Dealextreme Magicshine

andyrr

After all the positive comments at the start of winter I bought one of the Magicshine lights (the 25149 model with the Li-ion packs). Worked a treat, good light, sufficient battery life for my needs but recently it has sometimes taken a wiggle from the connectors between battery and charger for the light on the charger to change from green (fully charged) to red (starting to charge) and it was pretty iffy last night but did seem to start charging.
Come this morning I connect the light and battery connectors and all that I got from the light was the red indicator at the rear. No life from the light and unplugging the connector a few times resulted in the same red, no green light at all.
I've contacted Dealextreme via email (their form insists on a picture of the fault being supplied which is nonsense) so I await a response.
Just wonder if
a) this seems something others have experienced
b) what their customer service is like : will they insist on the light being returned to them
c) Could I / is it worth fixing it myself (depends on b above I guess) ?

term1te

I can't comment on their customer service, but I also have the light and found that it won't charge unless the battery is all but flat. i.e. if the light on the button is green it won't charge, and will only charge once the light has been run with a red button for a while. I guess there is a voltage sensor in the charger that still registers the battery as not needing charging even though the light head unit has gone red.

Unless there is a physically damaged conection, I'm not sure if taking it apart would help. I'd try recharging the battery, and failing that hope their customer service is better than their delivery times.

Shame as when charged and working it's a good light.

andyrr

I'd been charging mine after each ride, the red light on the charger would come on (or used to anyway) and after a couple of hours I'd switch it off (didn't let it charge up too much after that, I'd check before going to bed) and it was functioning fine.
Last night the charger light would flicker green/red if I wiggled the connector between battery and charger so pretty sure that is where the problem is.
Don't think the battery is duff as it worked fine on my previous ride last week.
Will await DX's response.

neil²

I've got probs with mine. Haven't used it for a few weeks and came to it to charge up tonight. Plugged it in and the light turned red, and then back to green in a minute or two. When you plug in the lamp, it gives one flash and then nothing.

Anyone fixed that problem?

ynyswen24

Why do people try and save money by buying these lights from Taiwan/Korea/China and then find that they recieve incomplete orders or faulty goods or kit that just doesn't last?
It's a serious question because the what lights thread on the mtb forum has page after page of people happy with the money they've saved but with seemingly unusable lights. I spent a few quid more on a P7 led light from a UK supplier and have had no problems (and if there were to be any then I can give them a call), mind you the clocks go forward in a few weeks. Quids in then.

Anonymous

Yep. Loved my Magicshine until the battery pack seemed to cark it. Still using my P7 torch though...

Will probably get a Planet X Luu light next...

ynyswen24

It was Planet X I got the P7 from but I didn't want to get accused of being a fanboy...

stokepa31

NapoleonD wrote:

Yep. Loved my Magicshine until the battery pack seemed to cark it. Still using my P7 torch though...

Will probably get a Planet X Luu light next...

P7s are the mutts nuts. had mine for a long time now and have dropped them on hard floors from good height with no problems. they look pretty cool onthe bars as a pair too.

you get what you pay for chaps

TimoH

ynyswen24 wrote:

Why do people try and save money by buying these lights from Taiwan/Korea/China and then find that they recieve incomplete orders or faulty goods or kit that just doesn't last?

Simple maths: The cheap copy from China costs X pounds. The original costs 4-6X. I'm better off by buying two cheap copies, i.e. one for active use and one as a spare. Together, they probably last longer than the original.

(Yes, I have boughth two magicshines and a bunch of other P7-torches from dealextreme.)

neil²

ynyswen24 wrote:

Why do people try and save money by buying these lights from Taiwan/Korea/China and then find that they recieve incomplete orders or faulty goods or kit that just doesn't last?

- because 90% of the time you save a lot of money
- because all of the initial reviews were excellent
- because (unlike bikes) the materials cost are pretty low and so it is easy to see how it is plausible that you could manufacture a light for £50, and it's difficult to understand how it could cost £400, even with a decent margin.

OK, this time we might have got stung, but I'm still using my Fenix 2 years down the line so am still £200 up on my Far East lights.

If you've got enough cash to afford the best in the LBS then go ahead - no-one's stopping you! I'm sure that you would never ever buy something that doesn't live up to the claims!

