Magicshine light dead

[Holdsworth]

My faithful and (up to now) reliable MJ-808 from DX has died after 9 months of use.

The battery is fine but the cable on the light head has developed a loose connection at the plug end where it thickens and enters the male plug. Every time it is plugged in it shorts the battery and requires a reset from the charger, until last night the LED would light up but turn off at the slightest nudge.

I suppose there is no quick and easy fix for this and a new light head is in order. Can anyone point me in the direction of one, I would need it ASAP as the light is used for commutes down dark country lanes.. For now I only have my backup flasher available to be seen and which is useless for seeing where I'm going at night, which is bad because I have some late-finishing shifts coming up this week

 

[MrGrumpy]

replace the cable? Can maybe get a new connector from Maplins? I managed to fix my Magicshine copy from DX, its true to say you do get what you pay for hence some of these lights do tend to break failry easily. Search the forums as someone else had the very same problem as you!

 

[Holdsworth]

I have well and truly given up. In my opinion the light is bust and not worth the time or expense to repair it. I have just plumped for a new head unit from the UK distributors with Special delivery for £45. I just hope that the battery is also okay as I have nothing to test it with, no multimeter or anything.

 

[BSRU]

Both my magicshine front lights eventually had a problem with the connector to the battery, probably because so much force was required to disconnect it.
I just made/bodged the connection using crimpers and a magicshine Y cable.

 

[Holdsworth]

Both my magicshine front lights eventually had a problem with the connector to the battery, probably because so much force was required to disconnect it.
I just made/bodged the connection using crimpers and a magicshine Y cable.

I think it was just that, I think I may have pulled on the cable itself in an effort to disconnect the light from the battery. Some days it was really tough to get off so I can see this might've happened. Oh well I have a new light head on its way, already dispatched according to my emails and should be here by 1pm tomorrow ready for my late shift.

 

[cyberknight]

£45 for the head unit?
Unless you ride at night a lot this time of year you can get a new light including battery for that amount.
My MS i in storage atm as is light enough at 6 am these days and on nights i can take an alternate route that is quiet at that time of day to use just normal lights.

 

[MrJamie]

Is this an official magicshine or a DX clone? Not that theres probably much/any difference in build quality. Theres loads of parts/spares available though

My MJ-872 got a loose connection where the wire entered the battery, I think i might have been carrying the battery downstairs by the wire. New official battery was only about £20 from HK though and at some point i might bother to fix the old one so i have a spare for any longer trips.

 

[cyberknight]

Is this an official magicshine or a DX clone? Not that theres probably much/any difference in build quality. Theres loads of parts/spares available though

My MJ-872 got a loose connection where the wire entered the battery, I think i might have been carrying the battery downstairs by the wire. New official battery was only about £20 from HK though and at some point i might bother to fix the old one so i have a spare for any longer trips.

Bet they are the same, someone just buys them from a seller like DX, imports them and marks them up for a profit , mind you paying a premium for fast delivery and customer service that can understand english is a price that could be worth paying

 

[MrJamie]

Bet they are the same, someone just buys them from a seller like DX, imports them and marks them up for a profit , mind you paying a premium for fast delivery and customer service that can understand english is a price that could be worth paying

I havent read about it since i bought mine last year, but MS were putting heat protection, battery charge protection etc and the DX ones were more basic like the original magicshines. Different sized connectors, different reflectors, batteries etc I think. I wondered if the build quality and skimping fractions of pennies on cheap components was similar though. Still pretty good value lights if you dont have bad luck with them