Cateye LD600 (rear) - rust!

Surf-Matt

Got two of these (one on each MTB) and have found them to be very good.

However one went very dim last week - changed the batteries, still dim. So looked inside and the contacts are all rusty. If you get the batteries in the right position it works fine but I don't trust it now and it's a Zyro distributed product so they'll be useless.

Any idea what rear lights work AND can resist water?!

artaxerxes

Not used them but I've heard that the Knog lights are water resistant.

By the way I put vaseline on my light's battery hatch seal to add a bit of water resistance.

iPete

So far so good for me and my Mars Blackburn 3.0 but you do need a screw driver to get at the batteries.

My other light (Smart Lunar 1/2 Watt) isn't so waterproof, have had to leave it to dry a few times so it can turn off with batteries in.

Headhuunter

Yeah, Cat Eye lights are generally a bit cr@p and overpriced. I'll never buy Cat Eye again...

bannedbiker

Ive got two of the Smart 1/2 watt ones (one upright one that just flashes and one kidney shaped one that strobes).

They both leaked to begin with, but I've found a smear of silicon grease on both sides of the seal has sorted that. They've been watertight for well over a year now.

Surf-Matt

Headhuunter wrote:

Yeah, Cat Eye lights are generally a bit cr@p and overpriced. I'll never buy Cat Eye again...

Have generally found their front lights to be utter cack but rear lights to be okay. It also got a full marks rating from a couple of mags. The light is very bright indeed which is the main thing but clearly cannot cope with some MTBing.

It's also distributedd by Zyro who are possibly the worst distributor of any sporting goods known to man - in fact I almost choked when I saw they had made "record profits" last year.

They truly are the bankers of the distribution world.

ride_whenever

Zyro are gits, ages to set up accounts, silly stock rules etc.

The cateye lights are a bit rubbish, but it isn't the sealing, it's to do with condensation in extreme cold usually. A bit of emery-paper or a rem-grit blade sorts out teh connections pretty easily. Some electrical tape helps with the connections as well.

What lights would people recommend then that aren't cateye? No-one seems to do as wide a range. Mars? Smart?

sufferingpete

Give the contacts a rub with emery cloth or sand paper and they then work ok.

I always put mine with the switch at the top so the water collects at the battery end.

ie there inst a pocket for the water to collect in.

Surf-Matt

A tricky one - the end that has rusted is impossible to get to without pulling the light apart. The batteries also run the whole length of the light.

It's currently working okay but nearly caused a major headache at night last week - not having a light was simply NOT an option so I had to fix it on the roadside - not handy.

ride_whenever

Oh the LD600 is a pain to get to the far contact... you need something like a battery on a stick with grit glued to one end!

Surf-Matt

Flippin eck - this could turn into a major mission.

Suggestion to Cateye - why not use stainless steel for the contacts and seal the light better?!

ride_whenever

cost basically.

And sealing really doesn't work that well, you'll always get condensation due to very cold metal and moist air. Unless you made them completely air-tight and assembled them in a glove box... Which i might try!

mcj78

I had something similar happen to an old HL 500 II front light - ended up using a flat bladed screwdriver to scrape the deposits off & it worked a treat, had it for about 10 years and it's still going, even if it is rather fugly.

bannedbiker

Surf-Matt wrote:

Flippin eck - this could turn into a major mission.

Suggestion to Cateye - why not use stainless steel for the contacts and seal the light better?!

Stainless doesn't conduct all that well.

Surf-Matt

bannedbiker wrote:

Surf-Matt wrote:

Flippin eck - this could turn into a major mission.

Suggestion to Cateye - why not use stainless steel for the contacts and seal the light better?!

Stainless doesn't conduct all that well.

Super austenitic stainless isn't too bad but yes, it is a bit cack.

always_tyred

I've never had a problem with Cateye lights - the sealing or the switches.

Oh, wait, yes I have.

fnegroni

iPete wrote:

My other light (Smart Lunar 1/2 Watt) isn't so waterproof, have had to leave it to dry a few times so it can turn off with batteries in.

I have two of them, opposite experience to yours.
Used them for a year in all sorts of weather including -10C and snow storm for an hour, still perform flawlessly.

Retch

fnegroni wrote:

iPete wrote:

My other light (Smart Lunar 1/2 Watt) isn't so waterproof, have had to leave it to dry a few times so it can turn off with batteries in.

I have two of them, opposite experience to yours.
Used them for a year in all sorts of weather including -10C and snow storm for an hour, still perform flawlessly.

Completely agree: Had a Smart front light for years and it's outlasted a number of Cateyes. Doesn't move from the bars, bright as you can like, and batteries last for yonks.

Top product.

Surf-Matt

A Smart is sounding good.

It's working now after my bodge repair/fluke but not sure if I trust it!

Surely someone makes a properly mud/rain/pressure washer proof rear light?!

My front Hope 1 has never missed a beat despite much abuse.