9606

Here is my situation:
I start a brevet with a fully charged Joule GPS, plugged in, and red light on. All is well.
Then at some point, I think AFTER a control stop, and after the Joule has gone to sleep and I've awoken it, I notice the right light is not on.
After some miles the battery level of the Joule goes down a notch. But it does not charge, and the red light is still off.
I try unplugging the cable, riding for a while, no red light. I try all sorts of plugging and unplugging the (Powertap OEM) charge cable, and no red light. I have plugged and unplugged the quick disconnects from the hub. Still no red light.
Eventually the Joule GPS runs out of battery. I finish the brevet, put the bike in the car and drive home.
I plug the charging cable in, lift the bike, spin the front wheel, and the red light comes on and the Joule starts to take a charge. So -
What is the red cache light not coming on after a control stop?
Will a Gomatic or other 3rd party data transfer/charge cable fix my problem?
Will an Edge 500 have the same problem? With a 3rd party data transfer/charge cable?
Many thanks -

unterhausen

I never figured out the lights on the Luxos, so I'm no help there. I recall someone on the randon list having difficulties if he left his gps charging during control stops. I think his solution was to turn it off or disconnect.

Rob_E

You ever sort this out?

I may have the same problem. I noticed my switch LED was not coming on. I assumed the light wasn't getting power. After some fiddling, I came to realize that the light was getting enough juice to power on, but something isn't right. As you say, the LED that indicates that the capacitor is charged up never comes on. Items plugged into the USB port don't charge. The light comes on, but it will intermittently turn off. I feel like maybe whatever capacitor/cache battery is in the unit has failed.

9606

I sorted it out by getting a warranty replacement.
Even the replacement is a little finicky. Most of the time the red light is on and charging. Once in a while it will go out for no good reason, then eventually come back on.
I think this system is not quite ready for prime time, or they need to improve their quality control by a good bit.
It's like my Garmin Edge 810. Hit or miss.
Are the new electronic gadgets in other sports like this?
Why can't companies come out with products that function as advertised?
When was the last time you heard of a new tv or dishwasher not working properly??? Or a cellphone??

fietsbob

perhaps overcomplicated .. my simpler B&M Eyc is Fine.. No USB or nothing ,, it is with a light sensor 'T'
so switches the hotter LED off and uses 2 cooler day running diodes.

Consider separating the charge function to its own device perhaps?

unterhausen

I was surprised the Luxos wasn't tested more thoroughly. Garmin, on the other hand, is known for bad firmware

9606

...Consider separating the charge function to its own device perhaps?..

Do you mean a third party usb charging port? More cables and fiddling about to find a mounting location?

It is easier to ***** & moan.

It's tempting to chuck it all and take up hiking or gardening. Plus I am getting real tired of a sore crotch.

PBP can't come soon enough, just so it is over.

Rob_E

Ha.

Before I settled on the Luxos U, I looked at a few other charging systems. Apart from some DIY options that I don't feel competent to assemble, the other options were fairly expensive, enough so that, since I wanted to upgrade my light anyway, it would have been more expensive to get a good light and a charging system than it was to get the combined unit.

Really I love the whole set up more than any other option I looked at. Other than the not working thing. If I can get over that, it'll be perfect.

fietsbob

Made in the shadow of MIT & Harvard, this seems simple Chargers - Sinewave Cycles
if I were buying a new touring kit . Ortlieb makes a Handle bar bag with electrical contacts
their top model , then the Sinewave Cycles Revolution

can stay in the HB bag with your electronics getting charged ,

then QR come off to not have it and everything nicked when you park the bike.


the other one is competing with the German 'The Plug' , and like It, goes in where the top cap is on the threadless steerer.

(seen in ad in ACA Magazine, I dont own any E-toys I cannot leave at Home. )

Rob_E

Yes, those are expensive solutions to a problem that we have already paid to solve another way. I think I'll just try to get the system I already paid for fixed, rather than throwing good money after bad.

unterhausen

how old is it? B&M seems to get a little snooty if it's out of warranty period, but otherwise they are fine. Did you buy it through Peter White? If so, I would consult with him. Not sure what to do if you bought it through an EU vendor, I suppose you could start by contacting them, or maybe B&M directly

Rob_E

It was through Peter White, so I'll be contacting him. If it's a warranty issue, and it seems like it is, then I don't think there will be any trouble. I just thought I'd check in with others who have had issues and see if there was a solution I had missed before I went that route. I've only had the light since January, I think.

unterhausen

they are apparently on their 3rd major iteration and I'm sure there have been smaller changes. So it's probably worth at least talking to Peter

pdlamb

Wow. Is the design unstable because of problems they've been correcting? I was lusting after a Luxos U while the currency exchange rate was favorable, maybe I really want an Edelux II instead.

