Bosch motor won't power up

[Leigh]

Hey all, was riding my Bosch powered bike on commute today. Half way, during a break, I was checking on number of hours used, and then powered off to reset and restart. The computer came back on, but in attempting to switching up to Eco or higher, it simply wouldn't go.woild flash Eco and then back to off. Tried powering off, resetting, no luck. Still had about 1/2 battery charge. No error messages appeared (in fact, i have never seen one).

Some details - have had it for just over 2 years and 2 months, over 9000km, and battery has 393 hours. Its a 2016 Cube Touring Hybrid Pro with 400 powerpack.

Any thoughts? Will be calling the shop tomorrow, but searching for any ideas.

 

[Velome]

Hey all, was riding my Bosch powered bike on commute today. Half way, during a break, I was checking on number of hours used, and then powered off to reset and restart. The computer came back on, but in attempting to switching up to Eco or higher, it simply wouldn't go.woild flash Eco and then back to off. Tried powering off, resetting, no luck. Still had about 1/2 battery charge. No error messages appeared (in fact, i have never seen one).

Some details - have had it for just over 2 years and 2 months, over 9000km, and battery has 393 hours. Its a 2016 Cube Touring Hybrid Pro with 400 powerpack.

Any thoughts? Will be calling the shop tomorrow, but searching for any ideas.

I don't have an answer, but would like to ask how do you check battery hours and how are you resetting? Do you have an Intuvia on that ebike?

 

[E-Wheels]

Hey all, was riding my Bosch powered bike on commute today. Half way, during a break, I was checking on number of hours used, and then powered off to reset and restart. The computer came back on, but in attempting to switching up to Eco or higher, it simply wouldn't go.woild flash Eco and then back to off. Tried powering off, resetting, no luck. Still had about 1/2 battery charge. No error messages appeared (in fact, i have never seen one).

Some details - have had it for just over 2 years and 2 months, over 9000km, and battery has 393 hours. Its a 2016 Cube Touring Hybrid Pro with 400 powerpack.Any thoughts? Will be calling the shop tomorrow, but searching for any ideas.

Have you checked the battery in the display unit. This might be the problem
How has the bike been for reliability other than this recent glitch....would you recommend/buy the 2018 model https://www.cube.eu/en/2018/e-bikes...be-touring-hybrid-one-400-iridiumnblack-2018/

 

[Leigh]

I don't have an answer, but would like to ask how do you check battery hours and how are you resetting? Do you have an Intuvia on that ebike?

Yes, its an Intuvia. To check the battery hours, press and hold reset and the I button at the same time. When it goes into config mode, press the I a couple times until you get to battery hours.

You can't reset per say, what i tried to do was get out of config mode to return to ride mode. Instead of pressing and holding both buttons again to do so, I powered off.

 

[Leigh]

Have you checked the battery in the display unit. This might be the problem
How has the bike been for reliability other than this recent glitch....would you recommend/buy the 2018 model https://www.cube.eu/en/2018/e-bikes...be-touring-hybrid-one-400-iridiumnblack-2018/

I love my ebike, and aside from regular bike mechanical maintenance, I have had no issues until now.

 

[Leigh]

Have you checked the battery in the display unit. This might be the problem
How has the bike been for reliability other than this recent glitch....would you recommend/buy the 2018 model https://www.cube.eu/en/2018/e-bikes...be-touring-hybrid-one-400-iridiumnblack-2018/

I dont know how to check the battery in the display unit...i think ita charged off the main battery, and only holds a short charge without it.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

There’s a known problem that I and a few others here have seen where you can’t change the power setting from off to eco or above. Didn’t involve the system turning off, but it might be the same cause. Check the Trek forum here, but it involves dirt on the contacts of the controller where you change power levels. Try a shot of CO2 int9 the seam on the side of that controller pad, or take it apart and clean them. I detailed how I did that in the earlier thread and there were some other contributions on it as well.

 

[rich c]

Often the contacts on the removable display can be an issue. Remove the display and clean them and see if that helps.

 

[Leigh]

Thanks for the tips. It seems the display contacts were the issue. I gave them a quick cleaning and all was well. Thanks.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Well, that seems to be emerging as the issue with the Bosch stuff, but thankfully it is a very easy fix once you know about it. A show stopper until you do know about it, though, which is unfortunate!

 

[rich c]

I don't know if we were talking about the same thing Dave. I don't consider the display to be he controller. The controller and display do communicate back and forth, but the real "computer" does not reside in the display. The controller builds a lot of heat since it's the link between the motor and battery. Nothing that little display could handle.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Agreed, they’re two different pieces, but both apparently susceptible to the problem and either will put you out of business on a ride. If I clean off one, the other or both, odds are we’re back going again.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Hey Rich, I think you’re right, we are talking about different pieces. I’m referring to the button pad that selects the assist level, and if I haven’t lost my mind conpletely, you’re talking about the actual logic controller, wherever that is on these things. Is that right?

