#325: Battery pack fail
I rode the early morning Peddler ride today. I normally use my old headlight with a rebuilt battery pack. It had been a month or more since I had done the ride (and used my headlight).
When I tried to switch it on, it didn’t light up. It normally is pretty reliable. This was all before the ride, so I stopped to check the connection… then I noticed heat building up on my back. I pulled out the battery pack from my jersey pocket… it was smoking. Obviously it shorted out and was overheating. I carried the battery back to the car and set it on the curb (carrying it like a dead rat by the tail / cord). I pulled out the cord and one of the 5 cells out and left it a safe distance from my car and did the ride.
When I got back (~1 hour later), it had cooled off (probably discharged completely). I am not sure what the exact mode of failure was, but somehow the light shorted. I started only when I tried to turn on the light, so it is likely that it is a bad switch in the light assembly (and not my rebuilt battery pack). I plan to troubleshoot it further, but I suspect the light will be thrown out.
