Speed tech z3 surface mount

[Asst chief 02]

I bought some speedtech z3's to test on a company truck. I am having some issues that I can't figure out.
#1: I can't get them to alternate. They just flash the same pattern at the same time.

#2: they seem dim. I don't know if the low power mode is activated or they are just this bad.

#3: one of them has stopped flashing and has gone to steady burn while the other one continues to flash.any input would be great.

 

[tsquale]

They are just that bad is the answer to all of your questions. You're better buying a quality used name-brand light than STL.

 

[Carlos SpicyWeiner]

A couple things, how are you trying to supply power to them?

Sometimes lights do not like to be bench tested on a battery out of a vehicle outside of a vehicle. Making sure there is a properly secure ground is also a big thing. That being said, its the $15 per lighthead quality you pay for. That's half price of any American Made light head. I get the need for cheap lights... I really do.

That's actually what I did for my patrol car... bought all chinese lights and had failures. Searching the internet brought me to ELB where I learned about Feniex breaking into the industry years ago and how much better American Made lights were (I didn't really understand it at the time).

Now thats what I truly recommend. In full disclosure I had a ton of issues with Feniex products too when I first started my company to sell them. They always made things right and I stuck it out with them. Glad I did because some if there stuff is really top notch. This is not a sales ploy for Feniex though. Look at brands like Soundoff, Star, and Whelen. Star doesn't make anything truly earth shattering but dammit they are always tried and true. Whelen has been proven to be the jaugernaut in the industry but Soundoff has made some pretty significant leaps and bounds as well.

 

[FiremanSketch]

I'll throw Strobes-n-more out there as well. Budget friendly, quality lights that are SAE rated, and the customer service is very helpful. I'm one of those that has been exclusive to one of the "top 3", but I've got a few of their house brand lights & I've been impressed with them. They have yet to give me issues & they actually move traffic during the day.

 

[Asst chief 02]

A couple things, how are you trying to supply power to them?

Sometimes lights do not like to be bench tested on a battery out of a vehicle outside of a vehicle. Making sure there is a properly secure ground is also a big thing. That being said, its the $15 per lighthead quality you pay for. That's half price of any American Made light head. I get the need for cheap lights... I really do.

That's actually what I did for my patrol car... bought all chinese lights and had failures. Searching the internet brought me to ELB where I learned about Feniex breaking into the industry years ago and how much better American Made lights were (I didn't really understand it at the time).

Now thats what I truly recommend. In full disclosure I had a ton of issues with Feniex products too when I first started my company to sell them. They always made things right and I stuck it out with them. Glad I did because some if there stuff is really top notch. This is not a sales ploy for Feniex though. Look at brands like Soundoff, Star, and Whelen. Star doesn't make anything truly earth shattering but dammit they are always tried and true. Whelen has been proven to be the jaugernaut in the industry but Soundoff has made some pretty significant leaps and bounds as well.

I really didn't want to go with STL in the first place but my employer put a $400 mini bar on top that can't be seen from the rear of the truck. They didn't have a budget to add anything to the back, so I paid out of my own pocket. I knew STL wasn't the best but the lights are only used a few times per day and maybe only get a total of 2 hours run time between me and the guy that drives the truck on day shift. I figured they would be able to handle such little use. The wiring should be fine because they have been on the truck for over a month before it started having the steady burn issue. Lesson learned, I will be replacing them and I won't be using cheap lights again.

 

[Carlos SpicyWeiner]

There are cheap lights out there that are quality. The Feniex T3 is $29 each. One of those is probably as powerful as two of those z3.

Plus there is a HUGE used market out there right now. Look on the ELB classifieds. I'd say save money go with used american made versus imported stuff.

Trust me... alot of us have made the same mistake. I will be the first to say I did