is a "COAST HP550" it uses nine double AA's and puts out 1000 horsepower (lumens)... This light will take paint off the walls... The selector switch is second to none, you do not have to go through six or however many selections to get where you want it to be and the clarity is awesome... I had many mags but they are old school... Try one of these (above), you will not be disappointed...
Nice upgrade. I have always loved the trusty black maglites. I have a 3 cell d and 2 cell d. A glass lens is probably when of the best upgrades you can do after a led conversion but I have found a company that makes an anti reflection coated or AR coated glass lens made just for these old maglites. They are coated on both sides and fairly inexpensive. Let me tell you... You can barley tell that there's even a lens on there!! Flood pattern is brighter and center spot is sharper and brighter. It really turns the maglite to a thrower. But I must say unlike your conversion I can focus my maglite I have the "already" led maglite. Next is to use 18650 batteries than the d cells. D cells are expensive in the long run. Especially if you do regularly use a flashlight. Anyway, if anyone's interested in AR coated lens for mags or any other flashlights they make other sizes too check out flashlightlens.com
I checked pricing on the 4 items you installed in your MAG Light and price comes in at $130.00. And you also had to purchase a new switch assembly. You must really love your Mag light to invest that amount of $$$ in a old unit. .
Exactly. There are SO MANY better options that doing this, including buying new from Maglite. Their LED 6D Maglite (New with free shipping) sells for $59.50...That includes three programs each with different light settings on the switch: outdoor, police, tactical. The settings are Eco, Strobe, Low, Momentary, and High which one comes on depends on the click and the program utilized. Additionally, the beam can be focused from widest to narrowest in a 1/4 turn of the head. Honestly, I would buy the $59.50 LED 6D from Maglite any day over buying a standard 6D (~$40), then spending $130 on parts to have a flashlight that's nearly equal to what is offered from Maglite. Even if you bought the glass breaker, upgraded lens, and strike bezel (total of ~$52), you would have a more functional LED 6D Maglite maxed out at $111.50 compared to an equivalent Maglite costing ~$170...
@@Eugeneden2010 Just depends what you are looking for. I have this one 3 cell D battery one with an incandescent bulb I just replaced with an LED bulb upgrade today for $10 from eBay. I got the flashlight for free from a friend of mine but you know the point is I already had it and didn’t see the purpose in buying a new one when I can just upgrade mine. Of course I still get what y’all are saying.
to ray and momo who made comments to guard in most states the 6 cell is considered a weapon and illeagal ..unless you carry a baton oer.it....check before you comment.. looking at their web pages doubt they would know
rogertopful All the LED up fits that weren’t from the manufacturer directly were Chinese. Main reason I went with Streamlight when I updated an old Stinger model. Was $50 for the upgrade went from 48 lumen to 300. Extended recharge hold on the battery stick also
Thanks for the lesson and the links for the upgrades. I have a light I am beginning to work with to clean out a swelling and leaking battery. Oddly enough 4th light I have had with the same brand battery leakage. . One would think I would learn not to buy that brand. Or alkaline i general perhaps.
I just made a special tool to use and it worked. Just check with a machinist with many years experience. You would be amazed what they can make for you.
Hi there, do check out the links included in the description. It looks like you will have to buy from Amazon and pay for shipping (which isn't cheap). Might want to try finding those parts on Lazada and the like. As a side note, you seem to have a collection yourself!
I like the notched out cap for the simple fact that when you set the light down on a flat surface you can tell the light is still on. I left mine on once while it was facing down and it was right after I installed the LED bulb and brand new batteries. Lol. It was a week or so before I noticed it was still on and by the light was barely on still and the sadly the batteries had swelled and fused the end cap onto it. I was heartbroken. Lol. Never again.
I got the 4D in the mail today, and man I really stinking love it. I’m gonna get some rechargeable D cells batteries for it soon, what brand battery exploded on you?
Thanks for that Jeff. Interesting to watch. I did not even know those upgrades are available! One thing I would have done differently, is put the original bulb seating ring, into the butt foam too. Otherwise if you ever need to revert to the spare bulb it'll be useless without that ring
An untapered T-8 can be made by using a chopsaw to cut off the last 3/8" of the tip of the wrench, and slightly touch the edges with a file. Should go right in...
I learned to put label on all my flashlights with a date 16 months after batteries are installed. And replace batteries then. The lights I use a lot have rechargeable batteries Nitecore or Surefire.
That sound at 9:37 is metal on metal. I have used just a touch of Vasoline on the threads for the last 50 years to remove that screech. I was hunting in a blind and opened my light, because it wouldn't come on, and the screech caused my deer to bolt. Got home and fixed that quickly.
... Thats a bit hard to believe. The reason why they corrode is because people leave the batteries in for a very long time. All batteries give off gas, what happens here is that it gets sealed in. If you would open the cap every once in a while, it would vent. The venting prevents the heavy corrosion build up, and eventual explosion. Basically, its not the battery's fault.
HI, Thanks for your comment jacob harris! I got them both from Amazon. There is a newer LED bulb that is even brighter. I have lithium grease, I am going to do that! Thanks for the tip!
When the batteries swelled up and did the same job on my Maglite, they had a deal with Rayovac (IIRC) who will REPLACE your Maglite if their batteries kill it. That may have changed, Energizer bought Rayovac last year. Or, Maglite would sell a whole new light of my choice at a generous discount. Great folks!
I hope you didn’t touch the front surface mirrors when you installed the new led module. If you wire up copper wire through the spring, you’ll get less loss through the spring.
A bench grinder makes the T8 fit. A handheld grinder makes the T8 fit. A dremel will make the T8 fit. A ground down a Harbor Freight T8 wrench that I had layong around. You only need 4 turns of the wrench to unseat the set screw. Then push in the switch and push it out of the tube. If you need to come out the front there is a split ring in a groove. The trick to getting the ring out is to loosen the T8 or 2mm set screw. Push down on the bulb holder without the bulb about an 8th of an inch and then retighten the set screw. That gives you the room to get the split ring out. Most of the time I use a small pick to pry up one end and then push it down with a small screwdriver. Then pry up on the other end and the clip will come flying out. Then release the set screw, puch in on the switch and push it out the front. I converted mine to lithium batteries so no more corosion. A dab of never seize on the cap threads stops the threads from being a problem.
Needs the switch mod done to that decrease the resistance in the switch inside thier is a thin spring have to soulder copper wire from one side spring to the other then put it back in will have more current it be brighter
I've had my duracells get leak and get stuck in there. Finally got them out. Was going to do the upgrade but instead I spent same money and got a rechargable Bushnell 1500 lumens. I think it's over for my maglites.
Battery Corrosion & some faulty components seem to be a big issue with a lot of Maglights I've noticed. They're a great product but I've seen a consistent pattern of issues with some of them.
Here is a bit of education for some people. There are several reasons maglight has been around for over 35 years and will continue to be. Quality and craftsmanship with the capability to withstand the elements. A 6 d flashlight has an extremely long burn time that will outlast most any smaller or brighter light. Ive always run one size smaller bulb in any of mine giving it a much brighter light. Example a 5 cell bulb in a 6 cell light or 3 cell bulb in a 4 cell light. Never had any problem
