Just started using my new MTE P7 and a twofish handlebar mount. It's the 5 mode single battery unit. If I hit a small bump in the road it's fine. But if I hit a section of road where the surface is really bad - the kind you swear at as you ride over it - the MTE changes modes.

Is this normal for inexpensive lights like this or should I send it back?

Is it something I should/can fix myself?

What are some better quality lights that are bike specific that don't switch modes when you hit a decent size bump? Prefer something bright like a P7 but I'm not sure I need that much light to be seen in the day.

Thanks

Did the P7 came from DX? If so, your odds of returning and getting another one that do not change mode is less than trying to fix it yourself. I had three new P7 from DX ordered from different ime and they all had switch problem. Unscrew the switch, do a little cleaning around the contact with a very fine sandpaper (I used 600 grit), and it will work for a while. However, chances are it will happen again.

Just tighten the endcap switch and the LED block. Both loosened up on me and caused this kind of trouble. I just tightened mine up and the problem went away. I suspect that it might come back, if it does I'll try a drop of thread locker.

For me sandpaper wasn't necessary, it was just loose.

Sounds like you need a tighter fit for the battery, best done by adding rare earth magnet to the battery..

I found the 5/8" dia. x 1/8" thick to work the best, you can stack them if you need to .. Can be found at local electronics store or online

https://www.kjmagnetics.com/products.asp?cat=10

For me the problem was definitely NOT the battery needing a tighter fit; the switch had unscrewed a bit and was loose.

Of course, making the battery fit tighter would probably usually solve the problem, by wedging the switch hard enough to make contact even when bumped. But it's not the actual problem.

Even if that was the problem, I don't see the need for a magnet though; why not just stretch the spring a little, it'll make the battery tighter too.

The right thing to do is to try tightening the switch, see if that solves the problem. If not, then try the magnet thing I suppose, or just pull the spring a little longer.

This is the mount I used with my MTE P7's. It helped to stop the light from changing modes. One of my lights I believe had a faulty tail cap. Since I figured it was to much of a hassle to return it I eventually just bought the two mode one.

Thanks, but there doesn't appear to be any way to tighten the switch. There are no screws to tighten, it can't be removed from the end cap, and the rubber cover over the button is fixed in place.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=227518

+1

It's par for the course for DX lights. Good luck. Mine lasted 8 months before it gave up the ghost.....



As for a better quality light, I picked up the older MC-E version of the below light from Shining Beam, and it's been dead solid. It's far higher quality than the DX lights.

https://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/t...-dsh-50/Detail

I purchased it from DinoDirect, not DX.

China shops. whatever.

I considered that light, but I wanted a strobe mode for daytime use.

I use that on the bars, and a Solarforce host with an XP-G Nailbender drop-in on my helmet for a daytime strobe. The nice thing about the Solarforce is that it takes a standard P-60 drop-in so you can upgrade it for less money as LED technology improves.

There is a way. You need a spanner. If you look down inside the endcap, there's a ring between the outside and the spring in the middle. It has two holes. You need a spanner that fits into those two holes. That whole part screws in and out. I don't actually have a spanner so I use a snap ring tool.

The same thing happens at the front end of the light, there are two holes there that you need to apply torque to.

I know in the UK and probably elsewhere spanner = wrench. Perhaps spanner isn't the right word. Whatever, what you need is something to go into those two holes and let you turn.

The thread mentioned above has photos on the procedure. Here's the relevant one for the MTE:

I solved this problem by wrapping the battery with a light band of tape -- like putting a belt around the battery's waist.

This kept the battery from shaking when I hit bumps ... problem solved.

Might not work for everyone, or every flashlight, but it worked for me, in two different flashlights.

That was the fix for mine as well, but I used a piece of thin plastic sheet (cut from a soda bottle) to keep the battery from shifting. I cut a small strip just shorter than the battery and about half its width, and slide it in at the same time as the battery.

The switch was not loose in my case, the mode change was caused by the battery momentarily loosing contact.