Battery/Charger Problems

[Boca]

I have two 6 month old Bulls Lacuba EVO E8's and have two electrical issues.

First one battery would only charge to four lights or 80 %. I was in the habit of charging after each ride when the batteries were no lower than 80 %. The chargers would charge but you couldn't tell they were charged by looking at the charger light because they never went solid green when charged.

Recently I decided not to recharge after each ride because I had a lot of battery capacity. We went on a 30 ride in hilly terrain and still had 80 % left. So, recently I ran the batteries down to one light (20 %) and two lights (40 %). Now neither battery will charge. I know to plug the charger into the battery before plugging the charger into the wall.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[rich c]

Actual voltage readings of the batteries would really help. Usually a battery that won't charge has dropped below the minimum and the battery management system won't allow any current to the battery cells.

 

[Alberto Orchansky]

I have two 6 month old Bulls Lacuba EVO E8's and have two electrical issues.

First one battery would only charge to four lights or 80 %. I was in the habit of charging after each ride when the batteries were no lower than 80 %. The chargers would charge but you couldn't tell they were charged by looking at the charger light because they never went solid green when charged.

Recently I decided not to recharge after each ride because I had a lot of battery capacity. We went on a 30 ride in hilly terrain and still had 80 % left. So, recently I ran the batteries down to one light (20 %) and two lights (40 %). Now neither battery will charge. I know to plug the charger into the battery before plugging the charger into the wall.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Hello Boca,

I am sorry to hear about the problems you are experiencing, and I am also sorry I cannot be of any real help. However, I share with you the frustration of being a 'proud' owner of a Bulls Lacuba EVO 8. Mine is also 6 months old, and I reported the issues I have here and on other sites. As you did, I spent a small fortune to have the dubious privilege of having one. Besides having the 'wobbling issue' I described elsewhere, I also have electrical problems. In my case, the power will suddenly go OFF, meaning if you are climbing a hill, the bike loses power instantaneously. This can be a very dangerous situation. Nothing to say that you are clueless as to how to make the bike usable again. Of course, this has NOTHING to do with the charge of the battery. In ALL occasions the battery is FULL. It also happens from time to time not only while riding but when you are just starting a ride, meaning starting with a FULL battery. So far the only guess and solution I found were to unlock the battery, clean the internal contacts and lock it again into position. Also, to make sure the contacts between the 'control panel' and its sitting/lock are clean. I noticed humidity can and does condense there, preventing a good contact.

I would suggest trying to do a charge with the battery off the bike. If you have contact cleaner, clean the contacts on both sides, the battery and the charger plug end. The contacts should look bright, NOT greyish.

The lesson I learned is clear. Given their complexity and their price, we should approach getting one as when buying a vehicle. To put it in short, buy from a dealer that is close to you, that you can bring the bike, that will provide technical service, proper solutions and stand behind the manufacturer's warranty.

All the best,

Alberto

 

[Boca]

Thanks for your reply, Rich. I would think that the battery management system (BMS) would protect the battery from discharging too much to a point where it is unrecoverable. In my case the batteries failed to charge while one was at 40% and the other at 60%, so I believe the problem is somewhere else. Very odd that both bikes fail to charge all of a sudden with the only common factor I know being that we let the batteries run down some for the first time. We used to charge them after each ride when they were at 80%. No problems then.

I have now moved to South Florida and took them to a Bulls dealer below Miami. All I know at this point is the tech said the batteries test good. But then he tried charging them with several different chargers and they will not charge. So, right now Bulls tech guy out of California is communicating with the Miami tech and I am waiting to hear what the final resolution is. The Bulls guy expressed his concern that I get back on the trail as soon as possible and I appreciated that. I am confident that they will replace what ever part is needed.

I really love the bike. Great suspension and a very good design with the weight of the battery as low as possible.

Alberto, you are so right that buying from a nearby dealer is best, but in my case there was not a close by Bulls dealer. I could not find an ebike with all the design elements I was looking for from a nearby dealer. Hopefully more dealers will open soon. The kind of problem that you have where it comes and goes is a nightmare to diagnose. Good luck to you and thanks for replying.