APIII

The Magicshine is a good light and can't be bettered for the price. However, you have to be able to rely on your light and unfortunately I can't do that with the Magicshine. On a ride last week, it packed up after an hour despite being fully charged before I left. My Lupine cost a lot more, but at least I can trust it to work 100%

ynyswen24

neil² wrote:

ynyswen24 wrote:

Why do people try and save money by buying these lights from Taiwan/Korea/China and then find that they recieve incomplete orders or faulty goods or kit that just doesn't last?

- because 90% of the time you save a lot of money
- because all of the initial reviews were excellent
- because (unlike bikes) the materials cost are pretty low and so it is easy to see how it is plausible that you could manufacture a light for £50, and it's difficult to understand how it could cost £400, even with a decent margin.

OK, this time we might have got stung, but I'm still using my Fenix 2 years down the line so am still £200 up on my Far East lights.

If you've got enough cash to afford the best in the LBS then go ahead - no-one's stopping you! I'm sure that you would never ever buy something that doesn't live up to the claims!

But thats the point. I didn't go to my LBS or a UK mail order outlet and put out £200 or more. I got a P7 from a UK company for £59 and full warranty backup if I needed it.
If theres a problem I don't have to wait x months to get it sorted and then get hit with import duty by the Post Office.
The reviews, and here I am referring directly to the What Lights sticky on BikeRadar, all praise the performance of far eastern lights while also bemoaning the shoddy service and delivery times and the general unreliablity. It just seems like cutting your nose off to spite your face...
I've bought many a pup as far as bike kit is concerned, thats why I didn't go to DealExtreme...

ademort

My Macshine is also broken. Charged it up, light on Green, attached it to the light and it does not work anymore. Have handed it in to our electrical engineering department to see if they can do something with it, will keep you informed.Shame it was a bloody great light for the price. Well look on the brightside, i almost got a full winter out of it. :oops:
Ademort

andyrr

Still waiting for DX response ... just as well the days are getting longer.

ademort

ademort wrote:

My Macshine is also broken. Charged it up, light on Green, attached it to the light and it does not work anymore. Have handed it in to our electrical engineering department to see if they can do something with it, will keep you informed.Shame it was a bloody great light for the price. Well look on the brightside, i almost got a full winter out of it. :oops:
Ademort

Had the lightset checked out by our electrical department and apparently the battery has died a death. Have sent Dealextreme a nice letter explaining that i bought the lamp in November and its now useless without the battery and can they help. Will wait for a reply, hope its positive. Other than that i will buy 4 new 18650 batteries and join them up to form a new power pack. That will be next year though now as the lighter mornings are coming and i still have my P7.
Ademort

rake

lithium polymer batteries have a shelf life. beware if its cheap it might have gone dead on the shelf.

andyrr

Eventual response fro DX was to check out their forums - lots of problems are resolved by referring to these they say !
Did so anyway but as the problem is a faulty cable/connector I've gone back to them now, will await their further response - not the best customer service yet.

Monty Dog

I bought a P-X Luu this winter and it's been fine. I'm reluctant to pay a premium for a 'UK-made' light when all the electronic components come from the far-East and all you're paying a hefty chunk of money for is some fancy machined aluminium housing.

hopper1

=TimoH(Yes, I have boughth two magicshines and a bunch of other P7-torches from dealextreme.)

I have 2 x MS and 3 x P7's, still working, too.

=neil²If you've got enough cash to afford the best in the LBS then go ahead - no-one's stopping you!

Monies not an issue... I colud easily buy a Lupine, etc, but why should I? MS does the job, still got money in pocket!
I bought mine, because I couldn't resist at that price. I haven't used them yet, though... But they are still working

Runoutofgears

I've been using my Magicshine since Oct 09 and it's still going well. IMO the key weaknesses are; the connectors which are initially stiff to undo and need care not to damage the cable when releasing, and the battery pack which is not water resistant.

I followed the MTB Forum modification for the fixing bracket using an "Electron" fixing which works well.

I may install a switch to avoid having to disconnect the battery each time.

Ok for the money, but you do have to look after it.

andyrr

Got a response from DX - send it back. As it's over 50 days since shipping the costs both ways are my responsibility, will need to check that out to see if it going to be worth it else I'll try to fix myself.