Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Is your Magicshine 900 lumens Dead??

So I pulled mine out since it's beginning to get dark earlier this time of year. Charged the battery overnight, plugged it into the light, and NOTHING!!!

I've kept it in the OEM box since it's last use this past spring, no damage, it just died.

Has anyone else had this problem with theirs? anyone have any coupons for Geomangear so I can order another one??

Thanks,

:D
RD

Well, it makes sense to find out whether it's the light or the battery or just the cord. Odds are the head isn't dead. Check the voltage at the battery. Probably not the cord if it was working when put away.

If it's just the battery, you can buy just that.

My MS is still fine. I run it with a Tenergy 8 cell pack these days. The original pack is around somewhere and worked last I checked so they don't ALWAYS die. I have seen a few reports of some people drastically losing battery capacity after a few months, but it doesn't happen to everyone.

Yeah, same story. I pulled mine out and left the batt on the charger for an overnight. I should have known that there was something wrong b/c when I plugged in the batt to the charger, the little light on the charger didn't turn red or amber or anything. It just stayed green. Now it won't power the light. I haven't pulled out my multimeter to check the voltage yet but I'm pretty sure it's a dead battery. Yuck. One season. It is one-third the price of my MiNewt but that three or four year-old battery is still running strong.

So I'll probably get another batt and cross my fingers. If it is the batt, then I'll take the old one to Batteries Plus and see if they can open it up and replace the cells to give me a backup.

Where can you get a replacement battery? Geoman no longer have the batterys on his site.

Where can you get a replacement battery? Geoman no longer have the batterys on his site.

You can use the new battery (http://www.geomangear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_41&products_id=167). $50. From other posts here it seems the new batt is just the old batt in a better container. I think you can even unscrew the cylinder and see the old battery inside. Same connector as the old one.

So I pulled mine out since it's beginning to get dark earlier this time of year. Charged the battery overnight, plugged it into the light, and NOTHING!!!

I've kept it in the OEM box since it's last use this past spring, no damage, it just died.

RD


Yeah, same story. I pulled mine out and left the batt on the charger for an overnight. I should have known that there was something wrong b/c when I plugged in the batt to the charger, the little light on the charger didn't turn red or amber or anything. It just stayed green.


Might be the charger. When the charger stays green then one can assume the light is fine, the connectors are probably fine but the problem is down to the charger or the battery. My NiMH charger(4 years old) started acting up. Turns out there was a loose wire at the charger plug. When I jiggle it the light goes from red to green. Don't know how different NiMH and Li batteries are though.

Odds are high that if you crack it open, there may be corrosion inside, or at worst it's a bad protection circuit. Best case, a little soldering will fix it. Worst case, you need to buy a new protection circuit.
BatterySpace only has 2 cell units, you could use two of these, or look around and find a 4 cell unit.
http://www.batteryspace.com/pcbfor74vli-ion1865018500batterypacks7alimit2round.aspx

Or you could just buy the one from Geoman, or an equivalent from BatterySpace. they claim this is waterproof though I'm not certain that the TrailTech plug is identical/compatible to the MagicShine plug.
http://www.batteryspace.com/li-ion18650batterywithwater-proofcoatingrubber74v4400mah3256whtrail-techfemaleplugchinacells.aspx

Ok, so I did find a replacement battery on the Geoman site and ordered that one. I'll let yall know if that fixes the issue..

Hmmm, the battery was stored inside (I think). I can't see any water damage. I'll check the charger - battery cable connection but the plug really seats firmly in there. I don't know if there's any play. I'll break out the multimeter and see what we can see.

I cracked open the battery last night between kid events and dinner. No visible corrosion on the protector circuit board. I still haven't gone digging for my multimeter to check the cells. Now I'm uncertain if it's the battery or the charger.

It might indeed be the charger, mine went into melt-down mode this morning here at work as I charged up the battery for my ride home. I went to get coffee and returned to my office to find a tremendous stink and the brick almost molten hot - far too hot to touch. I turned off power on the power strip and waited until it cooled, unplugged and found the bottom all melted and bits poking through the holes in the case. So I would suspect that perhaps the charger has gone awol in a less dramatic way. These are lithium batteries and in theory should never get too low a voltage as below a certain point they can reverse polarity, you should always got SOME charge on the battery which should be measurable with a voltmeter. It might be too low for the light to glow, but there should be something there. You might want to check the power output on the charging brick before discarding the battery. In my case, at least I know where the fault lies. What to do about it is another matter.

