Commuting - Cateye TLD-1000: P.O.S.

I recently bought a new tail-light for my commuter, and based on several positive reviews here I went with the Cateye TLD-1000.

Boy was I disappointed. Do those of you who use this light ride on glass-smooth streets or what? 'Cause anytime I encounter anything even *resembling* rough pavement the d*mn thing shuts off.

Did I just get a bum light, or is the tld-1000 a piece of crap?

I'm using rechargeable batteries, could that be the problem? If I can't use rechargeables in it, it's not much use to me anyway, though so it doesn't make a whole lot of difference.

Not sure what performancebike's return-policy is, but I hope it's reasonable 'cause this thing isn't of much use when it won't stay on for more than a block at a time...

Do I assume I got a defective light, and try again w/ the cateye or is there a better option? Time to use the search function and review all the taillight threads I suppose...

I'm pretty happy w/ the viewpoint flare I have on my other bike, with the exception of the sideways mount 'cause it rubs against my leg. It's fine for around-town, but a 15 mile commute with that thing rubbing against my leg would get annoying pretty fast.

-Trevor

I used mine all winter, hour trip each way, on normal batteries. Replaced them for the first time this week. Thats after almost a complete winters worth of riding every day.

Never had a problem. Id say you got a bum light, or the lid just isnt closing right where it contacts the batteries.

Rechargeables might not have the correct length.
Ask 2manybikes, he's come up with a few fixes for his.

It sounds like the batteries you are using fit loosely enough to bounce up and down on bumps and momentarily disconnect the power to the light, which leaves it in an off state.

Open the battery door and feel carefully with your fingernail or a toothpick or something to see how much pressure the batteries are exerting on the spring that is supposed to keep this from happening. If you can break electrical contact very easily, you probably found your culprit.

Compare your rechargeables to major name brand alkaline batteries to see if they are slightly shorter in length. Regardless of the answer, you probably need more spring tension. Either stretch out the spring in the battery holder a little (carefully!), or add a spacer of some kind. A folded-up scrap of aluminum foil 1/8" thick stacked in line with the batteries may just do the trick.

It sounds to me like you got a bum light. Both my wife and I regularly ride over cobblestone streets with or TL-1000 with no problems.

Trevor:

I have used mine riding over rutted ice with no problems. Sounds like a lemon....

I run the TL-LD1000 and TL-LD500 and have never had any problems with either of these lights.

However, on the front I run the HL-500II and I did have a problem with one of these lights when I switched over to rechargable batteries that had me scratching my head. Until I figured out that some rechargables are just a wee little bit shorter than a standard AA. A little judicious manipulation of the light's contacts fixed the problem.

I ride 10.5 miles a day, 4 of it on very rough, washboarded/potholed gravel, and it has never given me a single problem.

Make sure you have clean contacts and batteries, and that the lid is fully engaged.

If not, call/write CatEye - I am sure they'll replace it.

I have a couple of lights that do not work well with rechargeable batteries and one that does not work at all with them, nothing not a bit. But they work great with All alkaline and Lithium non rechargeable.

I have a few of the green rechargeable AA's from Radio Shack. It seems that the rolled edge of the plastic cover is almost as tall as the bump sticking up that is the + terminal. It also gets worse the more you recharge them. The edge starts to stick up more. I also have had a few other lights that just needed the battery and light terminals cleaned with a clean paper towel and just a dab of wd-40, that removes the invisible corrosion that insulates it a little. These lights were also going off when going over a bump.

I never tried rechargeable in either of my two TL-LD 1000 lights. I have taken them off road over the worst bumps imaginable. Frozen ruts in ice for miles and miles. It's like riding over rocks the size of tennis balls 5" apart that don't move. Much bumpier and more consistent than anything else in nature. And lots of other off roading. My lights work great.

Try Alkaline batteries just to see if it is the rechargeable batteries.
If that does not work clean the terminals off.
Try stretching the contact springs a little.
If that does not work get another light.

Practice now, the Viewpoint "Flare" will eventually do that too. The cleaning may get that going just fine.

Bum light.

I take my on chip and seal roads all the time with no problem. I have dropped mine off the back of my bike doing 20 mph and have it bounce down the road with only a few scuff marks as a result.

I would see if the contacts are bent. If not, I would exchange it for a new one.

Mine works fine with non-rechargables, even over cracked and rutted neighborhood streets. Try some normal alkalines in it to see if you have the same problem. If you do, exchange it. If it works fine with alkalines, try the spacer or spring stretch method mentioned above.

