2014 E3 Metro Failure < one year

[NL7TK]

Got this bike less than year in Eugene OR REI. Bike is at REI Silverdale, WA under repair. Tech claims Currie, is unresponsive. I wonder why tech can't diagnose first then get parts if needed from currie. Bike will turn on but show one bar of charge on battery read out then turn itself off. For a while bike would be under PAS mode in cruise then cut off intermittent, then go back to normal. Battery charged off bike ok and shows 37volts. After reseating connectors and the usual with nice izip/currie tech control they told me to take back to REI for warranty. REI does stock and repair at Seattle flagship store just across the sound so I wonder why taking so long. question: does a service or troubleshooting manual exist that a end user can acquire? I travel and would give me great relief to have one after warranty period runs out if REI ever fixes it. Used to love this bike and the freedom, it was a stretch on a fixed income$$. I'm just frustrated.

 

[JoePah]

Well if your battery is only charging to 37 volts you have a problem with either the battery or charger. Not sure what kind of battery it is, but a LiMn, LiFePO or Li 36v battery should charge to 41 or 42 volts hot off the charger. Your battery might be dying quickly and that's why youre having problems.. Hard to say.

 

[George S.]

Joe is correct. With a battery at 37 volts you will not get anywhere. Different battery packs, different chemistries, have different voltage ranges, but they all tend to be above 40 volts with a full charge.

You basically have a regular bike. Bike shops fix bikes and it is fairly generic. Then you have a motor. Motors can break in ways that are fixable, like replacing the gears or clutch. But then you would use a motor manual. A battery is something you find on every bike, but they are not very serviceable. If they don't work, they have to be swapped or rebuilt. That leaves the controller and any electronics a manufacturer adds, like a fancy PAS or whatever. They tend to 'fry' and be replaced as a unit.

Checking the voltage of a battery should be step one, if the motor is not responding. Someone should address that. Press the issue, wherever you can. This is a huge company, Currie and Accell.

 

[NL7TK]

Well if your battery is only charging to 37 volts you have a problem with either the battery or charger. Not sure what kind of battery it is, but a LiMn, LiFePO or Li 36v battery should charge to 41 or 42 volts hot off the charger. Your battery might be dying quickly and that's why youre having problems.. Hard to say.

Thank you JoePah, then that may be part or entire problem, definitely 37v DC hot off charger, while charging external to bike.
I'll have to wait for REI to get finished with whatever they are going to do.

 

[NL7TK]

Joe is correct. With a battery at 37 volts you will not get anywhere. Different battery packs, different chemistries, have different voltage ranges, but they all tend to be above 40 volts with a full charge.

You basically have a regular bike. Bike shops fix bikes and it is fairly generic. Then you have a motor. Motors can break in ways that are fixable, like replacing the gears or clutch. But then you would use a motor manual. A battery is something you find on every bike, but they are not very serviceable. If they don't work, they have to be swapped or rebuilt. That leaves the controller and any electronics a manufacturer adds, like a fancy PAS or whatever. They tend to 'fry' and be replaced as a unit.

Checking the voltage of a battery should be step one, if the motor is not responding. Someone should address that. Press the issue, wherever you can. This is a huge company, Currie and Accell.

Thank you for advise, I wish I had paid attention to brand new normal battery voltage.

 

[NL7TK]

Got this bike less than year in Eugene OR REI. Bike is at REI Silverdale, WA under repair. Tech claims Currie, is unresponsive. I wonder why tech can't diagnose first then get parts if needed from currie. Bike will turn on but show one bar of charge on battery read out then turn itself off. For a while bike would be under PAS mode in cruise then cut off intermittent, then go back to normal. Battery charged off bike ok and shows 37volts. After reseating connectors and the usual with nice izip/currie tech control they told me to take back to REI for warranty. REI does stock and repair at Seattle flagship store just across the sound so I wonder why taking so long. question: does a service or troubleshooting manual exist that a end user can acquire? I travel and would give me great relief to have one after warranty period runs out if REI ever fixes it. Used to love this bike and the freedom, it was a stretch on a fixed income$$. I'm just frustrated.

Update 29Aug2015, REI tech reports pigtail at both bike charging jack and external charging adapter is faulty and Izip sending parts ~10days + ~2days fix time. So I expect about mid September fix. (Bike one year old on 18th) Provided this diagnostic is correct. And the only problem. It is consistent with advice from this forum that battery should be charged to higher than 37volts. But in my experience fixing things, very seldom do two things fail at the same time and the simplest most logical thing is usually at fault. Wish me luck please. One Lesson learned: Don't rely on an bike for daily mandatory transportation. Perhaps should wait for more mature technology after all early cars broke down often. I'm thinking about a normal bike or scooter. At least a Honda can be fixed in a few days. Thanks, Dean

 

[J.R.]

