Restore Zippo Ziplight Lighter Flashlight

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My dad has a special Zippo flashlight from his company's 50th anniversary. It stopped working a while ago, and after contacting Zippo, found out the Ziplights have been discontinued.


With nothing left to lose, he let me open it and try and fix it. Opening it was surprisingly easy. The two halves are not glued, melted or sealed together. They just pop open.


The two batteries inside are very skinny. Much smaller than AAA. But I figured I'd seen them somewhere before. Sure enough - there's 6 of them in a regular 9V battery.


After cleaning the contacts and replacing the batteries, it works again!


Yay!

1 Comments

Not all 9V batteries have the right type of cell, some have flat rectangular cells. The 6 Volt "J" size format has 4 of the tubular cells that are just right. The Duracell model # "6V 7K67/539/4LR61" I know will work. I just refurbished two very green and corroded Zip Lights. After disassembling them and washing the copper parts in vinegar and drying them I sanded down the contacts, then I brushed "Dielectric Grease" on all the copper pieces, and inside the case. This keeps the corrosion from coming back so soon. Wipe away most but not all of the grease from the switch contacts. Insert the two new batteries, and you have a fully functioning Zip Light. Oh, the batteries, either from the 6V J cell, or some 9V batteries look like a small aaaa batteries, BUT the polarity is backwards, the flat end is positive, and the end with the tit on it is negative. This makes no difference if you use the standard bulb, but if you want to put in a 3 Volt LED, watch the polarity.

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