Some time ago I got a Qbeam 3 C-cell flashlight to keep in our Explorer. It was very rarely used, but the other day I noticed it was on just sitting in its spot in the rear pocket of the driver's seat. It looked like low beam, but the batteries were down only a little. On unscrewing the base I found corrosion just inside the tube and around the base's edge threads, and an apparent thin copper foil boot over the base's spring wasn't green but was in pieces. I cleaned out the corrosion and will treat the corroded areas with DeOxit, but in testing continuity on the base, I find that no matter the switch button position there is continuity between the spring and the base's aluminum threads. With fresh batteries the light will not switch off, and apppears to be stuck on low beam.[br]
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Any idea how to disassemble the base to see if it's repairable? There is a plastic plug in the base, surrounding the spring, with two holes in it such as some devices you can unscrew with snap ring pliers, but I can't get that plug to budge. I’ve tried PB Blaster penetrating fluid around the edges of the plug… assuming it does screw into the base, and drilled the two holes deeper to accept plier prongs better, but the plastic plug still won’t turn.
It was an expensive flashlight, seems well built, and was once sold mainly by Home Depot I think, but the manufacturer may not exist anymore. Apparently the inner aluminum threads have swollen enough from corrosion to make the plug immovable?
Some time ago I got a Qbeam 3 C-cell flashlight to keep in our Explorer. It was very rarely used, but the other day I noticed it was on just sitting in its spot in the rear pocket of the driver's seat. It looked like low beam, but the batteries were down only a little. On unscrewing the base I found corrosion just inside the tube and around the base's edge threads, and an apparent thin copper foil boot over the base's spring wasn't green but was in pieces. I cleaned out the corrosion and will treat the corroded areas with DeOxit, but in testing continuity on the base, I find that no matter the switch button position there is continuity between the spring and the base's aluminum threads. With fresh batteries the light will not switch off, and apppears to be stuck on low beam.[br]
[br]
Any idea how to disassemble the base to see if it's repairable? There is a plastic plug in the base, surrounding the spring, with two holes in it such as some devices you can unscrew with snap ring pliers, but I can't get that plug to budge. I’ve tried PB Blaster penetrating fluid around the edges of the plug… assuming it does screw into the base, and drilled the two holes deeper to accept plier prongs better, but the plastic plug still won’t turn.
It was an expensive flashlight, seems well built, and was once sold mainly by Home Depot I think, but the manufacturer may not exist anymore. Apparently the inner aluminum threads have swollen enough from corrosion to make the plug immovable?