So I had my 8 year old setup that cost me almost $400 back then - a dual bulb 13.2v / 32watt halogen unit with a dead NiCad battery in the waterbottle style. The light used to work great, 32 watts of Halogen light is plenty on the bars even in moonless nights, but the battery was long dead and Niterider wants $190 + tax and shipping to replace the old NiCad brick.
I did some searching and ended up rebuilding the pack myself with a Li-Ion battery. All said it cost me $123 for the new battery, universal Li-Ion charger, and incidentals from Radio Shack. I now have a battery that is 1 lb lighter, will last longer, and I can open the can to use the battery for other lights or carry a spare battery with me.
For those who have the older style lights, this is a new lease on life for the old investment. Or, if you're inclined, pickup a used unit on ebay and go at it.
Since the new pack is rated at 14.4v and my tests show it producing 16.5v, the halogens are burning quite a bit brighter than they ever did.
Here's the detail and pics......
I removed the waterbottle head by hitting the seam against the edge of my workbench in 5 or 6 spots around the circumference, then the top twisted off with little effort.
Old battery pack after it was removed from the bottle.
New battery pack (notice a full pound lighter.) It came with bare leads, but I soldered on the snap lock connector so I could disconnect it easily and possibly use the battery for other lights or in my own pack. This pack costs $73 and is rated at 4400 mAH.
Here's a pic of the battery pack and bottle top with connectors, and ready to drop into the bottle. It fits very snug by itself, but I'll probably add some bubble wrap or foam to keep it from moving around when things get crazy.
The Tenergy brand universal charger will work for all Li-Ion batteries and cost $13
I bought a size-N coax plug from Radio Shack to match the one on the Niterider cable, and soldered that to create a custom adapter to connect the bottle to the charger.
And the whole unit connected and charging. Some unused shrink tubing is around the alligator clips on the charger lead, just to keep the terminals from touching.
And there it is, for a little over $100 I'm in business with a lighter, brighter and more flexible setup. This will give me 2.5 - 3 hours of burn time on all 32 watts, and my plan is to create my own custom pack by adding another matching battery pack to double the run time.
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