# New Magicshine problem



## jabrabu (Aug 2, 2010)

I just got 2 new Magicshine lights. Both have the 4.5 Ah battery. For one battery, the charger indicates green (fully charged), but when I plug it into the light the indicator on the light shows red (battery very low). It only happens with that one battery, and it happens on both lights, so the problem is isolated to that battery.

Is this a common problem? Do I need to return it?


----------



## Waltah (Aug 5, 2011)

sounds like you have isolated the problem on your own by trying it on 2 lights.

do you have a multimeter to test it with?


----------



## wxl (Jul 21, 2011)

It might be the charger. Since you bought two lights, have you tried to charge the battery with another charger?


----------



## osmarandsara (Jun 26, 2006)

I had a similar problem with one of my original (pre-recall) batteries......I charged the battery for 4-hours....charger said green.......connected to the light but the light said red......

I narrowed the problem down to the battery after checking my light-head and my charger with a friend's battery.

I contacted GeoMan and they had me send in the bad battery and they shipped me a new one and I got it back in less than a week.


----------



## Rakuman (Oct 30, 2004)

*
When you plug it into the charger does it go from green,then blinks once red then green. then its the charger. Do not test with a multimeter unless you have the correct test jack you can short the battery *


----------



## RE1GN2 (Feb 28, 2008)

Most likely the battery is faulty and you need a replacement. I've also found in my past experience the battery failed and not the charger. Where did you get your magicshine light from?


----------



## jabrabu (Aug 2, 2010)

It's not the charger. I have 2 chargers and it does it with either charger, and with either light head.
I got them from geoman.


----------



## TheBigV (Aug 18, 2011)

Is the connection secure? Make sure you hear a "pop" when connecting the battery. I have the same idiosyncracy when I use the "extension cord" on my head lamp. Batteries perform at full capacity, but unless the connection is really secure, the lighting on the charger gets messed up.


----------



## pelts79 (Feb 29, 2008)

I have the same problem with the replacement battery.


----------



## apacherider (Mar 18, 2004)

How about this....I have one of the triple head Mickey Mouse version Magicshines. Had it about 13 months and used it heavily. Many many happy miles, lots of charges, lots of use. Lots of use around sunset in the 100 plus degree heat. The first issue was sometimes the smaller satellite lights will flicker but I chalked that up to the unit getting really hot. 

The second issue is that last night I noticed just using the big light, it would shine brightly when I initially turned it on, then after about 15 seconds flicker and not shine as bright, like it was stepping down the output? It's still bright but not retina burning.

Any clue what that might be? 

Before these issues started cropping up, I placed an order for a new Magicshine from dealextreme so i don't feel too bad if it goes belly up in the near future.


----------



## RE1GN2 (Feb 28, 2008)

Could be that your eyes were adjusting to the intensity of the light. Also like you mentioned, heat is a factor for LED performance. Usually after about 2 minutes and depending on the heat transfer, the LED can decrease output by about 8-10%.

I also bought a light from DX long ago and the MJ808 has been great until the battery kicked it (about 8 months later). I don't think I even used it that much as I wasn't exactly out riding every night. But, no regrets.. The magicshine was a good starter light.


----------



## osmarandsara (Jun 26, 2006)

just send the battery back already....Geoman will take care of you.......


----------



## apacherider (Mar 18, 2004)

RE1GN2 said:


> Could be that your eyes were adjusting to the intensity of the light. Also like you mentioned, heat is a factor for LED performance. Usually after about 2 minutes and depending on the heat transfer, the LED can decrease output by about 8-10%.


I thought that too, then did some tests. I can see the main led light step down in illumination. The 3 bulb magicshine has always had a brilliant white set of satellite lights(the two small ones) and the main light has a very slight yellow tint compared to the white-blue small lights. Now when I turn on the big light, it's really bright like the past, when it steps down in power output, the middle of the beam has a purple dot in the middle with a yellowish pink color for the rest. You would never notice it on the street or a trail. You have to point it at a white wall to see it.

Still not a really big deal. It was 107 yesterday here and was over 100 degrees at sunset when I was using it.


----------



## Cat-man-do (May 16, 2004)

apacherider said:


> I thought that too, then did some tests. I can see the main led light step down in illumination. The 3 bulb magicshine has always had a brilliant white set of satellite lights(the two small ones) and the main light has a very slight yellow tint compared to the white-blue small lights. Now when I turn on the big light, it's really bright like the past, when it steps down in power output, the middle of the beam has a purple dot in the middle with a yellowish pink color for the rest. You would never notice it on the street or a trail. You have to point it at a white wall to see it.
> 
> Still not a really big deal. It was 107 yesterday here and was over 100 degrees at sunset when I was using it.


