USB light not holding a charge

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Twilkes

Guru
Bike light with an integrated battery and USB charging, won't hold its charge so is now basically useless. The lamp shows red as if it's charging, then goes green as if it's stopped charging, then back to red again, cycling through this every few seconds. If it's plugged in the light will shine, but as soon as it's unplugged it's dead again.

Is there anything obvious I can check inside the casing, dodgy/dirty connections etc? Or is it pretty much for the bin now?

I guess I could use a USB power bank as an external battery, no idea how long that would last compared to the original battery though.
 

figbat

Slippery scientist
You may be able to dismantle it and replace the battery, assuming it’s a voltage, capacity and shape you can find. It’ll probably need some soldering.
 
Bike light with an integrated battery and USB charging, won't hold its charge so is now basically useless. The lamp shows red as if it's charging, then goes green as if it's stopped charging, then back to red again, cycling through this every few seconds. If it's plugged in the light will shine, but as soon as it's unplugged it's dead again.

Is there anything obvious I can check inside the casing, dodgy/dirty connections etc? Or is it pretty much for the bin now?

I guess I could use a USB power bank as an external battery, no idea how long that would last compared to the original battery though.

if it was reasonably expensive and not that old, maybe contact the distributor/manufacturer? If it wasn't exoensive, try pulling it apart to see if there's anything obviously wrong but probably for the bin and get another?

What light was it / how old?
 
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Twilkes

Twilkes

Guru
if it was reasonably expensive and not that old, maybe contact the distributor/manufacturer? If it wasn't exoensive, try pulling it apart to see if there's anything obviously wrong but probably for the bin and get another?

What light was it / how old?

Fluxient Elite S3 so not a mainstream light, 9 months old although obviously no usage in last 6 months. £30, the other one is still going great so hoping it's something simple. Was kept in the shed for a while so maybe cold temperatures have done something to the battery.

Big night ride next weekend so lucky I'm checking now!
 
Fluxient Elite S3 so not a mainstream light, 9 months old although obviously no usage in last 6 months. £30, the other one is still going great so hoping it's something simple. Was kept in the shed for a while so maybe cold temperatures have done something to the battery.

Big night ride next weekend so lucky I'm checking now!

If it's 9 months old it should be covered by a guarantee?
 

lazybloke

Considering a new username
Location
Leafy Surrey
And to those that don't know, lithium ion batteries should never be left flat for long periods of time as it damages their chemistry/capacity.
 
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Twilkes

Twilkes

Guru
And to those that don't know, lithium ion batteries should never be left flat for long periods of time as it damages their chemistry/capacity.

Could that have happened here? The other light is fine but still had some charge in it from March.
 

newfhouse

Resolutely on topic
If you don’t get a helpful response from your supplier are you able to swap batteries with the one from the working light? This will tell you if it is the battery or the charging circuit that is faulty. You can probably source a replacement battery for a few pounds if that proves to be the problem.

Edit... this may involve some simple soldering unless the battery has a plug and socket arrangement.
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
Quality of the battery (probably) dictates everything.
My battery packs (homebrew Panasonic 4x 18650) were left for well over a year unused and worked fine when i did start using them again.

Cheap batteries may well give a different outcome.
 
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Twilkes

Twilkes

Guru
Did you fully charge before you left for 9 months?

What would your guess be? ;)

I'll have a look inside but if it's gubbed it's not the end of the world, I found a small USB power bank that has lasted 4 hours as an external battery so have that as a backup.
 
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