My Bike Headlight Stopped Charging: A Proprietary 18650 Battery Headache

Daily · Published 10/10/2022 ·

These days even my bike needs charging.

Headlight, taillight, Di2, cycle computer, phone…

The list of things to charge really doesn’t stop at one or two.

And now my trusty headlight is acting up.

It used to charge just fine over Type-C…

but the light won’t come on.

It takes an 18650 battery, but it’s a proprietary spec — both the negative and positive terminals have been moved to the top via a cap that works like a protection circuit.

In other words, if the unit itself can’t charge it, charging becomes a real hassle.

They do sell a dedicated charger, but at the very least the unit should be able to charge it too.

That blue glow is the taillight behind it, showing a full charge.

I called the distributor, and they told me to ship it to them with the shipping cost prepaid.

It’s not exactly cheap, yet it’s breaking down way too soon. If your battery suddenly dies during a night ride, that’s a serious problem.

Check it often and always make sure it’s actually charging.

#navi800k #boughtitmyself #as #bikeheadlight #bromptonheadlight #roadheadlight

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