Another Broken DS-125

[glamourpuss]

I year and a half ago I invested in an ikelite housing and a DS-125 strobe for my 40D...

The housing has been great, and I haven't had any problems with it, the strobe however is causing me great frustration. In October of last year the two plastic tabs on the end of the shaft which secures the battery pack to the strobe broke off. I was informed that in order to fix this, I would need to mail not only the battery pack but also the strobe itself back to the US, where it would take 3-4 weeks to fix (not including the time in transit). As this was not an option since I was in the Philippines for a few months, I was able to find a dealer in Singapore who had a battery pack in stock and shipped it to me in a week. Three months later, I experienced the exact same issue with the new battery pack.

At this point Ikelite was very helpful and sent me two replacement shells to a hotel in Thailand and I transferred the batteries from the old broken shells to the new one. It wasn't too difficult, and things went pretty smoothly, however a month later I flooded one of the batteries. I assume something when wrong when transferring things over, and have accepted it as my fault. I still had one battery pack so at least I could still use the strobe.

Until now....

Today experienced the exact same issue with the little plastic tabs yet a third time. I am beyond frustrated. I'm still on the road on an extended trip with no access to servicing, and am without a strobe.

I've read numerous reports of this issue on other sites, and I can't understand how a product can be so defective. I am at a loss for what to do.

I don't have the money to invest in a new strobe (like a DS-160) but I also don't want to keep replacing the battery pack if this is gonna keep happening. Our current lifestyle is rather nomadic so even if I could ship the whole set up back to the US.... I'm only in Roatan for another 6 weeks. Then Belize for 2, then Mexico for 3... so I'm not really sure where they would ship it back to. I have a lot of diving planned over the next few months and this definitely throws a wrench into the plans.

Anyway... I am writing this as a warning, however am hoping since Ikelite no longer makes the DS-125, it is no longer an issue, and that the defective plastic pieces have been fixed in the current strobes.

Sorry for the rant, but I was planning a dive for tomorrow, and am frustrated once again.

 

[glamourpuss]

For anyone else who may be experiencing the same issue and missed this update on the ikelite website:

6/22/09 .... DS125 and DS160 Battery Packs
Several broken battery packs for DS125 and DS160 strobes have been traced to a material inconsistency. Battery packs produced between Sept '07 and Nov '08 are subject to this flaw in the central black plastic mounting piece.

A date code with the format MM/YY is etched on each pack opposite the product number #4066.5. Packs produced after Nov '08 or which have been returned to Ikelite for any reason since Dec '08 have been updated to a newer style toggle pawl. This appears to have corrected the issue.

We recommend the updating of these battery packs as a preventative maintenance measure. If you have a broken toggle pawl or a battery pack within the above date range in its original condition, toggle replacement kits are available.

 

[Full Circle]

I had the same thing happen to one of my DS 125's and Canon sent me the replacement parts for both strobes right away, I installed them and have worked fine since. I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble. Have you contacted Ikelite regarding the flooding?

 

[Scubagolf]

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[jdcpa]

Glamourpuss:

It is obvious to me that something is just not right. You are having a part break far too often, in my opinion.

Please see the above post regarding the issue of the plastic wings in the battery packs. You can order replacements at minimal cost. Order them and keep them on hand.

That was a battery pack issue and not a DS-125 or DS-160 issue.

I don't understand why replacing the toggle only did not solve the problem and why there was a need to replace the inside of the battery packs.

One thing I can say is that regardless of whether you have the old battery packs or the new battery packs you can't use the toggle to pull the battery pack and strobe together. You have to have the two pieces together and close the handle only.

I travel with six DS-125/160 strobes and have had only one break in the last four years.

Maybe you are just unlucky or I don't understand your sepcific.

Order the extra wings and best of luck to you.

I love my strobes, no issues to date, knock on wood.

 

[glamourpuss]

Yes it is a defective product, and I will be getting a replacement center support toggle which I assume will fix the issue.

The above quote was posted by me after contacting ikelite for the third time about this problem. I am a little frustrated that I reported this issue to them twice, and was never contacted when they determined that it was indeed a defective product.

 

[Ikelite Staff]

I'm sorry to read of your repeated problem. At first we were unable to pinpoint the problem with toggles breaking, as we've been using the same specifications for over 7 years without issue. After a lot of research we were able to identify an issue with the material that we now assume resulted in this point of failure. Unfortunately the affected material was in use for quite a long time period.

Changes to the part were made and the new parts have been in use since Dec '08 with no known failures due to this defect. I apologize sincerely for the inconvenience and appreciate the opportunity to correct this problem.

Regards,
Jean / Ikelite
IKELITE Underwater Systems