Dynamo Lighting - fit and forget?

[rjb]

I have a B&M toplight plus, it doesn't stay lit at all with no power but will stay lit if it is powered from the front light utilising the standlight capacitor in the front lamp. Is my rear faulty? Or is this correct

I am pretty sure the Toplight Plus has its own standlight capacitor so should stay lit whether a front light is connected or not. Are you testing it by running it, without a front light, from the dynamo to try to charge its capacitor? If so, when the wheel stops does the LED go out immediately or does it gradually get dim?

The Supernova rear lights don't have their own standlight, they run off the dc provided by the front light circuit.

My toplight is a DC device so you can't run it directly from an AC dynamo. I tried it from a 6 volt DC power source as my front lumotec had failed. It goes out as soon as the supply is switched off. Any one opened one up to have a peek inside. There are no screws holding it together, so assume you carefully prize it apart trying not to break the plastic lugs. Just need someone to confirm before I attempt it.

The front lumotec has been rebuilt utilizing the standlight capacitor and a homemade rectifier and now runs at approx 3 volts. I wired a cheap rear battery led without batteries which works a treat and stays lit, flashing for several minutes, all from a sturmey dynohub. This rig has insufficient voltage to power the rear toplight.

[robc02]

My toplight is a DC device so you can't run it directly from an AC dynamo

I didn't know they made one like this, ... or is it modified? The only Toplights I have come across are conventional dynamo (AC) or battery only, the latter having no need for a standlight of course.

[rjb]

The toplight usually gets its DC supply from the front light which has the rectification circuitry to change the AC dynamo into DC. My toplight is clearly marked with the + and - ve terminals.

You can see it here https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting/bu ... amo-light/

[mercalia]

call me a luddite but I think that 'simple is good' and I have eschewed standlights and the ilk; one mode of standlight failure results in the light not working at all...

I have had a few dodgy contacts and try to make it so that if wires get a tug, they don't break.

I have had a rare failure, which is a main LED go faulty in a front light; I suspect it ran too hot for too long, and the plastic packaging around the die moved, making for an intermittent contact within.

cheers

well a rear standlight is worth the bother so you dont get back ended at the traffic lights as increasingly cars ignore the safe zone they should not enter. The one in my B&M rear light atached to my carrier has been working ok now for 19 years, I think the capacitor maybe wearing out as the standlight is only now about 6o seconds or less. I did have to open up the light to tighten the screew tabs that had got lose , but thats all

I have a B&M toplight plus, it doesn't stay lit at all with no power but will stay lit if it is powered from the front light utilising the standlight capacitor in the front lamp. Is my rear faulty? Or is this correct

well my front light is an AXA pico30 has no standlight so I would say it is faulty. I am using a B&M bottle so thats AC output?

[robc02]

:idea: The toplight usually gets its DC supply from the front light which has the rectification circuitry to change the AC dynamo into DC. My toplight is clearly marked with the + and - ve terminals.
You can see it here https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting/bu ... amo-light/

Oh, yours is a Toplight Line Plus. I have used the older Toplight Plus (and Seculite etc.). This might be something to do with it being used with the Luxos front light. I don't know all the details, but the Luxos has an internal battery, and it mustn't be used with a rear light with a ground connection (i.e. all of the older models). According to someone on this thread this front light does give a rectified output - but I can't find anything more authoritative than this. B&M seem very coy about such things!

Can the Toplight Line Plus be used with other B&M headlights - ones that give an ac output for the rear light? There there seems to be nothing that says it can't, which implies it can run on ac or dc.

The spec for your Toplight Line does say it has its own standlight:
http://en.bumm.de/produkte/dynamo-ruecklicht/toplight-line-plus.html

[Brucey]

toplight line plus works from AC without issue (of course). The + terminal designation is irrelevant for AC use, and such markings are often used on AC dynamo systems to distinguish between ground and live connections on systems with earth returns. The toplight line plus has no earth return and can wired up how you like (presumably even with a DC input).

BTW B&M rear lights do vary in their ability to run directly from a generator (i.e. without a front light). In some models the overvoltage protection is 'temporary' and in others it is better than that. Best to read the small print.

cheers

[Sum]

This is the light.
https://www.athleteshop.co.uk/spanninga ... -light-led
I paid £37 in October.

The XE is the E-bike version which meant to be powered from 6-36V DC, not the AC output of a dynohub.
Didn't you order the XDAS version? viewtopic.php?t=117757&start=30#p1171144

[rjb]

toplight line plus works from AC without issue (of course). The + terminal designation is irrelevant for AC use, and such markings are often used on AC dynamo systems to distinguish between ground and live connections on systems with earth returns. The toplight line plus has no earth return and can wired up how you like (presumably even with a DC input).

