can a mag light be worked over

[wgr]

got two that have bult up all oner the battary compartment

[cwtebay]

got two that have bult uu all oner the battary compartmentNot sure what you are asking?

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[Winger Ed.]

You can repair them pretty easily,,,, unless you need a new switch.
Then it gets complicated.

With the new generation rechargeable flashlights, they're sort of becoming obsolete.

[M-Tecs]

LED conversion here https://www.amazon.com/s?k=maglite+replacement+led&adgrpid=1342504264681211&hvadid=83906755312558&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=109337&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83906871265143%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=8460_13498597&tag=mh0b-20&ref=pd_sl_9fz9gs3a8n_e

[firefly1957]

I have 3 old 5 cell maglites some have other names one says Prolight I had rebuilt them several times and looked at the L.E.D. bulb but decided against it as it was not bright enough and to get bright enough a better heat sink needs to be added .
For Years I ran those old 5 cell lights with a 4 cell Kypton bulb and thought the was bright until the L.E.D. lights came out now they outperform some of the older Q Beam lights !

[dale2242]

The new LED flashlights are much lighter and brighter than my old Mag Lights.
The Mag Lights are now obsolete as far as I'm concerned.
IMO, they were the best in their day.

[DougGuy]

Eveready replaced two of my mini mag lites and Duracell sent me a $10 check for damage to a third one caused by their batteries. File a claim with the battery maker. Here is where it pays to buy a US name brand battery.

[jdfoxinc]

Save the bodies and end caps. You may need a DIY suppressor some day

[steve urquell]

I changed my 3 D-cell over to LED years back and it was a dim disappointment. The 200 lumen advertisement is not accurate at all. Keep in mind you have 1 LED vs even a cheapo Harbor Freight $1 light having a dozen.

Ultimately I retired all 6 of my old Mag-Lites because the cost of D-cell batteries for 1 light is greater than the cost of an entire new LED flashlight that is 100X brighter and uses cheaper AA batteries.

Sadly it is time to move on from them. All of my battery powered tools are 18V Ryobi and I have 2 flashlights that use those batteries. They put the brightest Mag-Lite to shame and the batteries are rechargeable.

[PhilC]

Worthy to convert the AA minis, did both of mine, huge improvement in lumen output with reduced battery drain. Left the C & D versions as is.

[20:1]

got two that have bult uu all oner the battary compartment

I too am uncertain what you are asking for, but if you're looking for high quality upgrades you should check out Malkoff at https://malkoffdevices.com/collections/maglite-drop-ins-and-accessories
Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?

[blackthorn]

Not relevant to the OP question but last year I was going through an old tool box and found 2 Energizer "D" cells in a package that had a use before date in 1992. Put them in an old flashlight and they are still going strong!

[Bazoo]

Not relevant to the OP question but last year I was going through an old tool box and found 2 Energizer "D" cells in a package that had a use before date in 1992. Put them in an old flashlight and they are still going strong!

That's awesome, thanks for sharing.

[Bazoo]

I use a Maglite 3D and a Mini AA. They are good lights, but they are old school. I primarily use a Streamlight Stylus Pro that I carry in my back pocket next to my wallet.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

they can not be rebuilt if they have been "bult uu all oner "

[steve urquell]

they can not be rebuilt if they have been "bult uu all oner "

Ha,ha! I figured he meant the batteries dumped their acid which is usually the case with mag-lites.

[jdgabbard]

It's been brought up before. There was even a thread a while back about this very same topic. The real question is: Why bother?

Sure you can get LED conversions, and if you're decently smart with electronics you can wire up a LiPo batter/charging circuit for it. But again, why bother? You can buy a quality LED light for almost nothing these days, lights that will last for decades. The Maglite has been outdated for over 20 years. Seriously! I have a Surefire Weaponlight I picked up in the early days of the Afghan war that I changed out the bulb for a $5 LED bulb, and CR123A batteries for a single $3 LiPo 18650 rechargeable, and it's 10x brighter than my last Maglite ever was. And that Surefire is far more durable than that Maglite could ever think about being.

