No. Could that be the problem? Electricity flows through it. The problem is that the switch won't switch off.

Yes it definitely could, try it. I'll betcha a coffee that's it. Unless the switch has more than two wires, then the bet is off.

How many wires coming out of the switch? Can you post a picture of it?

daily:

there's a huge ~18 month old thread on mtbr.com about tt lights in the "best prices" forum. (edit - i just looked and i cant find the thread, maybe it got moved or archived).

the switch is a voltage regulator + switch (edit - sorry, PINKROBE already stated this) . they've had problems with this component, and last i read were on the 3rd generation, and it sounded like it still didnt work 100 percent.

tt cust service is probably gonna say anything to get you to leave em alone. i bet they hate those lights now.

batteryspace.com sells the tt hid, possibly more that tt (?). bs's solution to the bad switch/reg was to go with lower V battery and bypass the problematic switch/regulator unit.

btw, this topic has already been discussed on this forum, so you might want to search for it.

a few folks have observed that the "bargain" tt hid and its problematic performance makes l&m et al HID look like a real good deal on ebay at $350.

btw tt is now selling a 30w MR16 size hid thats not too expensive. seems like it would be the ideal basis for constructing the ultimate single lamp bike headlamp system. i guess you'd need 8-10 amp-hrs of battery to go with it.

I don't have a digital camara, but there are two wires coming out of it one either side. I should also add that the switch (mal)functions the same way when I connect it to my old 12v NiMh battery.

That's good to hear, it reinforces my theory a little. It helps eliminate one thing I was thinking about.
Are you waiting for the switch to get to you now?
If you are waiting don't worry about it not working, and don't run the light without it.

I think there is not much else that can be differerent between what you did and what TT did. It is also typical for that kind of product to need the wires connected only in one way. I really think that's it, unless there is something special to shut it off like two pushes of the button, or to hold it for longer than you did. Did any instructions or a schematic come with the switch? Did you see anything on paper, or on the switch, or even on the wires, that said "load" or "line" ?

I did some looking around. I found this. It has two cables one on each side. Each cable has a few wires inside it. I don't know how many. This complicates things. I still think that the difference is that you connected the wires to the battery wrong or the light wrong. If you have two wires in each cable (two for the light and two for the battery) and you get the same result when you try it, one at a time try the wires reversed. You could fry the whole mess doing this too! For something like this there needs to be instructions or a diagram and an understanding of them, to do this right. If you suspect you are in over your head and you have instructions, get help before hooking it up.

This also reinforces that you need this to run the light without damage. Otherwise you will fry the thing eventually. You need it to prevent damaging the battery too. This is important.

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All Trail Tech Helmet mounted light kits ship with our HID light controller:
Soft start switch provides optimum power-on conditions for HID lights.
Auto detects between 12 volt and 14.4 volt operating systems.
Battery Low protection prevents damage to rechargable battery sources

Thanks for ll of the help. You're pix is what I have. Unfortunately, I don't have an instruction manual for the switch. At one end of the switch, it has a male connector that came with it. On the other end, it has one red and one black cable. I soldered the red cable to the center of a female connector and the black cable to the outer piece. Then, I attached the soldered female connector to the male connector that comes from the battery. Voila. 7 hours and 20 minutes of power.

The lamp also came with a red and a black cable. Again, I soldered the black to the outer piece of a female connector and the black to the inner piece. I think that must be fine because it works just fine when I connect it directly to the Cygolite battery (which has a switch as part of the battery).

The battery appeared to cut off when it was supposed to. It was 10.6v before a ride to work and died on the way. It's now recharged back to 12.6v and works again.

I think I'll take it to the electronics store where I got a bunch of the stuff to see if they'll help. It's a lot like an LBS--higher prices but the owner knows his stuff and is willing to help. The only problem is that it's hard to get there when it's open. It's open 9-5 M-F.

When I finally get this done, I'll borrow a digital camera from someone and pass it one. Thanks for all of your help!

Your descriptions are very good, I think I know what things look like now.

Using the Cygolight battery does not prove or disprove anything without knowing what is under the cover that holds the switch and the little red light, and without knowing the polarity of the plug or connector. Don't open the cover and look. Just because it works does not mean the polarity for the solid state circuit is right,or wrong either.
It's a good thing that you posted the info about using the Cygo battery though, it still is helpful.

If you did not know which was (+) and which was (-) when you soldered the wires to the connector, the chances are highest that it is reversed, compared to some other kind of problem. Your chances of doing it wrong or right is about 50/50. I bet you're not happy about the possibility of resoldering those wires ? Been there, done that.

Most of the other things have already been eliminated. The only thing that is not working is the circuit in the "switch" does not shut off the light, but it works for TT. So it's probably connected wrong somehow. It's a solid state circuit turning the light on and off, not the mechanical switch alone.

Good luck at the store, if you get the right person you should be all set. Don't forget to bring everything, not just the switch. Good plan to go to the store.