It didn’t take long after finishing the revamp that I had opportunities to put the system to use.\u00a0 I have done 3 rides since completing it and realized more work needs to be done.\u00a0 Here’s a run down of some of the issues I ran into, why, and what I’m doing to improve them.<\/p>\n
First I’ll start off with what has worked without any trouble.\u00a0 The handlebar switch has been in the elements for at least 2 months prior to the revamp.\u00a0 I’ve had not trouble with the continuity checks on it and it has shown no signs of fault while riding.\u00a0 It responds when pressed and I don’t have any complaints about how it’s performed.<\/p>\n
Next, the connection point were all the components met held together.\u00a0 I didn’t have a problem with moisture.\u00a0 When I removed the electrical tape to service the other issues, I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.\u00a0 Now on to what gave me trouble.<\/p>\n
Servicing the battery compartment is an effort.\u00a0 I’m currently using electric tape to hold it to the stem.\u00a0\u00a0 This means I have to unwrap each time to replace batteries.\u00a0 I went through the motions and removed it.\u00a0 I noticed a small amount of moisture in the compartment.\u00a0 I’m not sure if it got in through the seam, followed the wire, or was from a leaking battery.\u00a0 It wasn’t much and was mainly near the batteries.\u00a0 This makes me think it was either the seam or a leaking battery, since it was exposed to below freezing conditions.<\/p>\n
The real trouble was with the headlamp itself. \u00a0 The headlamp has 3 main parts that had a seam that allowed the moisture to get in.\u00a0 Once in it would collect at the circuit board.\u00a0 I noticed trouble when the headlamp mode button stopped responding.\u00a0 I also noticed that the headlamp would change modes sporadically, mostly when hitting bumps.\u00a0 After opening it up, I noticed a significant amount of water.<\/p>\n
The front lens cap was probably were the water got it. \u00a0I decided to hot glue the lens cap to the top cover and fill the seem of the cap with hot glue. \u00a0Since it was opened up, I made a modification to the beam focus. \u00a0There is a lens that focuses the beam to a narrow point. \u00a0I removed the lens so more light would spread out closer to the bike. \u00a0I then tried the light with a small piece of paper. \u00a0This was used to defuse the light, but I later discovered this would be a mistake.\u00a0 Then I reassembled it and covered the seam with electric tape, with a final wrap of the headlamp cover.<\/p>\n
Like I said at the opening, I had a couple of chances to try it out.\u00a0 On both occasions I noticed that the lamp was too dim for it to show anything further than 8 feet.\u00a0 Also, the defused light hid details on the road, I couldn’t see any bumps or dips.\u00a0 It didn’t cut it.\u00a0 I haven’t been able to verify if its water proof, since it hasn’t rained since the rebuild.<\/p>\n
I attempted to open up the headlamp and it’s not coming apart without damaging it.\u00a0 The deal is done on this head lamp.\u00a0 I will see if the light coverage is better with the front cover free of electric tape.\u00a0 I’m stuck with the defused filter.\u00a0 I’ll need to purchase another light and use that casing if it still doesn’t cut it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It didn’t take long after finishing the revamp that I had opportunities to put the system to use.\u00a0 I have done 3 rides since completing it and realized more work needs to be done.\u00a0 Here’s a run down of some of the issues I ran into, why, and what I’m doing to improve them. First I’ll start off with what has worked without any trouble.\u00a0 The handlebar switch has been in the elements for at least 2 months prior to…<\/p>\n