OrcaTorch D550 problem

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Zef

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Anyone else have any issues with their OrcaTorch D550?

Mine died without any apparent cause.

It worked perfectly on a night dive I did last week and then 2 days later no joy...the battery is fully charged, I have tried other batteries as well. The magnetic switch is not loose, and there is no sign of water intrusion in the body of the torch.

I have only had the torch since August and have only used it a few times as I have a different torch as my primary.

Anyone have any idea why it would just conk out?
Anyone else have this experience?

I contacted OrcaTorch and they traced the serial number to a vendor.....I received this as a gift....the vendor is sending me a replacement torch from their location in China...so I am happy that it is being covered under warranty, and I will be even happier when the replacement arrives.

Other than my questions above, I have been looking at the OrcaTorch canister lights....but I am skeptical about investing my cash in torches that quit for no apparent reason. Anyone have any thoughts?

-Z
 
I have never used the 550.

I have the d500+, and have been using it for a little over a year on shallower dives. I have been very pleased with it. The only thing I have run into is that it does not like flat top batteries.

Sorry to hear that you had troubles, but am pleased that they are making it right.

I have been seriously considering the d630, but have not pulled the trigger yet.

DW
 
I have been diving the hell out of my D630, down to 200’ and it is a lot better as a tech light than the 620, which I loved.

There have been some odd issues here and there with Orca lights but AFAIK they have been super with quick warranty replacements.
 
My buddy and I bought 2 D630’s.
I had an issues with mine turning off. Dealer replaced it. I won’t be able to dive it for a couple of weeks.
My buddy has not had any issues with his and will be diving it Saturday for a week, I’ll get him to keep me posted of any issues.
 
Any ideas on what might have gone wonky with my torch for it to pass a quick op-check when packing my gear in the morning only for it to be DOA when I arrived home after the dive? The torch stayed in the car last Sunday as the conditions did not warrant carrying a backup. Just wondering so I can better understand what killed it so I can avoid it happening again.

-Z
 
Does it have the battery with the micro USB charger socket? I have had one of those die. It looks like the torch is dead but swapping batteries about proved otherwise.
 
Does it have the battery with the micro USB charger socket? I have had one of those die. It looks like the torch is dead but swapping batteries about proved otherwise.

No, it came with a single normal (no special attachments/ports)18650 battery grey with red/orange OrcaTorch logo. My multi-meter indicates the battery has a charge of just over 4 volts and i have tried other fully charged 18650 batteries as well.

-Z
 
Any ideas on what might have gone wonky with my torch for it to pass a quick op-check when packing my gear in the morning only for it to be DOA when I arrived home after the dive? The torch stayed in the car last Sunday as the conditions did not warrant carrying a backup. Just wondering so I can better understand what killed it so I can avoid it happening again.

-Z
Maybe there is a phantom draw. The circuit might be using current even though the torch is off. Try charging the battery fully. Leave it out of the torch for a period of time to confirm the battery is holding its charge. Install the battery then wait the period of time and then test.
Just a thought
 
Maybe there is a phantom draw. The circuit might be using current even though the torch is off. Try charging the battery fully. Leave it out of the torch for a period of time to confirm the battery is holding its charge. Install the battery then wait the period of time and then test.
Just a thought

Done....still dead. I took the battery out on Sunday night, put it on the charger to ensure it was fully charged. Checked the voltage before putting it back in on Monday night....same problem. I had a bad 18650 cell from a pair for another torch I have in my arsenal that would show a full charge and then have a voltage drop when a load was placed on the batteries (turning a torch on)....I thought this might be the culprit but it was not....tested the torch with other known good batteries, still dead, I also put the orcatorch battery in another torch to check if it suffered from voltage drop indicating a bad battery and it does not.

The led emitter looks in perfect shape. The contacts inside the torch head are clean. The ring that holds the magnetic switch in the tail is properly tight. I thought perhaps there might be a problem with the magnet in the switch and removed the ring and magnet and tried with a couple of different magnets of differing strengths...no joy.

When I receive the replacement, I will attempt to disassemble the defective torch further to see what magic it holds inside, but as it stands the only parts that I can non-destructively take apart are removing the head of the torch from the body, and removing the magnetic switch which is just a threaded ring, spring and button with magnet.

I am mystified.

It could just be quality control issue of the emitter or the actual switch that the magnet activates in the tail. I am glad that OrcaTorch (via their vendor) is taking care of this but it would be better if the various issues folks have had (including my issue) did not happen in the first place.

I have not received the shipping/tracking number for the replacement yet but keeping my fingers crossed I get that info before the end of the week.

-Z
 
Maybe the replacement of your defective light with a new light without return of the defective unit indirectly indicates that the company finds this failure occurs at an acceptable rate to them. I’m going to guess that there are only a few factories that make such lights and that there is q/c in the form of tiered tolerances, so that the best units are supplied at a higher price to certain name brands and the lesser units go to xxxxfire. Maybe your unit was pulled out the wrong bin before labeling.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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