I wish I had found this forum before buying my AddMotor bike.

[chipla]

I bought an AddMotor M-60 R7 off of Amazon on March 22 of this year (2022). I will state right-off that I LOVE the bike. It is really a great bike! So great that a friend and his wife each bought one after riding mine just once. That is the good...
The bad: Within 30 miles of new, the motor started just randomly to stop working. Nothing that you could do to make it start working again like powering everything off, reseating wires, etc. But if you keep pedaling, within a few blocks to a few miles, it will start working again and be fine. As time went on, the problem got progressively worse and happened more frequently. Sometimes it would stop after one block, other times it would never stop during a 10 mile ride. No big deal - it is under warranty, right? Wrong! Their service is worse than horrible. My experience is that they make you jump through as many hoops as possible in the hopes that you will go away. Emails aren't returned for 24 to 72 hours. You must send pictures, videos, etc. They refuse to send parts to replace suspected bad components. They have made me remove and ship the controller, wheel/motor, etc. to them for testing. Each time, they find no problem, which is not surprising when problems are intermittent. Wouldn't they have a troubleshooting database and common fixes? Wouldn't they proactively ship replacement parts and then thoroughly test the part you return? Nope... You must disassemble your bike and ship parts to them. And then wait 2-3 weeks to maybe get your part back. My bike have been unusable for at least 2 of the 4 months that I have owned it. They now want me to take it to a local bike shop for diagnosis. They said they would cover the cost "if reasonable". What does that mean? I will not pay anything up front and "maybe" get paid back. Or remove the rear wheel and send it back to them for testing, putting the bike out of use for even longer. I think I will just wait until the problem becomes a hard fault.

 

[Cody_Powerbikes.com]

Hello! Sorry to hear about your problem.. This almost sounds like a faulty hall sensor, or battery output (some kind of BMS fault). My suspicions are with the hall sensor though. This is because if there is a single bad hall sensor (normally 3 in 3 phase motors); the motor will not turn when throttling from a dead stop. But if you spin the wheel, especially backwards, if it's in a stand, the motor should engage. If you can, I would turn the bike on, elevate the rear wheel, in a stand or tilted on the kickstand and hit the throttle down. When doing this if the motor isn't spinning, try and see if you can hear a high pitch ringing, do not hold the throttle down for long though as this can cause a phase burnout. If you can hear ringing or a high frequency noise and the motor isn't turning, be very careful and spin the wheel backwards slowly, this may cause the motor to engage so make sure your hand is in a safe position for doing this. If it engages, this is generally a telling sign of a single bad hall effect sensor, and these are very easily repairable by someone with experience.

I hope that helps you out! Let me know if that testing trick brings you any luck!

 

[chipla]

Thank you for the reply. A bit more information on this. When it happens, the motor does not engage with the throttle nor with pedal assist. From a stop, the bike will "jerk" forward slightly, but not move. I have not heard any whining or other noises when the problem is present. I will try spinning the wheel backwards to see what happens. I have noticed that the motor is noisy and seems to be getting noisier. Not "bad" noisy, but noisier than the motors in the bikes that my friends bought.

 

[Cody_Powerbikes.com]

Let me know what happens with that test, and also let me know if you feel an abnormal amount of resistance when spinning that rear wheel backwards (like it takes quite some force to move) because that may indicate something else entirely. I forgot to mention, for the hall sensor testing trick, you can do that with both wheels on the ground and simply push the bike backwards very slowly. I'm so used to working with a stand that I forget you can do this!

 

[JES2020]

Let me know what happens with that test, and also let me know if you feel an abnormal amount of resistance when spinning that rear wheel backwards (like it takes quite some force to move) because that may indicate something else entirely. I forgot to mention, for the hall sensor testing trick, you can do that with both wheels on the ground and simply push the bike backwards very slowly. I'm so used to working with a stand that I forget you can do this!

What he said .

 

[JES2020]

I bought an AddMotor M-60 R7 off of Amazon on March 22 of this year (2022). I will state right-off that I LOVE the bike. It is really a great bike! So great that a friend and his wife each bought one after riding mine just once. That is the good...
The bad: Within 30 miles of new, the motor started just randomly to stop working. Nothing that you could do to make it start working again like powering everything off, reseating wires, etc. But if you keep pedaling, within a few blocks to a few miles, it will start working again and be fine. As time went on, the problem got progressively worse and happened more frequently. Sometimes it would stop after one block, other times it would never stop during a 10 mile ride. No big deal - it is under warranty, right? Wrong! Their service is worse than horrible. My experience is that they make you jump through as many hoops as possible in the hopes that you will go away. Emails aren't returned for 24 to 72 hours. You must send pictures, videos, etc. They refuse to send parts to replace suspected bad components. They have made me remove and ship the controller, wheel/motor, etc. to them for testing. Each time, they find no problem, which is not surprising when problems are intermittent. Wouldn't they have a troubleshooting database and common fixes? Wouldn't they proactively ship replacement parts and then thoroughly test the part you return? Nope... You must disassemble your bike and ship parts to them. And then wait 2-3 weeks to maybe get your part back. My bike have been unusable for at least 2 of the 4 months that I have owned it. They now want me to take it to a local bike shop for diagnosis. They said they would cover the cost "if reasonable". What does that mean? I will not pay anything up front and "maybe" get paid back. Or remove the rear wheel and send it back to them for testing, putting the bike out of use for even longer. I think I will just wait until the problem becomes a hard fault.