I think your light head is ready to give up the ghost. More than likely there are components on the driver that are nearly fried and as such are causing the fluctuations you mentioned. This is likely due to the fact that the heat sinking ability of the MS's suck and that you also live in an area where it is really hot, giving it the double whammy.
You might want to ask the question on forum, "What is the best ( and cheapest ) light I can get that will handle heat"?

*jabrabu*,.....You bought from Geoman....your assessment sounds correct to me, it is likely the one battery or the connector on that battery. Stuff like this happens. This should be a slam dunk. Be glad you bought from Geoman. Send it back, send it back!


----------



## apacherider (Mar 18, 2004)

Cat-man-do said:


> I think your light head is ready to give up the ghost. More than likely there are components on the driver that are nearly fried and as such are causing the fluctuations you mentioned. This is likely due to the fact that the heat sinking ability of the MS's suck and that you also live in an area where it is really hot, giving it the double whammy.
> You might want to ask the question on forum, "What is the best ( and cheapest ) light I can get that will handle heat"?


I might try an experiment by sticking the head unit in the freezer till the aluminum gets cold, maybe 10 minutes, then turn it on to see if I can replicate it.

Light has lasted me many many miles though. Been great and I got my money's worth for sure.


----------



## wxl (Jul 21, 2011)

jabrabu said:


> It's not the charger. I have 2 chargers and it does it with either charger, and with either light head.
> I got them from geoman.


If it's not Magicshine battery if you bought from Geoman. Geoman has been selling USA made batteries with MS lamps after the recall thing.


----------



## apacherider (Mar 18, 2004)

Cat-man-do said:


> I think your light head is ready to give up the ghost. More than likely there are components on the driver that are nearly fried and as such are causing the fluctuations you mentioned.


The main led died last night about 4-5 rides after I noticed it acting up. Last night it started strong, then dimmed, dimmed, dimmed. Then konked out. The smaller satellite lights still work fine so it's not a battery issue.

Anyone hazard a guess to the part that might be fried?


----------



## RE1GN2 (Feb 28, 2008)

apacherider said:


> The main led died last night about 4-5 rides after I noticed it acting up. Last night it started strong, then dimmed, dimmed, dimmed. Then konked out. The smaller satellite lights still work fine so it's not a battery issue.
> 
> Anyone hazard a guess to the part that might be fried?


To be honest, I don't think its the heat that caused your problem. These LEDs have a much longer run time before they die and if paired with the right board, it is probably the last thing to die on you (battery, board, inductor etc.)

The slow dimming until shutting off suggests there is something wrong with the board. Though I'm not familiar with the mickey mouse circuitry, I can't exactly tell you where the problem is. You can also do a quick test with the XM-L board if you had a DC power supply.


----------



## 'BentRyder (Sep 17, 2011)

apacherider said:


> The main led died last night about 4-5 rides after I noticed it acting up. Last night it started strong, then dimmed, dimmed, dimmed. Then konked out. The smaller satellite lights still work fine so it's not a battery issue.
> 
> Anyone hazard a guess to the part that might be fried?


I'm going to venture a failed driver. It overpowered the LED causing a very bright output for a moment, it went blue and since, it is struggling to put light out until it died. Is it under warrantee? If not, you could try replacing the LED itself but it might just do the same thing.


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

The magicshine lights use components on the driver that are under-spec'd for the load they are operating at. The DIY forum has had several threads in last couple years detailing the problems.


----------



## apacherider (Mar 18, 2004)

'BentRyder said:


> I'm going to venture a failed driver. It overpowered the LED causing a very bright output for a moment, it went blue and since, it is struggling to put light out until it died. Is it under warrantee? If not, you could try replacing the LED itself but it might just do the same thing.


Sounds about like what happened. It was a progressive issue over a couple rides. I bought the light from Dealextreme in July of 2010 so I don't think any warranty would apply. It has been used for 125 or more rides. Not turned on for every ride but it was shaken and rattled for many thousands of miles. No regrets.

I have another single light magicshine on the way. In the mean time I'm just using my Minewt. No biggie.


----------



## Waltah (Aug 5, 2011)

what is the driver issue being mentioned? is it a series of resistors operating to regulate the forward bias of the LEDs? depending on the component size and board it may be an inexpensive fix to replace the bad components on the board if you are familiar with soldering.


----------

