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-   -   Nightrider tailights, two thumbs way down ?? (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/171537-nightrider-tailights-two-thumbs-way-down.html)

2manybikes 02-04-06 02:41 PM

Nightrider tailights, two thumbs way down ??
 
I know there are a few forum members that have them and as far as I know they work fine. I don't disagree that there some out there with no problems.

Here's my history with them..

About 10 years ago I tired to get three to work, they just kept shutting off by themselves on a ride. After the third one I got a refund instead.

This week I received a new one in a box from ebay. I thought the price was right. I have the correct 13.2 volt Nightrider battery in perfect condition to run this light. It runs my Nightrider HID perfectly. It still puts out 13.2 volts with the taillight on. It's about 14 volts with no load.

As soon as I plug in the light it comes on. It will not flash or shut off with the switch. I took it apart and the switch is fine. It is not as bright as my Cateye TL-LD 1000 from any angle side, 45 degrees, straight on, etc. the Cateye beats it by a huge margin from all angles. The Cateye beats it from straight on, but by a smaler margin.

This "New" model has a clear plastic housing, the older ones had a red plastic housing.

That's four failures for me. I know there is one on the forums that does not flash that may or not be a problem with the light. One forum member told me he sent his back once to be repaired, I think it's working fine now. That's five or maybe six that had problems.. So...........

Which model do you have? Red Or clear?

If it's older is the 12v or the 6V ? (The plugs were different, I don't know if the lights were different)

About how old is it ?

Any problems of any kind?

Is it just me? :(

Thanks. :)

michaelnel 02-04-06 03:20 PM

I had one of the red ones and it always worked correctly with the NR Storm HID I had. I sold it when I sold the Storm though.

2manybikes 02-04-06 03:29 PM


Originally Posted by michaelnel
I had one of the red ones and it always worked correctly with the NR Storm HID I had. I sold it when I sold the Storm though.

Thanks. About how long did you have it ?

You beat slvoid and mechBgon to this thread, amazing ! :)

michaelnel 02-04-06 03:41 PM

I owned it for about 4 or 5 years but didn't use it much until the last six months I owned it. It was old enough that it had the old Pop lock connectors, which have been obsoleted twice by now I think.

2manybikes 02-04-06 03:42 PM


Originally Posted by michaelnel
I owned it for about 4 or 5 years but didn't use it much until the last six months I owned it.

Thanks.

pmseattle 02-04-06 05:27 PM


Originally Posted by 2manybikes
I know there are a few forum members that have them and as far as I know they work fine. I don't disagree that there some out there with no problems.

Here's my history with them..

About 10 years ago I tired to get three to work, they just kept shutting off by themselves on a ride. After the third one I got a refund instead.

This week I received a new one in a box from ebay. I thought the price was right. I have the correct 13.2 volt Nightrider battery in perfect condition to run this light. It runs my Nightrider HID perfectly. It still puts out 13.2 volts with the taillight on. It's about 14 volts with no load.

As soon as I plug in the light it comes on. It will not flash or shut off with the switch. I took it apart and the switch is fine. It is not as bright as my Cateye TL-LD 1000 from any angle side, 45 degrees, straight on, etc. the Cateye beats it by a huge margin from all angles. The Cateye beats it from straight on, but by a smaler margin.

This "New" model has a clear plastic housing, the older ones had a red plastic housing.

That's four failures for me. I know there is one on the forums that does not flash that may or not be a problem with the light. One forum member told me he sent his back once to be repaired, I think it's working fine now. That's five or maybe six that had problems.. So...........

Which model do you have? Red Or clear?

If it's older is the 12v or the 6V ? (The plugs were different, I don't know if the lights were different)

About how old is it ?

Any problems of any kind?

Is it just me? :(

Thanks. :)


I have a clear one with 16 red LEDs, but I don't know what the voltage is; I use it in conjunction with my Niterider headlight and water bottle-style battery. It seems to work fine but the switch does not work the same as the various Cateye tail lights I have. On the NightRider, the LEDs are either in the flashing or steady mode at all times. By this I mean if I push the button and the light comes on in the steady mode, then if I push the button again it turns off instead of cycling to the flashing mode like a Cateye would do. To get the flashing mode I first turn the light on, then I press the button again and hold it down for about 2 seconds. It will then change to the flashing mode, and will turn off and on in the flashing mode only until you repeat as described above. Also, I have noticed that when I turn the light on I have to hold the button down a little longer than I do with the Cateye. The tail light seems to operate consistantly in this fashion. I lost the pamphlet that came with it a long time ago, so for all I know it may have been malfunctioning ever since I got it !

.:Jimbo:. 02-04-06 07:34 PM

why did they switch the taillight plastic to clear? Aren't tailights supose to be red?

michaelnel 02-04-06 07:50 PM

The LEDs give off red light, so it doesn't matter that the lens is clear.

Savas 02-04-06 09:39 PM

I got one of the clear ones and put a regular 9 volt on it. It never really thrilled me as to it's output. Sometimes, my Cateye looks brighter than it. Still, its in addition to the Cateye, so they work together or independently if one gives out.

slvoid 02-04-06 11:23 PM

So YOU'RE the guy who won the ebay auction...
The ones with the clear lenses seem to be the odd ones out. The ones with the red lenses are a lot more powerful compared to the ones with the clear lenses.

oilfreeandhappy 02-05-06 01:11 AM

I just sent a headlight and bracket into Niterider for repair/replacement. The plastic on the brackets chipped away in cold weather, and then the light fell out of the bracket when I hit a bump, and hung by the cord. It wouldn't turn on after that. I don't think there's any strain relief on the cord. They were real accomodating about the return though, although I had to fork up $20 for a Tech to investigate, and I paid for shipping. Haven't used their tail-lights.

