Rear LED switching itself off

Phileas said:

Does anyone have a solution to the problem of a rear LED (Vistalite 5
LED job) switching itself off when shaken/bumped? (Apart from buying
a new one!)

Phileas

Mine doesn't do that. Check for loose wires/connectors

"Martin Newstead (MSeries)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mine doesn't do that. Check for loose wires/connectors

I've got two identical ones which both do it. There are no obvious loose
connections.

Phileas

Phileas said:

"Martin Newstead (MSeries)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mine doesn't do that. Check for loose wires/connectors

I've got two identical ones which both do it. There are no obvious
loose connections.

Phileas

b***er I expect mine will also. I'll give it a shake tonight ! Does it
switch itself back on ?

Quoted message said:

I've got two identical ones which both do it. There are no obvious loose
connections.

Maybe some corosion on the battery, the contacts to the battery or the pressure of the contacts pressing against the battery.

"Phileas" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Martin Newstead (MSeries)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mine doesn't do that. Check for loose wires/connectors

I've got two identical ones which both do it. There are no obvious loose
connections.

Phileas

"Martin Newstead (MSeries)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

b***er I expect mine will also. I'll give it a shake tonight ! Does it
switch itself back on ?

It doesn't switch itself back on.

I find it will go for months without it happening and then it keeps
happening.

Sometimes if I open the case I can get the same effect by applying pressure
to various points.

Phileas

Phileas said:

Does anyone have a solution to the problem of a rear LED (Vistalite 5 LED
job) switching itself off when shaken/bumped? (Apart from buying a new one!)

Phileas

Howdy,

Perhaps getting one of those "comfort" frames we have been reading
about <g>.

All the best,

--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

"Phileas" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've got two identical ones which both do it. There are no obvious loose
connections.

If you've checked the connections then my money would be on some defect in
the PCB, or the connection of components to the PCB - if you can do it by
applying pressure at various points inside the case the chances are you are
bending/flexing it slightly as you do so, causing break in the circuitry
somewhere. A bump could do the same thing. Are they still under guarantee?
I guess not or you'd have taken them back...

Rich

Phileas said:

Does anyone have a solution to the problem of a rear LED (Vistalite 5 LED
job) switching itself off when shaken/bumped? (Apart from buying a new one!)

Phileas

Dear Phileas,

I have a somewhat similar problem, a blinking light with
several patterns that won't switch off or switch reliably
from mode to mode. Disassembly and dunking in alcohol and
working the switch improves things, but it always goes back
to unreliable behavior.

I suspect that the solution for my problem is a new light
whose tiny switch is not corroded or filled with debris.

With your light switching itself off, I suspect that a
different brand or at least a non-lemon is the answer.

Good luck,

Carl Fogel

On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 18:03:33 GMT, "Phileas" <[email hidden]> wrote
in message <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Does anyone have a solution to the problem of a rear LED (Vistalite 5 LED
job) switching itself off when shaken/bumped? (Apart from buying a new one!)

Dismantle, clean battery ends, clean the spring contacts, spring them
a bit, reassemble. If that doesn't fix it, a small piece of paper
wrapped round each battery will, IME. It's caused by momentary loss
of contact, but you probably worked that our for yourself :-)

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

Phileas" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Does anyone have a solution to the problem of a rear LED (Vistalite 5 LED
job) switching itself off when shaken/bumped? (Apart from buying a new

one!)

Quoted message said:

Phileas

I've had two of these pack up.
The latest one only works if I hold the button in!

Paul.
Remove junk to reply

I have an LED that does this when the batteries start to run low. For me, a
recharge of the batteries always fixes the problem.

I use rechargable NiMH batteries. The batteries usually have plenty of life
in them when this happens, but they've been going for a while. It seems the
problem you describe is more sensitive to the loss of a little juice than
the LEDs themselves. That is, the LEDs usually still have plenty of
brightness if you can hold still and keep them on. I imagine this would be a
big PITA with alkalyne batteries, but with rechargables it's really just an
inconvenience.

-Bruce-

Phileas said:

Does anyone have a solution to the problem of a rear LED (Vistalite 5 LED
job) switching itself off when shaken/bumped? (Apart from buying a new one!)