To answer the question directly, yes you can repair and upgrade the light. But I point back to my previous question: Why bother?

[georgerkahn]

It's been brought up before. There was even a thread a while back about this very same topic. The real question is: Why bother?

Sure you can get LED conversions, and if you're decently smart with electronics you can wire up a LiPo batter/charging circuit for it. But again, why bother? You can buy a quality LED light for almost nothing these days, lights that will last for decades. The Maglite has been outdated for over 20 years. Seriously! I have a Surefire Weaponlight I picked up in the early days of the Afghan war that I changed out the bulb for a $5 LED bulb, and CR123A batteries for a single $3 LiPo 18650 rechargeable, and it's 10x brighter than my last Maglite ever was. And that Surefire is far more durable than that Maglite could ever think about being.

To answer the question directly, yes you can repair and upgrade the light. But I point back to my previous question: Why bother?

Why bother? A very close buddy was a LEO, and he often said he'd never go out on a call without his 6- or 8- (?) D-cell mag-lite flashlight -- even in mid-afternoon on a bright, sunny day :). With all the paperwork, etc., following, say, an arrest, there was none for using your flashlight. :) :) :)

[20:1]

It's been brought up before. There was even a thread a while back about this very same topic. The real question is: Why bother?

Sure you can get LED conversions, and if you're decently smart with electronics you can wire up a LiPo batter/charging circuit for it. But again, why bother? You can buy a quality LED light for almost nothing these days, lights that will last for decades. The Maglite has been outdated for over 20 years. Seriously! I have a Surefire Weaponlight I picked up in the early days of the Afghan war that I changed out the bulb for a $5 LED bulb, and CR123A batteries for a single $3 LiPo 18650 rechargeable, and it's 10x brighter than my last Maglite ever was. And that Surefire is far more durable than that Maglite could ever think about being.

To answer the question directly, yes you can repair and upgrade the light. But I point back to my previous question: Why bother?

The resulting flashlight is far superior to most of the sub-$200.00 flashlights on the market. I have three 3 cell Maglights to upgrade as funds permit.

[jdgabbard]

Why bother? A very close buddy was a LEO, and he often said he'd never go out on a call without his 6- or 8- (?) D-cell mag-lite flashlight -- even in mid-afternoon on a bright, sunny day :). With all the paperwork, etc., following, say, an arrest, there was none for using your flashlight. :) :) :)

Yeah, that might have been the case Pre-Rodney King. But that is most definitely not the case in the last 30 years. Use of force includes non-lethal.

Besides, there are better tools for that use today.

[MT Gianni]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0UJFTI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You can't beat 6 flashlights for $19 that take a single aa battery and have a 10 hour run life on the battery.

[higgins]

After wrestling with corroded batteries over the years I only recently discovered that there is a snap ring behind the head assembly that can be removed and give a clear path to drive out the corroded batteries and clean the tube. The switch also needs to be removed before knocking the batteries out - see YouTube. Several years ago I converted two maglites to led with led bulbs from Amazon, and was very pleased with them. Very bright and provides more light when the batteries lose some power. The bulbs I used are no longer available, but they still carry conversion bulbs; I wouldn't recommend getting the cheapest ones you can find.

[gwpercle]

I'm keeping my big old obsolete 3 D-Cell Mega-Mag Lites ... I consider them unregistered weapons ...
I can knock a man out with one ... try defending yourself with a Mini-LED powered by two AA batteries ... couldn't knock out a chipmunk with one of those .
Don't need no permit to carry it ... open or concealed ... yes sir ... it's a great weapon !
Gary

[kenton]

I'm keeping my big old obsolete 3 D-Cell Mega-Mag Lites ... I consider them unregistered weapons ...
I can knock a man out with one ... try defending yourself with a Mini-LED powered by two AA batteries ... couldn't knock out a chipmunk with one of those .
Don't need no permit to carry it ... open or concealed ... yes sir ... it's a great weapon !
Gary

A straight claw hammer is a great weapon too.

