Viewing 39 posts - 1 through 39 (of 39 total)
  • Solarstorm x2 fault
  • ritchic
    Free Member

    Sorry if already covered. Out riding tonight. Lights on no problems then when stopped talkin my light went blue then off. Found out it was smoking and basically melted one of the LEDs into the light and stank of electrical burning. Anybody else had this is it new light job or can I replace LED
    cheers

    Northwind
    Full Member

    It’s a new light, why do anything other than warranty it? It might be fixable, then again the issue might be in the driver or a wiring fault.

    wiggles
    Free Member

    *waits for all the smug I told you so posts*

    richpips
    Free Member

    If it melted the led, it’s probably a fault with the protection circuit.

    Buy another (or a much more expensive light that’ll never go wrong 😉 ) pick your manufacturer then google for woes. You won’t be disappointed .

    trout
    Free Member

    can anyone confirm that theirs has any overheat protection cos the one i have wont dim when very hot

    Richie now its dead and if the supplier does not want it back can i have a look at it ?

    pussywillow
    Free Member

    ritchic – Member
    Sorry if already covered. Out riding tonight. Lights on no problems then when stopped talkin my light went blue then off. Found out it was smoking and basically melted one of the LEDs into the light and stank of electrical burning. Anybody else had this is it new light job or can I replace LED
    cheers

    POSTED 6 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

    Smells like BS to me…

    yossarian
    Free Member

    Clipperty clop

    ritchic
    Free Member

    Well I haven’t contacted seller yet. But not holding out much hope really. I’ll certainly try though. I was expecting to start this thread an be loads of people having had same problem to be honest

    pussywillow
    Free Member

    ritchic – Member
    Well I haven’t contacted seller yet. But not holding out much hope really. I’ll certainly try though. I was expecting to start this thread an be loads of people having had same problem to be honest

    POSTED 17 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

    Errrrrr……….no

    ritchic
    Free Member

    So pussy what do you think is bs about what I’ve said then

    cruzcampo
    Free Member

    I’d say the forum fail rate on ssx2 is less than 1%.

    So still no reason to have pants taken down on a 300 quid branded light.

    Where did you buy the ssx2 from OP.

    may be safer to turn on low or medium if stopping for a while, as no cool air to keep temps down.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    richpips – Member

    (or a much more expensive light that’ll never go wrong

    Who makes these magic lights?

    ritchic
    Free Member

    I bought if of eBay. Seller in uk I believe sportsinglife I think name is. I’ve messaged him just waiting on reply

    legend
    Free Member

    Bought off eBay, UK seller, why not much hope?

    acidchunks
    Full Member

    I bought if of eBay. Seller in uk I believe sportsinglife I think name is. I’ve messaged him just waiting on reply

    Got mine from the same person, looked to me like they’re based in China but shipped from UK.

    ritchic
    Free Member

    Yeah after lookin again I think your right acid chunks. And I don’t no maybe I’m just very negative just feels like ill end up buying a new one in the end

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Seriously, take it up with the seller, and failing that ebay.

    I noticed something weird when the chinese lights were first coming in, lots of people complained about lack of warranty and support, without ever actually trying it. I had to warranty a DX light, apart from a wee bit of communication barrier it went really smoothly. And I broke an SSC torch, they sent me replacement parts for free. But I almost didn’t even bother asking!

    ritchic
    Free Member

    I agree I think it’s as there so cheap you expect to get problems and expect to have to sort those problems yourself. Where I suppose it’s maybe not the case

    Milkie
    Free Member

    I had a duff one. They sent me another in the post from China, arrived a week later. 😉

    RicB
    Full Member

    I presume the X2s from the ‘UK’ based seller (mine was posted from Gatwick) are subject to EU law stating electrical goods must have a minimum of 12 months warranty?

    Rich
    Free Member

    rout – Member
    can anyone confirm that theirs has any overheat protection cos the one i have wont dim when very hot

    Mine does, after around 10 minutes on high when stationary.

    The light dimmed to the lowest setting and wouldn’t turn up again until it had cooled down.

    Mine was bought from Laptopartsupplier on Ebay.

    edlong
    Free Member

    may be safer to turn on low or medium if stopping for a while, as no cool air to keep temps down.

    This. They do seem to get mighty hot very quickly otherwise.

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    I had a single “Bastid style” single XML go the other night, the LED now flickers very weakly if you power it, I had it on High when it went but I was moving and it had only been on for about 10 – 15 seconds, I don’t think it was a thermal issue.

    I opened the front of the housing and took out the reflector for a look see, and there was the tell tail whiff of “something a bit burnt” I’ve not investigated any further yet, the battery seems to be fine and has powered another light since, I’m wondering if it was an over-current protection failure, a short or simply a loose/broken connection, maybe even some moisture ingress…

    My own ‘X2’ is ok thus far, but it’s not done many miles yet, I’m keeping it to “Low” and “Mid” settings, I’d be interested to see the inside if you do pull it apart, see just how it carries the heat into that extruded housing, anyone else taken one to bits yet? (and taken some pictures)…

