I have a set of mod 2 or 3 lights not sure, 1 is a 5v and the high beam is 15 they run off a 6v battery pack nicd. they are schwinn,I bought them about 3yrs ago, the battery has gone dead and since schwinn is no more, and the co. that bought them does not support these lights i have no way to buy these replacement batteries, i went to radioshack and bought 5 nickle metal hydride 1.2v@4500mah and stripped them togather to make a 6 volt pack,they seemed to work for about 45 min but since they were never charged from RS the died out, i tried recharging them with the supplied charger from schwinn, which puts out 7v@300mah they never reach a full charge, they run about 5 min. and go dim, i checked them with a fluke after they are charged and it say 6.7v so it seems that they are charging but don't know if they need a deep charge or something i left them on for 20hr with same result. the original were nicd 1.2@4500mah .i was wandering if using the old charger on the nickle metal hydride has something to do with it.its driving me crazy i would like to get the lites up and running, i really like tthe lites and do not want to replace them,for now i am using a small cateye any suggestions or anyone who ran into this problem all replys welcome.
I have a set of mod 2 or 3 lights not sure, 1 is a 5v and the high beam is 15 they run off a 6v battery pack nicd. they are schwinn,I bought them about 3yrs ago, the battery has gone dead and since schwinn is no more, and the co. that bought them does not support these lights i have no way to buy these replacement batteries, i went to radioshack and bought 5 nickle metal hydride 1.2v@4500mah and stripped them togather to make a 6 volt pack,they seemed to work for about 45 min but since they were never charged from RS the died out, i tried recharging them with the supplied charger from schwinn, which puts out 7v@300mah they never reach a full charge, they run about 5 min. and go dim, i checked them with a fluke after they are charged and it say 6.7v so it seems that they are charging but don't know if they need a deep charge or something i left them on for 20hr with same result. the original were nicd 1.2@4500mah .i was wandering if using the old charger on the nickle metal hydride has something to do with it.its driving me crazy i would like to get the lites up and running, i really like tthe lites and do not want to replace them,for now i am using a small cateye any suggestions or anyone who ran into this problem all replys welcome.
thanks Ron
Ron, You need to buy a charger made for NiMH and not for NiCad. I have a dual charger and it has different settings for each. Something about the chemistry makes them want a different time versus current curve. I have had a set for my cheapo digital camera for about 15 months with no problem using the right charger. Bill Baka
Ron, You need to buy a charger made for NiMH and not for NiCad. I have a dual charger and it has different settings for each. Something about the chemistry makes them want a different time versus current curve. I have had a set for my cheapo digital camera for about 15 months with no problem using the right charger. Bill Baka
Bill, Thanks for the repy, i kinda thought it was something like that, I really do not have much knowlege of building these battery packs.and what battery goes with what charger, i been reading on the web some info but there is way more than i need to know or understand, do yo have any recomendations for a charger? I was looking at this one and wondering if it will do.
Ron, You need to buy a charger made for NiMH and not for NiCad. I have a dual charger and it has different settings for each. Something about the chemistry makes them want a different time versus current curve. I have had a set for my cheapo digital camera for about 15 months with no problem using the right charger. Bill Baka
Bill, Thanks for the repy, i kinda thought it was something like that, I really do not have much knowlege of building these battery packs.and what battery goes with what charger, i been reading on the web some info but there is way more than i need to know or understand, do yo have any recomendations for a charger? I was looking at this one and wondering if it will do.
Ron, I looked at the charger and it looks like it is for battery packs and not for individual batteries. If you have individual batteries it is better to charge them each as a separate unit. If you charge them as a pack, one weak cell can take down the rest, as the charger can only sense the total voltage. I bought a Duracell kit of 4 AA batteries with a charger and it has 4 slots so I can charge each battery separately. From you first post, which I lost, it sounds as if you have C size cells, so you have more than a few dollars tied up, and will want to treat them as well as you can. Radio Shack is the starting point for most people, although you might want to try either a hardware store or an electronics outlet like Comp USA, or one that sells portable electronics. You will probably wind up with something made in China, which is sadly unavoidable these days, but you should be able to find a decent brand name. Good luck in your search. Since this is only semi-bike related I will cut it here, but this may be of some use to those who want extra capacity for night time rides. Bill Baka
Bill <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
Ron said:
Quoted message said:
Ron, You need to buy a charger made for NiMH and not for NiCad. I have a dual charger and it has different settings for each. Something about the chemistry makes them want a different time versus current curve. I have had a set for my cheapo digital camera for about 15 months with no problem using the right charger. Bill Baka
Bill, Thanks for the repy, i kinda thought it was something like that, I really do not have much knowlege of building these battery packs.and what battery goes with what charger, i been reading on the web some info but there is way more than i need to know or understand, do yo have any recomendations for a charger? I was looking at this one and wondering if it will do.
Ron, I looked at the charger and it looks like it is for battery packs and not for individual batteries. If you have individual batteries it is better to charge them each as a separate unit. If you charge them as a pack, one weak cell can take down the rest, as the charger can only sense the total voltage. I bought a Duracell kit of 4 AA batteries with a charger and it has 4 slots so I can charge each battery separately. From you first post, which I lost, it sounds as if you have C size cells, so you have more than a few dollars tied up, and will want to treat them as well as you can. Radio Shack is the starting point for most people, although you might want to try either a hardware store or an electronics outlet like Comp USA, or one that sells portable electronics. You will probably wind up with something made in China, which is sadly unavoidable these days, but you should be able to find a decent brand name. Good luck in your search. Since this is only semi-bike related I will cut it here, but this may be of some use to those who want extra capacity for night time rides. Bill Baka
Bill, Thanks for the repy, this battery charger also charges individual cells.it has an optional tray for each differnt size cell. thanks for the info
