Sola 1200 Photo switch not working

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

cleomagic

Contributor
Messages
190
Reaction score
58
Location
San Jose, CA
# of dives
500 - 999
Apologize for posting this in both the L&M Section and the Lighting Section, but we're hoping there may be some member who has a recommendation faster than L&M can respond.

We have a Sola 1200 Photo. The light does not turn and we've narrowed it down to the switch mounted on the outside of the body. We've verified that all the electronics, battery, and LED module work. We've been able to turn it into all modes when using a magnet. We leave on Sept 19th for Lembeh. Any recommendations for a quick fix? We just don't have time to send it in for repair.
 
You can take this light apart with some care and see if the switch is out of alignment or maybe the magnet on the switch is corroded. Perhaps you can replace it with an appropriate magnet from Amazon or such.

I've replaced the batteries in a Sola 1200 before so I know it can be safely opened and resealed.

Beyond that, I'd suggest buying or borrowing a replacement light. I see some used sola 1200's on ebay for under $200. FYI you can buy a replacement battery for under $25 and replace it with some light soldering.
 
if you have time, maybe consider calling L&M? they may be able to work something out for you, although it may involve driving down to seaside
 
After further disassembling the switch we've determined that the magnet is completely corroded. 5mm diameter magnets are on order from Amazon ... should be here on Sunday. (We did move all of the internals to another Sola 1200 body and they worked perfectly which is how we know that it is the switch.)

The owner of our local dive shop offered to swing by L&M on Monday to see if he could get this resolved through them. The only issue would be whether he could get the light back to us by Wednesday night (L&M dependent). Now that we have a better idea of exactly what the problem is and a good line on how to repair (at least for now), we will likely not pursue this option at this time.

Will post more on Sunday as to how effective our repair is.
 
Magnets have arrived from Amazon and the Sola switch is repaired. We removed the Light and Motion magnet (and plastic sleeve) and replaced it with several 5mm x 1mm magnets.

We ordered 5mm x 1mm magnets from Amazon as we weren't sure what the correct max depth would be. 5mm in diameter was perfect and we probably used about 4 or 5 magnets. 1mm is really short and there were 150 in the package so we didn't really count. We basically pushed the magnets into the hole until they bottomed out and then slid off all the extra magnets and reassembled. Next up the salt-water and depth test in about a week:).

The repair was inexpensive enough that if the magnets don't last, we have plenty of replacements available.
 
this is a great example of why it's a good idea to test all your kit at least 10 days before a trip so you can sort out any issues before your trip takes a big hit. thanks for posting all of the follow ups as well. this may save someone else's trip in the future :)
 
Agreed on checking all the gear in advance. These were the last items on our list to charge/check. Next trip, they'll be first! (We did have Amazon Prime in our hip pocket and could have gotten a new light on Tuesday if we ordered tonight as our favorite local dive shop didn't have one in stock.) The $8 worth of magnets save used a few bucks!

We've also added some spare magnets to our Save-a-trip kit.
 
That's awesome! So cool that you were able to DIY it! I've seen a few of these magnetic switches fail due to corrosion of the magnets. I wonder if you can seal the new magnets with something like a bit of epoxy to delay a repeat of the problem?
 
Magnets have arrived from Amazon and the Sola switch is repaired. We removed the Light and Motion magnet (and plastic sleeve) and replaced it with several 5mm x 1mm magnets.

We ordered 5mm x 1mm magnets from Amazon as we weren't sure what the correct max depth would be. 5mm in diameter was perfect and we probably used about 4 or 5 magnets. 1mm is really short and there were 150 in the package so we didn't really count. We basically pushed the magnets into the hole until they bottomed out and then slid off all the extra magnets and reassembled. Next up the salt-water and depth test in about a week:).

The repair was inexpensive enough that if the magnets don't last, we have plenty of replacements available.

Hi how did you remove the rusted magnets from the plastic sleeve?
 
I removed the switch assembly (insert into the housing) with a T9 Torx bit. Remove the screw and slight the on/off switch towards the back, the front should tip up a bit and you should be able to remove this piece towards the back.

For one of the lights, I was able to pry the batteries out with a small screwdriver, for the other I pried off the gray center of the switch with a jewelers screwdriver. This was actually much easier I was then able to push out the magnets (or what was left of them) from the top and out the bottom.

I then put the gray plastic back in, and and pushed the magnets in from from the bottom until the cavity was full. I never tried to remove the magnet bits from the sleeve as the new 5mm magnets fit in perfectly tight. I also did not attempt to seal them.

Note: Be careful with the springs that keep the switch centered. These can be a pain to put back together in the right location (but it is doable).

I'm attaching a couple of pics. The first is the switch assembly removed from the Sola. The second shows the new magnets installed into the housing. It didn't seem to matter which side of the magnet went in first so long as they all went in the same way. (I don't have a picture with the gray portion out.)

20191207_223601.jpg
20191207_223508.jpg
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

Back
Top Bottom