xenologer

Hello
just wondering if anyone else has experienced this or has any ideas...

Recently have been using the PBSF Turbo, very bright, moreso than my Radbot 1000; tho the radbot does have a better on/off switch and more secure battery case...
brighter is paramount of course

just recently its developed a strange behaviour
If turned on and left in the turbo flash mode; after about 6 seconds of flash pattern it turns off. At which point I can press the button again and it witll turn back on in flash mode as if it was a normal userinduced shutoff.(batteries haven't lost contact)
The behaviour is 100% repeatable and appears to be consistently 6 seconds; I am assuming that this is the time cycle of the turbo flash pattern and somehow it is unable to loop itself.
If i press the button before 6seconds have passed, it switches to steady mode and behaves as expected, tested for at least 10mins w no probs on steady.
Ruled out vibration, behaviour is idential sitting on desktop.
so, i guess some portion of the circuitry that controls flash mode is damaged? kinda lame to only be able to use it on steady mode....

What you think?
Thanks


EDIT
Just tried it again.... this time the flash cycle lasted far longer than 6 seconds, perhaps 15 before shutoff.
Now appears to be consistently 15secs of flash..
wierd, only diff I can think of is that i spent time typing out this message indoors; while the problems only showed up on the ride home..... temperature related? maybe batteries are low and the delay let them 'rest' and 'recover' a little?

Guess I'll report back after charging batteries....

prathmann

I have a similar problem with a PB Blaze 1W headlight. On colder days if the battery isn't fully charged it'll switch off when used in the flash mode. Works fine in either full or half brightness steady modes and will also work fine in flash mode with fully charged batteries.

maximushq2

I have read of others having their pb superflash turbo turn off by itself. Your best bet is to contact planetbike and see if they will help you out. I have heard that they have good customer service, but haven't had a need to test it out yet. I have two original pb superflash lights that never had a problem. If you end up having to get a new light I would look into the cygolite hotshot which is a lot brighter than your turbo and similar priced with usb recharging. I now use a hotshot and a superflash combo and it works very well. The hotshot is one of the most intense lights out there when you are driving up behind it and it is cheap too.

smasha

if it's not fixed with freshly charged batteries, then PB support is totally awesome, they'll sort you out.

not like cygolite support, which kind of sucks.

i haven't dealt with moon or serfas support, but after having problems with my hotshot i'd suggest pairing a PBSF-turbo with a moon shield or a serfas TL-60 "shield". those two lights are the same light just branded differently, the light seems to be comparable to the hotshot, and the support can't be any worse than cygolite.

cehowardGS

This sounds like a battery problem. Either in fresh batteries or the fit of the battery in the case could be off. I have a PBSF Turbo and it works fine. So does, the $4 clones too.

cyclocommuter

I had the same problem with the PBSF Turbo but only after I used it for a few weeks. Luckily I kept the receipt and I was able to get it replaced from the store where I bought it. Mine would turn off after 10 to 15 minutes of riding. Initially I thought it might be because of vibrations on the road so I left it on one time after I came home. It still turned itself off so it was definitely a defect.

I also have a Radbot 1000 which is my main tail light. The PBSF is the back-up. No problems with the Radbot except that the batteries need replacing more often. I have since started using rechargeable AAAs.

Falchoon

I've had a few PBSF (and clones) and had similar problems but only after going for a ride in the rain. Fine after they dry out. Gave up on them after a while, too unreliable. I now use Cygolite Hotshot, only had it a week, so far so good.

smasha

@Falchoon - my experience with the cygolite is that it's ok until it rains - https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...golite-ggrrrrr

the only problems i've had with the PBSF-turbo were teething problems with the 1st batch (turning off on bumps). the 2nd batch is all sorted, and if you're having problems, PB should do what's reasonable to keep you happy, unlike my experience with cygolite.