mjw16

I finally ordered a replacement battery pack for my headlight. I've had this system for about 5 years and it's no longer made or supported by Planet Bike, in addition, until today, I've been unable to identify the battery type (no codes or marks anywhere). So, I've just been dealing with low and flickering power and ever diminishing burn times (down to 5 to 10 minutes). Not a good thing since it's pitch black at 5:45 am, when I leave for work on a 35 minute ride. By measuring the physical dimensions of the batteries we were able to determine that the existing pack is made up of 5 1.2v batteries (Sanyo HR-4/3 AUX), however, replacements are no longer available as they're, evidently, reserved for military use only. I settled on the HR-4/3 AU, they're the same size and voltage but, with increased amp hours. I know that I'm not over-volting the light, but what affect will the increased capacity have? Will it simply give me longer burn times at the same voltage? Will it have any affect on charging time? Also, will it affect the overall life of the pack or bulb? The pack should arrive sometime next week, I'll attach my existing connector to the leeds and give it a shot. It'll be nice to have real lights again as opposed to feeling my way down a dark path or waiting for someone with lights to come along and catch a ride.

ellerbro

You should get longer run times and longer charge times, by roughly the same percentage change as the capacity. The new battery pack should live at least as long as your current pack. The bulbs can't tell the difference.

mjw16

Thanks ellerbro, that's kind of what I thought but wasn't sure. I have yet to receive the pack but look forward to testing it out. I used to get roughly 2.5 days worth of commuting (mornings only) before a re-charge was necassary, extending that, even a little, would be helpful. I've had such good life from the bulb that I didn't want to jeopardize it then end up buying a whole new system after having spent $40 on the battery. After reading up a little bit here, I'd like to try my hand at building a diy light system. My current light is fairly bright but doesn't throw a good enough beam for my 20mph + commutes.