Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)
  • Hope Lights, Connector problems
  • Mr-B
    Free Member

    Hi, does anyone have any problems with the connection between the battery and charger connector with it flickering between red/green on depending the position of the lead. I’ve had mine sent back to hope and it came back with no fault but they sprayed some kind of fluid on it and it was fine for a while and now its back to the same and talking to someone else who has a Vision 2 his does exactly the same.
    Its as thou its a loose connection somewhere, can anyone shed any LIGHT on the situation or help solve the problem as its getting slighty annoying. Many thanks.

    mrjmt
    Free Member

    The connectors on my vision 4 batteries are the same, had a new charger from hope but its the same.

    The charger connection fits into other same size sockets fine though, so I now think its the batteries not the charger, but the batteries fit fine with the light head.

    I reckon if anything then the plug on the light head is slightly oversized and opens the battery socket up slightly allowing some play when the charger is then plugged in.

    I just find a position it works in and hope for the best, but to be honest my cheapy magicshine batteries and chargers work better!

    Mr-B
    Free Member

    Thats what mine is the Vision 4 and like i said, i sent mine back to Hope and they sprayed what i think was a silicone spray on it because they apparently found nothing wrong with it. All of my connectors fit correctly and firmly, certainly not loosely which would cause it to be a dodgy contact. Its very strange why it all happens.

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    Furby
    Free Member

    My vision 4 is the same I have to work the connector back & forth while connected & powered up to get the charge light to turn red, after that I leave well alone as the slightest touch seems to effect the charging. Oddly enough fitting a link cable between the charger & battery seems to improve things making me think the battery charger plug doesn’t quite fit as it should.

    devs
    Free Member

    See the slit in the end of the batt pack pin? VERY CAREFULLY open it up with something so you effectively make the pin wider. HOWEVER IF YOU SHORT THE INNER AND OUTER YOU MAY KILL THE BATTERY. I did it with a watchmakers screwdriver wrapped in leckie tape.

    rollindoughnut
    Free Member

    All 3 of my night riding buddies have hope lights. ALL battery/charger units purchased since circa 2008 have had continual problems exactly as described with similar response from Hope.
    I think they are being let down by their supplier and it is damaging their reputation (with us anyway).

    Northwind
    Full Member

    If it’s just the connector, should be simple enough to replace it?

    rollindoughnut
    Free Member

    Nervous to do that as is nicely sealed etc. Shouldn’t really have to with a £300 light, £80 battery surely?

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Sorry, I meant if there’s an issue Hope should be able to replace it with one that works properly without any real bother.

    Mugboo
    Full Member

    Newer R4 here same problem, as has my mates. Quick wiggle and it works though.

    Margin-Walker
    Free Member

    sent mine to hope (V2) -sorted it in 3 days -ridic customer service.

    give em a bell or another chance to sort

    rollindoughnut
    Free Member

    They’ve sent 2 sets back to us this year saying nothing’s wrong. Can’t be arsed any more, just do the wiggle and then don’t touch it. Got used to it now.

    pjmcgovern
    Free Member

    Same problem with R4. Superb light massively let down by battery/ charger combo.
    It’s a lottery if your battery charges properly or not.
    I commute 18 miles in the dark each day and my hopes have suddenly switched to battery saving mode on more than one occasion whilst doing 25-30mph on unlit roads. I now run a hub dynamo as well just in case.
    The nut on the headband just turns in its holder too. Not good enough hope!
    Does getting a new charger (every 3 months) fix the problem?
    What about third party charger? Doesn’t seem to be a loose connection whilst on the bike.

    T666DOM
    Full Member

    Vision 4 and vision 2 here, never had a problem with connections when charging with both of my chargers or all 3 of my batteries. Once had the plastic outer of the connector crack, sent it to Hope and they changed it without question.

    Just to add a bit of balance to the thread!

    Blazin-saddles
    Free Member

    You guys are leaving the charger switched off until you’ve plugged the battery into it then turning the power on to the charger? That’s the correct way to do it otherwise it confuses the charger.

    Sorry if you are already but a few people have this issue.

    trout
    Free Member

    As I have been upgrading these lights to XML leds in the process I have found quite a lot with fractures in the cable near the strain relief on the light head ,
    I think the cable is too stiff especially in the cold and is failing there
    I have also had the not making contact in the connectors problem too
    and the opening of the pin works but be very carefull as its a fine line from busted.

    Pieface
    Full Member

    same with my vision 2 and 4. I could send them back to hope but in future I will try another brand unless they’ve sorted it out on the R4

    Pieface
    Full Member

    same with my vision 2 and 4. I could send them back to hope but in future I will try another brand unless they’ve sorted it out on the R4

    smudge
    Free Member

    One problem also maybe (only my thoughts) is perhaps they are using different manufacturers for the batteries, chargers and the lights and as such the connectors may not been be from the same company and tolerances not the same.

