Yes, I know HID lights are old technology but this one has given me several years of great service and I'm reluctant to chuck it away if I can sort the battery.
I dropped the battery pack on a hard floor and must have damaged it because now, while discharging it gasses with a wet whistling noise. As far as I can ascertain from Trailtech a new battery pack would cost £92, although they were in some doubt that the new battery pack would work with that switch.
So what to do? Flog the lamp on Ebay and go LED? I want to do night road riding and occasional CX or MTB night rides.
Will the HID lamp fail soon anyway and leave me with a useless new battery?
Could I build a battery with bundled li-Ion batteries off the web? Or even replace the damaged cell in my existing pack?
What self-contained LED light do you recommend that can also be used for occasional DIY and around the house duties?
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If you are happy with the light then just get a new battery pack from mtbbatteries.com They guy is quite helpful have a word with him.
if a new battery pack is £92 and thats the cheapest price possible and if its a few years old like you expected theres no way I'd be hanging on to it and shelling out that much, not considering how much lighting technology has come on!
TBH I'm with Golfchick, yes it might have been a trusty old firend but it's output is so well past it due date, it's scary.
£110 will get you [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fluxient-3200-Lumens-LED-bike-light-3-x-Cree-XML2-New-Model-/181263909456?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item2a342bc250 ]this beauty[/url] with 2 warranty, though it maybe a little powerful for on-road use.
Though for round the house use, a 'normal' torch with 18650 batteries might be a better bet, these can come in very cheaply, & I'd suggest would be more use for road riding (tighter beam) and still leave you money for a 2nd 'floody' light to put on your bar for mtb/cx-ing.
[url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2013-model-Fluxient-U2-Mini-1100-Lumen-rated-Cree-XM-L-U2-led-3-4Ah-battery-/301020680293?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item46163b1065 ]This one[/url] (included battery & charger) is far from the cheapest (he actually has a slightly cheaper version for £44, which other than the lower rated battery I can't see the difference) but come with a 2 year warranty, from a seller how forever complaining about nasty cheap chinese imports. So you'd hope his is quality kit, and he does have a "Unconditional Guarantee: Anyone not impressed with their light can send it straight back for a refund.". He also does a [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Torchy-Oriole-2x-XM-L-T6-1000-lumen-led-bike-light-/301009317018?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item46158dac9a ]dual XML LEDlight[/url] which you can put on your bars for proper off-roading., complimenting the other torch, which you could fit on your helmet. Both of those would only come out to a bit more than your £92 battery option & both individually would produce more light than your current HID
just noticed, the difference between his [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2013-model-Fluxient-U2-Mini-with-1100-Lumen-rated-Cree-XM-L-U2-led-/291019965665?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item43c22444e1 ]£45[/url] and £55 torch, is that you get a single lower rated battery with the cheaper one, and two better rated batteries with the later.
I hate throwing out stuff that works perfectly well but you'd be mad to spend any money on keeping that going.
I had one of those HIDs and was very happy with it but modern Chinese lights are brighter, lighter, more robust and reliable - and cheaper than getting a replacement battery for the HID.
Thanks all for the advice!
If you do get a new light , I'd still have a quick check on eBay for the battery pack. You may get lucky and get a second hand one very cheap so you can keep the HID light as a backup should you ever need it.