my UK light cannon wont light up

[barb]

... I went for 2 dives yesterday. The light worked well on the first dive but would'nt light up on the 2nd one.
2 weeks ago I went diving for the weekend and it was almost the same thing .... some dives it worked and other dives it did'nt.

I'm really frustrated with this light. I love it when it works but it seems to have a mind of it's own.... inconsistent

I changed the batteries and now it's working again.
So now I feel like a bozo - why did'nt I check the batteries in the first place.
I still find it odd though that the light worked on the first dive (with no obvious dimming of the light) and just would'nt start on the 2nd dive. Is this the nature of a HID light .... it either lights or does'nt??
Also, if anyone knows anything about storage.... is it better to store the light with the batteries in or batteries out???
Barb

 

[Rev. Blade]

barb once bubbled...
Also, if anyone knows anything about storage.... is it better to store the light with the batteries in or batteries out???
Barb

If the batteries sit for a very long time, they can leak acid, but that's not a common problem unless you put non-recargable batteries in a charger. (Some battery charger companies sell chargers to recharge alkaline batteries, but I've fouled a few lights with non-rechargable batteries that I've recharged. Sometimes trying to be "cheap" doesn't work out so well.)

When you travel with your Light Cannon, be sure to have batteries in it! Otherwise you will damage the bulb. They didn't include a set of batteries just so you could light it as soon as you pulled it out of the box. The instructions for the light (yes, I actually read the instructions after I had the light for a while) caution that the batteries should be in the light when it is transported.

 

[barb]

I read the instructions also - hoping to find out why I was having a problem.
It said that if you ship without batteries, wrap the bulb/module separately to protect it. I guess I am cheap - I did'nt want to pay for shipping 8 batteries. I already felt it was unfair that I had to pay for shipping of a defective lamp. That's what happens when you don't buy locally.

I'm not complaining really, I like the light (when it works). At the time it seemed a good deal to me.

 

[Rev. Blade]

barb once bubbled... (edited)
The instructions also said that if you ship without batteries, wrap the bulb/module separately to protect it. I guess I am cheap - I didn't want to pay for shipping 8 batteries. I already felt it was unfair that I had to pay for shipping of a defective lamp.

I wish I had not paid shipping for 8 batteries. I tend toward the cheap side when I can.

I'm not completely convinced that I love my Canon yet. It's bright. They fixed it when it stopped working. It has not leaked yet. On the other hand, it had to be fixed, because it stopped working. My only night dive to date was done with a AA Tec 20 light, and a 3 L.E.D. light as a back up... (well there was also a full moon, and great vis... so the lights mainly dangled from clips) because my Canon failed on a day dive on a wreck.

It may be quite a while before I trust a light that people consider fragile. I have a few posts in this string... http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=260601#post260601

Even though I'm not the Canon's biggest fan, I'd say it offers the best bang-for-the-buck... if you're careful not to let it bang into anything.

 

[Lead_carrier]

wackodacko once bubbled...
, or should I get it checked at my LDS and pay something? i bought the light online.

.....

i called a couple shops in the area. One said they would send it to UK, but i'd have to pay. what the!?!? so I called another one, and they said theyll take a look at it, and if they hafta send it back UK will probably pay. I called UK and they said if they will give the LDS $ for shipping so i'm not supposed to pay anything. I didn't buy my light at any of the LDSs..

Ship it back to whoever sold it to you. Surely they will stand behind their sales. I thought Leisure Pro and DiveInn warranted everything they sell better than the mfgs original.

 

[joed]

In my opinion, ship it to the manufacturer for repair. I have done that several times with my Oceanic light. It usually performs for 2 seasons and dies. They always fix it, they find something that I never would have. It always costs too much to repair but when I have it in the water it lights up the place and I love it. I could have bought many lights for what my repair bills add up to but when my light is 100% you can't beat it. I tell Oceanic, I get my own bulbs and batteries. They would charge like 40.00 for a bulb which I end up getting at a local place for 12.00. They also charged me like 75.00-100.00 for a rechargable battery and after many years of looking I found it at a local battery place for 12.00.

 

[Travisc]

UK will take care of you on, I have been very happy with their customer service.

Travis

 

[Big-t-2538]

I believe that some of the problems with the light cannon lie in the fact that the batteries have to have a total of 10v in them. Thus for 8 batteries, that is 1.25v per battery....not very much life in and of its own.

As I understand it that light cannon has a ballast in it that needs a minimum of 10v to light....this is why the rechargable pack for that light is a nice addition. 0.25v per battery is not very much of a drain. My dive buddy has a light cannon....he had used it on 4 dives before the light didn't strike. Then it did this on again off again thing.

You might want to consider getting the rechargable pack

 

[illumiGeek]

HID lamps require a series of high voltage pulses to "strike" them (start them) and this start-up pulls a lot more current (Amps) than steady light output does. Unfortunately Alakline batteries are great a producing voltage, but not so great a producing current. This is why a Light Cannon will burn brightly on somewhat weak batteries, but once you shut it off it will be difficult to restart (or not restart at all).

Rechargable batteries work better. Although they have less voltage, they can produce a LOT more current than Alkalines. So even nearly dead rechargables can still muster up enough Amps to strike the lamp.

And you don't need the expensive UK rechargable pack. Any good quality NiMH battery will work fine. I actually run mine with AA NiMH cells using PVC and Duct tape adapters I made. I get around an hour and a half from 2000mA cells, or a little under 2 hours with 2300s. Of course full size C cells are available in much higher capacities and will give more run time, but for my needs the AA cells are fine (and less weight is always nice).

Aloha, Tim

 

[Tavi]

I had problems with mine. Then I learned that it prefers Duracell Batteries. Shortly after that (less than 10 dives) it died. We tried swapping bulbs, no luck.

Since I had puchased it from my LDS, they sent it to UK who replaced the ballast and sent it back at no cost to me. It's been working fine ever since. However I wanted a more trustworthy light so I bought a 21w HID cannister light I leave the Light Cannon for my wife and son to use.