Cant get kick to work

[Hectus]

Hi

I got a smoktek kick clone and went to insert it into my nemesis clone, but no matter what i do i cant get any power out. I used a multimeter and measured 0.25 volts out when the kick is installed, 4.1v without the kick.

Doesnt seem to make a diffrence even if i ground it, so i assume the ground/earth aint the problem.

Have i gotten a faulty kick or is it other ways i can try? any way to measure to find out if the kick itself is good?

Thanks for suggestions.

 

[State O' Flux]

I'm not smart enough or have equipment sophisticated enough to test a Kick as a stand alone device. What I can tell you is this...

You won't get a "steady" voltage output reading, without a load. You must have a good ground from side pin to mech body. On many mechs, you need to shim the Kick opposite the ground, so the ground pin "bites" (for lack of a better term) firmly into the mech body. Sand and clean the inside of the tube if you need to.

If it's "engaged" into threads... that can be problematic. On a "friends" (who shall remain nameless) mech, the metal and threading were so sketchy for a good ground - that I finally tack soldered a small piece of copper sheet inside the tube, so the ground pin would have a point of consistent continuity. You can measure with a DMM from the ground pin (side) to the outer mech body for continuity.

Or... they can be junk right from the box. Of the 6 Smok Kicks I've worked with, I could not get one to function, at all.
I've never had a (major) problem with an evolv Kick... if that tells you anything. ;-)

 

[Hectus]

Thanks for ur answer.

It has a kickring, so it should be fairly easy to setup i thought, but then again.. here i am.
I have done as u suggested, sanded the innertube, put some plastic oposite side of the ground, even sanded the ground and the + poles gently just incase. Still nothing, totally dead.

I have also tried to use the pins on the multimeter, on the + and on the ground itself on the kick, it reads the same as on the mod tube itself, can i assume i have ground then?

By the way this is the 2nd mod i have tried it in, the other one the kick ground hit the threads, so i assimed that was the problem and gave up until i got the nemesis clone today and i think i will give up again and see if i can get a replacement kick.

Will it fire at all without a load? i attached a working gennie now on the last attempt, but still nothing.

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

On the inside of the tube where the ground pin/spring goes, is it metal on metal (aka good ground) or is the inside painted?

The kick in order to operate MUST have a good ground to the metallic body of the device or it won't work (it also might need to be "shimmed" to ensure positive contact with the side, take a business card and use it on the opposite side of the spring to ensure it's pressed up good metal on metal contact for proper ground)

If it is grounded and still not working...might be a bad unit
try rotating the potentiometer thru its full range then set right down the middle and see if that helps

 

[State O' Flux]

Sounds like you might have a bad one. After you've tried reasonable methods to get it working, there's not much in the way of user friendly, repairable components. ;-)

I'd say you've done what you can do... and it's dead.

 

[Hectus]

Thanks again for ur answers.

Its metal on metal, inside and out, i also shimmed it to get better contact, but still no go. I also turned the potmeter in every direction, including middle, multimeter reads 0.25volts as soon as i press the mods switch, no matter where the potmeter is turned.

I sent them a request for a refund or replacement, so hopefully i will have better luck with that.

 

[State O' Flux]

Not to sound snooty... but the evolv (and Crown) VW regulators are far more consistent in quality - IMO. Yes, they cost 3-4 times as much, but they have proven to be very reliable, and their manufacturers provide very good CS if something does go amiss.

Good luck getting a replacement Smok... hope it works better than it's predecessor. ;-)

 

[Krizzell]

This sometimes happens make sure the little pin makes contact with the side wall of the tube sometime it doesn't .I put a small piece of a matchbook or thin plastic on the opposite side of the pin to push it over tight,and bang it works.

 

[crxess]

There is no magic. They either work or not. Biggest problem is ground contact and a good battery to drive everything.

If you have both, the kick is probably defective. It happens, even with Evolv.

I have a pair of Sigelei-K and both work flawlessly.

Oh yea, Evolv now has original kicks for $19 while supplies last.

 

[Krizzell]

If the pin does not make solid contact with the tube it doesn't work.

 

[Thrasher]

You cannot test a kick without an atty load present. it will see the probes of the MM as zero resistance=shorted coil. remember it is trying to adjust the power to the resistance of the coil. if it thinks the coil is below the minimum it will not fire.