Philips Saferide

[amir]

I have recently bought a Philips Saferide 80 front light (battery). I charged this as per instructions for 24 hours but on starting out this morning (12 hours after the charging) the light turned off immediately after turning it on. Some other rechargeables I had in a half-charged state got me into work.

Has anyone else had this issue with the batteries of this light? I am hoping that the next attempt at charging will be more successful as the old batteries have less nominal capacity than the new.

[reohn2]

Sounds like either faulty batteries or a faulty charger

[amir]

Thanks - one further checking, using another charger, the batteries seem okay. So it's the charger. I just now to check whether it's the external bits or the charging circuitry in the light itself.

[amir]

I have now asked for a replacement. I might have bought another make but it seems that there are few other powerful battery lights that are good for the road (i.e. with an appropriate beam shape). When it worked, it was much better than the B & M IQ that I had previously and the user reviews are good so hopefully it's just an infrequent bad un.

[stuartpurves]

I have had the same problem with two of these lights now. The first was after about five or six weeks of three one hour rides a week. The battery charge indicator went to red immediately when it was new but the light worked for a while. However, eventually it switched off several times on my way home. I sent it back to Rose Bikes who promptly replaced it. I've had the new light for about four weeks and the same thing has happened again tonight. This time it failed after about 20 minutes having been recharged for over 5 hours. The battery charge indicator worked for a while from new but it has been indicating a low charge earlier and earlier over recent weeks. It looks like this is either a manufacturing fault or a design fault with the voltage sensing circuitry. The batteries are fine - measured 5V tonight so no reason to switch off.

It's a shame because this is the best light in terms of beam cutoff and good brightness that I have found in several years of looking. I believe that the German regulations tend to favour dynamo lights for non-racing bikes so maybe Philips haven't cracked it for battery lights. I will be asking for my money back unless Rose Bikes can convince me it's a fault that has now been fixed. Next project might be to build a wheel with a dynamo hub and try the dynamo version.

[meic]

I have had the same fault with a B&M Ixon IQ. They replace it saying a faulty voltage regulating circuit.

However it could have been that other bugbear ,of NiMH batteries not being able to push a high current at low temperatures.

[stuartpurves]

It wasn't the temperature. I put the light in the airing cupboard overnight so it got warm. It still had the same fault this morning.

[amir]

The replacement light seems to work fine - at least so far. It's charging properly (progressing through red, amber, to green) and lasting okay.
It's a lot brighter than my previous light - a B & M Ixon IQ.

[amir]

BTW I did try emailing Philips but go no response. However I bought from Amazon and, at least with the first 30 days, their replacement process is very quick. In fact I was able to send the faulty lamp back after the new one arrived and so I missed no commutes due to that.

[stuartpurves]

I got a reply from Philips saying it is not a known fault. They are offering to replace the light which I will do (rather than send it back to the retailer). I have also asked them to let me know what fault they find with the light. It will be interesting to see if I get a response.

On a general note, this is the best light that I have found for riding on unlit country lanes. It is very bright and the beam cutoff is much more like a car headlight than other bike lights. My only niggles are the bracket, which doesn't grip the handlebar very well (fixed with some strips of 2mm rubber from ebay to replace the standard strips) and the glare from the 'rays' that radiate out around the beam. Presumably they are intended for all round illumination but they really irritate motorists, some of whom 'retaliate' by turning their lights on main beam. I got around the latter problem with three layers of Scotch Magic tape in small shaped triangles around the left and right edges of the lens. This cuts down the glare to an acceptable level.

[amir]

Yes - now that it's working, I really like the light. I've not yet noticed the glare problem but I'll check that out.

I'm not having a problem with the bracket at all - though I have oversized tubes on my bars. I did hear something about the bracket having been replaced so you may be able to get a better one with the replacement light.

[sjs]

Yes - now that it's working, I really like the light. I've not yet noticed the glare problem but I'll check that out.

I'm not having a problem with the bracket at all - though I have oversized tubes on my bars. I did hear something about the bracket having been replaced so you may be able to get a better one with the replacement light.

I have the original version of this light, and like it a lot. But I take the batteries out to charge them in a smart charger (now using Eneloop XXs), rather than using the one supplied. And the really irritating feature of my model is that it seems to switch from full power to the dimmer setting based on elapsed time not battery state, after about 75 minutes. If I'm using a good set of batteries I can then take them out, put them back and get another half hour or so on full beam.

[tatanab]

I have the original version of this light, ---it seems to switch from full power to the dimmer setting based on elapsed time not battery state, after about 75 minutes.

I too have an original, with 3 blue LEDs showing charge state (I have parcel tape over them to reduce the brightness). I have always used the charger supplied and never removed the batteries. I tried the light for duration when I got it and like you I found it switched after about 1.75 hours of the 2 it is rated for on bright beam. I always took this as just enthusiastic marketing versus reality. I very seldom use the bright setting since the dim setting is fine for my riding in the lanes. The light is now my "spare" because on my winter hack I now have the dynamo equivalent. I have noticed elements of the light (I cannot recall the proper name) which I can see as thin bars in the hedges to either side of a narrow lane but I do not recall any motorist protesting. I set both the battery and dynamo versions with a very slight twist to the left. On the battery version this is done by a strap over the light which is to stop it moving on the bracket, just taking up the slop gives enough of a twist for my purposes.

[andrew_s]

And the really irritating feature of my model is that it seems to switch from full power to the dimmer setting based on elapsed time not battery state, after about 75 minutes. If I'm using a good set of batteries I can then take them out, put them back and get another half hour or so on full beam.

Quite a number of people have been irritated by that.
It definitely was a timer rather than anything to do with the battery, as some people tried to set it up to use a larger external battery that wouldn't have got anywhere near flat.

[stuartpurves]

I think I found what the problem was with my light. It seems that it was the batteries after all. I measured the battery voltage the following day without having recharged them and three cells measured just under 1.3V but one cell was down to 140mv! It looks as though this one faulty cell stopped the light working. I've seen similar comments on amazon.com about poor batteries.

I put some Duracell 2650mah batteries in for my last two rides and got home without any cut outs. I don't think the battery charge indicator is based on a timer. It is definitely measuring voltage or current. With stable batteries it might seem like it is on a timer. On my last ride it went to red after about 50 minutes, mostly on high light output. My Duracell batteries are probably a few years old so I've ordered a new set (and will send the Philips ones back for replacement). I think the high current drawn by the light in high output mode will really show up any below parr batteries. It's a shame that Philips don't do a Li-Ion version; I would certainly pay considerably more for one. It would be a winning combination.

I found a site which has extensive reviews about all types of bike lights and dynamos. It's quite long but seems to rate the Philips Saferide quite highly :
http://swhs.home.xs4all.nl/fiets/tests/ ... bike_light

With regard to the bracket, my bars are only 22mm so this might explain why it moves too easily.