Schwinn Mod lights

I have a set of mod 2 or 3 lights not sure, 1 is a 5v and the high
beam is 15 they run off a 6v battery pack nicd. they are schwinn,I
bought them about 3yrs ago, the battery has gone dead and since
schwinn is no more, and the co. that bought them does not support
these lights i have no way to buy these replacement batteries, i went
to radioshack and bought 5 nickle metal hydride 1.2v@4500mah and
stripped them togather to make a 6 volt pack,they seemed to work for
about 45 min but since they were never charged from RS the died out, i
tried recharging them with the supplied charger from schwinn, which
puts out 7v@300mah they never reach a full charge, they run about 5
min. and go dim, i checked them with a fluke after they are charged
and it say 6.7v so it seems that they are charging but don't know if
they need a deep charge or something i left them on for 20hr with same
result. the original were nicd 1.2@4500mah .i was wandering if using
the old charger on the nickle metal hydride has something to do with
it.its driving me crazy i would like to get the lites up and running,
i really like tthe lites and do not want to replace them,for now i am
using a small cateye any suggestions or anyone who ran into this
problem all replys welcome.

thanks Ron

On 14 Jul 2004 16:13:58 -0700, Ron wrote:

I have a set of mod 2 or 3 lights not sure, 1 is a 5v and the high
beam is 15 they run off a 6v battery pack nicd. they are schwinn,I
bought them about 3yrs ago, the battery has gone dead and since
schwinn is no more, and the co. that bought them does not support
these lights i have no way to buy these replacement batteries, i went
to radioshack and bought 5 nickle metal hydride 1.2v@4500mah and
stripped them togather to make a 6 volt pack,they seemed to work for
about 45 min but since they were never charged from RS the died out, i
tried recharging them with the supplied charger from schwinn, which
puts out 7v@300mah they never reach a full charge, they run about 5
min. and go dim, i checked them with a fluke after they are charged
and it say 6.7v so it seems that they are charging but don't know if
they need a deep charge or something i left them on for 20hr with same
result. the original were nicd 1.2@4500mah .i was wandering if using
the old charger on the nickle metal hydride has something to do with
it.its driving me crazy i would like to get the lites up and running,
i really like tthe lites and do not want to replace them,for now i am
using a small cateye any suggestions or anyone who ran into this
problem all replys welcome.

thanks Ron

Ron,
You need to buy a charger made for NiMH and not for NiCad. I have a dual
charger and it has different settings for each. Something about the
chemistry makes them want a different time versus current curve. I have
had a set for my cheapo digital camera for about 15 months with no problem
using the right charger.
Bill Baka

Ron,
You need to buy a charger made for NiMH and not for NiCad. I have a dual
charger and it has different settings for each. Something about the
chemistry makes them want a different time versus current curve. I have
had a set for my cheapo digital camera for about 15 months with no problem
using the right charger.
Bill Baka

Bill,
Thanks for the repy, i kinda thought it was something like that, I
really do not have much knowlege of building these battery packs.and
what battery goes with what charger, i been reading on the web some
info but there is way more than i need to know or understand, do yo
have any recomendations for a charger?
I was looking at this one and wondering if it will do.

http://www.batteriesamerica.com/newpage31.htm
Thanks again for the info

Ron

On 15 Jul 2004 06:16:56 -0700, Ron wrote:

Ron,
You need to buy a charger made for NiMH and not for NiCad. I have a dual
charger and it has different settings for each. Something about the
chemistry makes them want a different time versus current curve. I have
had a set for my cheapo digital camera for about 15 months with no
problem
using the right charger.
Bill Baka

Bill,
Thanks for the repy, i kinda thought it was something like that, I
really do not have much knowlege of building these battery packs.and
what battery goes with what charger, i been reading on the web some
info but there is way more than i need to know or understand, do yo
have any recomendations for a charger?
I was looking at this one and wondering if it will do.

http://www.batteriesamerica.com/newpage31.htm
Thanks again for the info

Ron
Ron,
I looked at the charger and it looks like it is for battery packs and not
for individual batteries. If you have individual batteries it is better to
charge them each as a separate unit. If you charge them as a pack, one
weak cell can take down the rest, as the charger can only sense the total
voltage. I bought a Duracell kit of 4 AA batteries with a charger and it
has 4 slots so I can charge each battery separately. From you first post,
which I lost, it sounds as if you have C size cells, so you have more than
a few dollars tied up, and will want to treat them as well as you can.
Radio Shack is the starting point for most people, although you might want
to try either a hardware store or an electronics outlet like Comp USA, or
one that sells portable electronics. You will probably wind up with
something made in China, which is sadly unavoidable these days, but you
should be able to find a decent brand name.
Good luck in your search.
Since this is only semi-bike related I will cut it here, but this may be
of some use to those who want extra capacity for night time rides.
Bill Baka



--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

Bill wrote in message ...
On 15 Jul 2004 06:16:56 -0700, Ron wrote:

Ron,
You need to buy a charger made for NiMH and not for NiCad. I have a dual
charger and it has different settings for each. Something about the
chemistry makes them want a different time versus current curve. I have
had a set for my cheapo digital camera for about 15 months with no
problem
using the right charger.
Bill Baka

Bill,
Thanks for the repy, i kinda thought it was something like that, I
really do not have much knowlege of building these battery packs.and
what battery goes with what charger, i been reading on the web some
info but there is way more than i need to know or understand, do yo
have any recomendations for a charger?
I was looking at this one and wondering if it will do.

http://www.batteriesamerica.com/newpage31.htm
Thanks again for the info

Ron
Ron,
I looked at the charger and it looks like it is for battery packs and not
for individual batteries. If you have individual batteries it is better to
charge them each as a separate unit. If you charge them as a pack, one
weak cell can take down the rest, as the charger can only sense the total
voltage. I bought a Duracell kit of 4 AA batteries with a charger and it
has 4 slots so I can charge each battery separately. From you first post,
which I lost, it sounds as if you have C size cells, so you have more than
a few dollars tied up, and will want to treat them as well as you can.
Radio Shack is the starting point for most people, although you might want
to try either a hardware store or an electronics outlet like Comp USA, or
one that sells portable electronics. You will probably wind up with
something made in China, which is sadly unavoidable these days, but you
should be able to find a decent brand name.
Good luck in your search.
Since this is only semi-bike related I will cut it here, but this may be
of some use to those who want extra capacity for night time rides.
Bill Baka

Bill,
Thanks for the repy, this battery charger also charges individual
cells.it has an optional tray for each differnt size cell. thanks for
the info

ROn