 

[Blueflash]

I find it strange that 2 different bikes, with 2 different batteries, and (I'm assuming) 2 different chargers, would be having the same charging problem. Are you charging them on or off the bikes? I usually charge my Bulls FS3 battery off the bike. Once, when I was having trouble getting a charge to work, I realized I had plugged the magnetic cord into the outlet port of the battery instead of the charge port. The cord will connect if you do this, but it won't charge and the lights won't indicate a charge occurring. Of course, if you're charging on the bike, you can't make this mistake.

 

[Boca]

Bluefish, you are so right that it is very strange. This one has me really stumped. Techs advised me to try putting the batteries in the bike. I did that but it made no difference. Oddly, they also told me that I could charge from either port. They also said plug into the battery before plugging in the charger. Yes, there are two chargers and both they and the monitors are color coded with red tape to match them to the bike they came with. I also tried swapping chargers. The only thing that has changed since successful charging is that we let the batteries run down some on several rides before charging. I suggested to the tech that I thought the chargers were tripping out due to seeing a high amp load from being in a low charge state. He said absolutely not. I noticed that when I first plug the charger in you can hear it click. I took that as a circuit breaker opening. Quite a mystery. The tech in Miami said initially that the batteries "tested good." Now that he has hooked up several chargers he says they will not charge.

 

[techin]

@Boca Have you had any luck resolving this issue? Sounds interesting. I think we could all learn a lot from this. I assume the batteries still power the bikes ok?

 

[Scooteretti]

@Boca indeed would love to hear to outcome. Sounds like a BMS issue within the battery. Multiple known chargers that are know to work that don't work when put on a battery would indicate a poor internal connection or a bad BMS. My guess is BMS.

Keep us posted on the outcome.

I am a big fan of the Bulls bikes and they are reliable. Liek anything nothing is 100% perfect but you at least have a brand that offers great support and a strong customer service attitude. They will get you back up an running.

regards,


Will
shop.scooteretti.com

 

[Boca]

@Boca indeed would love to hear to outcome. Sounds like a BMS issue within the battery. Multiple known chargers that are know to work that don't work when put on a battery would indicate a poor internal connection or a bad BMS. My guess is BMS.

Keep us posted on the outcome.

I am a big fan of the Bulls bikes and they are reliable. Liek anything nothing is 100% perfect but you at least have a brand that offers great support and a strong customer service attitude. They will get you back up an running.

regards,


Will
shop.scooteretti.com

Hey guys, thanks for the new interest in my issue.

My bikes have been in a shop near Miami at the request of Bulls for evaluation. Communication with the shop has been difficult due to a language barrier, but they are sincere. Communications with Bulls has been on and off, but also sincere. The tech guy at Bulls in California is probably covering the whole country and has limited time to communicate, but here's the deal:

Bulls wanted the batteries hooked up and tested according to their protocol. The shop did that but one came back "incomplete and timed out." Bulls had a hard time getting the shop to finish that one, but Bulls finally decided to replace both batteries. The shop earlier said they tested fine, but they, like me, were unable to charge them with my chargers or theirs. Nobody is telling me what the problem is, but I finally pried some info out of the shop. They said there was a manufacturer lot of bad batteries wherein a case screw was grounding out one of the cells. So, my theory had been that my chargers were tripping out. I could hear them click when hooked up to the battery. So, I guess the batteries were shorted. The mystery is why two batteries would short out at the same time. I had had problems with one of the batteries from day one. It would never charge over 80 %, but both were chargeable until I ran them down to 20% and 40%.

The shop told me the new batteries had come in. It is an hour's drive for me. I got there and the box contained only one battery. The shop felt bad about it and said they would have the second battery delivered to me when it comes in. When I got home I charged the battery. It went to full charge and the charger acted normal. Looks like the chargers are OK - just a bad battery. Now if I can get the second battery I'll be good to go. UPS says the battery has been at their facility In Jacksonville since Feb 4 with no updates. Geez...what's going on?

 

[Scooteretti]

@Boca, sorry to hear you are going through these issues. Normally things are really easy where it would take a few days to diagnose the issue and fix it.

I'm very surprised that the box wasn't opened, batteries inspected and charged up fully prior to giving them (one) to you. This is what happens I guess when steps get missed.

But happy that the new battery is up and running and the 2nd one is on it's way to you.

As mentioned above, our expereince with Bulls has very positive and customers love their bikes.

safe riding & best regards,


Will
shop.scooteretti.com