IQ-X switch strangeness

[drossall]

I've just replaced the Cyo Senso Plus light on my Brompton with an IQ-X. It's a brilliant light, literally - lights up the road way ahead. However, the on/off switch is behaving quite oddly. I know about the "Senso" mode.

Seemingly though, the switch only works to turn the light on if the wheel is turning. That's not very convenient on a Brompton, as I basically have to remove the front bag, lift up the wheel and spin it, turn the light on, and then put it all back.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

[JonBuoy]

That is how mine has always behaved.  I believe that it is a fault but it isn't too much of a problem for me so I just put up with it.

[Kim]

See threads passim.

I had one light that did this (because it's similarly annoying on a recumbent, I wired a switch inline and leave it in the 'on' state), then bought a second one for a different bike that I found would turn on if there was some stored charge in the capacitor.  I emailed B&M, who told me this was a fault, and I got a replacement for the first one.

They appear to have changed their tune and are now claiming it's not a fault.   

[FifeingEejit]

My two seem to be on unless I tell them to be off, if I tell them to be off and let the standlight run down they still seem to be off...
Which doesn't seem to fit everyone elses experience.

[drossall]

I'm trying to think about my electrics. Any chance that reversing the dynamo connections would affect behaviour? I think not, on AC?

[Kim]

No, it's a design fault / quality control issue.  I don't think anyone's done a tear-down to work out why, but I'd guess it's capacitor leakage or something.

[Nightmare-1]

See threads passim.

I had one light that did this (because it's similarly annoying on a recumbent, I wired a switch inline and leave it in the 'on' state), then bought a second one for a different bike that I found would turn on if there was some stored charge in the capacitor.  I emailed B&M, who told me this was a fault, and I got a replacement for the first one.

They appear to have changed their tune and are now claiming it's not a fault.   

+1
I had the same experience with B&M and now leave it on as well.

[drossall]

Thanks all. The image of it taking two cyclists to turn on the front light of a cargo bike is one that will live with me for some time. Glad I didn't put my bike on a heavily-laden tourer

My Brompton, of course, goes twice daily onto station platforms, where lights are unwelcome. I'll just have to get into the habit of lifting the front wheel before putting the front bag back. Daft. Utterly, utterly, daft.

[andrew_s]

That the switch only works when moving does seem daft to me.
I expect that the intention is that the light is left turned on the whole time, on either the main light or the DRLs according to what the senso says.

That gives problems at railway stations, as above, but the power used by the DRLs means that anyone hoping to use their dynohub for charging things is also going to have to turn the light off.

In the OP's situation, I'd probably look at carrying a small black bag to put over the rear light on arrival at the station.

In my case, I read the user feedback, and have eliminated the temptation to upgrade the existing light.

[Kim]

Thanks all. The image of it taking two cyclists to turn on the front light of a cargo bike is one that will live with me for some time. Glad I didn't put my bike on a heavily-laden tourer

For those situations, and assuming you've got room to mount one, I recommend the inline switch approach to the panel.  I used a cheap motorbike light switch from eBay, de-soldered the supplied wiring and connected directly to the terminals for neatness and fewer splices.  (On the tourer I have a socket to connect a battery charger upstream of the switch.)  In the absence of a sensor function that actually switches the lights on and off, I've found the convenience of being able to switch them easily while riding along (on bikes where it's difficult or impossible to reach the lights directly) well worth it.

My Brompton, of course, goes twice daily onto station platforms, where lights are unwelcome. I'll just have to get into the habit of lifting the front wheel before putting the front bag back. Daft. Utterly, utterly, daft.

I have a Cyo Premium on my Brompton, which seems like a good compromise (it doesn't quite have the awesome beam width of the IQ-X, but at Brompton speeds it's more than adequate for pothole-spotting and the occasional unlit cyclepath).  It's not particularly easy to get at under the luggage, but at least the mechanical switch means you don't have to spin the wheel.  The lack of a standlight kill button on the Brompton rear light is a bigger issue (which I've solved by the addition of a tilt switch to shunt the capacitor when you flip the rear wheel under).

[drossall]

Thanks. I'll make a note of that in case I need another replacement light, but for now I'm stuck with the IQ-X

[Cudzoziemiec]

Both of mine have this fault. One of them additionally turns itself on in response to random bumps in the road. I've given up turning that one off, and just accept that occasionally people will tell me my lights are on in the daytime; sometimes these are motorists who think they're being helpful, presumably saving my batteries, sometimes they're other cyclists who think I'm bringing about the hi-viz death of the universe, just occasionally they're cyclists who think they're being helpful.

What's more annoying about the original switch fault is that it means you don't have any standlight available when starting off.

[drossall]

Just joining things up and so linking to a thread where I replaced this IQ-X with an Edelux when the former failed after three years.