Motor clicking

[Deacon Blues]

My Bosch gen 4 motor has just over 12,000km on it and I've just started to notice a clicking sound while peddling.
When I stop pedding the noise stops, so it's most likely coming from the motor.
Any thoughts on the reason for the clicking noise?

 

[DaveMatthews]

Does it make the same clicking sound when peddling unpowered?
Is it more prominent when peddling harder on left or right?

 

[BlackHand]

Dave has a good suggestion to see if you can trigger the sound without assist.

Check the bolts holding the chainring to the spider - if one is a bit loose it can make a ticking sound at the same spot. Maybe try swapping pedals too

 

[Slaphappygamer]

Pedals are a good suggestion. Could the clicking be coming from the pedal itself?

Is the clicking rhythmic?

 

[Deacon Blues]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've had the clicking pedal problem before.
I'll switch pedals and take the bike for a test ride today.

 

[Gionnirocket]

Yeah anything loose or perhaps worn from the chainring out to the pedals is a good place to start.
I've been fooled initially on more than one occasion. Sometimes all it takes is a drop of lubrication. I noticed my left side pedal needs more attention to be clean and lubed as that's the side that it leans on the kickstand and when left leaning wet/dirty it's more susceptible to gunk buildup at the bushing/bearing.

 

[DaveMatthews]

A couple of years ago I thought my drivetrain was clicking somewhere. A few minutes later I realized it was my freakin' seatpost which was making a creaking noise, Lol!
Bit of grease and a re-tighten was good to go. Exact same thing happened to my son.

 

[stompandgo]

A couple of years ago I thought my drivetrain was clicking somewhere. A few minutes later I realized it was my freakin' seatpost which was making a creaking noise, Lol!
Bit of grease and a re-tighten was good to go. Exact same thing happened to my son.

Same deal with my Tesoro.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A couple of years ago I thought my drivetrain was clicking somewhere. A few minutes later I realized it was my freakin' seatpost which was making a creaking noise, Lol!
Bit of grease and a re-tighten was good to go. Exact same thing happened to my son.

Same deal with my Tesoro.

Same here with my Vado SL only I thought it was something related to the bike's front

 

[PHXRDR]

My Bosch gen 4 motor has just over 12,000km on it and I've just started to notice a clicking sound while peddling.
When I stop pedding the noise stops, so it's most likely coming from the motor.
Any thoughts on the reason for the clicking noise?

With these large, hollow, ebike frames the sound travels a great deal.
Swap pedals? They have directional threads!
I chased clicks and clacks myself. The most elusive turned out to be the adjusting bolt on my stem. It too manifested itself with each pedal stroke (as mirrored by my corresponding pressure on the handlebar).
Sounds like a thorough going over on all fasteners, preferably with a torque wrench, is in order.
The least likely (to my mind) is the Bosch drive.

 

[BlackHand]

Swap pedals? They have directional threads!

This is true, which is why I assume Deacon will swap pedals with those from another bike in his fleet or use pedals from his spare parts bin.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Just posted about my own spectacular failure to localize in another thread.

Recurring theme here: When telling your bike mechanic about your mystery sound, be very humble about where it's coming from.

Generally worse to point a mechanic in the wrong direction than in no direction.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Generally worse to point a mechanic in the wrong direction than in no direction.

"Bad estimates are worse than no estimates at all": one of the mottos of my profession

 

[opimax]

Check spokes

 

[Deacon Blues]

The noise is definitely coming from the motor.
I can hear it when I pedal and the noise stops when I stop pedalling.

 

[stompandgo]

A similar responding noise turned out to be my suspension seatpost. Try pedaling out of the saddle. That's how I found it.

 

[dodgeman]

I thought my Bosch was clicking also, it was the front chain ring or the pedals. The bike shop put both on.

 

[Gionnirocket]

A similar responding noise turned out to be my suspension seatpost. Try pedaling out of the saddle. That's how I found it.

....and as Dave suggested, what happens pedaling with the motor power off?

 

[DaveMatthews]

....and as Dave suggested, what happens pedaling with the motor power off?

Yes, curious to know if you threw it up on a work stand and turned the pedals with power on and off...

 

[John Fuller]

I recently changed front and rear sprockets and new Gates belt. Work was done by a highly qualified local bike shop mechanic, all parts new from Gates. The bike has Rohloff E14 speed hub. Belt alignment and tension are spot on. After my first ride I noticed a muffled clicking sound when I rolled the bike backwards, which rotates the cranks and Bosch motor. The sound is not loud and occurs about 6 times during one complete rotation of the cranks. There’s no tactile aspect to the clicking. There’s no clicking noise when pedaling. I haven’t checked the chainring bolts, but it “seems” like the sound is coming from mid bike rather than from the rear of the bike. Simply rotating the cranks backwards does not cause the clicking noise. The rear wheel has to rotate backwards and the motor has to engage. If I lean the bike on the kickstand to raise the rear wheel off the ground, then rotate the rear wheel backwards (clockwise) there is no clicking sound. This all leads me to think the noise is related to the motor.

If you’ve encountered this or have any idea what might be the cause, I could use the help in resolving this. I explained all this to the dealer who sold me the bike and they said it could be caused by the belt. The dealer also said they thought it was OK to continue to ride the bike and to monitor the sound. If it gets louder they suggested taking it to the LBS that did the sprocket changes and new belt installation. I love the bike and have put 17,000 miles on it since Dec 2022. I’m just a little worried I might damage something if I can’t identify the source of the noise and fix it.