Maglight Problems

Since you have already bored 1 1/4" hole, switch to a boring bar and clean it out to the ID of the mag light.
 
i like the bushnell and energiser lights now
 
Have done several AA size Maglites that had batteries leak. Sometimes drilled out the old batteries or punched out with a wooden dowel.
In either case it was a job to clean the inside of the body down to aluminum. A hooked scraper got the last stubborn pieces off. Neutralized with vinegar (batteries are alkaline).
I have much better LED flashlights but cleaned up the Maglites anyways.
 
I finally gave up on Maglites also. virtually every time you drop one the bulb is history. I have a drawer full of parts from the AA size if anyone wants them. Have gone to the 3xAAA LED's and like them much better, although the quality of the electronic circuits does vary from brand to brand. Mike
 
I'm afraid that those old Maglites are now dinosaurs. I let my Techshop membership lapse, so I don't have access to their big lathe anymore. Also, the other members would probably not like to see alkali, manganese dioxide and zinc powder spewed on the carriage and ways. Someone gave me two Maglites with batteries stuck in them. They are AA battery ones. You CANNOT use a dowel to push the batteries out of this model. Although the front cowl unscrews, there is a plastic flange that says "do not remove". If you remove it, there is a fragile socket and the switch spring pops out. You can get a steel rod through the opening but it will be too thin to do anything except punch holes in the top of the battery. The Internet says use penetrating oil. This did not work. It said thread and pull wood screws. This didn't work. Using a large drill didn't work. It just made a mess. A carefully made curved chisel which will peel the case (Duracell's have steel cases) off, but you have to be very careful to incrementally peel the corroded battery case without putting too much stress on the aluminum flashlight tube. I did not have the patience to even remove the first cell. The second one is exponentially tougher. Instead, I used a hacksaw to cut the case in half as near as possible to the head. You don't want to cut it right at the head, since you will need to use an aluminum collar to JB weld it together. It is very difficult to glue the flashlight back together again. If it is just glued back together, it will not conduct current properly from the negative pole of the battery to the lamp. A ring is made of copper wire to fit in the gap. This keeps the JB weld away from the inside. Anything on the inside will hang up the AA cells later on reassembly. They can end up getting stuck again. Glue the flashlight up with a half collar and don't put JB weld on the top or near the gap, lest it dribble down. Put batteries in the flashlight to keep it aligned. After it hardens in a couple of days, get the batteries out. This may be difficult, but it will be much more difficult if there if some of the epoxy dribbles in. Then, use a blob of solder in the gap of the copper ring to seal it. The solder will not stick, because the aluminum barrel will conduct the heat away, but it will improve the contact and fill the gap. Finally, put the top half of the collar on with JB weld. Due to flexing, and inaccuracy, the batteries will not fit. I tried using a homemade flat bladed reamer to fix this, but it doesn't work. These tools must be held firmly, and somehow it was cocking to an angle and raising a burr in the barrel before getting to the tight section. A lathe would have come in handy. A rat tail file will clear the barrel, but it will take hours. Eventually, the batteries will fit. The light works great now. It just has that ugly collar.

Somehow, I did not have the energy to fix the second light. It looks like it is corroded even worse that the first one. Interestingly enough, a cheap Chinese LED flashlight is much brighter with the same 2 AA power source. These Maglites are not really competitive, and neither are my repair skills. At least I succeeded, unlike all these Internet tips that I read.
 
The following reply is for comical pourposes only.
Put a spoonfull of black powder under the rear cap. Hold light in vice(outside). Aim tube away from anythin valuble. Ignite gun powder. Repeate as nessisary.

Sent from somewhere in East Texas Jake Parker
 
Yes, I also think the mag light days are over. But, when choosing a new LED flash light you cannot treat them all as equal in brightness (even if posted the same lumens) and quality. Maybe another thread on LED flash lights would be a good thing?...Dave
 
I tried a little bit on a couple of ruined lights. Not worth the effort. Tossed them. I had even converted them to LED. I liked the conversion ok, but I decided to avoid alkaline batteries in all my devices after that, especially the expensive instruments. It's just not worth it. I now use rechargeable batteries in just about everything. Not that this is any help if you have a corroded battery stuck, but I just didn't want to fool with it again.

Of course, the simple answer is to regularly change the batteries if you use alkaline, or just don't put them in until you are ready to use the item. This naturally is inconvenient for an emergency flashlight, so it gets rechargeable batteries here. Even then, I "cycle" them regularly. This will greatly improve the lifespan, especially of the now old NiCad cells.
 
And lithium batteries are starting to win over the others. More expensive to buy but last much longer so they are competitive in the long run.
See you guys on the 'Show us your LED flashlight' thread that chips is going to start.:)
 
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