!!!!!!!!SAFETY ISSUE!!!!!!!!! Nitecore D4 clone - Take 2

[scs]

Yeah robby, it's been okay safety-wise. I wouldn't like to think that I have a fake that's all.

I can't see any nitecore branding....

[Ripshod]

From what I see in the pic scs:

That capacitor appears to be wrapped black and grey. As far as I've seen they are supposed to be black and gold.

As robby said, it's only a couple of screws to lift the board enough to see clearly - you don't need to remove it fully

'd by scs

[robby]

It`s difficult, I dont know how long they have been producing i4 and d4 chargers. If it were me, after two years solid use with no issues, I would trust it, but that`s just me. No sign of "authentic" on the listing from fasttech?

[scs]

Oh crikey, I'm not new to dismantling electronics but I can't see any way of relocating all the charge indicator led's back in to their holes (12 of them total). What have I done lol

[robby]

It might be a good idea to go back to that listing (if it`s still there) and check reviews and discussions to see if anyone has had issues.

[Ripshod]

I'd say fake.

The magnet test, and the caps.

But then I go back to the pic of the back of the board and realise Nitecore (or more correctly Sysmax) would have done a much better job trimming the excess leads.

[robby]

It`s really difficult, we dont know what their standards were two years ago, my D4 is certainly a lot tidier than that one, but it is pretty recent.

[scs]

Thank you for the input guys.

Well it wasn't until I went to the nitecore site and read their blurb regarding quality that I started being interested. Mine has never felt like it was what they are describing. And it seems even I had neater PCB's when I did my electronics course 20 odd years ago.

Anyway, it's back together and working (had to remove PCB completely to relocate the LED's). I suppose there isn't much point kicking up a fuss at this stage, it's given/giving me plenty of usage with no issues so far.

[VapingBad]

Nitecore i4 and clones UK
Difference between Sysmax Intellicharger i4 charger V1 and V2
Reviews:
SysMax i4 V1
SysMax/NiteCore Intellicharger i4 V2
NiteCore Intellicharger i4 2014

[Ripshod]

We need some advice from nitecoreuk here.

I've studied images from a few flashlight forums and unless they were showing fakes the boards look identical to the pic posted by scs. I am still concerned about the length of the leads left on the back of the board though.

Did nitecore change the spec/wrapper of the capacitors at some point? Did they ever use steel for the pos contact and slide?

ETA: Thank you VapingBad, just what was needed

[robby]

Any advice from nitecoreuk would be useful, hasn`t even made a post yet, joined 2 days ago

[Ripshod]

Emailed FAO Antony, so should at least get a 'hello' today robby.

[nitecoreuk]

Sorry I have not been able to post here sooner.

We have been working with the manufacturer to get to the bottom of this so we can provide guidance to those who are worried about the authenticity of their charger. Unfortunately at this time we only have some images and brief text to work with until we can make contact with the body that tested the charger in question. As soon as we get more information enabling us to differentiate them it will be posted on our homepage.

Chargers are now being shipped from the factory with scratch off stickers that can be validated at www.nitecore.com to eliminate this issue in the future. Please don't panic if your charger does not have a sticker as this has only just been implemented.

As I do not get a chance to monitor the various forums please contact us via www.nitecore.co.uk should you have any concerns and we will do our best to help.

[nitecoreuk]

The i4 charger at the top of this page looks like one of the early versions with the blue power input. I have one here that I just opened up and the internals look the same.

Please note the identification guide posted online for the i4 charger relates to the 2014 version. The early ones did not have copper sliders / positive terminals.

[Ripshod]

Good to see you here nitecoreuk. Shame about the circumstances though.

Good move with the stickers. Please keep us up to date