Duracell Headlamp Spring Gear Fix

These Duracell headlamps have a plastic "spring" that is part of the back plate. Over time, that plastic spring will break, leaving you with a floppy headlamp. The fix used here is to bend a paperclip in various ways through the back plate, so that the paperclip acts as the new spring.

Necessary:

• Vice grips
• Pliers
• Wire cutters
• Large paperclip

Optimal:

• Two pairs of vice grips
• Pliers
• Wire cutters
• Large paperclip
• Small curved needle nose pliers

Remove strap and then remove the back plate with curved needle nose pliers by bending the mounting point out toward you while moving the headlamp out of the mounting hole. Make sure to grab as much of the mounting point as possible (as shown in the picture) so you don't fracture it. Keep in mind, this shouldn't require much force at all. It should be really easy.

If you don't have curved needle nose pliers, you can remove the backplate with your hands, but it's difficult. The first time I removed the back plate I used my hands and ended up cutting myself, so be careful if you do it this way.

Retrieve a large paperclip. It doesn't need to have a coating on it, but it's preferred.

Bend the paperclip into an arch.

Weave the paperclips through the two lower middle holes.

Bend the paperclip up toward the next hole, grab it with vise grips and pull it through the hole.

Flatten the middle arch with the vice grips.

Bend paperclip downward. Then, in relation to the square opening, grab the paperclip so that the next bend will line up with the middle of the opening. Now, bend the paperclip upward 90 degrees.

Lightly bend the paperclip until it touches the top of the mount. This gives an indication of where the paperclip needs to be cut.

Now cut the paperclip a little below where the paperclip and mount met.

Bend the small portion toward the mount. It should stick out slightly so that it will apply some pressure against the gears on the headlamp. If the original plastic spring is still attached, now is the time to break it off.

Perform steps 5 through 9 on the other side, but use vice grips to hold the existing paperclip arches down.

You can see how the first spring made (the one on the right) is nicely centered in the opening. The one on the left is not, though it'll still work.

Hold the back plate against headlamp and make sure the new springs line up on the gears. Attach the back plate by pressing both sides down simultaneously.

Test the new springs by moving the plate back and forth. If there's not enough spring tension, remove the back plate and rebend the paperclip springs.

Reattach strap.

Sayonara floppy headlamp!