Magicshine battery dying quickly

[halfer]

Hi all

I have the MJ-808 revised edition 900 lumen Magicshine front light, and for two years it's been fantastic. However I think after this time the rechargeable battery may be on its way out.

However its behaviour is odd: it will shut down after about 10 minutes of use, and the rear LED on the back of the light won't light up, and the voltage display stops working. However if I plug it into the charger for a couple of seconds, the display seems to go through a reset, and then it works fine again for another ten minutes, with the light brightness the same as usual. So I wonder if the cells are fine, but the BMS is burnt out? Anything I can do to resuscitate it, to avoid throwing stuff away?

If folks here reckon there's no much one can do for these sealed units, I can get a Chinese replacement (500 charges for £35) or a German-made equivalent (£45). Has anyone any experience of choosing the best-value batteries for this series of lights?

 

[103Alex1]

For that price why not just buy a whole new kit ? It's only £36 including the battery and charger with a UK 3-pin plug ... unit is just as good as a Magicshine :

CREE XM-L T6 LED 1000 Lumen Bike Light & Headlamp Kit | C&B SEEN Ltd

 

[halfer]

Thanks Alex, that looks like an excellent price.

I would say though that the Magicshine was a bit of risk two years ago (it was prior to their being widely stocked in the UK, afaik, so I ordered from DealExtreme in Hong Kong) so not sure I want to move brands and risk it again. (In general for accessories I'll not necessary go for the cheapest, so I can rely on it for a few years).

Still, not ruling that one out! I know a couple of other MS users, so I can give my light head away if I buy a brand new set.

Edit: good to see that unit has a flashing mode. I use that a lot in bright streetlight/city commuting conditions, as it adds an extra level of visibility.

 

[Jeremy]

You can get pretty much the same unit for a lot less: CREE 2 in 1 XML XM-L T6 LED Bike Bicycle Light HeadLight HeadLamp 1200LM 9W | eBay

 

[halfer]

Phew, that's an amazing price - a full 1200 lumen lighting set for £17 inc delivery. That connector looks MS-compatible too.

Wonder what's wrong with it?

 

[amigafan2003]

Wonder what's wrong with it?

It's about 500lm, not 1200 ;-)

Also the batteries that come with magicshine and cheap DX knock offs are utter garbage - simply paralleled then series'd together with no balancing whatsover - leading to poor life and an actual real fire risk upon recharging.

You can either go for a good replacement battery from open light or you can build your own pack - I built a 12ah pack out of six airsoft packs and I balance them every now and then on my hobby charger.

But if you want to play the magic smoke lottery with the cheapies go right ahead

 

[halfer]

You recommend the Open Light batteries then, Amigafan? I'd have to get a £15 bag as well, since the battery that came with the MS is an external unit with velcro strap. So that's £60 plus postage, versus a quarter of the price for magic smoke set!

 

[amigafan2003]

You recommend the Open Light batteries then, Amigafan? I'd have to get a £15 bag as well, since the battery that came with the MS is an external unit with velcro strap. So that's £60 plus postage, versus a quarter of the price for magic smoke set!

The batteries on that site come with a bag.

 

[halfer]

Ah, gotcha - I was looking at magicshinebikelights.co.uk, whereas your recommendation is for magicshineuk.co.uk. £55 plus postage sounds like it'll work out cheaper - thanks.

 

[Jeremy]

It's about 500lm, not 1200 ;-)

Also the batteries that come with magicshine and cheap DX knock offs are utter garbage - simply paralleled then series'd together with no balancing whatsover - leading to poor life and an actual real fire risk upon recharging.

You can either go for a good replacement battery from open light or you can build your own pack - I built a 12ah pack out of six airsoft packs and I balance them every now and then on my hobby charger.

But if you want to play the magic smoke lottery with the cheapies go right ahead

Probably true!

I do have one on the way, but I've only bought it for the mechanical parts, my intention is to use it from the bike battery, via a DC-DC converter and I'll probably replace the LED if it turns out to be a fake (as I suspect).

I couldn't make the housing etc for that price (in terms of my time) so it seemed a cheap way of getting the harder to make bits.

 

[103Alex1]

I think a lot of the hoo ha about the "battery lottery" is overplayed. The link I gave is for a UK supplier who supply a quility light (it's been dropped, abused and generally knocked hell out of and suffered no damage at all). The battery is quality and I recharge it once a week at most. It's running for at least 1 1/2 hours a day, every day, for weeks. The charger is UK 3-pin and also charges similar batteries I got with more powerful 4000Lm lights imported Hong Kong which don't last nearly as long.