BTW B&M rear lights do vary in their ability to run directly from a generator (i.e. without a front light). In some models the overvoltage protection is 'temporary' and in others it is better than that. Best to read the small print.

cheers

Thanks guys you can see my confusion when i have been running it on test from a dc source. Will try from a dynamo and report back, but after easter now. specs and instructions seem sadly lacking when i have searched online, in particular what voltage supply will it work with without destroying it.

[MikeF]

:idea: The toplight usually gets its DC supply from the front light which has the rectification circuitry to change the AC dynamo into DC. My toplight is clearly marked with the + and - ve terminals.

You can see it here https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting/bu ... amo-light/

I'm not sure if it is DC. I think the marking is there should you want to run it from DC, but I'm not sure why that should be. On some B&M lights they give a preferred connection for DC.

[Mick F]

This is the light.
https://www.athleteshop.co.uk/spanninga ... -light-led
I paid £37 in October.

The XE is the E-bike version which meant to be powered from 6-36V DC, not the AC output of a dynohub.
Didn't you order the XDAS version? viewtopic.php?t=117757&start=30#p1171144

Yep.
Well spotted!

My mistake.

[robc02]

BTW B&M rear lights do vary in their ability to run directly from a generator (i.e. without a front light). In some models the overvoltage protection is 'temporary' and in others it is better than that. Best to read the small print.

I'm not sure if it is DC. I think the marking is there should you want to run it from DC, but I'm not sure why that should be. On some B&M lights they give a preferred connection for DC.

Peter White has a bit more info on Dynamo rear lights, including which models can handle the whole of the dynamo output and on wiring polarity with the Luxos:

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m-hl.php (Just over half way down the page under the headings "Compatibility" and "Polarity!")

I find it disappointing that more info isn't available, but I suppose B&M want things to look as simple as possible for most users (thereby complicating them for those with a bit more curiosity than average!)

[Mick F]

My Edelux arrived the other day, and I've just spent an hour or two fitting it and running the rear light cable.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting/36 ... -polished/

Two things:
WOW and WOW!

Four more things:
One, the front light is bright and the standlight is the same brightness as the "normal" light.
Two, the rear light is bright too - far brighter than it was before with the Spanninga.
Three, the lights come on bright with a single spin of the front wheel.
Four, the quality is superb.

If I can get up early enough tomorrow morning, I'm off on a test ride.

[PH]

One, the front light is bright and the standlight is the same brightness as the "normal" light.

WOW indeed, I've had mine so long I sometimes forget just how bright it is, it's good to be reminded.
But my standlight, although bright isn't anything like as bright as the main beam.

[Des49]

My Edelux arrived the other day, and I've just spent an hour or two fitting it and running the rear light cable.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting/36 ... -polished/

Two things:
WOW and WOW!

Four more things:
One, the front light is bright and the standlight is the same brightness as the "normal" light.
Two, the rear light is bright too - far brighter than it was before with the Spanninga.
Three, the lights come on bright with a single spin of the front wheel.
Four, the quality is superb.

If I can get up early enough tomorrow morning, I'm off on a test ride.

Thanks for the update. Glad you are impressed.

We have a few bikes equipped with Supernova lights. Does anyone have experience of both Supernova lights and the Edelux to give a comparison? The price of the latter is much more attractive than the Supernova.

[PH]

Does anyone have experience of both Supernova lights and the Edelux to give a comparison? The price of the latter is much more attractive than the Supernova.

Yes
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=120923#p1220341

Though depending on the model of yours my comparison might not be relevant.
Mine are original Supernova E3* Lefty mount from 2009 with the LED upgraded in 2011 and MK1 Edelux as linked above.
The E3 has the symmetrical beam and even with the upgrade the LED is at least one generation behind current models.
They're chalk and cheese, the E3 the equivalent of a high beam, a bit anti social to other road users but superb on the dark lanes and it reduces that feeling of riding through a tunnel. The Edelux is far more civil, the dipped equivalent, it puts more light on the road where you actually need it most of the time, but you don't see much beyond that. It's hard to say which I prefer, though I've fitted the Edelux to the most used bike so I obviously consider it the more practical. I've ridden both through the night without feeling I need anything else, though just for fun I also have a super bright battery light which gets used on the darkest lanes when there's no one about to blind. I'm likely to use this more with the Edelux than the E3. they both have superb build quality in different ways, the Edelux wins on features, the reed switch mentioned earlier and of course the clever reflector, as an object of desire the Supernova has it, jewel like engineering.
I'd have no hesitation in recommending either, though I'd be interested to see the latest version of the E3

* I had the original original Supernova, bought in Germany, sold before it was really properly tested, it went back three times, twice for a poor quality toggle switch. the light was unreliable though the service was excellent, I ended up feeling like their guinea pig but in the end came out of it rather well.