CREE XML T6 LED bicycle Light

[nomoreheroes]

I wouldn't put any light at all on your head if it is raining or even just a bit misty, all you will see is the water droplets in the air and nothing much else!

Thank you 

[Ningishzidda]

Mine's just failed.

Skip fodder.

[Bledlow]

How long have you had it?

People I know have reported a high failure rate, but also willingness by sellers to replace, e.g. light fails - pay the difference between the light alone & full kit & end up with a spare battery & charger, for less than a separately bought battery.

If you don't want to bother, & have no other use for the battery & charger, please remember that they might come in handy for someone else. E.g. I'd pay postage & packing for the bracket (it unscrews) & o-rings, & more for the battery.

[Polar Bear]

And I'd be happy to take the battery off your hands for a few quid.   I've been toying with buying a second battery to give me a feeling of reassurance during winter use.   

[Tail End Charlie]

One of mine started to only work when actually moving and then it flickered. I surmised a loose connection, so took it apart (pretty straightforward), found the dodgy wire and soldered it (this was tricky as it is quite small and I'm not that good at soldering). To make sure it didn't vibrate lose again I poured a load of fibreglass resin into it. Result - works perfectly again. 

[Woofage]

I bought one of these battery packs recently. One minor niggle is that the "sleeve" around the socket attached to the battery's lead is too small a diameter to cover the plug on the light's lead. I am therefore concerned that it is not forming a waterproof connection. Should I a.) not worry about it or b.) molish another plug/socket combination with better weather protection?

[Bledlow]

Bit of gaffer tape round the join?

It'd be easier to replace the plug on the light than the socket on the battery pack. No electrickery to worry about.

[Ningishzidda]

Haven't sussed the problem yet. This is the second battery for this device.

Reluctant to replace. Gone back to a P7 lenser torch which uses 4 x AAA rechargeables.

Got 2 lamps, two chargers and probably two scrap batteries.

On full power, the lamp lasted about 1hr 20. That's a C0.7 discharge, which is not the kind of thing I'd do to a bunch of Li-Ion cells connected in series.
Due to their connected in Series, when one starts to get iffy, it brings down the others PDQ. A battery pack where the individual cells can be separated and charged seperately will last many times longer before failure.

This is my quicky analysis of that Battery pack. If it is ONE 8.4 V cell ?? I'll stand corrected.

[Bledlow]

Naah. I'm pretty sure it's four 3.7-4.2V Li-ion cells connected in pairs in series.

So what you need is a new battery. Or a set of cells you can charge separately & a holder with a socket.

If you cut the packs open (easy enough), you might find you have some sound cells. If you can find or rig up a suitable holder (the Fenix BT20 holders for two cells might do, if you can buy them separately, but you'd have to replace the plug with a socket) & get a suitable charger you'd be sorted.

Or you could try building a good battery from two duff ones, or you could get a different light (maybe one that uses separate Li-ion cells) & sell the working bits. Given the ubiquity of these lights & their failure rates, there should be people with sound batteries & dead lights.

[tiermat]

Bledlow is right, the battery packs are 4*18650 cells arrangeed in 2 pairs in series connected in parrallel (or the other way around, depends on your viewpoint).

The bit that corrodes the easiest, should you happen to *ahem* drop the battery pack in water (or submerge the bike and rider in flood water), is the small board that sits on top of the cells.  As the whole pack is shrink wrapped in plastic, water can get in (under pressure) but has no real way of getting out, so just rots the connections.

18650s are cheap and easily available from ebay (Torchythebatteryboy is one of the best sellers in the UK for these)

[Ningishzidda]

I rode to work this morning with my trusty old P7 Lenser torch. 4 x AAA 1000mAhr NiMh cells from Maplins.
It has a decent light.

I thought the Chinese 1800cd lamps were a bargain, but as they say ‘I don’t mind paying for quality, but I don’t like paying good money for crap.” Which is what they are.
They don’t have to be tremendous quality cus with a purchase price of £18, who’s gonna ship it back to Hong Kong for a replacement?

I’m sticking with the P7.

One of you needs to send a postage address.

[Bledlow]

You have PM.

Mrs B has had one of these lights for a year. So far, it's worked perfectly, & the battery is still OK, but the bracket broke recently. Replaced that, but I think keeping spares is prudent.

I have a Fenix, & a 5 year old Dinotte for backup.

[nomoreheroes]

You have another PM 

[Wobbly]

I've had an LED Lenser P7, P14 and two H17s. And used each of them as bike lights at some point or other.

The two problems I had were:

- I could never keep the light focussed as I wanted it to; vibration from the road/bike always sent the beam to its widest
- The switches all eventually played up

One H17 died completely, the other's gathering dust, the P17s now a torch for dog walking (but I take a spare torch in case the P17 refuses to turn on) and the P7 only works on its dim setting.

Apart from that I'm an LED Lenser fan...

[Woofage]

The switch on my lamp has now got to the point where it is a right PITA to use (and virtually impossible with gloves on) so I am considering my options. Bit of a bugger really as I bought a new battery just a few months ago.

Should I:
a. attempt repair?
b. buy a new lamp? (charger and battery are both fine)
c. buy a complete new assembly?
d. get something else entirely?

[Oscar's dad]

Option C, which is what I did. 

I'm fairly philosophical about these lamps.  Given they are so cheap I expect them to fail more readily than a lamp I had paid proper money for.  So therefore when my charger stopped working I just bought a whole new set up so now have a stock of spares.  I also don't use my Chinese Lantern as a primary light, just a back up for when the night needs turning into day, as I don't expect the lights to be particularly reliably given their cheapness.

[andyoxon]

I've lost the silcone band for attaching to large diameter handlebars - any cheap replacements?

[Biggsy]

e.  Wire an extra switch in series.  It can be as nice as you like.

[Bledlow]

I've lost the silcone band for attaching to large diameter handlebars - any cheap replacements?

7dayshop is selling packs of spares for less than anyone else I've seen.

[Bledlow]

The switch on my lamp has now got to the point where it is a right PITA to use (and virtually impossible with gloves on) so I am considering my options. Bit of a bugger really as I bought a new battery just a few months ago.

Should I:
a. attempt repair?
b. buy a new lamp? (charger and battery are both fine)
c. buy a complete new assembly?
d. get something else entirely?

Option C, or ask if anyone here has a spare light.

[Biggsy]

But you could have a NICER switch by adding your own - whatever kind of switch you like and put it wherever you like.  The original switch can be left on all the time or bypassed.  For example, toggle switches are luxurious, and you can get little waterproof boots for them.  (Every fettler should have/get a soldering iron).

[Bledlow]

Yebbut how would a new external switch work with cycling through all the modes?

[Biggsy]

Yebbut how would a new external switch work with cycling through all the modes?

Sorry I was assuming it was just on/off - but it still might be doable if you can join the cable for the switch to the right place rather than just adding a switch in series.  It might need to be a "momentary" type of switch rather than an ordinary toggle.