Regardless, this issue seems resolved, but my semantics may be less than perfect.

 

[rich c]

Hey Rich, I think you’re right, we are talking about different pieces. I’m referring to the button pad that selects the assist level, and if I haven’t lost my mind conpletely, you’re talking about the actual logic controller, wherever that is on these things. Is that right?

Regardless, this issue seems resolved, but my semantics may be less than perfect.

Yes I'm talking about the logic controller. That's the only part I've seen called a controller and wanted to limit any confusion. Here's one of the motor modules opened up. Two separate
boards showing here.

 

[Dave F.]

This thread would have been very helpful today. Leigh and Saratoga Dave mentioned the Intuvia display becoming unresponsive and not "shifting" into ECO or above and staying there. Well, this morning my wife had the same issue while riding her Bosch-powered e-bike (Felt Verza E-10 with NuVinci H-Sync). While riding along, it would "shift" out of ECO and back to "OFF" without any operator intervention. Occasionally it would revert to working properly, then would inexplicably move to "OFF" again. After 16 miles of hard work (for her), we stopped for a coffee break and I tested her bike, with the same results. She decided to wait at the coffee shop for me to ride my bike home, get the van, and come back to collect her and her bike. When I collected them both, I removed the Intuvia display for transporting the bike, loaded the bike in the van, and came home. After snapping the Intuvia display back onto the bike, I discovered it was again working properly. I then read this thread and returned to clean the contacts under the Intuvia. Hopefully the problem is now solved (but I should have read this thread at the coffee shop, before getting the van!)

 

[Peter J]

My bike has the same issues. It behaves as if the Intuvia doesn't recognize the battery, that is, the Intuvia works the same with and without the battery. It also seemed to fail on the second use -- that is, it would work fine at home, but then when I went to return from my destination, it would fail. For example, this morning the power assist turned on okay, but after I shut down the bike (without riding it), the power assist would not turn on.

There's a couple of threads on this forum discussing the issue (e.g. "Bosch system startup issue," in Forum> Advanced Ebike Forums> Maintenance and Repairs). I cleaned the contacts on the base of the Intuvia display (with alcohol and a cotton swab), and made sure the contacts on the back of the Intuvia display bounced back when pressed in (the contacts are spring loaded), with perhaps some improvement. I cleaned the contacts on the battery and the battery mount, with no improvement. One suggestion was to clean the +/- control, either by disassembling it or blasting it with compressed air. (I haven't tried either yet.)

I borrowed a battery and found that battery worked well, with only occasional difficulties turning the assist on. In those cases, I would remove and replace the Intuvia, and that action seemed to allow the assist to turn on. But not with the original battery -- the assist would just not ever turn back on. The original battery (and other bike firmware) was updated in January 2017. The battery firmware version is 5.20. The borrowed battery is version 4.00.

One thing I've just noticed on the failure is that the battery does not light up on those occasions when the power assist won't turn on. Also, the configuration menu won't display information about the battery.

I have found that if I turn on the battery with the battery button (with the battery in the bike), the assist will then works.

 

[Peter J]

Here's the discussion about cleaning the +/- switch: https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/bosch-motor-wont-power-up.15747/

I cleaned the +/- switch, and it seems to have helped. Pretty easy.

 

[NoDTMF]

Hi,

Just add another experience. The speedo part of the display was blank and the motor would not engage, but I could cycle through the modes. Removed the dispaly and cleaned the contacts and all is fine. 2014 Active line.

 

[Peter J]

A mechanic suggested resetting the battery by removing the battery from the bike and holding the on/off button on the battery for at least 10 seconds. I found that after 4 or 5 seconds, all the lights turned on, and then turned off. After 9 or 10 seconds, all the lights turned on, and then turned off again. I've had only one non-starting fault since then.

 

[rich c]

A mechanic suggested resetting the battery by removing the battery from the bike and holding the on/off button on the battery for at least 10 seconds. I found that after 4 or 5 seconds, all the lights turned on, and then turned off. After 9 or 10 seconds, all the lights turned on, and then turned off again. I've had only one non-starting fault since then.

Trying to make sense how "resetting" the battery would effect the entire electrical system. I'd think that with the battery off the bike while you do this reset, would only effect the BMS if anything. Should be more a fix when the battery won't charge compared to fixing motor not starting up. Any insight to what the procedure really does besides flashing the LEDs?