Lawrence

I had the same issue. Not completely dead. However, the battery will only power the light for about 5 minutes. The charger goes from red to green. I'm thinking something is up with the battery that it won't accept a full charge.

I ordered a replacement from geomangear. If the battery lasts only one season again, I'll be done with magicshine. I'll pony up the bucks and go with a dinotte.

I had the same issue. Not completely dead. However, the battery will only power the light for about 5 minutes. The charger goes from red to green. I'm thinking something is up with the battery that it won't accept a full charge.

I ordered a replacement from geomangear. If the battery lasts only one season again, I'll be done with magicshine. I'll pony up the bucks and go with a dinotte.

Did you actually measure the voltage? It's equally possible that the charger is barely charging the battery.

Most rechargeables need to be charged every 30 days or so. Extended no load conditions will frequently kill them.

Pretty much the same symptoms I had (charger LED showed green, but light wouldn't work) . A new battery fixed it, but it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. I picked up a Minewt on sale at REI to use as a backup.

Did you follow the advice in the literature regarding storing the battery at 60% charge or so?

I have found over the year I have used mine, the battery loses it charge quicker and quicker.. I always spot charge about an hour before I ride so I know I can still go 2+ on high..

There seems to be a lot of complaining about a 90.00 light.. I always felt if I got 2 years out of it, that was great.. I was just tired of paying 400.00 for a top end name brand light and having the same issues with a battery failing and then going back to Niterider and them saying sure we can get you a new battery just pay us 150-200 and you will be fine.. For 90.00 I can deal with maintaining the battery or buy and extra one for 50.00, I am still way ahead..

I have found over the year I have used mine, the battery loses it charge quicker and quicker.. I always spot charge about an hour before I ride so I know I can still go 2+ on high..

There seems to be a lot of complaining about a 90.00 light.. I always felt if I got 2 years out of it, that was great.. I was just tired of paying 400.00 for a top end name brand light and having the same issues with a battery failing and then going back to Niterider and them saying sure we can get you a new battery just pay us 150-200 and you will be fine.. For 90.00 I can deal with maintaining the battery or buy and extra one for 50.00, I am still way ahead..

Yup, all batteries die - there is no magic. Li+ goes a bit quicker if not stored properly. Paying $200 or $50 to replace one, you choose.

Yeah, even with the possibility of quick battery death, even if you have to buy a whole new light every year, it's still probably less money every year than buying more expensive name brand lights and just replacing the batteries every 2 or 3 years. And odds are good that when you go to replace the MagicShine, most of the time you'll be able to buy a nicer light for the same money.

My MagicShine is now a bit over a year old, and the new light that's selling for the same money is a much nicer light. I expect that in another year they'll be even nicer, and probably have a new LED and be even brighter.

Again, one of my points is that my $175 MiNewt, although made in 2007, is still running strong. The battery charges up just fine. And when they refreshed the line last year with a 200 lumen light head, I upgraded for $60.

So yeah, for $50 a year tops I can replace the battery and make my MagicShine all brand new. And for $60 from a competitor, I upgraded. For me, it's a wash. No advantage to MagicShine.

I guess I'm a *bit* sour about the battery not lasting a full year. I bought it last November and didn't use it much.

Again, one of my points is that my $175 MiNewt, although made in 2007, is still running strong. The battery charges up just fine. And when they refreshed the line last year with a 200 lumen light head, I upgraded for $60.

So yeah, for $50 a year tops I can replace the battery and make my MagicShine all brand new. And for $60 from a competitor, I upgraded. For me, it's a wash. No advantage to MagicShine.

I guess I'm a *bit* sour about the battery not lasting a full year. I bought it last November and didn't use it much.

3 years and it costs you $235 and then you only got 200 lumen max out of it for how many minutes? Yeah it sucks these batteries fail, but i'm not sure it's a wash.

I always ask my questions directly to geomangear because they are so knowledgeable and responsive.

Honestly speaking, I would not mind if my MS died in another year or so. I'll use that as an excuse to get the newer light using more advance led and battery. There is so much more room to grow with SST 50 and SST 90. I also heard Cree has broke the 200 lumen/watt led or something like that earlier this year. Then there was talks of developing higher capacity of 18650, they were pursuing 4000 mah per cell or something like that from Panasonic.

These development reminds me of the days of computer when I spended $1200 for a 400 MHz with a DVD reader back in 98. Look at what happen since then.