    I have similar problems when using DC power sockets and plugs. Unless you use the same make they are not always a good fit.

    Just my thoughts

    mrjmt
    Free Member

    One problem also maybe (only my thoughts) is perhaps they are using different manufacturers for the batteries, chargers and the lights and as such the connectors may not been be from the same company and tolerances not the same.

    I have similar problems when using DC power sockets and plugs. Unless you use the same make they are not always a good fit.

    Just my thoughts

    I reckon you’re spot on there, I think that the internal diameter of the connector on the light is slightly smaller than that on the charger, so it squashes the pin slightly on the battery connector. That would be consistant with the solution of opening the pin slightly with a small screw driver, but would also mean that it’ll squash back down slightly once plugged back into the light head! 🙄

    jedi
    Full Member

    my mates vision 2s do it. my hope vision 2 are screw connectors and never had this happen. the push fits seem to have the issue

    RustyMac
    Full Member

    I see a trout/smudge connector/charger upgrade program on the cards here.

    charlierevell
    Free Member

    I can confirm that the new Charger is absolutely pants!!!!

    Just bought a new R4 and a district for the road bike as I liked the small size of the front and brightness of the rear. Charged up with the new charger for most of a day, light green, all should have been ok.

    Go out, 45 mins in on the low setting and it goes into warning mode. USELESS…..
    I manage to make it the 45 mins back home and a mile away it died completely.

    Its now charging on my old Vision 4 charger (hope branded) and its very much on red… as it should be!
    The new charger only works in a certain position,(have to twist it round till it goes red) so will be going back first thing tomorrow to see if I can get another “old” one as a replacement.

    My battery pin is not split so I can see I can expand it at all.

    Utter Rubbish Hope… First thing I’ve bought from you that is total cack! Whats worse is it a bought in part!!!

    Oh… and not happy that I wasn’t told about the change in battery pack meaning that I cant use my 4 Cell batteries with it!

    blackbrushwalker
    Free Member

    My solution is to get a bit of solder on the inside of the female/charger connector then file it so you can get the male part in with a snug fit. Don’t know how long it’ll last but works fine for now. Easy, quick and cheap.

    Luminous
    Free Member

    My solution was to spec top grade connectors in the first place.
    8)

    I hear Hope are good with their warranty though, so I’d expect that they’ll help you out.

    RustyMac
    Full Member

    Luminous

    I have to agree with you there, i think the connections are pretty common problem with lots of the lights out there, The lumicycle lamps I have fairly frequently allow the power cable to drop out. I resorted to using double sided velcro to hold them in but it doean’t look great.

    The ones you have on the 601 pic look alot like the ones we used in my last company for offshore tools. I’d love to change the copnnectors onmy stuff but between the lights charges and batteries i have it’d be a hell of a price.

    Luminous
    Free Member

    Rusty.

    You’re right, the connectors I’ve spec’d aren’t cheap, but at least the model 401 manages to come in at a similar price to an R4.

    The connectors are common across the whole Luminous lights range too.

    sniffy
    Free Member

    I’ve got most of the hope range of kit fitted on my bike but these 2011 R4 seem to be nothing but trouble, 6 mates have the same lights and have all had trouble with the charger and/or the lights switching off or flashing on their own. Mine have been back twice this year, the other lads lights have all failed in the last month or so.
    To be fair Hope are superb with warranty and the lights are back within three days with new chargers and circuit repairs etc so credit there

    Is this still a common problem though ?

    thorpie
    Free Member

    Had the same problem on my vision 2, sent it back to Hope and got a new charger sent back next day.

    rickon
    Free Member

    ——WARNING——-SOLUTION– 🙂

    Hope sent me a little connector that shrouds the jack on either end, so a female/male connector. And it stopped the flickering, seems like just a bad connection problem.

    I just asked one of the chaps at Hope and he popped the connector in the post for me.

    This was on a new R4.

    neninja
    Free Member

    If it was on a new R4, why don’t they include them to start with?

    sniffy
    Free Member

    Another instalment/rant, 13 riders out last night, 10 with hope lights, 3 failed 2 of wich have been back to hope in the last two months. Mine started flashing after 30 mins, switch off for two minutes, back on and they last for another 5 minutes before flashing again. I got home last night and left the lifts on low setting, they are still on this morning so its not the battery
    Will be ebaying the hope’s and buying in some decent lights to see out the rest of the year’s dark nights
    It was -5 in the peaks last night… but come on Hope whats the problem here

    nixie
    Full Member

    I’ve a 6 year old light that just started to flicker. I’ve identified that the weak spot is half way along the cable, just where it enters the battery case. My suspicion is that the cable is damage there, probably from the times the battery has fallen off, or I dropped it and caught be the light unit.

    Whether or not Hope would identify this easily I don’t know and it took 25 mins and 2 ‘fixes’ in the wrong place to find the actual fault.

Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)

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