Broken Magicshine Battery

craker
craker Posts: 1,739
edited October 2010 in Commuting general
The light died suddenly on my way in yesterday. I thought perhaps this was normal for the technology (is it? At least my halogens get dimmer..)

I put the battery on charge last night, 1/2 hour later plugged it onto the lamp and it worked again, confirming that the battery is flat and not a dead head unit.

On charge overnight, set out in tipping rain this morning to find a completely dead lamp again :shock: I nearly drove...

I''ve only used the thing a handful of times. Still, I've no packaging and don't know if it's worth pursueing a refund from whoever I got it off in the USA.

Anyone sourced a replacement? I did find a UK distributor who are selling batteries at £45. That's not much less than I paid for the whole thing.

I might try a random ebay battery. 8.4v according to the UK magicshine site I saw.

Comments

  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    Are you sure its not the charger that's knackered?
    More problems but still living....
  • craker
    craker Posts: 1,739
    amaferanga wrote:
    Are you sure its not the charger that's knackered?

    Could be... there's a two colour LED on it. It was green when I put it on charge and off this morning.

    Having looked at the 'weather proofed' battery on sale in the UK it does strike me that the one I've got has got damp; it's just in a canvas case after all.
  • andyrr
    andyrr Posts: 1,819
    Are the cells not shrink-wrapped in plastic inside the bag ? They are 4 individual cells connected (in pairs I believe)
    I had a similar maybe even the same problem - plug battery into charger (charger not plugged into mains) green light, plug into mains and switch on and I would then get a red light but in a short time (5 - 10 minutes) it would flip to green, as if the battery was charged. It wasn't and after some work I've reckoned the charger is duff. I'm currently trying to source a better alternative as the originals seem to be quite good at failing or even frying the batteries. Unfortunately better ones come in at around 50% of the cost of the whole lightset but as they should last better and not cause any long-term issues with the battery I am reckoning that it'll be worth it.
    NUKE Proof chargers and possibly (still awaiting someone saying yes to this) the LU cahrger that Planet X sell should work with these.
  • R_T_A
    R_T_A Posts: 488
    Just had the same problem, although didn't know that at the time. A recent deluge made mine not worky, but wasn't sure if it was the LED, cable, battery or charger. So I ended up buying the whole thing again from the UK stockist.

    I got mine last winter, and all I can say is the battery & charger are significantly better quality now, with a waterproof covering for the battery. The lamp has more settings (high, medium, low, flash, SOS).

    However, if you've isolated the issue you can buy individual parts:

    http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk/Bike-Light-Accessories/288-c
    Giant Escape R1
    FCN 8
    "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
    - Terry Pratchett.
  • andyrr
    andyrr Posts: 1,819
    Re
    http://www.magicshineuk.co.uk/UK-(CE-Marked)-Mains-Battery-Charger-for-MJ-808--MJ-816-and-MJ-818-Bike-Lights/4693-v

    Sure it is exactly the right one but having decided to try and source a charger that is better at regulating the charge I'm hoping to get such a thing, the above one is just the a pretty standard UK charger suited to these battery packs.
    Hence the possible sourcing of the NUKE or LUU ones.
  • tomhammersley
    tomhammersley Posts: 107
    I've heard a lot of stories about Magicshine batteries lack of waterproofing, so I "waterproofed" mine using a condom.

    No problems so far despite the English weather's best attempts - and easy to replace the waterproofing if it gets compromised!

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