Honestly speaking, I would not mind if my MS died in another year or so. I'll use that as an excuse to get the newer light using more advance led and battery. There is so much more room to grow with SST 50 and SST 90. I also heard Cree has broke the 200 lumen/watt led or something like that earlier this year. Then there was talks of developing higher capacity of 18650, they were pursuing 4000 mah per cell or something like that from Panasonic.

These development reminds me of the days of computer when I spended $1200 for a 400 MHz with a DVD reader back in 98. Look at what happen since then.

Being on the bleeding edge of tech is costly... i wouldn't recommend it for most consumers :)

Being on the bleeding edge of tech is costly... i wouldn't recommend it for most consumers :)

Totally agreed, although in a world not so far away... is this place call China who seem to have a habit of making $$$$$$ stuff into $$. Of course they also make the word D-U-R-A-B-L-E into a smaller word as durable while at the same time of reducing cost, they are driving gas price up up and up. Go figure. (ok sorry I even mention it, we won't go there, it's been cover in a thread in the Commute forum) :)

Frankly, I'm surprise the maker of the MS has not venture into using the SST 50 on their headlights. I wonder why and when?

Totally agreed, although in a world not so far away... is this place call China who seem to have a habit of making $$$$$$ stuff into $$. Of course they also make the word D-U-R-A-B-L-E into a smaller word as durable while at the same time of reducing cost, they are driving gas price up up and up. Go figure. (ok sorry I even mention it, we won't go there, it's been cover in a thread in the Commute forum) :)

Frankly, I'm surprise the maker of the MS has not venture into using the SST 50 on their headlights. I wonder why and when?

Who knows, the Chinese are scavengers not leaders when it comes to inventing this stuff. Although the situation is changing because "smarts" aren't appreciated by western culture anymore.

Totally agreed, although in a world not so far away... is this place call China who seem to have a habit of making $$$$$$ stuff into $$. Of course they also make the word D-U-R-A-B-L-E into a smaller word as durable while at the same time of reducing cost, they are driving gas price up up and up. Go figure. (ok sorry I even mention it, we won't go there, it's been cover in a thread in the Commute forum) :)

Frankly, I'm surprise the maker of the MS has not venture into using the SST 50 on their headlights. I wonder why and when?

Could it be that the company, Luminus is a Massachusetts based company that does it manufacturing in Massachusetts?

Could it be that the company, Luminus is a Massachusetts based company that does it manufacturing in Massachusetts?
Possibly, but Luminus do have distributer in Asia, unless the maker of MS wants to keep the emitter manufactor in the Asia.

After some looking on the web, I think it probably might be an issue with heat problem. The MS lighthead do no transfer heat to well and using a SST 50 may get too hot. I'm just speculating here from what I gather but it seem possible. Honestly, I rather see them use a single lamp with a brighter led than the Cree add on like they did with their 1400 lumen model.

I am a caffine girl Hey just what does "caffine" mean?

Not that it matters - I have access to several fairly good meters - and being "all anal" and everything with too much time to play - I can say that the four or five MS batteries I have seen - appear to be of consistent quality.

I've spent err - "wasted" - quite of bit of time testing MS lights and batteries from both Geoman and DealX and have found that all "light heads" behave slightly differently with respect to electrical operations.

But all the batteries have consistently checked out nearly identical. SO much so - that I'm completely surprised. I retested a battery that had been used 50 or more hours and it checked out identically to a new battery! The battery had been used over all night bike rides and run down to shut off.

I tried the same thing with Dinotte - and got the same results. I guess I'll just have to wait until next year.

However, I've inserted "reminders" in my email account and on my phone to charge batteries once a month.

Hey just what does "caffine" mean?

Not that it matters - I have access to several fairly good meters - and being "all anal" and everything with too much time to play - I can say that the four or five MS batteries I have seen - appear to be of consistent quality.

I've spent err - "wasted" - quite of bit of time testing MS lights and batteries from both Geoman and DealX and have found that all "light heads" behave slightly differently with respect to electrical operations.

But all the batteries have consistently checked out nearly identical. SO much so - that I'm completely surprised. I retested a battery that had been used 50 or more hours and it checked out identically to a new battery! The battery had been used over all night bike rides and run down to shut off.

I tried the same thing with Dinotte - and got the same results. I guess I'll just have to wait until next year.

However, I've inserted "reminders" in my email account and on my phone to charge batteries once a month.

