I have seen this problem in quite a few flashlights and they don't seem
to be brand specific either and it even includes a new maglight. It
would always seem to show up when I was up in a very tight crawl space
that took 20 minutes to get to :-). Maybe the D cells did get internal
damage from being dropped because the symptoms were the same. Good
thinking on your part, I would have never considered that.

With kind regards.

Mike Burch K8MB

Apache Junction, AZ