unterhausen

there were water intrusion problems with the first version. I think the fix wasn't liked too much, so they went to a third version. But I'm with you, the charging isn't quite as useful as I thought, and the battery doesn't last that long when powering the lights. So I might get an edelux if I replace my Luxos

Bluechip

I bought my Luxos U on 4/13 and it has been flawless. Not sure which version I have. It has been used to keep my Etrex running or iPhone charged. After the cache battery has been depleted it can take a while (depending on speed) before it is fully charged again. It won't charge through the usb until it has reached full status. The red light will be on during this cache charging. I'm not sure but I think it will charge through the usb even if the light is off as long as the cache is full. This is my interpretation of the lights.
No light- headlight is off, will charge through usb as long as the cache is full
Red light- headlight is on Low, will charge through usb as long as the cache is full
Blue light- headlight is on High, won't charge through usb

I haven't read the manual in a while so this is just how I remember it working. I have been very happy with it overall. Nice light beam and easy usb charging

Rob_E

I think that's wrong. I think the red light means that the cache is full and therefore USB charging is available. No light means the cache is not yet full. There is no indicator that the light is on low except that the light is on. I think there's also a light to convey info about the tail light, but I don't know which.

kickstart

Red light on the switch = cache charged, sustained usb charging available at speed of 12 kph+. 4 minutes until cache depleted if stopped or low speed
Blue light on switch and lamp = full output on all emitters/bright stand light running off both dyno and cache for up to 15 minutes until depleted
Yellow light on lamp = normal light on powered by dyno when in motion, stand light on when stationary until cache depleted
Green light on lamp = tail light functioning

Once the cache is depleted it must be recharged before usb charging will be available. A depleted cache takes about 5 minutes to replenish with the light off before usb charging will be available. Charging capabilities are limited when done with lights on, more so at low speeds.

Its important to remember a human powered bicycle dyno isn't an automobiles engine powered alternator, there's going to be limitations.

touringiscool

The Cache Battery is not charging on my LUXOS, if i charge the system with no lights and nothing connected for 20 minutes the cache battery does not charge. I know this because once done if I plug in my phone and cycle it will charge but when i come to a stop the phone stops charging. the manual states that the cache battery can charge for "4 minutes" while stopped.

I thought I would take the light apart I found a cache battery it is 6.4 volts Li-On battery (2*3v battery in series) I replaced the battery with two model helicopter batteries more precisely:"2Pcs 3.7V 380MAH Lipo Battery For Hubsan X4" which can be found on eBay for £6.50 (at time of writing). these are twice the capacity of the original battery. The modification appeared to work except there is no yellow lead (which I think is for balance charging) or temperature. unfortunately during testing I decided to attach the input to an AC source of 12V which I thought would be sufficient to charge the device. I new that the dynamo supplies voltages greater than the advertised 6v so I thought it would be ok but in the end the circuit board blew up.

So I bought another one, this has exactly the same problem, I am considering whether to swap the batteries again but I am a little more cautious this time.

During my testing I found that the switching system for the light is as follows.

Short press, while riding with light switched off = light flash and charging start
Short press, while riding and light switched on = full beam on
long press, while riding while light switch off = light on low beam
long press, while riding and light switched on = light off but charging continues
long press, while riding and light on full beam (blue led) = all off both light and charging stops

Rob_E

You sure about those two? In my experience, charging starts as soon as the cache battery is sufficiently filled and there is something plugged in. You don't have to press anything to initiate charging.

Likewise there's no button to make charging stops. Charging stops when there is not enough in the cache battery or when power is being diverted elsewhere. If you have full beams on, in my experience, charging has already stopped because all available power is being diverted away from the charging circuits to the lights. A long press will turn off the lights, but charging was already off, and will resume as soon as the cache battery is replenished.

touringiscool

Sorry yes, it might have been that the unit was failing and not operating properly, my new light seems to be working now. Hopefully it will stay that way during my trip to France. Very nice light.

I wonder if Busch and Muller will send me a new control board ic...

dim

I've spent hours and hours reading reviews from people who actually own dynamo lights and who tour on bikes, and based on my findings,

I've opted for a Son 28 Dynamo hub, a Lumitec IQ-x front light, a Toplight Brake Plus back light and an e-werk charger

Rob_E

That is good info to have in a thread that is precisely about none of those products. ;-)

dim

just trying to help, based on my findings .... i believe that what I have recomended, cannot be beat

daveschlabowske

I had one of the first generation Luxos U lights and it worked great for years, but the button just stopped charging the USB. I sent it back to Peter White Cycles, who replaced it free with a new one. The light works fine, but unfortunately, the red light on the button does not light up and it will not charge my usb device either! They told me to send that one back and they will check it, replace it and cover shipping, but this is getting to be a drag. I will have to bring an external battery pack to keep my phone charged on my next trip.