Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - D.O.A. — UltraFire 501B

As some may recall, my red tail light — an UltraFire WF-501B — liberated itself from my bike on a ride to work about 6 weeks ago.

I ordered a replacement — two, actually, since they were only $10 each — from DealExtreme.

The UltaFires arrived today. Good thing I ordered two, because one is dead on arrival.

Before I go through whatever it takes to send this dead one back to Hong Kong for a working replacement, I'd like to fix anything that could be fixed by a non-electrician who knows how to solder.

Is there anything I should give close scrutiny?

The switch is OK — same switch fires up the other flashlight fine.

So it has to be a connection somewhere or something else wrong with the head.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

And if anyone can give any tips on how to get a working replacement from DX, that'd be swell.

As some may recall, my red tail light — an UltraFire WF-501B — liberated itself from my bike on a ride to work about 6 weeks ago.

I ordered a replacement — two, actually, since they were only $10 each — from DealExtreme.

The UltaFires arrived today. Good thing I ordered two, because one is dead on arrival.

Before I go through whatever it takes to send this dead one back to Hong Kong for a working replacement, I'd like to fix anything that could be fixed by a non-electrician who knows how to solder.

Is there anything I should give close scrutiny?

The switch is OK — same switch fires up the other flashlight fine.

So it has to be a connection somewhere or something else wrong with the head.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

And if anyone can give any tips on how to get a working replacement from DX, that'd be swell.

DX really has gone downhill in the last six months. You'll need to contact DX, then they'll tell you to post on their forum about the problem. After that they may give you a refund, they may ask you to ship it to them (the have a US address), or they may ignore you. Also, their 'refund' policy is in flux, so no one really knows what the score is. Good luck, you'll need it!

Take off the head and check the module's circuit board. It should be soldered to the brass heatsink. My 501 had problems until I resoldered it.

.... my red tail light — an UltraFire WF-501B —... from DealExtreme. ... one is dead on arrival.
... anything that could be fixed by a non-electrician who knows how to solder. Is there anything I should give close scrutiny? The switch is OK — same switch fires up the other flashlight fine. ...
Since the endcap switch works, you do not have the scrap metal chips - "swarf" - shorting out that end which was the problem with one of my 501B's. You could look for similar very small (less than 1 mm) metal swarf in the head shorting something out. They can be really small, so a careful examination using a magnifying glass might be in order.

Also, just as you transferred the switch end to another light to test it, you might transfer the head to known to be working tube and end cap.

Also make sure all the contacts are clean. I had one with no visible problem, yet cleaning the contact with a pencil eraser clearly removed "something" because that's when the light started working. Read the Q&A and the forums on DX to pick up clues as well.

Thanks — very helpful.

I'll give all this a try and report back.

UPDATE -- I swapped parts between the two 501Bs ... both switches are good .... both heads are good, which suprised me ... so, what's left?

The tube in the middle is .... just a tube.

Likely the driver is bad, although poor connection between the components is common in DX flashlights.

2 of the 4 flashlights I got from DX were defective, right out of the box - I bought mine nearly a year ago. The 2 that worked still work.

IMO DX intentionally sells junk assuming the buyer will keep it. That's how they're able to sell at their low price. That $45 flashlight will actually cost $90 when you factor in the 50% defect rate.

DX has a return address in Miami FL, which may help you. However, they don't issue a refund, but instead send a replacement. When I went through this crap last January, the replacement they sent was defective too, and I didn't get it until February - about 11 weeks after original order.

After fiddling with it some more, I decided it just wasn't going to work.

I've done the online thing at DX, requesting a replacement.

Good news is ... It was only $10, including shipping, and I wisely bought two for a (now, much needed) backup.

My one and only dealextreme return was very pleasant. Received the replacement promptly, they paid me back for the shipping costs to send it back to them (be sure to keep the post office receipt to scan to them). Cheap Chinese electronics FTW. Oh, they had me ship it to Florida instead of China, so we're talking like $3 to ship anyways.

DealExtreme is sending me a replacement ... not bad!

And, according to their e-mail, I don't have to send them the DOA flashlight. So, I can keep it for parts or something.

Good for them.