It didn’t take long after finishing the revamp that I had opportunities to put the system to use.  I have done 3 rides since completing it and realized more work needs to be done.  Here’s a run down of some of the issues I ran into, why, and what I’m doing to improve them.

First I’ll start off with what has worked without any trouble.  The handlebar switch has been in the elements for at least 2 months prior to the revamp.  I’ve had not trouble with the continuity checks on it and it has shown no signs of fault while riding.  It responds when pressed and I don’t have any complaints about how it’s performed.

Next, the connection point were all the components met held together.  I didn’t have a problem with moisture.  When I removed the electrical tape to service the other issues, I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.  Now on to what gave me trouble.

Servicing the battery compartment is an effort.  I’m currently using electric tape to hold it to the stem.   This means I have to unwrap each time to replace batteries.  I went through the motions and removed it.  I noticed a small amount of moisture in the compartment.  I’m not sure if it got in through the seam, followed the wire, or was from a leaking battery.  It wasn’t much and was mainly near the batteries.  This makes me think it was either the seam or a leaking battery, since it was exposed to below freezing conditions.

The real trouble was with the headlamp itself.   The headlamp has 3 main parts that had a seam that allowed the moisture to get in.  Once in it would collect at the circuit board.  I noticed trouble when the headlamp mode button stopped responding.  I also noticed that the headlamp would change modes sporadically, mostly when hitting bumps.  After opening it up, I noticed a significant amount of water.

The front lens cap was probably were the water got it.  I decided to hot glue the lens cap to the top cover and fill the seem of the cap with hot glue.  Since it was opened up, I made a modification to the beam focus.  There is a lens that focuses the beam to a narrow point.  I removed the lens so more light would spread out closer to the bike.  I then tried the light with a small piece of paper.  This was used to defuse the light, but I later discovered this would be a mistake.  Then I reassembled it and covered the seam with electric tape, with a final wrap of the headlamp cover.

Like I said at the opening, I had a couple of chances to try it out.  On both occasions I noticed that the lamp was too dim for it to show anything further than 8 feet.  Also, the defused light hid details on the road, I couldn’t see any bumps or dips.  It didn’t cut it.  I haven’t been able to verify if its water proof, since it hasn’t rained since the rebuild.

I attempted to open up the headlamp and it’s not coming apart without damaging it.  The deal is done on this head lamp.  I will see if the light coverage is better with the front cover free of electric tape.  I’m stuck with the defused filter.  I’ll need to purchase another light and use that casing if it still doesn’t cut it.