To bad customer service is so flaky, this looks like a nice bike with Bafang hub and Panasonic batteries. Cort(this forum's creator) actually does a review and he seems to like it too.
One thing to test is the battery. Have you done a balance charge on it?
If you have an uneven charge the BMS will shut down the juice at unexpected times

 

[chipla]

To bad customer service is so flaky, this looks like a nice bike with Bafang hub and Panasonic batteries. Cort(this forum's creator) actually does a review and he seems to like it too.
One thing to test is the battery. Have you done a balance charge on it?
If you have an uneven charge the BMS will shut down the juice at unexpected times

I have not attempted anything with the battery yet. I admit that I have no idea how to do a balance charge, though I am hesitant to do anything to the battery that might give them an excuse to void my warranty, if that involves opening up the battery. I will also say that the state of charge of the battery seems to have no affect on the problem. Whether fully charged, or with just two bars left, the problem may, or may not show up. The only thing that *might* change the symptoms is the routing of the wires into the motor, and out of the controller. Moving the wires and relieving all stress on them seems to have improved the problem greatly. Both the motor and the controller were sent back to AddMotor and they supposedly tested them and found nothing wrong. I saw no evidence that they were disassembled and inspected though, so I don't know how extensive their testing is.

 

[JES2020]

Moving the wires and relieving all stress on them seems to have improved the problem greatly

This seems to be the issue.
Next thing to do is, wiggle small areas of the wires while the motor is running or if the lights go off and on, monitor the lights and wiggle the wires.
The ides is to locate which wire and which area of the wire causes the motor to shut off. Once you locate the problem area, you are 90% done.

 

[chipla]

This seems to be the issue.
Next thing to do is, wiggle small areas of the wires while the motor is running or if the lights go off and on, monitor the lights and wiggle the wires.
The ides is to locate which wire and which area of the wire causes the motor to shut off. Once you locate the problem area, you are 90% done.

Yeah, been doing that and have yet to reproduce the problem. My gut tells me that if I were to disassemble the motor and/or controller and do a visual inspection and continuity test, I could isolate the problem. But I have no doubt that would give them an excuse to deny a warranty claim. No proof of that, of course, it is just the tone of their emails and reluctance to proactively do anything or replace anything without things being shipped to them for testing and inspection first. Thanks for the advice. I will continue to try to narrow things down.

 

[Cody_Powerbikes.com]

I would also conduct my tests along with what JES2020 has pointed out, I've delt with Bafang systems for 6 years coming up with diagnosing tricks for them, so I would be curious to what you would find. Let us know if anything comes up!

 

[JES2020]

Yeah, been doing that and have yet to reproduce the problem. My gut tells me that if I were to disassemble the motor and/or controller and do a visual inspection and continuity test, I could isolate the problem. But I have no doubt that would give them an excuse to deny a warranty claim. No proof of that, of course, it is just the tone of their emails and reluctance to proactively do anything or replace anything without things being shipped to them for testing and inspection first. Thanks for the advice. I will continue to try to narrow things down.

One thing, Curt points out in his review that, the workers at the company in California mostly speak Chinese, so I suspect, hopefully it's just a matter of translation re: customer support.
Not much you can do about that, but it helps to know it may not be bad intentions on the part of customer support.

Note: Can you elaborate on your experience with moving the wires and how much it effects the issue?

 

[chipla]

One thing, Curt points out in his review that, the workers at the company in California mostly speak Chinese, so I suspect, hopefully it's just a matter of translation re: customer support.
Not much you can do about that, but it helps to know it may not be bad intentions on the part of customer support.

Note: Can you elaborate on your experience with moving the wires and how much it effects the issue?

I noticed that the wires coming out of the axle were pulled very tight and the spring that protects them from the axle shaft and nut was all bent up due to how the wire was routed and zip-tied to the frame. I undid the zip-ties, and also spun the axle 180 degrees so that the wire slot allowed a more gradual bend. That immediately lessened the frequency of the bike stopping by at least 80%, but didn't stop it altogether. The last time I rode, the motor stopped when I gave the bike throttle to go up a slight hill. I pedaled manually to the top of the hill and stopped to check it. I put my hand on the controller to check the temp (it was cool) and then wiggled the wires just where they exited the controller. I then twisted the throttle and the bike moved on its own normally. I then rode another 10 miles with no issues. As you can see, there is no rhyme nor reason to the problem or the solution.

