Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Reelight problems?

Hi everyone,

I bought a set of Reelight SL-150s (the ones with steady light) in late September. I wanted something to keep me from being a ninja in case of total battery drain/light failure while commuting and thought they would be a good option. Since then, the front light has failed, and I'd like to know if any of you have had similar problems, or any succeed at returning them (I ordered them from Hiawatha cyclery).

Because they have small capacitors, the light output is related to your speed. Go slow = low light, fast = brighter. Not ideal, but it still met my needs. In December, I noticed that the front light was no longer following this pattern. It would be bright for a few seconds while going up a hill, then dim on the way down. Also, it would change intensity for a few seconds while rolling at constant speed. There is no pattern to the on/off pulsing, and both magnets are mounted firmly to the spokes.

I took the light off the wheel and put it in my warm apartment overnight (the bike lives in the basement) in case it had some water in the electronics. That didn't help. I also noticed that if you shake the light, it makes a rattling noise. After putting it back on the bike, I noticed that it also makes a ticking noise while riding, but it's not due to the magnets hitting the light.

I tried to move the light closer to the wheel (3mm, see photo), which worked at first but then had the same problems. I don't want to put it any closer because there is some flex to the bracket. I really don't think it's a spacing issue since the light worked fine before. Now the light might light for a total of half a mile at random intervals on my 6 mile commute. That's not acceptable performance. I can't see the rear when I ride, so don't know if it has similar issues.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/higginsheifer/3200754397/http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3334/3200754397_a9b8629a6f.jpg

Have any of you had similar problems? Aside from contacting the manufacturer and dealers, is there anything I can do? The lights aren't user-serviceable, and I was really expecting something that cost this much to last longer than 3 months. :notamused:

Thank you for the input!

1) Noise:
I occasionally hear noise on mine when I ride. I can't say it's the same noise you hear, but there can be a 'flexing' noise as the magnets pass. If you screws aren't in dead tight (either on the unit or on the magnet) it might exacerbate this.

2) Wierd Performance
I started noticing some degrading performance on my rear wheel. However, as I investigated I think it was due to the fact that I horizontal dropouts and the reelights can be finicky with alignment. I had removed my wheel regularly as I worked on my bike and I think it was attributable to that. Obviously, a front wheel is less prone to alignment issues than

3) Spacing
Yeah, any closer and the bracket may flex into the magnet.

4) What I would do:
a) check the fore-aft alignment of the magnet. If you didn't have it screwed in tight, it could have slid a bit.
b) flip the bike upside down and spin the wheel fast. listen for the sound, see if it changed with speed. I found it was much easier to determine the source of the sound when I was doing this rather than when I was trying to ride the bike
c) take the bike into a dead-dark room and do B again, for a while... see if you can even get a flicker out of the light.
d) if you've done all of the above and when you do c) you still can't get a flicker I think you should certainly contact the distributor and then the manufacture and explain the situation along with the findings of a, b and c