My TLD-1000 and TLD-500 have not had this problem but I have gone through 3 EL-200 a Nashbar Brilliant-III and two different NiteHawk headlights that seemed to have similar problems. The Cateye control mechanism will definately reset to off whenever there is a disconnect in the power supply. Bending the battery contacts to provide a stronger contact sometimes temporaily releaves the symptoms. It sounds like you may have a bum light and I would consider returning it for a replacement.
Craig

My TLD-1000 works great. I bought it because it was recommended here. The last time I took my bike to the LBS one of the wrenches said, "You know, that's the best taillight you can buy".

But, my Nitehawk Raptor 10w 6v system has been an ongoing issue. The first SLA battery failed almost immediately, but I was able to pry open the water bottle case, buy a replacement battery off eBay, and duct tape everything back together. I still have the most annoying problem in the world, though. When I hit a big enough bump the light goes out. I can hit the switch and turn it back on again, but it's really annoying to see a speed bump coming up and wonder, "Is it going to go out this time?". Last week I traced it to the plug connection between the battery and the cable. I bought some waterproof connectors from an online shop, and I am awaiting their arrival. That should give me a bulletproof headlight, until the next thing goes wrong.

Oh, and I also ordered a 20w bulb to replace my 10w. I think my 5ah battery wll handle that for an hour.

Dave
www.davewilson.cc/Bike

I've had mine for a couple of weeks without any problems.
I ride through construction areas without a single issue.
Mine has the original batteries in it. Never understood the point of rechargables in a small LED light. The run time is fairly long.

It's not a bum light. Clean the contacts inside the light with a pencil eraser and blow out the residue. Also make sure the battery terminals are clean. Pop them back in and you are good to go. Mine did the same thing - it was maddening. Now it works 100% of the time. Now if Cateye would just toss the stupid seatpost mount for such a large light that rubs your leg if you mount it there and send us a rearrack mount I'd be happy.

I have had mine for a year or so. I have never had any problems whatsoever. It works in rain/humid weather as good as it works in winter/snow. I remove it when taking part in races though, mostly because I fear that I might crash it in case I fall.

trick to not leg-rubbing with the LD-1000 is to mount it really high on the seatpost...mine is almsot touching the seatclamp bolt. That puts it in the sweet spot where my legs don't interfere with it....and I have some pretty large thighs.

As for the light...yes rechargables are shorter than most batteries, ususally in the nipple on the positive end is the culprit. Also batteries made for other regions of the world may be like this at times as well....like China often has batteries with longer nipples on the positive end.

I say try some regular alkalines on it and see if hte problem goes away. If it does, then play around with the spring tension on the rechargables...if that does not work, then it might be the voltage differential...but I have my doubts on that.

My only gripe about this light is it's not watertight enough. It's pretty dfarn close, but I still need to add a silicone seal to the battery cover.

I had to pull the spring contacts on mine out a bit so they would make a stronger contact.

trick to not leg-rubbing with the LD-1000 is to mount it really high on the seatpost...mine is almsot touching the seatclamp bolt. That puts it in the sweet spot where my legs don't interfere with it....and I have some pretty large thighs.

Yeah, that didn't work for me though. I think it is because I have to have the seat all the way back on its rails to get the best bike fit. If the seat was closer to the handlebars it would probably work.

My only gripe about this light is it's not watertight enough. It's pretty dfarn close, but I still need to add a silicone seal to the battery cover.

Are you kidding? My TDL-1000 has been through 3 accidents and two winters. In one of the accidents it flew 30 feet and didn't even suffer a scratch!

I have one. It works fine with my rechargeables. What I don't like about it is how easily the darn thing turns on when it rides in my pannier. Not good to pull it out 10 hours after my ride to work and discover it has been on for 10 hours. Since the switches protrude slightly, I haven't figured out a good way to stop them from bumping into something.

I haven't figured out a good way to stop them from bumping into something.

Put it in a small rigid container of some sort with a secure cap on it?

I have one. It works fine with my rechargeables. What I don't like about it is how easily the darn thing turns on when it rides in my pannier. Not good to pull it out 10 hours after my ride to work and discover it has been on for 10 hours. Since the switches protrude slightly, I haven't figured out a good way to stop them from bumping into something.

I found a pill bottle that one end fits into. The flat area for the bracket on back of the light hits the bottle rim before the buttons can reach the bottom so they can't hit anything.
I cut the bottle shorter so I just have a cap for one end of the light. I hold the cap on with a large elastic
over the whole light.

