Today at the range, just a few days before a 3-day carbine class, I ran my AR to confirm zero on both my irons and T-1/LaRue combo. Noticing the T-1 battery was a little weak, I replaced it. Within the first few rounds, the T-1 went dead during recoil. I tapped the sight. The dot reappeared. I only intended to shoot enough rounds to confirm zero, but decided to shoot approximately 100 rounds to see if the T-1 problem would continue. Unfortunately, the disappearing dot persisted. I plan to call Aimpoint in the morning, but was curious if anyone else has experienced the same problem.
You’re not the only one.
I normally keep my aimpoint turned on all the time. Last weekend a buddy of mine picked up my rifle and commented that my optic was broken. I came over, confirmed that the optic was indeed on position 8 and noticed that there was no dot.
I rotated the dial, no dice, dot didnt appear.
I opened up the battery cover, pressed down on the battery slightly, replaced the cover and it worked.
I havent had an issue since but it was a little scary and odd to see that happening.
Is there any way we can check to see when our aimpoints were made? Maybe its a REALLY small batch issue. Anything made by man can and will break. Whats really neat is that there are very few instances of AP products actually breaking.
Call AP im sure they will take care of you.
Make sure the battery cap is tightened properly. A majority of the problems have been improperly tightened battery caps. If that is not the issue contact John at 703-263-9795 X223.
S/F
FJB – Thanks. I won’t know until class whether the additional little bit of wrenching (less than an 1/8 of a turn) helps, but I do appreciate the response. This late in the game, I’ll wait to call John until I determine if the problem still exist.
I had the same thing happen last week to a brand new T-1.
I was testing a new upper/rifle I had put together and breaking it in before a class I am going to next week (about 10 days from now). Brand new T-1 on it.
The dot was fine in the days before the test firing. However, once I started test firing it, it would go off, and then back on. It was not every shot that something would happen, but it would often go off, or back on, when a shot was fired. (Bog standard 5.56).
I unscrewed the battery cap and screwed it back on. That had no effect. Then, after about 2 mags worth, it stayed on and stayed on for another 5 - 6 mags worth until I ran out of the ammo I had brought. It seems to have “self cured.”
I will be going out again this week to run another several hundred rounds through it. We’ll see how the T-1 holds out after those several hundred rounds.
Chad
I’ve seen that problem with a CompM that was attached to a sims gun at Gunsite. FJB that was the week in May of 2005 that you were there. Anyway, turns out even with a dead optic and no front sight you can still shoot the Gunsite staff on the inside of their thighs…
I think I learned more from a dead optic than I would have learned if it worked.
[/hijack]
Though I haven’t had experience with the T-1, I’d had the exact same problem with another RDS that took the CR2032 batteries.
The “fix” was to use a quarter or large screwdriver to ensure the battery housing was torqued on very, and I mean, VERY securely and snugly.
Seems the problem is coming from a battery contact issue. When the gun jitters, the battery is shifting slightly in the compartment and due to lack of contact pressure or oxidation on the battery contacts or battery itself, your circuit resistances changes, for better or worse. Beyond making sure your battery cap is on snug to insure solid contact, I would suggest lightly applying some deoxit to the contacts and cell.
If you feel the need to torque things down seemingly too much, definitely look into some deoxit.
would putting a small foam under the cap to keep slight pressure on the battery help?
Anything to increase contact pressure will help a contact problem.
A shim to increase pressure is probably not required, but if your battery compartment and contact is within spec but on the larger side and your battery is also within spec but on the smaller side. Throw in some contact oxidation, and you can have some weird things happen. Contacts are designed with enough spring pressure that shims should not generally be required for reliable operation, but if I didn’t have deoxit or it was a regular problem without excessive torque, I would use a shim as you suggested. 
And then there’s always just doing this:
The self cure did not last. The first day I had taken off the battery compartment lid one or two times to try and get it on better/straighter/tighter and to make sure the battery was not in there funny. That did not seem to help the first day though I thought it had self cured but today I went out and shot another 125 rds (30mph winds plus lack of ammo 
limited me) and it started misbehaving again. I took the battery lid off once again and carefully put it back on good and tight and it seems to be fixed. The rest of the session went fine with no intermittent problems
Chad
are you going to try shimming the battery cap?
I think reseating the battery lid fixed my problem.
Chad
Don’t be afraid to bust out the Mark III man hands. I tighten the batt cap on the switch stop at the highest setting and crank on it. I have a bunch of Micro sights with thousands of rounds through them on all kinds of platforms with no problems. That being said anything made by man can fail. There could be a bad contact or any number of things. When in doubt just call Aimpoint 703-263-9795 X223
Shhhh! Let them continue with their shims…It’s only a matter of time before one breaks out a dremel…
Now that is funny. And sadly all to true.
If any of you are having a intermittent problem call. To Aimpoint ANY problem is unacceptable.
It could very well be a loose battery/cap torque issue but it also sounds like an oxidation problem.
I would spray some of this Contact Cleaner on a Q-Tip and wipe off the contacts and battery surfaces. Use gloves when doing this to prevent the oils/sweat from your hands from getting back on the clean surfaces.
You are not dealing with 120 volts here, these optics draw extremely small amounts of current and if there is any residue on the contact surfaces then you will have an issue.
I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night but I do have a degree in electronics.