Plus you can carry a brighter 2 AA flash light and still can have a utility hammer for the same weight

[steve urquell]

A straight claw hammer is a great weapon too.

Plus you can carry a brighter 2 AA flash light and still can have a utility hammer for the same weight

Same with an extension baton. Comes with a holster and extends to 2ft long.

323105

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

about 10 years ago, when we had some GB LED flashlights here, I put all my heavy mag lights on the gunshow table. 2 cell, 3 cell, and a few 6 cell units. They all sold in one weekend. The bigger LED flashlight I got on GB is brighter than I will ever need.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Same with an extension baton. Comes with a holster and extends to 2ft long.

323105

The sweet thing about the expandable baton (ASP) is with the proper non-lethal training, you can inflict pain and leave no marks...of course some druggies brains don't register pain.

[dtknowles]

I'm keeping my big old obsolete 3 D-Cell Mega-Mag Lites ... I consider them unregistered weapons ...
I can knock a man out with one ... try defending yourself with a Mini-LED powered by two AA batteries ... couldn't knock out a chipmunk with one of those .
Don't need no permit to carry it ... open or concealed ... yes sir ... it's a great weapon !
Gary

A lithium rechargeable LED flashlight the size and weight of one of those old Maglite's could have a beam powerful enough to I don't know, start a fire or permanently blind someone and would still be an awesome cudgel. Business oppertunity.

Tim

[jsizemore]

I did the LED conversion for my 2 D cell MAGLITE. Stays put in the front or back pocket with the battery end down. When drawn with the lens bell against the heel of my hand, my ring finger turns it on and off. 4" of the battery compartment sticks out pass my index finger. Enough to detour a critter with 2 or more legs. Batteries seem to last a very long time with the LED.

[charlie b]

Question. Many of the LED flashlight I've bought have a flash setting. Has anyone really tried this to see if it works as advertised? Disorientation and such.

I retired (gave to Goodwill) all of my old maglights.

I even used two of the cheap LED flashlights (single LED chip) on my motorcycle as aux lights. They put out more light than the sealed halogen headlight.

[20:1]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0UJFTI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You can't beat 6 flashlights for $19 that take a single aa battery and have a 10 hour run life on the battery.

And honestly, if that fills your needs to your satisfaction, then by all means buy the three dollar flashlight.

[20:1]

I'm keeping my big old obsolete 3 D-Cell Mega-Mag Lites ... I consider them unregistered weapons ...
I can knock a man out with one ... try defending yourself with a Mini-LED powered by two AA batteries ... couldn't knock out a chipmunk with one of those .
Don't need no permit to carry it ... open or concealed ... yes sir ... it's a great weapon !
Gary

Truth! All I had was a flashlight!!!

[jdgabbard]

Every time I see a post with comments like some of these, I can't help but think how it reminds me of people who ask about carrying Single Actions as a self defense tool, think that racking a shotgun is the end all be all greatest deterrence to a home invasion, or that Mercurochrome was a the best antiseptic.

Single actions are terrible as self defense tools in the modern age, a shotgun can be an effective tool but the sound it makes isn't going to scare people off, we stopped using Mercurochrome because we simply have much better antiseptics today than Mercurochrome ever was, and we stopped issuing Maglites to cops for a reason. Tools get better with time, outdated ones and the tactics used with them are abandoned for a reason. You wouldn't catch me choosing a M1 to carry into combat today if I had a choice, even if it was the greatest battle rifle of 1942.

Sure, the maglite can be used as a bludgeon. But that sounds a heck of a lot more like bringing a knife to a gun fight. Oh, you're going to use it as a light with your pistol? Why? We have weaponlights that cost very little, are lighter, are brighter, and can still be carried with a ASP or blade if you're that type of guy. This argument is like digging a trench with a shovel when you have a trackhoe sitting in your driveway. It's not that it can't be done that way, but it can be done better another way...

