Failed Cyo T Premium Senso Plus

[LittleWheelsandBig]

It seems that HK's Cyo T Premium Senso Plus has failed on her MTB commuter. There is power going up the cable (more wheel drag when the plug is connected) but there is no light produced. Moving the switch doesn't change anything and there is no visible cable damage.

At the moment, I can't remember when this Cyo was purchased (or where from) but I suspect the headlight is outside the warrantee period. Just chalk it up to experience and get another Cyo (or some other headlight)? Is there a sensible way to get this repaired?

[jsabine]

I think Rose give a 5 year warranty on B&M lights - or at least they have in the past. If there's a chance it came from them, that may be the easiest path to repair, otherwise perhaps see what B&M themselves say on a goodwill basis (albeit their website has in the past been full of dire warnings not to contact them direct for warranty claims, instead pointing you back to the retailer).

[mattc]

It seems that HK's Cyo T Premium Senso Plus has failed on her MTB commuter. There is power going up the cable (more wheel drag when the plug connected) but there is no light produced. Moving the switch doesn't change anything and there is no visible cable damage.

Dynamos are still a bit of a mystery to me, but I'm not sure I'd regard that test as conclusive; can a multi-meter give a better confirmation that the right electrons are trying to go up the cable in the right order? (e.g. compare with a known working one on another bike?)

Or just try swapping dyno-wheels between bikes?

[Kim]

It seems that HK's Cyo T Premium Senso Plus has failed on her MTB commuter. There is power going up the cable (more wheel drag when the plug connected) but there is no light produced. Moving the switch doesn't change anything and there is no visible cable damage.

Dynamos are still a bit of a mystery to me, but I'm not sure I'd regard that test as conclusive;

In the absence of cable damage, the only obvious failure modes are a short inside the lego-brick connector (if present), or some sort of rear light wiring shenanigans, which would affect the drag without the light itself being at fault.  I expect LittleWheelsandBig would have checked for those though.

Certainly worth a bit of wheel-swapping just to confirm, but no idea about the warranty situation - the only warranty replacement I've had for a B&M product was with a switch problem on a few-months-old IQ-X, which was replaced by the retailer.  I did have an intelligent email conversation with someone at B&M to confirm that it was actually a fault.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

There is no rear dynamo light on this bike. The connector is fine.

[Kim]

There is no rear dynamo light on this bike. The connector is fine.

Quite.  I assume the rear light outputs aren't shorting or anything?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

They aren't touching anything and there is no damage to them either. No multimeter in this house.

There is an unused Cyo Premium of some sort lying around, so I will be fitting that.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I think Rose give a 5 year warranty on B&M lights - or at least they have in the past. If there's a chance it came from them, that may be the easiest path to repair, otherwise perhaps see what B&M themselves say on a goodwill basis (albeit their website has in the past been full of dire warnings not to contact them direct for warranty claims, instead pointing you back to the retailer).

According to https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/termsandconditions they have a 2 year warrantee on parts. It turns out that I purchased this particular headlight from Rose Bikes 12 Feb 2017, 2 years and 3 weeks ago. Timing is everything! I shall let them know the light has failed and will see what happens.

[interested]

According to https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/termsandconditions they have a 2 year warrantee on parts. It turns out that I purchased this particular headlight from Rose Bikes 12 Feb 2017, 2 years and 3 weeks ago. Timing is everything! I shall let them know the light has failed and will see what happens.

According to section  11.2 of their Terms they have additional warranty on some products. The Cyo really ought to have a 5 year warranty when bought at Rose as they advertise this on the Cyo product pages. 
 
In any case, be aware that it isn't uncommon to experience corrosion issues this time of year. I just recently had my Cyo Premium apparently cease to work. Scraping and cleaning the wires in the Lego-brick connector solved the issue. I also cleaned the contacts on the hub with a q-tip. I used a "contact spray" for the cleaning.
 
I think I have noticed a slight pre-warning to such corrosion issues, in that it is like the light seem slower to turn on when turning the wheel, in a short period before it stops working.

[Brucey]

that the light is drawing current (and making the wheel draggy) is a pretty good sign that you don't have bad contacts or anything. FWIW I have seen other B&M lights fail in this exact way, i.e. the wheel gets draggy depending on whether the switch is 'on'  or 'off'.  I keep thinking that I ought to be able to see which parts of the assembly get hot, and maybe I can track down the fault that way, but so far no luck.


Since I can buy a cheap dynamo  light (that works well enough for commuting) for about ten quid, that is what I tend to use these days.  I have a gut instinct that 'more features' = 'more to go wrong' too.

cheers

[Kim]

that the light is drawing current (and making the wheel draggy) is a pretty good sign that you don't have bad contacts or anything. FWIW I have seen other B&M lights fail in this exact way, i.e. the wheel gets draggy depending on whether the switch is 'on'  or 'off'.  I keep thinking that I ought to be able to see which parts of the assembly get hot, and maybe I can track down the fault that way, but so far no luck.

That's a useful diagnostic technique now that thermal cameras are relatively affordable, but you'd still need to get into the case, and supply power for long enough for whatever's getting hot to heat up.

(Also assuming the power draw isn't simply due to charging up the standlight capacitor, and the actual fault is a dry solder joint or something.)

[LittleWheelsandBig]

All of our dynamo-equipped machines get used for brevets, with a secondary use for commuting for some of them. I'm not a huge fan of 'for commuting only' permanent lighting on our bikes/ trikes, except for our Bromptons. With aging eyes and deteriorating British road surfaces, more light is welcome. Those brighter lights tend to have more bells and whistles fitted, so no way to get away from more complicated headlights.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Two of the posters upthread are correct that https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/b-m-lumotec-iq-cyo-premium-t-senso-plus-front-headlamp-709235?product_shape=black&article_size=Standard notes a 5 year manufacturer's guarantee, confirmed by email.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

A replacement Cyo arrived but still needs to be fitted.