Update 29Aug2015, REI tech reports pigtail at both bike charging jack and external charging adapter is faulty and Izip sending parts ~10days + ~2days fix time. So I expect about mid September fix. (Bike one year old on 18th) Provided this diagnostic is correct. And the only problem. It is consistent with advice from this forum that battery should be charged to higher than 37volts. But in my experience fixing things, very seldom do two things fail at the same time and the simplest most logical thing is usually at fault. Wish me luck please. One Lesson learned: Don't rely on an bike for daily mandatory transportation. Perhaps should wait for more mature technology after all early cars broke down often. I'm thinking about a normal bike or scooter. At least a Honda can be fixed in a few days. Thanks, Dean

Hopefully you have it sorted out now and will soon be back in the saddle! Don't get too discouraged it's likely just a fluke, that's a nice bike. I've done 6000 miles on a ebike in the past 10 months, they can be very reliable transportation! That is as long as you pay your electric bill And a good service tech is always good in times of trouble.

Good luck with it!

 

[Ann M.]

Dean, it would be odd for both the charger and port connection to be problematic. Just to throw you a little curve ball, it actually could be a controller issue if there's a problem with charging on the bike with low voltage and not with the battery charged off the bike. With the battery on the bike, the charging circuit runs through the controller as an added safety measure; thus might be a potential problem. To start to isolate the problem, you need a known good charger to put on the battery while it's off the bike, check voltage afterwards and see how it performs on the bike. It gets a little more complex and you have to trace the power through the wiring harness to determine what REI indicates is the issue. We've worked on Currie Tech bikes for 13+ years and they have this cool resource called the EBCC (Electric Bike Competence Center) that' loaded with technical info. It's not a do-it-yourself set of manuals; however, it will give you some insight into your Izip Metro.

Be patient; the Metro is a good bike and I'm certain you'll be putting many more miles on it soon!

 

[NL7TK]

Dean, it would be odd for both the charger and port connection to be problematic. Just to throw you a little curve ball, it actually could be a controller issue if there's a problem with charging on the bike with low voltage and not with the battery charged off the bike. With the battery on the bike, the charging circuit runs through the controller as an added safety measure; thus might be a potential problem. To start to isolate the problem, you need a known good charger to put on the battery while it's off the bike, check voltage afterwards and see how it performs on the bike. It gets a little more complex and you have to trace the power through the wiring harness to determine what REI indicates is the issue. We've worked on Currie Tech bikes for 13+ years and they have this cool resource called the EBCC (Electric Bike Competence Center) that' loaded with technical info. It's not a do-it-yourself set of manuals; however, it will give you some insight into your Izip Metro.

Be patient; the Metro is a good bike and I'm certain you'll be putting many more miles on it soon!

Thanks for the insight, I have been to EBCC but will look again. REI has my bike hostage pending resolution. I don't think that tech is as experienced as you are. Maybe I'm overthinking situation. But I can get a schematic and service manual on most vehicle's but not this bike. Thanks again, ...Dean

 

[NL7TK]

Hopefully you have it sorted out now and will soon be back in the saddle! Don't get too discouraged it's likely just a fluke, that's a nice bike. I've done 6000 miles on a ebike in the past 10 months, they can be very reliable transportation! That is as long as you pay your electric bill And a good service tech is always good in times of trouble.

Good luck with it!

j.R. Thanks for encouragement....Dean

 

[NL7TK]

Update 15 Sept. 2015 REI could not fix my E3 Metro and as I predicted their initial try failed. I'll give them kudos as They offered me a full refund. Today it cleared the bank. Bike would have been one year old 18th. I loved that bike, but guys if your thinking about any bike give some consideration to repair in a qualified shop. Currie tech aupport left me cold and no repair manuals were available at any level of skill. Not like the cycle/scooter world where detailed service and repair manuals are available online or in print. Goodbye, good luck.......Dean

 

[Ann M.]

Sorry @NL7TK , the E3 Metro can be a really fun bike but I've been hammering on every manufacturer I've ever worked with for the last 14 years to do a better job documenting and training. It's slowly seeping through the industry but not soon enough for you! Most of the big box shops (and REI is still a pretty big chain) don't send many of their bike techs to do the professional ebike tech training that is currently available. Caveat, even with that training, it still takes a lot of experience to really get to understand how to diagnose an ebike; it just can't really be done over the phone with any manufacturer, although they will try what they can.

Please don't give up on an ebike!