Getting back on topic, if the OP wants to refurb the light it can be done. I would probably touch it up with some vinegar to clean up any corrosion, then possibly hitting it with steel wool or fine sand paper to clean up the compartment. If wanting to convert to a general purpose light, I would suggest looking on Amazon. You can buy the conversion LEDs for like $15. Whether or not your battery setup will provide enough current to maximize output is a different story. But if you want you can also do a Lithium battery conversion as well.

I still think it's probably a waste of time and resources. There are simply better options out there, I got a fairly cheap flashlight a few years ago that when combined with Lipo batteries and placed in the flood light position will light up the entire neighborhood at night...I'm not exagerating here... Also fits in completely in the pocket. But to each their own...

[jsizemore]

Remove the batteries and the light switch. If it's alkaline battery leak you can clean with vinegar and a toothbrush. Gloves too. Rinse with water and dry completely. Vinegar is cheap. If the corrosion is too extensive just chuck it.

[35 Rem]

The majority of small LED flashlights I've bought have been notorious for eating AAA or AA batteries in just a few months while sitting in the house unused. A lot of switches have also failed. They eventually end up in the garbage. On the other hand, I have a LED Maglite with 3 D cell batteries that puts lots of light and I've never replaced the batteries. It's probably 10 years old. It is as dependable as a pipe wrench.

[HodakaGA]

The new LED flashlights are much lighter and brighter than my old Mag Lights.
The Mag Lights are now obsolete as far as I'm concerned.
IMO, they were the best in their day.

But the new ones don't make the special sound when applied to someone's head.

[dtknowles]

The majority of small LED flashlights I've bought have been notorious for eating AAA or AA batteries in just a few months while sitting in the house unused. A lot of switches have also failed. They eventually end up in the garbage. On the other hand, I have a LED Maglite with 3 D cell batteries that puts lots of light and I've never replaced the batteries. It's probably 10 years old. It is as dependable as a pipe wrench.

I am guessing you don't use it very much. Just have it for just in case. If you need it to work, how long will the 10 year old batteries last? I hope you have a fresh change of batteries on hand.
Tim

[elmacgyver0]

Everything a Maglite always wanted to be.
Even starts fires.323145

[charlie b]

The majority of small LED flashlights I've bought have been notorious for eating AAA or AA batteries in just a few months while sitting in the house unused. A lot of switches have also failed. They eventually end up in the garbage. On the other hand, I have a LED Maglite with 3 D cell batteries that puts lots of light and I've never replaced the batteries. It's probably 10 years old. It is as dependable as a pipe wrench.

I've had the opposite. The only small LED lights that eat batteries are the ones I don't use. Maglites are the same. Problem is because of the size of the Maglites they never got used so all of them had corroded batteries in them. And, yeah, one of them was over 15yrs old.

I just wish I had these things when I was in the Army. What a far cry from the old elbow flashlights.

[Ickisrulz]

If you like the Maglite style, Maglite makes a very powerful ML300L that uses D cell alkaline batteries. It is as bright (1002 lumens) as the other modern rechargeable LED lights. I just got one to keep in my truck and am happy with it. You can use rechargeable batteries if you want with an option to use throw-aways if you cannot do a recharge.

I have a half dozen or so of the old style Maglites that either came with LED bulbs or have a conversion installed. They are no where as bright as the modern flashlights. But most of them are placed in our house or outbuildings to use in the event of a power outage. 600 or 100 lumens is not required for us for this purpose. One just has to make sure to the swap out batteries before they leak or swell (whenever this is).

I like the smaller Surefire lights for carrying when out on a motorcycle or attached to a rifle. They offer lots of power in a small package. They just don't have long battery life.

[wv109323]

My father had one in which the batteries had swelled and stuck in the tube. I tried every solution on the internet. I tried soaking with oil, kroil and atf fluid. I tried heat and time
Drilled a hole in the battery to relive pressure. I tried pounding them out. After ruining the tube I gave up.

[Winger Ed.]

I had a 'D' cell one that the batteries rotted and swelled up.
I ended up putting the biggest screw into the battery I could find and pulled it out with that.

