I am the sad owner of a blowtorch 10 watt hid light that has been flaky since day one. The light will start normally sometimes and other times it won't. Usually it starts up okay when I first hook it up to the battery and hold the switch down for a few seconds. If the light is turned off, subsequent attempts usually fail to restart it and then it will work again after disconnecting it, leaving it disconnected for a few minutes, reconnecting it and turning it on. In these failed attempts the light will "blink" for a nanosecond but will not stay on continuously. I suspect it is a ballast issue and probably a known defect in the earlier Welch-Allyn models. I just bought a new 11.1 volt batteryspace.com li-ion 9.6 ah battery and the light behaves exactly the same as it did with the old NiteRider nimh. Niterider charges $40 labor right off the top when you send an item back to them plus they tell me a new ballast is $48. When I suggested that it was a known issue with the ballast, the tech person dismissed that assertion. That's a big investment in old technology when I can buy a new 13 watt light for $120. Does anyone have experience with TrailTech HID? I'm looking at their 13 watt HID
http://www.trailtech.net/3152-FX.html
I've seen posts here that dis the mounting hardware of TrailTech lights but this one seems to have a solid qr setup. I think people were dissing the one that bolts on. I'd be interested in hearing other peoples' reviews of this product. I'm sick of NiteRider and their proprietary attitude.
edzo
11-29-07, 02:50 PM
I am the sad owner of a blowtorch 10 watt hid light that has been flaky since day one.
I'm sick of NiteRider and their proprietary attitude.
if it was flaky from day one, why didn't you get it fixed then ? I call FAIL on your part
I had one that was flaky, niterider fixed it, and it ran 5 years no problem. then I sold it and the new owner loves it.
note: this is 2007 going on 2008. HID is old school. I suggest get on board with LED technology. far better than HID.
less fragile, lasts longer, just as bright, and it will never flicker when shocked or vibrated
BikeToWork
11-29-07, 03:36 PM
The light has gotten progressively flakier but I agree that I wasn't really proactive enough. Could you suggest a good DIY LED light I could hook up to an 11.1 volt battery and would be anywhere near as bright as a 13 watt HID?
2manybikes
11-29-07, 03:40 PM
The light has gotten progressively flakier but I agree that I wasn't really proactive enough. Could you suggest a good DIY LED light I could hook up to an 11.1 volt battery and would be anywhere near as bright as a 13 watt HID?
If it was bad from the begining and it is a Niterider problem (they had some) they will fix it free.
BikeToWork
11-29-07, 04:43 PM
I know you posted this before, 2manybikes, but when I called Niterider today they explained that there is a $40 "labor" charge right off the bat just for them to look at it, regardless of any extenuating circumstances, because the light is beyond the one year warranty period. In addition, the tech I spoke to denies Niterider "problems" with this light/ ballast and said I would most likely be charged $48 to fix the ballast. It hardly seems worth it for a used 10 watt light when I can get a new Trail Tech 13 watt hid for $120. I do wish there was a 12 volt LED solution now that I own a 9.6 AH 11.1 volt Li-Ion battery, though. No doubt LED is a better technology...
ggg300
11-29-07, 06:25 PM
I know you posted this before, 2manybikes, but when I called Niterider today they explained that there is a $40 "labor" charge right off the bat just for them to look at it, regardless of any extenuating circumstances, because the light is beyond the one year warranty period. In addition, the tech I spoke to denies Niterider "problems" with this light/ ballast and said I would most likely be charged $48 to fix the ballast. It hardly seems worth it for a used 10 watt light when I can get a new Trail Tech 13 watt hid for $120. I do wish there was a 12 volt LED solution now that I own a 9.6 AH 11.1 volt Li-Ion battery, though. No doubt LED is a better technology...
I know you posted this before, 2manybikes, but when I called Niterider today they explained that there is a $40 "labor" charge right off the bat just for them to look at it, regardless of any extenuating circumstances, because the light is beyond the one year warranty period. In addition, the tech I spoke to denies Niterider "problems" with this light/ ballast and said I would most likely be charged $48 to fix the ballast. It hardly seems worth it for a used 10 watt light when I can get a new Trail Tech 13 watt hid for $120. I do wish there was a 12 volt LED solution now that I own a 9.6 AH 11.1 volt Li-Ion battery, though. No doubt LED is a better technology...
That stinks. And, there were Blowtorch problems.
I had a Blowtorch fail and it was an internal problem and they were not highly surprised. They used to not even ask about the age of the light or where it came from, they just looked at it and told you what was wrong. If you did it they would let you know and you could decide what to do. If it was their fault they fixed it.
There are at least two Trail tech HID lights of that model owned here on the forums and there are reports from the owners.
If I remember right the brackets and hardware was not very good. Not useless, just not very good. Try searching "Trail Tech" in the forums. The owners reports were posted last fall.
BikeToWork
12-03-07, 10:17 AM
They have a new qr mounting bracket on the Trail Tech lights that "looks" pretty solid. The bolt on mounting hardware does look cheezy.
thereverendbob
12-04-07, 12:14 AM
I know you posted this before, 2manybikes, but when I called Niterider today they explained that there is a $40 "labor" charge right off the bat just for them to look at it, regardless of any extenuating circumstances, because the light is beyond the one year warranty period. In addition, the tech I spoke to denies Niterider "problems" with this light/ ballast and said I would most likely be charged $48 to fix the ballast. It hardly seems worth it for a used 10 watt light when I can get a new Trail Tech 13 watt hid for $120. I do wish there was a 12 volt LED solution now that I own a 9.6 AH 11.1 volt Li-Ion battery, though. No doubt LED is a better technology...
I had the same experience, but Niterider mysteriously voided the check I enclosed with the wonky NiMH battery I sent them for repair (I suppose they were being nice). In general, Niterider gives me ****** chills.:D