2manybikes 02-05-06 05:19 AM


Originally Posted by slvoid
So YOU'RE the guy who won the ebay auction...
The ones with the clear lenses seem to be the odd ones out. The ones with the red lenses are a lot more powerful compared to the ones with the clear lenses.


I thought the clear might be brighter. I thought about asking what you had first ! :(

did you bid against me ?

slvoid 02-05-06 09:43 AM

lol no I saw that it was the clear one and stayed away. :p

2manybikes 02-05-06 10:30 AM


Originally Posted by slvoid
lol no I saw that it was the clear one and stayed away. :p

:lol:


It gets worse ! I bid on a red one, and let it go, because it was the red one !!!!!! :( argh !!

banerjek 02-05-06 11:47 AM


Originally Posted by 2manybikes
As soon as I plug in the light it comes on. It will not flash or shut off with the switch. I took it apart and the switch is fine. It is not as bright as my Cateye TL-LD 1000 from any angle side, 45 degrees, straight on, etc. the Cateye beats it by a huge margin from all angles. The Cateye beats it from straight on, but by a smaler margin.

This "New" model has a clear plastic housing, the older ones had a red plastic housing.

That's four failures for me.

You must have fed kids to lions in a former lifetime to get such bad luck. I have both the red and the clear. I bought the red 4 years ago to work with my 6v trail rat (it also worked fine with my 13.2 v rage HID), but I screwed up the plugs a a couple weeks ago and bought the clear one which also works fine with both batteries. So long as you have the surlock connectors, you can use it with either voltage.

It seems like the clear one is brighter, but that might be just because it doesn't have so many scratches on the lenses. I think that either your light is defective, or there's something wrong with your connector. My lights are extremely bright from almost any angle. I occasionally get comments from motorists.

I actually bought the NR HID because I like the tail light so much.

2manybikes 02-05-06 01:57 PM


Originally Posted by banerjek
You must have fed kids to lions in a former lifetime to get such bad luck. I have both the red and the clear. I bought the red 4 years ago to work with my 6v trail rat (it also worked fine with my 13.2 v rage HID), but I screwed up the plugs a a couple weeks ago and bought the clear one which also works fine with both batteries. So long as you have the surlock connectors, you can use it with either voltage.

It seems like the clear one is brighter, but that might be just because it doesn't have so many scratches on the lenses. I think that either your light is defective, or there's something wrong with your connector. My lights are extremely bright from almost any angle. I occasionally get comments from motorists.

I actually bought the NR HID because I like the tail light so much.

:lol: I guess I need to stop doing that with the kids !


Thanks banerjek.

pricklycommute 02-06-06 09:46 AM

I had the clear NR taillight, but quit using it because it kept going off. The connectors got a little too old and would slip out while riding. I used it with the Roadrat 6v lead acid light. I have since bought a couple of the Nitehawk Lead acid 10w headlights and think they are much superior (and cheaper). Still bottom of the barrel for rechargeable lights, but atleast it was onsale for $30. :)

I have switched to the Cateye LD-1000 too, and like it a lot better. I had to clean the battery terminals when I got it, but since then no problems at all. Now if they only sent a decent rearrack mounting piece with the dang thing instead of me Jerry rigging it...

2manybikes 02-06-06 10:49 AM


Originally Posted by pricklycommute
I had the clear NR taillight, but quit using it because it kept going off. The connectors got a little too old and would slip out while riding. I used it with the Roadrat 6v lead acid light. I have since bought a couple of the Nitehawk Lead acid 10w headlights and think they are much superior (and cheaper). Still bottom of the barrel for rechargeable lights, but atleast it was onsale for $30. :)

I have switched to the Cateye LD-1000 too, and like it a lot better. I had to clean the battery terminals when I got it, but since then no problems at all. Now if they only sent a decent rearrack mounting piece with the dang thing instead of me Jerry rigging it...

Thanks for the info.

The Cateye TL-LD 1000 will screw onto any typical reflector bracket just like a reflector. That includes racks with a hole in them and any standard rack reflector bracket, available at a bike shop. Sometimes the brackets are given away.

DogBoy 02-06-06 10:59 AM

I have 2 NR taillights (clear lens) and both work fine. I only use them on solid, and getting them to blink would be a challenge if I cared enough to try. I use them in conjunction with 2 blinkies, one on each side of the solid NR light. Its pretty darn bright.

pricklycommute 02-06-06 11:01 AM


Originally Posted by 2manybikes
Thanks for the info.

The Cateye TL-LD 1000 will screw onto any typical reflector bracket just like a reflector. That includes racks with a hole in them and any standard rack reflector bracket, available at a bike shop. Sometimes the brackets are given away.

That's funny, I just went to the bike shop on Friday to get a reflector bracket. :) Unfortunately it seems that to get the notched portions to line up and mount it under the rack, I have to mount the light upside down. Since the clip broke for the mount, I am a little scared to do this. So this weekend I tightened up the mount as much as possible, and then spread some JB Weld in the places that will receive the most stress/torque going over bumps. It made the ride in alright - so far so good!


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