 

[JES2020]

I noticed that the wires coming out of the axle were pulled very tight and the spring that protects them from the axle shaft and nut was all bent up due to how the wire was routed and zip-tied to the frame. I undid the zip-ties, and also spun the axle 180 degrees so that the wire slot allowed a more gradual bend. That immediately lessened the frequency of the bike stopping by at least 80%, but didn't stop it altogether. The last time I rode, the motor stopped when I gave the bike throttle to go up a slight hill. I pedaled manually to the top of the hill and stopped to check it. I put my hand on the controller to check the temp (it was cool) and then wiggled the wires just where they exited the controller. I then twisted the throttle and the bike moved on its own normally. I then rode another 10 miles with no issues. As you can see, there is no rhyme nor reason to the problem or the solution.

I see.
Electric shorts can be random. What you describe, points to a bad connection in the controller to motor circuit.
The wiggling of the wire at the controller may or may not have affected the circuit, it could have been the reduction of current and subsequent cooling of the short circuit (reestablishing the contact).
Have you tried stressing the wire coming out of the motor? That springed joint shouldn't have been so tight as to bend the protective spring. (the spring is to help keep the wire from bending too much.) So that area is a major suspect.
Gently push and pull on that spring covered joint while the motor is running and try to get the motor to turn off while performing this test.
80% reduction due to your actions, is major indicator that you hit apon the problem. So focus on that area.

 

[chipla]

I see.
Electric shorts can be random. What you describe, points to a bad connection in the controller to motor circuit.
The wiggling of the wire at the controller may or may not have affected the circuit, it could have been the reduction of current and subsequent cooling of the short circuit (reestablishing the contact).
Have you tried stressing the wire coming out of the motor? That springed joint shouldn't have been so tight as to bend the protective spring. (the spring is to help keep the wire from bending too much.) So that area is a major suspect.
Gently push and pull on that spring covered joint while the motor is running and try to get the motor to turn off while performing this test.
80% reduction due to your actions, is major indicator that you hit apon the problem. So focus on that area.

I have been trying that, but have yet to reproduce the problem. I will keep trying.

 

[JES2020]

I have been trying that, but have yet to reproduce the problem. I will keep trying.

Okay, Also may be heat related so try that test when the motor is warm to hot.

 

[tomjasz]

I wish it weren’t so but amazon offers no warranty and honestly these ebikes that codt less than s high wuslity kit and battery make you the local bike dhop. No ebike shop here will touchbghem the dbike shops here will touch them. No profit in trouble shooting this range of bike. Patience and the advice here is the best you can do. Finding a friend with a batterybyou can try can eliminate bms battery issues. Best wishes for a solution. I feel your pain.

 

[JES2020]

I wish it weren’t so but amazon offers no warranty and honestly these ebikes that codt less than s high wuslity kit and battery make you the local bike dhop. No ebike shop here will touchbghem the dbike shops here will touch them. No profit in trouble shooting this range of bike. Patience and the advice here is the best you can do. Finding a friend with a batterybyou can try can eliminate bms battery issues. Best wishes for a solution. I feel your pain.

It could be a BMS issue but in any trouble shooting issue , you always try the simplest and easiest things first.
Troubleshooting a BMS is not for most users, it would be easier for most to replace the whole battery pack.

I have been trying that, but have yet to reproduce the problem. I will keep trying.

The next step I would try , if you can't find a short, would be to do a battery balance.
It doesn't void the warrenty, in fact it is a necessary step to keep the battery in tip top condition. It may just solve your issue.

 

[tomjasz]

What shame. But is being over thoughtget a multimeter. Know the sctual battery voltsge. Next carefully go though all the display settings. Have you changed any?
I just did a bike that had crazy behavior and it was ALL due to wacky display settings. Kinda like ten forum members shouting ten different possibilities and we get confused. Do does the display and controller. I’m curious as to why you didn’t jump on them immediately. That makes any seller suspicious. Programming gremlins are more possible than i ever realized.

Do a couple of 8 hour MONITORED charges. Confirm voltage with a multimeter. Come back after that. Don’t start opening motors and batteries!

 

[chipla]

In case anyone is interested: I spent some time carefully straightening out the "spring" that protects the wire that goes through the axle of the motor, and then wrapped it with electrical tape as far into the axle as I could. I also carefully zip-tied the wires coming out of the controller to eliminate all movement. Since then, I have completed two complete discharge-charge-discharge-charge-discharge cycles and riding more than 80 miles in the process. The last ride was more than 35 miles round trip. The bike has worked flawlessly this whole time. For now, I am just going to ride it and wait to see if a problem returns.

 

[JES2020]

In case anyone is interested: I spent some time carefully straightening out the "spring" that protects the wire that goes through the axle of the motor, and then wrapped it with electrical tape as far into the axle as I could. I also carefully zip-tied the wires coming out of the controller to eliminate all movement. Since then, I have completed two complete discharge-charge-discharge-charge-discharge cycles and riding more than 80 miles in the process. The last ride was more than 35 miles round trip. The bike has worked flawlessly this whole time. For now, I am just going to ride it and wait to see if a problem returns.

Your welcome.
As I thought, looks like your problem is a short.

However you have only treated the symptom not the short. I wouldn't be surprised if the issue comes back, or even if it doesn't, I would want to find and fix the actual short. Which means opening the controller and/or the motor for a visual inspection and/or continuity testing.