What's going on with Feniex lightheads????

[grey stray]

Let me start off by saying that I've been a fan of feniex since the beginning. BUT, it seems here lately I've been hearing of cobra heads and Apollo heads being returned due to half or the whole head not working. My new (less than 6 months old) cobra 800 had the same issue. 1 head would only flash on 1 side. So far the other heads have been fine. I understand that all companies will have problems but from what I hear from a local feniex dealer is that their lead time is at least a month and multiple lights have been returned which makes the customers unhappy and seems to start giving Feniex a bad name. Having to wait for product and then the product goes bad.


Anybody else noticing this trend?


GS

 

[JPolston]

Have a new Cobra 2x for rear warning (rink a dink cavalier), and have no issues since owning it, which I believe is around 6 months. I personally don't know anyone having issues with any of their Feniex products they've bought over the last couple months, and have only heard about some issues on here.


Bad set maybe? Maybe just bad luck. I've expected to hear more issues since the Apollo series arrived but haven't read anything.


Curious to see what some post to this thread.

 

[emt.micah]

Buddy of mine just had a pair of T6s go bad. I was surprised.

 

[ChangchungLeds]

I've been using federal signal lights for years, friends are using whelen and soundoff, sometime some of my lights fail, also others lights from my friends, so, I think that this just can happen, this dont bother me a lot, I just want to be sure about the warranty and CS of the brand that I am using. All my failing lights was replaced without a hassle...

 

[Surgicalcric]

I have purchased a fair amount of Feniex lights, and other products lately, and the only complaint I have with any of the light-heads themselves is that depending on the date of mfg some of the T6s have different programming than others causing issues when you attempt to sync them together. Only other complaint I have is that the Cannons I have wont sync with the T6s due to different programming also.


I take serious issue with the lack of attention to detail in the directions they put on their products. The engineers dont need to write the directions, an install guy should.

 

[Kent@MoveOverOutfitters]

I just had a long chat about those exact issues. The flash patterns on the cannon, Apollo and t6 should all be the same. It helps for continuity of product as well. I understand some lights are split and some are solid but that's just part of it.


The other thing we spoke about is the instructions and I used the Pegasus as an example. If the reverse engineer the vehicle at least take pics and show what to do. I know this costs money and all but I am sure they spend a fair amount of time in the cars and this wouldn't take as long as cad drawing up the items so why not do it. I know how to put in an ils but not all my customers do.


Anyway I hop they will see others mentioning the same thing and see its important. They seem very interested in feedback so I am hopeful and if the past has shown us anything they are constantly improving.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Keep in mind:


1) Feniex is still young/new in the game.


2) They have proven that yes, others CAN contend with the BIG 3


3) Who expects every single product to work flawlessly, every single time, no exceptions?


4) Feniex is open to listening from their consumers, they design and adapt products based on input from the community.


5) Their customer service is seeming unrivaled! Even if there are issues with products, who has had an issue with getting you problem resolved??

 

[wrights lights llc]

Had some T6 issues called Feniex and were fixed up every time.


Customer was pissed but everything worked out great in the long run.


I have not had any other issues with any othes products from Feniex only the T6

 

[Kd8bao]

I just did a swap on cannons and the wires were different between the old and new. The red and yellow were opposite. Had a couple t6 go half out but otherwise still very happy with the lights. Some directions have room for improvment.

 

[NERT11]

I did have a bad lightbar brain that they replaced without question, and I have a cobra 2x that mysteriously knocked itself out of sync and won't get back in sync. Aside from that, I as well as anyone I've supplied with Feniex loves them

 

[Tom]

That's why it's important for us dealers to keep an inventory, especially of the smaller items like T6s and Cannons--so if an issue arises, we can swap the product out with minimal delay for the customer. I've also been called by my rep at Feniex to send certain lights out to people because they have a lead time at the factory. Feniex tries to keep the customers happy.


Yes there have been some issues with a couple of their lights, but this is to be expected since they are really just a couple years old. The important thing is that they respond quickly to these issues, and release newer versions that address any past issues.

 

[SirenWorld.com]

I've seen a couple of them go bad... but really not more or less than any other brand.... A couple of times, they had two different version of the light heads and the flash patterns weren't compatible which caused one head to go nuts trying to sync with incompatible patterns.


There was the known issue with the v1 T-6 with moisture, and that's been rectified in the new design... that being said, I've installed a ton of the v1's and never had an issue including the 4 on our demo car. It's hit and miss, and that can be said with any brand...


What impresses me is their willingness to listen to the end user, the installer, and the customer and actually try to implement it into the new product lines... And the RMA process is painless if there is a problem.


Every product is going to have product failures... it's how the company handles it that makes the difference, and I haven't had any reason to think that Feniex is going to be a problem. They're one of the easiest companies I deal with on a daily basis.

