Lezyne Deca Drive 1500i headlight charging?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

HK has a weakness for Lezyne products that I think are styled quite nicely but have fundamental flaws. Pumps that unscrew valves is an obvious fail in my eyes.

She has one of these headlights with an internal Li-ion battery and an integral rubber strap mount.

https://road.cc/content/review/230721-lezyne-deca-drive-1500i-loaded?amp

In this case, she has broken off the micro-USB socket, meaning it can’t be recharged. It was never easy to detect if the cable was the wrong way up.

It has an additional circular charging port on its underside for an Infinite Light Power Pack (optional external battery). Does anybody know whether the internal battery can be charged by this port or is this headlight now scrap?

[Kim]

No idea, but if I were designing it, I wouldn't want to waste power by allowing the internal battery to charge from the external one (or vice-versa).  Strongly suspect that port just provides an alternative source of voles to the lighty-up bits.

[hubner]

Can the micro-USB socket be reattached, perhaps by soldering?

[aidan.f]

Can the micro-USB socket be reattached, perhaps by soldering?

There are members of YACF who may have the equipment and skillz but..

First get it apart probably by 'spludging'  an euphemism for 'breaking the glue'
assuming the circuit board is not damaged obtain a new socket
clean up old footprint and re-solder using solder paste hot air rework station and microscope. £££'s worth of kit
test and re glue and  - to be waterproof
just for illustration here is a similar assy...

[hubner]

I "repaired" my phone with a new USB port board as I don't have the tools or experience to solder in a new socket. If the board in the light is a standard item, then it's a case of getting hold of one, although that might not be easy or cost effective.

My Moto E3 (2016) phone bought secondhand always seem to have charging problems but recently it has got worse. I bought a new USB port board for £4, fitted it and now the phone seems to charge normally. The only tool needed was a screwdriver.

[Kim]

Can the micro-USB socket be reattached, perhaps by soldering?

There are members of YACF who may have the equipment and skillz but..

First get it apart probably by spludging'  an euphemism for 'breaking the glue'
assuming the circuit board is not damaged obtain a new socket
clean up old footprint and resolder using solder past hot air rework station and microscope. £££'s worth of kit
test and re glue and  - to be waterproof

Exactly.  The soldering would be the easy bit.  For small fiddly values of 'easy'.

(Some time ago I was donated a Lezyne light by a forumite on account of a switch fault.  I was able to replace the tactile switch, but defeated by the need for a replacement waterproof rubber button to fit the case.  Electronics repair is 50% diagnostic skills and tracking down suitable replacement parts, 20% fiddly soldering and about 85% dealing with snappy plastic.)

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I "repaired" my phone with a new USB port board as I don't have the tools or experience to solder in a new socket. If the board in the light is a standard item, then it's a case of getting hold of one, although that might not be easy or cost effective.

The light cost well north of £100 and HK likes it, so it is worth spending some money attempting to repair it. I will try opening it up, I guess.

[Kim]

I "repaired" my phone with a new USB port board as I don't have the tools or experience to solder in a new socket.

Phones specifically put the connectors (and often microphone) on a daughterboard for this reason, as they're subject to so much physical abuse and there's a high chance that socket damage will lift the tracks off the PCB so it can't be repaired by simply soldering.

I wouldn't expect a bike light to be designed with this replacement in mind, or for the manufacturer to be willing to sell you spare parts.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I have disassembled the headlight and the additional charging port is likely to bypass the internal batteries.

The micro-USB socket merely plugs into the circuit board and the electrickery is soldered in place. There is no additional bonding of the socket to the board to resist the loads applied when connecting and disconnecting the charging plug. As such, it seems merely a matter of time before the soldered connections fatigue and the socket breaks off. I would guess that soldering the same or a replacement charging socket in place is possible, if fiddly. Some epoxy anchoring the socket to the board would be a durability improvement.

I took a look at another smaller Lezyne headlight (as I said, HK has a weakness for this crap) and the charging socket seems to be mounted in exactly the same style and I would expect it to fail in the same manner sooner or later.

https://flic.kr/p/2mURSZx

https://flic.kr/p/2mUSuHD

https://flic.kr/p/2mUVDaj

https://flic.kr/p/2mUTLMb

https://flic.kr/p/2mUSuGr

Damned if I can work out how to show Flickr images here

[aidan.f]

Dave, well done for persisting despite the naysayers here, self included.. I would now say you are almost there with a 100% good repair

The micro-usb socket case tabs would/should have been soldered into the board holes during production to act as strain relief.

The joints have failed. That will be a combination of poor wetting during soldering, due to plating on the tabs, not enough heat and lead free solder.

I would, with the right tools, clean up and re solder using leaded, an iron for the tabs and hot air re-flow on the pins. I have the iron but don't have hot air

I'm sure someone on YACF could help out for the cost of posting (leaving the battery for you to refit).

BTW I think the lamp is quite well designed from a reparability POV.  - battery on a plug/socket  and obviously able to take apart with just  a screwdriver.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I am happy to pay somebody tens of pounds to get this working again as otherwise I am chucking >£100 in the bin. If somebody wants to give it a go (no hassles if the repair fails), just let me know.

The tiny Torx bolts attaching the heatsink to the internal frame had rattled a few turns loose. A dab of glue on the threads would have been useful.

[Feanor]

YHPM

[Lightning Phil]

When viewing photo in Flickr click on share (arrow at bottom) and go to BBCode tab

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I don’t have that particular option on my phone app, only the laptop.

[Feanor]

Yes, that's a great annoyance of the Flickr app.

Anyways, looking at the photos...

The 2 tabs that go through the holes on the PCB are meant to provide some mechanical strength.
They can only do this if they are bent slightly on the underside of the PCB, to hold the thing in place prior to soldering.
It looks to me like the part has simply been inserted and soldered, so the only mechanical strength is coming from the solder itself.
This is always going to fail when subject to a bit of physical handling like a socket has to deal with.
Then the part simply drops out of the PCB, pretty much.

[Kim]

That seems really sloppy.  Could they not at least solder the tabs to the other side of the board?

[Cudzoziemiec]

This thread prompts me to wonder what brands people would recommend for repairability?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I am more interested in knowing which brands design and assemble their products well enough that they don’t fail from obvious flaws.