Yeah. another thread on "this happened to me." Hope it helps someone.

[M1A4ME]

I keep an M&P Shield 9MM with a Lasermax CF type unit in a small bag I carry in the vehicle on road trips.  Light (mint green) and laser (red).  Uses two 1/3N batteries.

Pulled it out of the bag this weekend.  It has a grip switch to operate the laser and/or light.  You grab it, the laser comes on (keep the light set to come on if I push the button on either side). 

Well, I grabbed it, no laser.  Oh, switch moved?  Nope.  No amount of pushing/programming the switches fixed anything. 

Ahh.  Batteries died on it right there in the bag.  Wouldn't have expected that as it goes weeks at a time without being pulled from the bag.  But, based on the purpose of the bag I had a four pack of brand new Viridian 1/3N batteries in a pouch in the bag.  Pulled the pack out, got two batteries out, installed them.  Nope.  Nothing.  Played with the switches again.  Nothing.

Grabbed the last two batteries from the new pack and installed them.  Nope.  Wasted my time.

So, how do four brand new 1/3N lithium batteries with a shelf life of 15 years go bad in 10 months?  I have no idea and figured the laser/light must have died while in the bag.

Came home last night, got on the Lasermax website, looked at their warranty policy (5 years) and figured I'd called today.  But, just before I got off the internet last night I ordered a new pack of 1/3N batteries from Amazon - but not Viridian batteries.

They got delivered this afternoon.  I installed two of them.  THE LASER/LIGHT work again.  Re-tried the new Viridian batteries and they still don't work.

Not sure how to keep from buying "bad" batteries in the future.  I am sure that I can check batteries when I buy them by installing them and checking the operation of the light/laser.  That at least keeps me from storing away a battery bad brand new in the package.

So, check your new batteries.  If Viridian batteries are a bad brand, let me know.  But maybe even good companies sometimes sell a bad product.  Or maybe there's some reason I don't understand why four brand new 1/3Ns with a 15 year shelf life go bad in 10 months.

If you replace the batteries in the house you won't find out sometime away from home, in the dark, that your spare batteries don't work.  But, if you carry spares, untested, for a period of time there's got to be some way of insuring they'll work when you need them. 

If you have it figured out, please let me know, I'd like to use your methods.

[Das Hugh!]

I have a TLR6 on my SIG P365XL. It uses the same darn batteries. I say darn because no one stocks them. And when I went to order some online.. no one would ship them to my PO box due to the lithium lol. But I finally had some shipped to a mailbox and got some. I shopped online a while and nearly bought the type u mentioned because they seemed like quality. But was way more expensive than others. So I went the cheap route and bought a ton of these. I figured if they didn't last I'd just replace them often. I also figured why buy expensive ones when I'd likely leave the light on by mistake anyways. But try these. They seem good so far. Granted I've only opened the first box and used 2 so far. But so far so good lol. And if I had to guess I'd guess that moisture is your culprit. Lithium catches fire when wet and dissipates super fast. Maybe try putting them in a pill bottle or something along with a desiccant (silica gel that absorbs moisture) or a sandwich bag etc. Good luck

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[JMWalker]

I'm not familiar with Viridian or 1/3N batteries.  In general, you need to watch out of for cheap quality batteries and counterfeits.  Stick to Panasonic, Sanyo, Energizer, and Duracell.  Panasonic is the best as they have a lithium battery factory in the US that has higher standards than China.  They also make the batteries for Tesla.

Stay away from Amazon.  You're gambling whether you receive a genuine battery or a counterfeit.  No big deal if you're ordering AA alkalines for your TV remote, but I wouldn't for anything firearm related.  Walmart B&M, Home Depot B&M, reputable online firearms dealers or reputable online battery dealers are good. 

[M1A4ME]

Viridian is another laser/light manufacturer. 

I don't own a Viridian laser but I have a buddy who only buys "the good stuff" and that's what he has on his pistol(s). 

The batteries where in the unopened package.  The bag stays in the house unless we go somewhere, then it goes in the trunk or behind the seat.  Never been wet. 

The pistol's never been wet/rained on.

Yeah, I keep hearing about Amazon and fake stuff.  I don't remember for sure where I got those Viridian batteries.  I did buy this latest batch off Amazon because I wanted them quick.

I'll check out some other on line suppliers (I buy rechargeable 18650s from a place I can't remember the name of that is a battery/light/charger vendor, I get their e-mails/sales ads pretty often.)

With the handheld lights I use rechargeables so I'm pretty sure they'll work since they've been used a few times already.  Same for the Olight pistol lights that are rechargeable/self contained batteries. 

I've got a voltage tester in a battery storage/organizer case where the AA/AAA batteries are stored.  I'm going to try and see if it can measure 1/3N battery voltage.  Not sure if it'll measure a battery that small/short or not.