My Cyclops "15 million candlepower" light died?

A few years ago I got this Cyclops 15 million candlepower spot light thing. It was quite bright. I barely used it, just turned it on a couple times. Then I put it face down and left it there for a few years, turned it on maybe a year a go to make sure it still worked, which it did, and today I try to turn it on and nothing. Not even the slightest hint of a glow. I tried charging it for about five hours and still not the faintest glow. Has this happened to anyone else? I don't know where the manual is if there is one. What is the charge time on these supposed to be like?

I wonder if I could have hit the switch and turned it on and never knew it because it was pointed at the floor and it burned out the bulb or something. Do they sell replacement bulbs for these? Or would I be better off buying an new one? Could other circuitry in addition to the bulb be damaged perhaps?

It sounds like the battery went bad. If you have not charged it since the last time it worked a year ago then that might be the reason, as SLA batteries should be charged periodically to keep them in condition.

It is doubtful the bulb is burned out because halogens last an incredibly long time. You might want to try getting a new 12V 7AH SLA battery for it, or you could just upgrade to an even brighter light such as the Stanley HID $70 from Wal-Mart to replace it.

I would try running it directly from its car adaptor while the car is on (Thor spotlights have a separate jack for the car adaptor), and if it works you will know it is not the bulb that is dead.

Thanks for the information... I'll try that.

You want to keep a charge in these lead acid batteries. I have discovered with another lead acid battery light that I have, that if I leave it in the discharged state for an extended period of time, the battery is toast.

Every few months put it on the charger.

Same thing happened with mine, left it for a year, charged it, went to turn it on and nothing. So I plugged it in to the car and it works fine... dead battery

I never got around to checking it in my car because I couldn't find the adapter, but I decided to let it charge for the last 4 days. I tried it yesterday and it didn't work. I tried it today and it actually turned on! :thumbsup:

Really? How long did you have it on for? Maybe you can save the battery.

I have both the 10 and 15 million CP lights. Purchased both from Costco. About 6 months ago I went to use the 10 mil version after letting it sit for about a year without charging it. Hit the switch and nothing. Tried charging it for about 12 hours and still nothing so knew the battery was dead. Ordered a new one from Cyclops Solutions in Grand Prairie, TX. Also ordered a couple of spare bulbs for each one at the same time. Anyway, while I was awaiting delivery of the new battery, I happened to be playing around with it one day and hit the switch just by chance and it lit the room up like someone had just shined a QI beam into it. It has been working fine ever since and I do put both lights on the charger every couple of months now. I have a spare battery and bulbs for each light so when the batteries fail for good down the road, I will have a replacement available immediately. These lights may not be the brightest bulbs on the tree and they may not be made as well as some of the much more expensive ones on the market but they do put out some pretty bright light and will throw a beam for seemingly a country mile on a nice dark night. I see little difference between them other than the actual beam from the 15 million CP unit is a bit larger, but in side by side beam shots they both appear about equally bright and the throw is equally the same also. Funny but the smaller unit is actually a bit heavier than the larger one? Go figure that one out??? Hey, I Paid $24.94 for the small one and $29.95 for the larger one and I have absolutely no gripes to make about either one at those prices. In case you need batteries and bulbs try Cyclops Solutions at www.cyclopssolutions.com as they should be able to supply you with anything you may need for that light.................

Light me up Scotty.........Terry

IllumiCat said:

A few years ago I got this Cyclops 15 million candlepower spot light thing. It was quite bright. I barely used it, just turned it on a couple times. Then I put it face down and left it there for a few years, turned it on maybe a year a go to make sure it still worked, which it did, and today I try to turn it on and nothing. Not even the slightest hint of a glow. I tried charging it for about five hours and still not the faintest glow. Has this happened to anyone else? I don't know where the manual is if there is one. What is the charge time on these supposed to be like?