That's a darn good question. I guess that was my Duh way of spelling caffeine. Spelling (speling, spalling, sphelling) is not one of my strong point. Surprise it has not be mentioned till now. Hmm, I think I'll leave it as it is to see how long it takes for the next person to notice it :p

My pack that last less than two hours does charge up to that 8.4v level. I opened it and check each battery and all individual battery read 4.2. I also did a volt test when they I ran the pack for 1.5 hours and them check volts and they were all equal. I was hoping for a single bad cell. Apparently it seem like they are not storing full capacity after so many discharge/recharge cycle. I was hoping for one cell being unbalace but it seem to be not the case. I might still try taking removing them and taking jumper and try charging each cell indivdually from my single cell charger to see if it is a balance problem, but I doubt it is and more likely a capacity in all the cell. For $50 for a replacement, it's not worth messing around with the old pack beside just out of curiosity for myself.

Possibly, but Luminus do have distributer in Asia, unless the maker of MS wants to keep the emitter manufactor in the Asia.

After some looking on the web, I think it probably might be an issue with heat problem. The MS lighthead do no transfer heat to well and using a SST 50 may get too hot. I'm just speculating here from what I gather but it seem possible. Honestly, I rather see them use a single lamp with a brighter led than the Cree add on like they did with their 1400 lumen model.

I was thinking about the value of the U.S. dollar compared with the value of the China Yuan. The apparent economic advantage for China and disadvantage for U.S. manufacturers to sell to China companies. That exchange rate might affect how MagicShine looks at the deal.

Richard Cranium, I think Colleen's English may not be as polished as an ABC. Please excuse the typo's and grammar.

I was thinking about the value of the U.S. dollar compared with the value of the China Yuan. The apparent economic advantage for China and disadvantage for U.S. manufacturers to sell to China companies. That exchange rate might affect how MagicShine looks at the deal.

Richard Cranium, I think Colleen's English may not be as polished as an ABC. Please excuse the typo's and grammar.

You should see how I spell Hydraulic oil.
Hidraulic
Hydolic
Hydrolic
hydrolec

I drove the boys nuts around the shop with misspelling words when I have to label those hydraulic oil container. There must be at least 10 barrels with different spelling. :)

FYI, Firefox has built in spell-checking. It red-underlines misspelled words and will correct them for you with a right click.

FYI, Firefox has built in spell-checking. It red-underlines misspelled words and will correct them for you with a right click.
What about for iPhone? I run half my life on this thing and the spell checker sometimes let some mispelled words through. Is there an App or a way to reset it without losing everything?

I don't usually use my desktop at work too much because our DSL is so s-l-o-w. They tried upgrading it but they cannot get the faster line to us because of our location and area. My old dial up was faster sometime.

3 years and it costs you $235 and then you only got 200 lumen max out of it for how many minutes? Yeah it sucks these batteries fail, but i'm not sure it's a wash.

Actually, the original MiNewt was a gift. :thumb: So the $60 investment was only to make it better. If I compare the two right now, there's no contest because only one still works. It doesn't matter how inexpensive the MagicShine is if it doesn't work.

Actually, the original MiNewt was a gift. :thumb: So the $60 investment was only to make it better. If I compare the two right now, there's no contest because only one still works. It doesn't matter how inexpensive the MagicShine is if it doesn't work.

You could fix it though...

Yeah, same story. I pulled mine out and left the batt on the charger for an overnight. I should have known that there was something wrong b/c when I plugged in the batt to the charger, the little light on the charger didn't turn red or amber or anything. It just stayed green. Now it won't power the light. I haven't pulled out my multimeter to check the voltage yet but I'm pretty sure it's a dead battery. Yuck. One season. It is one-third the price of my MiNewt but that three or four year-old battery is still running strong.

So I'll probably get another batt and cross my fingers. If it is the batt, then I'll take the old one to Batteries Plus and see if they can open it up and replace the cells to give me a backup.

Batteries Plus told me they can't do Lithium Ion. Let Geoman know there was a problem with the battery and they will give you a coupon code for 50% off a greatly improved replacement.

Don in Austin

What about for iPhone? I run half my life on this thing and the spell checker sometimes let some mispelled words through. Is there an App or a way to reset it without losing everything?

No idea. I don't even turn my dumb phone on more than once a month, and if I got a smart phone it'd be Android; I don't like some company telling me what software I'm allowed to install on my equipment; that means I don't actually own it even though I paid for it. I wouldn't buy a bike that I could only install accessories on that had been approved by the manufacturer, and they got a cut of the profits.