At those prices if you have to replace a part (or even the whole light after a year or two) then it's not a lot for the product you are getting.

 

[saneagle]

This is the one to get now. Nothing compares:
HOT 3 x CREE XM-L T6 LED 4000LM Bicycle bike HeadLight Lamp Light Headlamp | eBay

 

[103Alex1]

This is the one to get now. Nothing compares:
HOT 3 x CREE XM-L T6 LED 4000LM Bicycle bike HeadLight Lamp Light Headlamp | eBay

Got one of those ... don't use it nearly as much as my 1000LM one - it's just about arrestable on flashing mode, hammers your battery on 1-LED mode and the bike mount fit isn't as good as the other one. I think it's great as a super-high powered light for going on dark rides but for everyday use it's too much.

 

[tillson]

Probably true!

I do have one on the way, but I've only bought it for the mechanical parts, my intention is to use it from the bike battery, via a DC-DC converter and I'll probably replace the LED if it turns out to be a fake (as I suspect).

I couldn't make the housing etc for that price (in terms of my time) so it seemed a cheap way of getting the harder to make bits.

I have been intending to create a lighting supply which is fed from the bike battery for some time now, but other jobs always get in the way. I have this front light and a Magic Shine 3 Watt rear light and want to supply them both from the bike battery.

Can anyone advise or recommend a DC-DC converter which would be up to the job?

Thanks

 

[Jeremy]

I have been intending to create a lighting supply which is fed from the bike battery for some time now, but other jobs always get in the way. I have this front light and a Magic Shine 3 Watt rear light and want to supply them both from the bike battery.

Can anyone advise or recommend a DC-DC converter which would be up to the job?

Thanks

I've not tested this, but it might well do the job: 12V 24V 36V 48V to 9V 3A DC-DC Adjustable HRD Converter Step Down Power Module | eBay

The light will probably be OK on 9V I'd have thought, and unlike many of these cheap switched mode converters this one seems to accept a higher enough input voltage range for a 36V nominal ebike battery.

My plan is to run my light from one of the spare 5V DC DC converters left over from one of my chargers, but these are a massive overkill really (they are rated at 36 to 72V input, 16A output!). Unfortunately 5V isn't enough to run the three LED light, it looks like that needs 8.4V, from the spec.

 

[the_killjoy]

There must be a market for a nice encapsulated converter that steps down from 36v.

 

[tillson]

I've not tested this, but it might well do the job: 12V 24V 36V 48V to 9V 3A DC-DC Adjustable HRD Converter Step Down Power Module | eBay

The light will probably be OK on 9V I'd have thought, and unlike many of these cheap switched mode converters this one seems to accept a higher enough input voltage range for a 36V nominal ebike battery.

My plan is to run my light from one of the spare 5V DC DC converters left over from one of my chargers, but these are a massive overkill really (they are rated at 36 to 72V input, 16A output!). Unfortunately 5V isn't enough to run the three LED light, it looks like that needs 8.4V, from the spec.

Thank you for that Jeremy. I'm sure that I have read / heard somewhere that the 3 LED front light will work on a fairly wide range of input voltages, up to 12 V, but without confirming this, I don't want to risk damaging it. The converter which you have linked to seems appropriate when compared to the specification of both the front and rear light units which I have.

 

[tillson]

There must be a market for a nice encapsulated converter that steps down from 36v.

I agree. A nicely sealed converter unit with a voltage input range from 24 - 36 Volts and an output of around 8 Volts would be ideal for ebike use, especially as you can now pick up very good LED lights which operate on this voltage for around £30.

 

[tillson]

This is the one to get now. Nothing compares:
HOT 3 x CREE XM-L T6 LED 4000LM Bicycle bike HeadLight Lamp Light Headlamp | eBay

I ordered that light and one which looks like this arrived.

I'm not disappointed, but just curious if there is any difference good or bad. I suppose it just comes down to which particular product the factory is counterfeiting on any given day. Anyone else had a similar experience?

 

[103Alex1]

I ordered that light and one which looks like this arrived.

I'm not disappointed, but just curious if there is any difference good or bad. I suppose it just comes down to which particular product the factory is counterfeiting on any given day. Anyone else had a similar experience?

It's just a different shaped housing that you usually see with higher output lights of this type. Mine was exactly the same.