 

[Station 3]

I had a Fenix somethin lightbar "don't know name" but it had 6 heads and was just used as a flood light bar on my grill of my F-150 well it lasted maybe 3 months before 3 of the heads burnt out. It had minimal use maybe turned it on once a week for a few seconds. .. well I got rid of it boulder gave me some fairy leds and $100 bucks cash for the thing.. last time I heard boulder sprinkled ginger dust on it and it now works better than ever.. like new.

 

[TritonBoulder47]

I had a Fenix somethin lightbar "don't know name" but it had 6 heads and was just used as a flood light bar on my grill of my F-150 well it lasted maybe 3 months before 3 of the heads burnt out. It had minimal use maybe turned it on once a week for a few seconds. .. well I got rid of it boulder gave me some fairy leds and $100 bucks cash for the thing.. last time I heard boulder sprinkled ginger dust on it and it now works better than ever.. like new.

All I did was sent it back to Feniex and they warrantied it... Works like a champ... I actually chopped it in half and made some custom alley lights... lol

 

[justavillain]

I've seen a couple of them go bad... but really not more or less than any other brand.... A couple of times, they had two different version of the light heads and the flash patterns weren't compatible which caused one head to go nuts trying to sync with incompatible patterns.

There was the known issue with the v1 T-6 with moisture, and that's been rectified in the new design... that being said, I've installed a ton of the v1's and never had an issue including the 4 on our demo car. It's hit and miss, and that can be said with any brand...

How do you know if you have the v1s? I'm about to do an install with t6s I got from fever back about a year or so ago lol.


Mine have the resistor on the red wine.

 

[Carlos SpicyWeiner]

Those are V1.

 

[paff2]

Had Feniex lights now for a couple years and only had 1 issue. A T100 burnt out still under warranty. Sent it back and even though it took a lot longer to fix it was returned looking new.


Have a Pumper/Tanker at the fire house that was built in 2011. Had to get 4 Whelen super LED series replaced last year and now there are 6-7 more that are half burnt out. Guess it happens everywhere.

 

[ChangchungLeds]

Can I ask what was or is the function of this resistor?

 

[minig0d]

Can I ask what was or is the function of this resistor?

Resistors' purposes is to drop the voltage down to whatever the combination of LEDs in the head need. By dropping the vehicle voltage, it also helps regulate fluctuations in voltage. The energy is converted into heat so they get hot... that's most likely why they left it out of the lighthead...

 

[ChangchungLeds]

Resistors' purposes is to drop the voltage down to whatever the combination of LEDs in the head need. By dropping the vehicle voltage, it also helps regulate fluctuations in voltage. The energy is converted into heat so they get hot... that's most likely why they left it out of the lighthead...

Hi, maybe I make the wrong question, may be, Why is a resistor in the lights.


I know what a resistor do, but is not the best or efficient way to drop a voltage, and for this kind of job is a bad idea, must use a voltage regulator or some kind of electronic circuit and components to do a good job.


Example, if I use a resistor to drop to 12 volts I need to know what voltage I had to drop it to 12 volts, if this voltage is not constant or exactly the 12 volts output will increase too.


This dosent happen if I use the voltage regulated circuit.

 

[NERT11]

Piggy backing on to this thread. As mentioned, one of my 2x's (two ex's... aaahaha... hah.. .....that was awful) has come out of sync and the red power light on the plug switch doesn't come on. I'm assuming something may have shorted? Does the 2x have a single river or are they just 2 T6's relying on the sync between the two heads? Either way, is the sync cable inside the plug or the housing?

 

[ChangchungLeds]

Piggy backing on to this thread. As mentioned, one of my 2x's (two ex's... aaahaha... hah.. .....that was awful) has come out of sync and the red power light on the plug switch doesn't come on. I'm assuming something may have shorted? Does the 2x have a single river or are they just 2 T6's relying on the sync between the two heads? Either way, is the sync cable inside the plug or the housing?

Look like the green side lost the split funtion...

 

[Carlos SpicyWeiner]

It is two T-6's inside the housing. Cycling patterns to fast could theoritically cause this. Try to take the light apart, place them both on the same pattern again.

 

[TritonBoulder47]

It is two T-6's inside the housing. Cycling patterns to fast could theoritically cause this. Try to take the light apart, place them both on the same pattern again.

I had to do this with a Python 2X that I had... Not an overly hard thing to do, just slightly annoying... But I made sure it was on the pattern I wanted before re-assembly and re-installation...

 

[minig0d]

Hi, maybe I make the wrong question, may be, Why is a resistor in the lights.

I know what a resistor do, but is not the best or efficient way to drop a voltage, and for this kind of job is a bad idea, must use a voltage regulator or some kind of electronic circuit and components to do a good job.


Example, if I use a resistor to drop to 12 volts I need to know what voltage I had to drop it to 12 volts, if this voltage is not constant or exactly the 12 volts output will increase too.


This dosent happen if I use the voltage regulated circuit.

I'm pretty sure there are some threads specifically talking about this... but most likely for price... and because they can go inline on the wire and that keeps heat away from the head itself... but most likely for cost...