    I agree I think it’s as there so cheap you expect to get problems and expect to have to sort those problems yourself. Where I suppose it’s maybe not the case

    single and double XML lights are cheap enough that you start to think of them as disposable items, probably not all that sustainable / environmentally friendly, the cost of repairing vs the cost of replacing means you shrug, order another one and console yourself with the fact that you’ll at least have a spare battery and charger now… If you can get a six months out of a ~£20 light then you are probably not going to go mad chasing down a refund, but to only get a couple of weeks use, you’ll be wanting a refund, and not be buying far eastern lights again I expect.

    ritchic
    Free Member

    He has replied askin if light still works to which I’ve replied but just waiting again now. We were only stopped for all of 3 mins I’d say if that and wasn’t as if was a hot nite neither I think it must be a fault somewhere and not just the heat

    z1ppy
    Full Member

    In answer to Trouts question about overheating protection, according to the MTBR thread some of the users/tester have seen LED power output drop automatically when testing battery duration in static test enviroment (in the house). Can’t say I’ve noticed mine heating up to anything like ‘hot’ in several weeks use, or a couple of static battery duration runs & IIRC it dropped output (my battery was very poor though).
    There a bugger load of info (some useful some not so), on the MTBR thread including a disassembly on that page (Page 5) and a further disassembly on Page 10 (you used to need to register to see pictures, no idea if this is still the case)

    BlobOnAStick
    Full Member

    The X2 is the first night-riding light I’ve bought – all my others have been home made.

    First thing I did (after checking it worked) was take it apart and check it out. I was unimpressed with the thermal path from the LED to the casing, so injected a load of thermal paste (for PC heat sinks) around the LED backing plates to bridge the gap.

    Then I switched it on for longer, stationary on the bench – after about 20 minutes on high the light dimmed (I assumed a thermal management function) and the casing was too hot to hold, and I was satified that the paste was doing a good job (since there were those who had reported that theirs didn’t get hot).

    I have used it in anger 3 times now and the only shortcoming is the aforementioned poor battery life on high, so I generally use it on low which is still plenty bright enough when coupled with a helmet light.

    v666ern
    Free Member

    I bought if of eBay. Seller in uk I believe sportsinglife I think name is. I’ve messaged him just waiting on reply

    Bought from the same seller, battery died whilst on hi for 2 mins after an hour on low beam (after being worried by reports on here)
    Have contacted them and after a couple of emails they’ve agreed to send out a new battery.

    Did have an email from them requesting pictures of the light not working!!!

    trout
    Free Member

    Just had a closer look at the one I got and first thing is it certainly is not waterproof because I can blow through it from the lens end
    so what is likely to happen when it rains is the light may be warm and the rain will cool it causing it to suck in water
    I expect this to cause some failures as corrosion start to happen on the driver board over the winter.

    cruzcampo
    Free Member

    I’m starting to wonder if some of the UK ones are of the same quality as the Fastech lights, of which i’ve seen no issues with so far, and are certainly waterproof on a heavy rain ride, and also cut off fine when too hot.

    NorthCountryBoy
    Free Member

    Hi trout what are your initial thoughts on the light as a unit? What would you recommend to aid the waterproofing sealing?

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    I’d say the forum fail rate on ssx2 is less than 1%.
    So still no reason to have pants taken down on a 300 quid branded light.

    300 quid? No.

    My “branded” Gloworm X2 was £150 (with STW discount).

    My pants are very much intact, thanks. 😀

    I knew cheaper crapper lights were available, but I was prepared to pay more for a tiny very well-built light, that still runs happily completely submerged in water, with a remote switch, small good quality battery, fuel gauge, and customisable driver.

    cruzcampo
    Free Member

    GrahamS – Member

    that does look neat, how many lumens? any night shots? although my red SSX2 turned up today, can’t get enough of them 😆

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    cruz: max output is 1500 (genuine) lumens, via two Cree XML U2 (one spot, one flood) – though I haven’t needed to run it that high. The 1000 lumen setting already peels the bark from the trees.

    It’s a very neat little package. Whole system with battery weighs just 280g

    If you want more power then check out the 2200 lumen triple led version in Tuesday Treats:

    Tuesday Treats 62: CRG Moto Revisited

    Milkie
    Free Member

    I’ve fixed my light. One of the white wires had come off. So I reconnected/soldered it…

    Now I have a light that does not turn off, has 4 modes and is brighter than the normal one (mode 4 = mode 3)? Will it explode!? What have I done!?

    TurnerGuy
    Free Member

    I have the Gloworm X2 (the previous one at 1200 lumens) and the X1 on the head and they work well – I use the medium settings mostly.

    Not sure I would want more light, otherwise what is the point of riding at night?

    Wanted to get a luminator but caught Troutie in a period where he was more interested in making beer than answering any emails from me…

    z1ppy
    Full Member

    Coulda sworn night riding was something you did because the sun is no longer in the sky @ 9pm, not an extreme sport I must undertake only if I limit myself light wise 😯

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Can be either, nothing wrong with a bit of variety. Course, bright lights have a low mode, dull lights don’t have a bright mode.

    cruzcampo
    Free Member

    Night riding for me is letting me continue riding when the daylight no longer does, and the trails feel so different, regardless of high or low beam 8) I usually prefer high just for the sheer wow factor of the second sun 😆

    thatscold
    Free Member

    I’ve just received one in the post today. I plugged in the charger and connected the battery, but the charger emits a slightly concerning buzzing noise – is this normal?

Viewing 39 posts - 1 through 39 (of 39 total)

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