New Kick in P+, occasional failure to fire

[epetrillo]

Just got a brand new Kick for my P+ 18650. Love the way it works for me but I'm having occasional failures to fire. It seems to fire more consistently if I snap the button in briskly. Also works better if I push the button off to one side rather than if I push in the center or on the other side. I have tried cleaning the contact surfaces of the Kick with a pencil erasure but that's it so far. I am using the AW IMR 18490 battery with one of the fat O-rings and two washers. Top cap goes on with no noticeable resistance, like it's not even touching the top of the Kick. Button throw is a little longer than I was getting with a single washer and a AW P18650 before the Kick. The Kick and battery do not seem to be sliding around in the tube. Any ideas what I should try next?

 

[Bigmike228]

To ensure contact with the neg spring on the kick when using it in my silver bullet I put a piece of folded business card on the opposite side of the spring. It always works perfect in my P+ though. Try it and let us know?

 

[snork]

I have tried everything under the sun to make the Kick and my PrecisePluses perform better together and I've pretty much given up. Not a knock on either device, I just don't think they were meant for each other. I'll keep my eye out for further developments but until then I'm loving my P+ old school.

 

[forcedfuel50]

The ground on the Kick is extremely sensitive. What i have had to do is clean the top and bottom of the kick and the ground spring and then "rough" up the grounding surface on the inside wall of the unit. I then apply a dab of noalox to all three surfaces. The Kicks contacts are not plated and start to oxidize quickly and with it being so sensitive in needing a good ground, it's tricky.

Also, you may want to try adjusting your oring setup and washer setup on the switch and battery. What washer and oring combination are you currently running?

 

[epetrillo]

Also, you may want to try adjusting your oring setup and washer setup on the switch and battery. What washer and oring combination are you currently running?

I am using 1 large o-ring and two washers with an AW IMR 18490 battery.

 

[forcedfuel50]

Sounds like you could switch to two thin orings (.140 total thickness) as you currently are running one Thick orings (which gives you about .100 total thickness). Also run three washers on the switch post and it will shorten the throw. I've noticed Kicks can vary a bit in length from Kick to Kick, so you have to fine tune.

 

[epetrillo]

Thanks I will give that a try.

 

[atavanhalen]

I have tried everything under the sun to make the Kick and my PrecisePluses perform better together and I've pretty much given up. Not a knock on either device, I just don't think they were meant for each other. I'll keep my eye out for further developments but until then I'm loving my P+ old school.

Yup, same here, and with the quirks with using it, and the 10 watt max I feel like an 18350imr performs better for me anyway. Actually if you use a 1.5ohm atty with the imr batt you are actually above ten watts all the way down to 3.9 and close to ten watts at 3.8. Also, with the rhodium contacts we know the hit is very consistent anyway. Not to say there is not a spot for the kick, I am sure there are lots of people that enjoy utilizing the lower end of the watt control but it just wasnt worth the trouble for me personally.

 

[epetrillo]

After fiddling with it all day I can't say I've made any improvement. I will pickup some Noalox for the Kicks contacts and emery cloth to rough up the inside of my P+ tomorrow.

 

[forcedfuel50]

Yes, definitely put the noalox on all the kick contacts and a bit where the kicks side ground contacts the body, it helps.

Also, make sure the PrecisePlus bottom switch contact is tight. I get a few units in for reconditioning where its only finger tight! I make the grooves in it deep enough for a screwdriver for a purpose

 

[epetrillo]

I have found two things that seem to have eliminated my misfires, for now. Going back to 1 fat o-ring and 1 washer helped a lot. 1 washer makes for a very long throw on the button which is a little awkward at first but it did help. the other thing I found is that the clear shrink wrap around the kick is broken just over the top of the "side contact spring". In pictures I have seen of the Kick this shrink wrap is complete in that area with a hole in it where the spring is. This allows the spring to only move in a horizontal direction (in and out). On mine the wrap is broken in the area just above the spring allowing the spring to deflect slightly upward as the kick slides down the tube of my P+. Carefully pushing the spring down into the horizontal position once the kick is in place seems to do the trick.

 

[BuzzKilla]

I've found same issues with misfiring...
what i have concluded was that the button it'self was dirty. oil and dirt from your hands and what not.
i take apart the button once in a while and clean the components with soapy water, then dry them and reassemble.
I find a lot of build up inside the "button Shield" and even after just wiping it down with tissue paper, the misfire goes away.

I'm assuming that the Kicks circuits are just that sensitive.


Hope this helps for a few of you

 

[snork]

Yes, a squeaky clean button assembly helps tremendously but I can't be .... enough about it to make it worth it to me.
On a related note, someone suggested putting a little Noalox around the upper portion of the button (not the end with the contact, just around inside the horns). I tried it, in my case that made misfiring worse.

 

[BuzzKilla]

On a related note, someone suggested putting a little Noalox around the upper portion of the button (not the end with the contact, just around inside the horns). I tried it, in my case that made misfiring worse.

I tried this once... And it gave me a very undesirable sticky button effect...
Felt like i jammed molasses into my precise.

 

[epetrillo]

I have also found that misfiring increases greatly during the last third of a battery's useful charge. Swapping in a freshly charged battery reduces or eliminates misfires for me.