Mine only lasted 5 months. 4 month after I got it, it died, I found a loose connection and reattached it but then afterwards it would flash on high, no big deal since high was too bright anyway, but on medium it would flash whenever I hit a bump. But then a month later the charger died and I couldn't fix it. I realized that the warranty was only good for 3 months and I was month past that but I e-mailed Geoman anyway to at least buy another charger about 30 times during that period and nothing, not one response. I heard some time later that the original owner of Geoman died during the period I was e-mailing so that may have been why no response. Anyway lesson learned never buy something that seems too good to be true because it is.

I guess there's a reason why that light only has a 3 month warranty.

Going on 14 months with my MS lights and I'm sure there are many more people that have had very few issues.. I'm waiting to see if they are going to use the SST emitters on a new light before buying another one..

You have to look at the $90.00 as 2 years tops and then move on to the new technology, brighter and longer runtimes.. I will never pay 300-400 for a brand name light ever again..

I will never pay 300-400 for a brand name light ever again..

Neither would I! I bought my Cygolite ExpiliOn 250 for $120 on sale; it's actually brighter at 25o then the MagicShine was at their mid setting, and the warranty is 4 times longer.

My Magicshine has just started acting wonky; the light head switch doesn't work, the light still works. The runtime on my battery has gone downhill hard. I am planning on getting a new one soonish. I will get a complete new set. I would like a little more durability.

I've had no problems with my light whatsoever in the year I've had it. Charger, light head, battery, even that notorious electrical connector have all been fine. I even managed to slightly dent one of the battery cells with my crank arm (cleaning the chain while the pack dangled precariously from the handlebars) and it's been OK like that for months. I did make sure that the battery and charger were nowhere near anything flammable the first couple times I charged it after that incident, just to be on the safe side.

I use my light pretty well every day in the winter and at least a couple of times a week in the summer, so the batteries are charged quite regularly, and never left discharged. We'll see how well the battery pack does in its second winter--the capacity of the battery pack was noticeably worse in cold weather (it recovered once it warmed up in the spring).

My Magicshine has been working without issue. Bought it about a year ago, it's made it all summer, but I do keep it on charge whenever not in use (lion batteries seem to respond best when charged.)

Joe

I think on balance that maybe there is or was a little too much praise of the MS 900. Although it offers the most light for the buck - the button/connection/battery issues all detract from its overall value.

I have no life-long experience with Li-Ion batteries so I have little idea what to expect. But after experiencing several brands of lights - I suspect that some other brands have beam patterns that produce higher levels of satisfaction/power-estimation among many users.

To many cyclists - the MS is easily considered "just another light."

I've had no problems with my light whatsoever in the year I've had it. Charger, light head, battery, even that notorious electrical connector have all been fine. I even managed to slightly dent one of the battery cells with my crank arm (cleaning the chain while the pack dangled precariously from the handlebars) and it's been OK like that for months. I did make sure that the battery and charger were nowhere near anything flammable the first couple times I charged it after that incident, just to be on the safe side.

I use my light pretty well every day in the winter and at least a couple of times a week in the summer, so the batteries are charged quite regularly, and never left discharged. We'll see how well the battery pack does in its second winter--the capacity of the battery pack was noticeably worse in cold weather (it recovered once it warmed up in the spring).

Well, a cracked lithium cell can be quite dangerous so careful where you leave it charging?

I also had some wonky issues with the light in the winter, apparently though it is only the circuit which senses the voltage - I would get a strange stroboscopic effect of green and red and orange from the back of the light-head, then red, then green.

I used mine for over a year in all weather conditions and temps with no problems... then this summer I left it sit for about 2 months without charging. When I went to use it, it didn't work at all...

A few days ago I got around to taking the battery pack apart and found two bad cells... one in each parallel circuit. Cut them apart, soldered the two good cells into one pack and have a working battery pack with about half capacity (slightly less than half the original since they degrade over time)

A year's life out of a battery pack really isn't that bad. I'll be looking for a new battery pack, but the half-pack will do for now.

The only other complaint I have about the Magicshine is the outer insulation on the power cord broke where it joins the plug that plugs into the battery pack cord... it needs a strain relief there, or less fragile insulation. It broke only a couple months after I got the light, but never caused me any issues, so I didn't bother to do anything to fix it.

I've had my MS900 since Dec 2009. I commute 20 miles RT 2x/week. I use the light on high in the dark, on SOS blink in the day. At least one direction each commute is dark. I use it for 2 RT commutes each charge (roughly 2.5 hrs of high/blink mix). I have never had one single issue with it.

That being said, I do frequently put a light coat of faucet grease on the connector to ease taking it apart, thereby (hopefully) prolonging its life. I also waterproofed the battery using the Plastidip method.