[Recycled bullet]

I keep two streamlight stinger hl flashlights in rotation in or around my toolbox.

[Plate plinker]

Why bother? A very close buddy was a LEO, and he often said he'd never go out on a call without his 6- or 8- (?) D-cell mag-lite flashlight -- even in mid-afternoon on a bright, sunny day :). With all the paperwork, etc., following, say, an arrest, there was none for using your flashlight. :) :) :)

Yep they make a heck of a club. Would be nice to keep the same weight but with modern performance.

[elmacgyver0]

Alkaline batteries can and do leak.
Lithium batteries are a better choice for things you don't check often.

[murf205]

I keep two streamlight stinger hl flashlights in rotation in or around my toolbox.

I used some of these at work before I retired and believe me, they are everything they are cracked up to be. Ever since I had 2 bulbs go kaput while walking out of the woods after hunting in some nights so dark I couldn't see the trail, I never carried a Mag Lite again. Now I use Streamlite head band LED's and there is a spare in my pack!

[jdgabbard]

Everything a Maglite always wanted to be.
Even starts fires.323145

I think that's the same brand that I have that lights up the entire neighborhood at night... Not the same light, but the same brand. I see it has the sliding focus on it. If so it does a very narrow high intensity beam, and a really wide flood type beam. That's an awesome light....I keep it in my glovebox.

[murf205]

My son gave me a Fenix that runs of 12 CR123 batteries and it is a handheld flashlight. Darned near got me put in jail. Game warden thought I was spotlighting deer on the way out of woods. I have one of the huge cyclops 12v lights and it is brighter than that one. We've come a long way baby!

[MUSTANG]

Yep they make a heck of a club. Would be nice to keep the same weight but with modern performance.

A 5 cell Mag Lite resides in the drivers compartment of every vehicle we have for this reason. Travel to States with no Concealed carry Repriprocity - the Mag lites are in the Drivers compartment. Stopped for a "Wellness Check" by LEO's who do not know their constitutional limitations - Oh that lite is in here so if I have a flat or problem on the road I do not have to get it out of the trunk/bed of pickup in the dark. Meanwhile - "Car Jacker" can get a significant wallop if they try our vehicles.

[Petander]

This was a good reminder:

I need to update my two 3xC -battery Maglites to LED.

I LED:ded a long D-size, (maybe six batteries?) about 15 years ago and like the solid mechanical construction and battery life with LED. A big plus for me is,those big long obsolete Maglites are difficult to lose. Beam is not perfect (an empty spot in the middle with wide beam setting) but bright and good enough with the original reflector.

I'd say Maglites have all been very reliable.

[rockrat]

Wal Mart use to carry a led flashlight that was about the size of the "tire thumpers" the truckers use. Bright little sucker and would work fine for a "thumper". Too bad they stopped carrying them

Just picked up a couple of led lights in the sporting goods section of WM. They are 475 lumen and were $6.50 on clearance

[scattershot]

I carried a 3 D cell Mag Light as a firefighter. Good light, but that was some time ago, and there are better lights on the market now. I’ll have to say, though, it was pretty comforting on more than one occasion.

[35 Rem]

Everyone seems to only own Mag Lites that are not LED? Am I the only person that owns a Mag
Lite that was built new with an LED? It uses 3 D cells and they last and last. Puts out lots of light and the switch is very durable. Nothing negative about it that I can see except that it's big and that can be a plus if you want it to be as has already been discussed.

[thump_rrr]

The new LED flashlights are much lighter and brighter than my old Mag Lights.
The Mag Lights are now obsolete as far as I'm concerned.
IMO, they were the best in their day.

Wrong.

Nothing says Hello like a crack over the noggin with a 6D Maglight.
You ever wonder why the cops always held the flashlight near the head with the rest of the flashlight over their shoulder?
It's so they could quickly crack you with it.

[T-Bird]

I converted my '70's mag lights with the Malkoff bulbs mentioned earlier, they are great, VERY bright and the mag lights are the earlier, tougher models. They are indestructable.