repairing wounded Vistalite Series 300 lamps

[petzl]

Running a small fleet of family bikes I have got through a number of rear lamps, Vistalite Series 300. The photo shows 7, plus a bit, of them that are in one piece with faults such as fail to switch off, 3 out 5 led`s work, constant on but no flash and so on. I am down to my last new Vistalite and at the current usage rate I was about to buy another wodge of rear lamps when I thought to ask on this Forum if it is possible for a mere mortal such as I, to repair them.

[gaz]

Well beyond my own skills, have a read around on candlepower forums: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... nd-Project

It might even be worth joining up and posting an enquiry.

[hamster]

I have found the solder joints crack leading to 'dead' LEDs. A quick retouch with a soldering iron does the trick. Switches seem simply to die, perhaps from water ingress and it is nigh-on impossible to get a replacement at prices less than new lights. Furthermore, the modern LEDs are both brighter and use less power, My VL is dim by comparison with a £10 Cateye.

[edocaster]

I have an old Vistalite, but never cracked it open. Those pictures certainly look vintage (through-hole components, etc) compared to most modern electronics. On the flip side, that makes it possible to re-solder by hand.

[Brucey]

if you want to carry on with a 'sustainable' (i.e. repairable) set of lights then you may be able to

- replace failed LEDs
- convert the electronics to use different/more available parts.

You can buy a light with functional electronics inside for as little £1 ( eg in the pound shop). These have very junky housings (badly made in cheap plastic, similarly rubbish brackets etc) but they will certainly yield useable LEDs and you may be able to use the circuit boards 'whole' as it were.

[edit; further to the above, a pound-shop light I looked at has a 2" long narrow circuit board in it with x5 through-hole 5mm dia LEDs in it. The board is secured with a screw at one end and a tab hooks under a bracket at the other. The switch is a direct contact momentary action one onto the circuit board (at the tab end) and the light supports multiple (annoying) flashing modes. The driver chip is 'glob-topped' on the board. So you might be able to use the board 'whole' (with adaptations) but you will certainly be able to harvest useful LEDs from it.]

If you can live with 'no flashing' mode (or you just want to be able to turn the lights off properly) then it may be a good idea to simply fit a mechanical switch into the circuit of your present lights.

cheers

[pwa]

Vistalites were the first reliable battery rear light that I had, and I remember them fondly. They freed me from having to use unreliable and thirsty bulb lights. Being flat, compact and light, they were also fairly easy to fix to a pannier rack. And they were durable.

[petzl]

if you want to carry on with a 'sustainable' (i.e. repairable) set of lights then you may be able to

- replace failed LEDs
- convert the electronics to use different/more available parts.

You can buy a light with functional electronics inside for as little £1 ( eg in the pound shop). These have very junky housings (badly made in cheap plastic, similarly rubbish brackets etc) but they will certainly yield useable LEDs and you may be able to use the circuit boards 'whole' as it were.

[edit; further to the above, a pound-shop light I looked at has a 2" long narrow circuit board in it with x5 through-hole 5mm dia LEDs in it. The board is secured with a screw at one end and a tab hooks under a bracket at the other. The switch is a direct contact momentary action one onto the circuit board (at the tab end) and the light supports multiple (annoying) flashing modes. The driver chip is 'glob-topped' on the board. So you might be able to use the board 'whole' (with adaptations) but you will certainly be able to harvest useful LEDs from it.]

If you can live with 'no flashing' mode (or you just want to be able to turn the lights off properly) then it may be a good idea to simply fit a mechanical switch into the circuit of your present lights.

cheers

Thanks for all above.
With the lamps that have an inop diode bulb is it possible to check for serviceability whilst in circuit, or, must it be removed and checked out of circuit, not that I know how to carryout a check. I am considering removing any inop diode bulb and replace it with a know good one then fire the lamp up. I am up to speed on soldering (heatsink) and have a multimeter. The reason I have so many lamps to work on (not to mention the ones that have failed " keep just in case") is that 2 lamps are fitted to the rear, on each of the bikes.

[Brucey]

since the LEDs are often powered in parallel you need to remove them from the circuit to test them. They are of course polarity sensitive so be sure to put them in the right way round.

When replacing LEDs I'd suggest that you (where possible) keep the same type of LED together in one lamp; they operate at slightly different voltages so different makes don't share current when set in parallel with a common series resistance.

cheers

[edocaster]

[edit; further to the above, a pound-shop light I looked at has a 2" long narrow circuit board in it with x5 through-hole 5mm dia LEDs in it. The board is secured with a screw at one end and a tab hooks under a bracket at the other. The switch is a direct contact momentary action one onto the circuit board (at the tab end) and the light supports multiple (annoying) flashing modes. The driver chip is 'glob-topped' on the board. So you might be able to use the board 'whole' (with adaptations) but you will certainly be able to harvest useful LEDs from it.]

I actually have a couple of those pound shop lights, and the innards could conceivably be transplanted into a Vistalite. The board is much smaller, of course, so the LEDs will be bunched up, but it would definitely fit. As for fixing it in place, a screw is preferable, but superglue might have to come into play.

To test an LED you can either use the diode test function in a multimeter, or make a very basic circuit with a 470-ish ohm resistor and 2 to 4x 1.5V batteries in series.

[hamster]

LEDs are phenomenally reliable. I'd bet it's simply the soldered joints and not bother to test them; retouch first with the soldering iron. You will have to de-solder to remove the LED anyway so it's a simple first step.

[Erudin]

Pics below of the internals of Poundland's MyCycle 5 LED bike light.

Fitted a couple of them onto my shopping/commute bike the other day, the clip looked pretty weak so drilled a hole through the back and bolted them onto the mudguard and saddle bag.