I'm not familiar with that particular light, but I have observed a
such a problem in some of my own rear blinkies. These are all lights
that hold the batteries in a vertical position when clipped in place,
and the weight of the batteries tends to flatten the spring contacts
after a time. When the contacts get flabby enough to momentarily open
the circuit, the light turns itself off when bumped.

The seatpost mount that came with these lights holds them in a
horizontal orientation, and when used that way, they never have a
problem with turning themselves off. It is only when they are clipped
vertically that they have the problem. When I wear them clipped onto
my clothes, they stay on consistently, I assume because they do not
receive shock loads.

A partial remedy is to bend a deeper set into the contacts, but
eventually the tabs will break off.

Chalo Colina

"Frank Krygowski" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Chalo said:

Phileas said:

Does anyone have a solution to the problem of a rear LED (Vistalite 5

LED

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

job) switching itself off when shaken/bumped? (Apart from buying a new

one!)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm not familiar with that particular light, but I have observed a
such a problem in some of my own rear blinkies. These are all lights
that hold the batteries in a vertical position when clipped in place,
and the weight of the batteries tends to flatten the spring contacts
after a time. When the contacts get flabby enough to momentarily open
the circuit, the light turns itself off when bumped.

The seatpost mount that came with these lights holds them in a
horizontal orientation, and when used that way, they never have a
problem with turning themselves off. It is only when they are clipped
vertically that they have the problem. When I wear them clipped onto
my clothes, they stay on consistently, I assume because they do not
receive shock loads.

The problem with going from a vertical to a horizontal orientation is
that many (or most? or all?) LED taillights have a preferred
orientation for visibility to traffic. LEDs are very directional.

Some units with three to five LEDs in a horizontal line have the LEDS
splayed outward a bit, to get perhaps 30 degrees of brightness measured
side-to-side. If you turn that line vertical, you're impressing the
airliners and the earthworms with some of the LEDs, and showing less
light to the following drivers.

The LED-light manufacturers are usually counting on the unit being
mounted perpendicular to the ground and with the proper orientation.
For this reason, I prefer a solid mount to the bike frame, rack, or
fender rather than mounting on clothes or floppy bike bags.

I just bought a Vistalite "Super Nebula 5", a 5 LED rear light. It has both
the batteries (2 AA) and the lights mounted horizontally. Both the belt
clip and post bracket maintain that orientation. It is very well sealed,
with a gasket between the halves and covering the switch. There is no
side-to-side angling of the LEDs, perhaps a 10 degree beam width, pretty
much the same h&v. It also has an integral reflector in the lens. Nice
light for $10-15, hard to find anything to complain about.

"Martin Newstead \(MSeries\)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Phileas said:

Does anyone have a solution to the problem of a rear LED (Vistalite 5
LED job) switching itself off when shaken/bumped? (Apart from buying
a new one!)

Phileas

Mine doesn't do that. Check for loose wires/connectors

Or loose batteries. Maybe the battery contacts have got a little
squashed over time? If this is so you could prise them open a little.

Don't know about Vistalites, but this has certainly heppened to me
after using some rechargeables that were just a fraction larger than
usual.

Andrew.

"Phileas" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Does anyone have a solution to the problem of a rear LED (Vistalite 5 LED
job) switching itself off when shaken/bumped? (Apart from buying a new one!)

Phileas

I've had the same experience. In my case, the problem arose about six
months after I had purchased the light, and was due to (as others have
noted) the lower battery contacts, which had become compressed over
time. A good bump could break the connection, which in turn reset the
switch to off.

I bent the contacts back (and replaced the batteries for good measure)
and haven't had any problems with the unit in the last two years.

I suspect that where you mount the light may have something to do with
the useful life of the contacts--mine was seatstay mounted when it
failed; locating it on the back of a saddlebag seems to help shield it
from some of the bumps...

Quoted message said:

Does anyone have a solution to the problem of a rear LED
(Vistalite 5 LED job) switching itself off when shaken/bumped?
(Apart from buying a new one!)

One of mine did the same thing intermittently last winter, while I
changed batteries; cleaned the switch, tabs, and PCB; dismantled and
searched for cracks in the PC board, etcetera, before I discovered that
the switchoff was caused by a momentary loss of contact between one
battery's positive end and the corresponding tab. The remedy was to bend
the negative end tab [quite a lot] so as to apply more contact pressure
between battery and tabs.

--
"Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much
to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes,
it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)