 

[SirenWorld.com]

v2 T6's don't have the in-line unit

 

[ChangchungLeds]

I'm pretty sure there are some threads specifically talking about this... but most likely for price... and because they can go inline on the wire and that keeps heat away from the head itself... but most likely for cost...

Ok... Personally, I would not use a resistor for this purpose...

v2 T6's don't have the in-line unit

Good to know, probably, thanks for this saving in components, many lights were damaged and changed by warranty... :undecided:

 

[kabsher8093]

I've recently had 6 of 16 Fenix Cobra 8 head light sticks be dead, new right out of the box. 3 of them would not keep the flash pattern I would set and 1 would not sync with the other modules. I've had the same problem with the cannons as well, only 2 of those were bad, no flash pattern and the other was dead, new out of the bag.


I'm not a big fan.

 

[thekameleon]

It is two T-6's inside the housing. Cycling patterns to fast could theoritically cause this. Try to take the light apart, place them both on the same pattern again.

Isn't there a way to reset both light heads to a factory default flash pattern?

 

[kohan25]

I recently purchased 4 of the T6's to replace 2 faulty no name TIR6 lights. I thought these were nice lights, small enough for my grille and a good warranty. One of my 4 (all 2013 models) was bad out of the bag. Obviously these are not tested before shipped? Feniex was very responsive and shipped out a replacement and when I hooked it up and tried to find my fast alternating pattern, it was not there. I emailed them and asked why and they told me that the firmware was updated due to problems. That is when I discovered the ongoing problems with these. I really liked that pattern so went on a search to find one which was impossible from any dealer. I am happy with their customer service but am not happy that I may have to replace these lights more than once. I should have done more research before buying. Definitely will not buy again.

 

[ERM]

I recently purchased 4 of the T6's to replace 2 faulty no name TIR6 lights. I thought these were nice lights, small enough for my grille and a good warranty. One of my 4 (all 2013 models) was bad out of the bag. Obviously these are not tested before shipped? Feniex was very responsive and shipped out a replacement and when I hooked it up and tried to find my fast alternating pattern, it was not there. I emailed them and asked why and they told me that the firmware was updated due to problems. That is when I discovered the ongoing problems with these. I really liked that pattern so went on a search to find one which was impossible from any dealer. I am happy with their customer service but am not happy that I may have to replace these lights more than once. I should have done more research before buying. Definitely will not buy again.

What type of pattern are you seeking, split or solid? Not saying this is a viable fix, but can you not put the lights on steady burn and use an external flasher? You can still keep the bright lights and get a pattern that all the lights would be sync'd to. Just a thought. Connect them to our programmable flasher, and you can have any pattern you want at any speed. :undecided:


Tony

 

[Kd8bao]

I think on v3 drivers they took out steady. Now it's back on the v4 as well a break flicker stop. Steady is not an option on the last version

 

[Carlos SpicyWeiner]

He's been offered to have the entire set swapped out for the latest lightheads. The issue is he does not want the latest firmware, despite the fact that it is a much improved light head with first in the industry technology. He wants a fast split pattern that Feniex removed from the light head, probably after reading input on the boards about split fail. He will not be able to achieve that with an external flasher unfortunately.

 

[Quentin]

Sounds like STL work lol

 

[Carlos SpicyWeiner]

Hardly. No one else has Feniex's newest synch firm ware that is pretty innovative. Highly doubt STL would continue pushing to better their product.


He had one out of four fail. Recently had a 50% failure rate on a couple orders if SOS products. Also had four out of four linz6s with issues.

 

[Surgicalcric]

Hardly. No one else has Feniex's newest synch firm ware that is pretty innovative. Highly doubt STL would continue pushing to better their product.

Well put Nic.


I recently replaces every T6 on my vehicle when Feniex sent 12 ver4 light heads to replace the ones I was having issues with. Without a doubt the new programming is the best I have seen. And although it has a couple patterns missing that I liked from ver3 firmware I cannot find fault in this new product, not to mention the fact that now the T6, F6, and Cannons now will sync together.


I cant believe someone compared Feniex to STL...

 

[fleetcomm]

Hardly. No one else has Feniex's newest synch firm ware that is pretty innovative. Highly doubt STL would continue pushing to better their product.

He had one out of four fail. Recently had a 50% failure rate on a couple orders if SOS products. Also had four out of four linz6s with issues.

What has changed about the sync firmware?

 

[Carlos SpicyWeiner]

It went completely awesome...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC2Cp6nrmvc&list=UUnNS8mEolUUXGpdKRFpCaOw

 

[fleetcomm]

I'm glad to see that they are fixing some issues they had. I had


problems with some lightbars I did for a public works department last year and they took care of the problems just time consuming to go back and fix.

 

[Carlos SpicyWeiner]

Feniex has never been one to sit back and let issues go on without trying to correct them or make something better. They've had some growing pains for sure, but they've always seemed to learn from them.