It's not a bum light. Clean the contacts inside the light with a pencil eraser and blow out the residue. Also make sure the battery terminals are clean. Pop them back in and you are good to go. Mine did the same thing - it was maddening. Now it works 100% of the time. Now if Cateye would just toss the stupid seatpost mount for such a large light that rubs your leg if you mount it there and send us a rearrack mount I'd be happy.

It will fit on all stadard reflector brackets. If your rack does not have one, most bike shops have them.
Some shops give them away, or charge very little.

I had a light with this same problem. I found that the battery briefly disconnects, as previous posts have said. I installed a small capacitor over the power rails, this completely solved the problem. If you're not electronically minded, a flat nut between the terminals and the batteries also improved matters.

I'm pretty happy w/ the viewpoint flare I have on my other bike, with the exception of the sideways mount 'cause it rubs against my leg. It's fine for around-town, but a 15 mile commute with that thing rubbing against my leg would get annoying pretty fast.

-Trevor

That thing should win some sort of award for stupidest design--they give you a great light and three different types of mounting gear which all fail miserably (giant rubber band, anyone?). I eventually mounted it on the seatstay to get it out of the way, beneath the brake mount.

Are you kidding? My TDL-1000 has been through 3 accidents and two winters. In one of the accidents it flew 30 feet and didn't even suffer a scratch!


Seriously...I had water inside of it. Given this was after a very heavy rain, but it still happened. I guess that's what I get for commuting in the rain.

MIne hangs off the back of my trunkbag and takes a daily beating on gravel and dirt roads. It hasn't missed a beat.

rayovac has some good rechargables that work very well and charge in 15 minutes... mine are a year old and seem to work still... i haven't used them much in the past 6 months.

I've only had mine for a couple of weeks but so far I've had no problems with it. The roads on my commute are fairly smooth with no too many bumps/dips.

I recently bought a new tail-light for my commuter, and based on several positive reviews here I went with the Cateye TLD-1000.

Boy was I disappointed. Do those of you who use this light ride on glass-smooth streets or what? 'Cause anytime I encounter anything even *resembling* rough pavement the d*mn thing shuts off.

Did I just get a bum light, or is the tld-1000 a piece of crap?
I had the same thing happen to me too with that p.o.s. Someone said to use an eraser to wipe the metal contacts for the batteries. ???

I had a light with this same problem. I found that the battery briefly disconnects, as previous posts have said. I installed a small capacitor over the power rails, this completely solved the problem. If you're not electronically minded, a flat nut between the terminals and the batteries also improved matters.

Do you mean the Cateye or another light? I have another light that is 4.5 volts (3 AAA) and has that problem, It would be nice to do that to my other light. What size capacitor did you use?

oh... and make sure you use the mounts that are bolted on.. the zip tie ones suck.

Boy was I disappointed. ...anytime I encounter anything even *resembling* rough pavement the d*mn thing shuts off.
You really cannot mount these lights in the VERTICAL position. I have one on my wife's Easy Racer in that position and as you learned vibrations cause the battery connection inside to fail. Instead it has to be mounted in the HORIZONTAL position.

I learned that Peter White sells pivoting mounts (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/cat_eye.asp) (scroll down) which should allow you to mount your light on a horizontal tube and still have the light positioned HORIZONTALLY.

You really cannot mount these lights in the VERTICAL position. I have one on my wife's Easy Racer in that position and as you learned vibrations cause the battery connection inside to fail. Instead it has to be mounted in the HORIZONTAL position.

I learned that Peter White sells pivoting mounts (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/cat_eye.asp) (scroll down) which should allow you to mount your light on a horizontal tube and still have the light positioned HORIZONTALLY.

Vertical position?

Are you familiar w/ the TLD-LD1000? I don't even think a vertical mount is an option. It'd kind of defeat the purpose of the LEDs that are visible from the side...

At any rate, I forgot to fiddle with it last night, so before leaving work today I opened up the end-cap and grabbed the contact springs with my fingernails and stretched them out a bit. Then I made sure the end cap was good and tight and it stayed lit all the way home today.

I think it has a tendency to loosen up, 'cause I've been able to tighten the end cap while riding and hit the buttons to get it to come back on. That usually only lasts a block or two before it shuts off again though.

I dunno if that's a permanent fix though. I'll give it a few more days and if it fails again try regular alkalines, or another one of the suggestions in the thread.

-Trevor

I have mine mounted vertically on the rear of my rack. My seat bag made it a bit difficult to mount in the normal spot.
Eventually, I need to figure out how to mount in horizontally on my rear rack. I suppose I could hang it off the back of my j&g yellowjacket. That does not help me out much in summer.

