led rechargeable 12v flashlight

I tried to post a response to another thread and that thread was closed, so sorry if this was answered somewhere else in the 38 pages of electrical threads. . . Here is the issue. . . I have an LED flashlight that plugs into the lighter socket, and is supposed to provide a bright white output. The thing is from China (Iron Forge) and seems to be a good idea. . . After a week of use, I thought maybe the batteries were the weak link, so I took it into Batteries Plus and paid 12 bucks for another battery pack. . .3, 2/3 1.2 (aaa?) VDC batteries. They went weak. So I opened up the thing, and started checking. . .and the batteries are only getting about 3.4 volts supplied to them through the conversion process from the 13VDC lighter socket. One resister and four diodes. The help at the Batteries Plus store said I really need about 4.2 volts to charge the batteries properly. . .so can someone tell me either: What wall charger / transformer I can use with this unit "as is" to obtain that level after the internal stepdown process, (I have an adapter for the plug I can use) or. . What resistor is needed to replace the one inside the internal converter inside the flashlight.

I assume the diodes and resistor are all in series. Jump out one of the diodes.rarihts

Thank you for telling me what to do. You are correct, all the diodes are in series. And since I am electrodense, can you take a minute and explain how the circuit I am looking at works? Four diodes, and a resistor. Why would the designers / builders of this device do what has been done in this case? Sorry if the question is clumsy. . . Thanks in advance.

The 3.4v is the standard supply voltage for the LEDs.

Who says this unit is supposed to recharge the batteries from the 12v outlet?

Is that specifically stated in the documentation? I doubt it, I buy a buttload of cheap crap from China.

Another thing is - rechargeable batteries ARE NOT 1.5v, they are rated at about 1.25v.

Go to dealnews.com or any of a myriad of discount type sites and search for battery chargers, they average $10 and come with 4 batteries.

I have 3 chargers here in my office that stay loaded up with batteries, at least 4 at a time.

Finally, when you buy AAA or AA batteries, try to find the highest rating in ma that you can. If you can find AA batts @ 2800ma, get them.

Are you sure isn't a battery torch that can also be plugged into the cig socket - as opposed to a rechargeable torch?    Have you seen those "battery-less" dynamo rechargeable torches? THEY have batteries, and their hand-pored dynamo does NOT recharge the batteries. They should be banned, but too many people buy them, pull out the batteries and dump the rest. It's cheaper than buying the batteries.

"the batteries are only getting about 3.4 volts supplied to them through the conversion process from the 13VDC lighter socket. One resister and four diodes."

OH! And I completely forgot, I bought a THOR-X today in great condition for $35 from a guy who lives near. I plan to do a HID conversion on it.

With no batteries in the unit, what is the voltage on the charge terminals?

Thanks for the responses. . . Just for clarification. . .the batteries, like the battery in a car, has to have a higher supply voltage in order to maintain peak output. A vehicle with a 12.6 battery normally receives 13.6 - 14.2 from the alternator (rectified output) which obviously is higher voltage than the rated 12.6. A battery with 12.4 is partially discharged. An alternator that puts out only 12.6 would be defective. So a series of (3) 1.2 VDC batteries at 3.4 volts is ALSO partially discharged. The 13 VDC from the cigarette lighter socket is being CUT to 3.4 via the bitty circuit inside the flashlight. So it is being undercharged ALL THE TIME. Since no one has explained to me what the removal of one diode will do by bypassing it, I am going to take a leap of faith and simply wire a bridge across it and then measure the output voltage going INTO the batteries. . .I suspect the simple answer from rkanauer the rookie is what I need to do, but not WHY I need to do this. "tree swing" http://www.businessballs.com/treeswing.htm