Surefire G2X Tactical trouble

Battery and cold temperature is not a good combination. When I was a photographer working in cold weather (thank god rarely), we keep battery pack under our clothes with a wire running to the equipments. You might look in to the same set up.


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As another LEO, (former life) you need to run regular CR123s and see if it performs better.

I’ve never had an issue with any of my Surefires. BUT I only use CR123s so I don’t have to worry about them when in storage in different vehicles and bags and gear.

They are great lights, that said also be sure the rear edge of the body is clean before you install the tail cap.

 

I read somewhere that the Surefire G2X isn't supposed to run with rechargeable batteries of the RCR123A or 16340 type due to the light's working voltage being somewhere around 6V or slightly more, so basically you can only use two 3V non-rechargeable CR123As (most rechargeables of CR123A size are 3.7V). Also, Surefire warranty is quite particular about only using US-made batteries. This is why I rarely use my G2X LE anymore. It has worked well thus far but I've since switched to lights that are purpose-built to run rechargeables. No idea if that's what's causing the problems you're experiencing, it's just a guess. I bought a Surefire because of their reputation for reliability and durability, I'd be very disappointed if they weren't any better than Chinese lights.

 

Sounds like a battery issue, I never had that kind of trouble with regular CR123 in surefires (In sweden).

 

I would, most definitely, not use any kind of rechargeable batteries, other than LiFePO4 (lithium phosphate), in your G2X. Those are the only rechargeable batteries that may be safe to use effectively in your G2X Tactical, albeit it at the risk of voiding the warranty.



Here is a picture I just took (not my greatest picture, but hopefully it illustrates the point).

I used to own several lights that were for use only with disposable (primary) CR123 lithium batteries (as pictured on the far left). I only bought Surefire CR123s, and that got very expensive, and very old, quickly; so I started to research a viable alternative, and I ended up trying out these Tenergy RCR123 LifePO batteries, instead.

They worked fine in some lights and terribly in others (the low modes didn't work properly in some of my 1 and 2-CR123 Fenix lights. I ended up doing away with any lights that didn't support the use of these batteries, because I was finished with spending a fortune on overpriced disposable CR123s, forever.

I now use lights that support 18650 batteries (and some of those support the use of 2 disposable CR123s, in a pinch; but i never use them), and have never looked back. I stopped buying primary C123 batteries, years ago. The one in the picture, on the far left, came with a light that I purchased back in 2015 lol.

Some notes on the picture above:

1. The XTAR CR123 (primary/disposable) is rated at 1400 mAh. I think that's fairly typical (Surefires may have been 1500 mAh. Not really sure). Those should work very well in your G2X, but will get extremely expensive to be constantly replacing, before you know it. These would typically read between 3.0 and 3.1 volts, or so. when new.
   
2. The XTAR RCR123/16340 is a protected, lithium ion battery, rated at 600 mAh. Hot off the charger. they measure in at 4.2 volts. The resting voltage is said to be 3.8 volts. These are way too high in voltage to safely run in a light rated strictly for two disposable CR123s (6 volts, combined. Do not attempt to use these in your G2X, as you will be running the light at more like 7.4 volts - and as many as 8.4.
3. The two batteries on the right are Tenergy LiFePO4 (lithium phosphate) batteries. They're also rechargeable, but are rated at 3.0 volts, but come off the charger at closer to 3.5, resting at approximately 3.2 volts. These actually work in some lights that usually only use disposable CR123s; but not in all. They are rated at 400 mAh, so run times would be greatly sacrificed, in a high use light.

Rechargeable batteries like those above (assuming they even work, at all) don't always perform very well in really cold temperatures, and because of the far lower capacity, your run times will be greatly sacrificed, compared to using disposable CR123s.

If you're going to use rechargeable batteries in a flashlight, I would strongly urge you to carry the light on your person (holstered, or in a pocket), rather than leaving it in the car, to avoid it being as negatively affected by the cold.

I'm very surprised your G2X is still working, unless you're actually using LiFePO4 batteries in them. If you install typical lithium ion batteries in that light, fully charged, at some point, you will blow up the light. The electronics will be completely fried, and you will completely void the warranty.

Any chance you could take some pictures of the batteries you're using?

 

I’ve used rechargeables in all my SureFire lights including G2X lights for a few years now. I know all RCR123s aren’t the same so I stuck with the Olight rechargeables (3.7v 650mAh) which I was already using and have had good performance. I did ask SureFire support once why they didn’t advise using RCR123s in their lights and why they stopped selling rechargeables and couldn’t get a rear answer so I figured I’d experiment.

Admittedly, I haven’t used them anywhere colder than about 30 degrees.


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Wow, I am surprised your light worked at all. With 2 li-ions, you exceeded the 6V limit of the light. Surefire does not like one to use rechargebles in their lights and I think it voids the warranty, now I can see why.

The other aspect of this, Li-ions tolerate cold weather worse than primary 123s. So this could be another factor.

If you must run rechargeables, an excellent choice is a single 16mm Li-ion cell that's fully charged at 4.2V so you don't exceed it. It very slightly dimmer than 2x123 but gives you an identical runtime and guilt-free lumens. In a normal 6P 17670 would fit but G2x is a tighter fit so you need a 16650 cell for G2x, I run one and it's nice. I do not really see a reduction in lumens.

This is what you want:

https://www.illumn.com/16650-keeppower-2500mah-sanyo-ur16650zta-protected-button-top.html