Are you familiar w/ the TLD-LD1000?
Does owning four (4) count as being familiar?

I need to figure out how to mount in horizontally on my rear rack.
Check out the adapters that Peter White sells (see my original posting). One of them might "fill the bill". Admittedly mounting it in the vertical position defeats the purpose of the side LEDs but sometimes you have to compromise. When I saw Peter's alternatives I knew that they might solve the problem. They are evidently Cateye mount adapters which have somehow been modified to allow vertical or horizontal positioning.

I have mine mounted vertically on the rear of my rack. My seat bag made it a bit difficult to mount in the normal spot.
Eventually, I need to figure out how to mount in horizontally on my rear rack. I suppose I could hang it off the back of my j&g yellowjacket. That does not help me out much in summer.

This light will screw onto any standard reflector bracket. Any good bike shop will have some lying around.
There are reflector brackets made to go onto the back of any rack.
It will also screw directly to a rear facing hole in a rack. And you can buy clamps of just about any diameter from the Cateye website. It will mount on almost anything, just like a reflector.

Thanks all.
I'm not really worried about attaching it horizontally. Works fine as is. However, when I have a bit of free time it would be nice to change it.

This light will screw onto any standard reflector bracket. Any good bike shop will have some lying around.
There are reflector brackets made to go onto the back of any rack.
It will also screw directly to a rear facing hole in a rack. And you can buy clamps of just about any diameter from the Cateye website. It will mount on almost anything, just like a reflector.

I don't have my LD-1000 in front of me, but from memory, there are holes molded into the back of the light that line up with the reflector bracket holes (at least on my Delta rack) but they are not threaded and very shallow. How do you go about using these? Maybe sheet metal screws? Can you drill/screw into the body of the light without puncturing anything important or cracking the plastic?

I don't have my LD-1000 in front of me, but from memory, there are holes molded into the back of the light that line up with the reflector bracket holes (at least on my Delta rack) but they are not threaded and very shallow. How do you go about using these? Maybe sheet metal screws? Can you drill/screw into the body of the light without puncturing anything important or cracking the plastic?

The hole for the screw is treaded. But it's all black in the hole making it almost invisible. Hold the taillight under a bright light and look closely and you can see the threads. There was a screw to fit this hole included in the box, when the light was new. If you kept the box take a look.

It fits the delta rack holes because reflectors fit the rack too. Any rack with rear facing holes in it will fit.
They are all made to take reflectors.

Steal a screw from a reflector to do the job. A bike shop probably has many of them just lying around.

The other hole is just a hollow part inside the locating pin for the reflector bracket. This hole is a little smaller, and really not threaded.

I'm pretty happy w/ the viewpoint flare I have on my other bike,

Does your Flare have the S.O.S. blink pattern?

Does your Flare have the S.O.S. blink pattern?

The Performance Bike "Flare" does have the S.O.S. pattern. That light, manufactured by S-Sun is sold as a few other versions for other retailers, some don't have that feature. One version is the BLT brand
"Super Doppler" it has a slightly wider angle lens, I like this a little better, but no S.O.S. program.

I have a TLD 600 attached to a milk crate on a bike rack of my commuter. When the rack broke at the attachment to the seat stays it was loaded with about 25 lbs of stuff and slammed to the pavement and was dragged along behind me for about 50 feet. It was the Cateye light that took all the impact. Not even the lens was cracked and it has worked like a charm ever since. I think you got a bum light and/or the rechargeables don't fit right.

I clip mine on to the back of my hat. And I also use rechargeable AA's, and never had a single problem.

One thing I had to do with my TLD-1000 was to install a shim to keep the batteries from shifting around inside. My shim is just a folded up piece of paper wedged into the open space next to the batteries. My theory is that the batteries in mine were shifting into this space causing the light to turn off. Prior to this, I tried stretching and cleaning the terminal multiple times with no success. The wedge of paper did the trick.

My shim is just a folded up piece of paper

good idea but...

old tire tubes can be cut into small pieces that make excellent shims for all purposes and do not degrade as rapidly as paper especially if they get wet.

good idea but...

old tire tubes can be cut into small pieces that make excellent shims for all purposes and do not degrade as rapidly as paper especially if they get wet.

At the time, it was much easier to locate a piece of paper than a piece of spare tube :) Plus, it's a sealed light so no water is getting in anyway, verified a few weeks ago after a few months of use and some very good rain.