I wonder if I could have hit the switch and turned it on and never knew it because it was pointed at the floor and it burned out the bulb or something. Do they sell replacement bulbs for these? Or would I be better off buying an new one? Could other circuitry in addition to the bulb be damaged perhaps?

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I had the same experience with my Cyclops...but it turned out to be the circuit in the Cyclops itself that indicated the battery was fully charged even when it was dead. I have to pull the battery out of the Cyclops to charge it by clipping leads from the charger to the battery and then carefully monitoring the charge time..6- 12 hours to charge, depending on use. This has served me well for several years now.

I modified my Cyclops with a 35 watt HID bulb and ballast instead of the original 100 watt incandescent. Now it last almost 3 hours and has a very bright intense beam that goes almost a mile. I use this modified light often now...amazing thing!

LightSward said:

I modified my Cyclops with a 35 watt HID bulb and ballast instead of the original 100 watt incandescent. Now it last almost 3 hours and has a very bright intense beam that goes almost a mile. I use this modified light often now...amazing thing!

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Must have a decent sized SLA in that thing then... the 35w kit would pull around 2.9A per hour (if it's a true 35w drive) :thumbsup:

It never made sense to me why they would couple a H4 35/55W halogen on a small battery like 3AH or 7AH and call it a "dependable lighting instrument"

If I'd ever come up with one such light the first thing I would do is mod in a chord and plug it in my jumpstarter and use it in that manner. To an 18AH battery, 5 amps is a gentle draw...but to a 7AH, its "argh"

M@elstrom said:

Must have a decent sized SLA in that thing then... the 35w kit would pull around 2.9A per hour (if it's a true 35w drive) :thumbsup:

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I purchased the 35 wt HID as a complete fog light at a local auto parts store, for less than a hundred and still have a pretty nice light fixture for other uses.:thumbsup: The original fog light package claim of the wide angle "slit" beam lighting objects over a mile away, seems exaggerated. :shakehead

The Cyclops, I modified with the 35 watt HID, came with a bigger battery than they come with now. Some of newer lights have 'puny' batteries in comparison.

It's interesting how many battery control circuits end up defective.

Mine died too. Got a new battery, fixed. I agree keeping lead acid batteries charged will prolong life. I have two MK 12v 73ah sealed lead acid batteries on a mobility scooter that I got 7 years ago used. Have always kept them charged and they still give incredible performance.

I also am contemplating doing the HID conversion. Thanks for the tip/

You can score 12V 7AH SLA batteries on ebay for about 20, free shipping. I just scored two of them.

LightSward said:

I had the same experience with my Cyclops...but it turned out to be the circuit in the Cyclops itself that indicated the battery was fully charged even when it was dead. I have to pull the battery out of the Cyclops to charge it by clipping leads from the charger to the battery and then carefully monitoring the charge time..6- 12 hours to charge, depending on use. This has served me well for several years now.

I modified my Cyclops with a 35 watt HID bulb and ballast instead of the original 100 watt incandescent. Now it last almost 3 hours and has a very bright intense beam that goes almost a mile. I use this modified light often now...amazing thing!

Click to expand...

I am wondering how LightSward modified his Cyclops with a 35 watt HID and ballast instead of the original 100 watt incandesent? I would love for my batteries to last 3 hours!

Welcome to CPF! There are many, many threads here in the Spotlight/HID section detailing modding Thors/Cyclops lights to HID. Pretty easy to do by buying a 35 Watt automotive kit on Ebay with the correct bulb base to match the incandescent bulb in the light. It's easiest if you buy the slim ballast kits. It's very easy to fit the ballast in back of the reflector/in front of the battery box.

tweety7754 said:

I am wondering how LightSward modified his Cyclops with a 35 watt HID and ballast instead of the original 100 watt incandescent? I would love for my batteries to last 3 hours!

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Mine has been sitting in the garage for a couple of years and fired right up. The trick is, remove the negative lead from the terminal when you are storing it.