Bosch Speed Performance system shuts down mid ride.

[onethinline]

Interesting coming across this thread because my new Gazelle CityZen T10 (had it all of a week now) has also shut off mid-ride twice, where the display turns off and assist stops. I have to fiddle to turn it on again mid-ride, which is pretty bad. I do think both times came after going over a bump in the road. I’m a bit concerned, given others have seen similar things. For what it’s worth, mine has the Purion display, which is standard on the CityZens at this point, from what I’ve seen. I’m going to call New Wheel tomorrow and see what they say.

 

[Alan Acock]

Hurricane, a technician at Bosch suggested that, I too, should replace the power harness between the battery and the motor. Still under warranty so trying that is a no-brainer. Extremely helpful and accommodating. I'll keep you informed.

After three years and 6000+ miles of frustration Bosch agreed to send a new harn. The new harness had two contacts gold plated on the side I had before that had no gold plating on that side. Also my bicycle mechanic was advised not too thighten the harness too tight. Apparently if it is installed too tight there is a slight bowing. Newer Bosch harnesses have the two extra gold plated connections. A bit over 200 miles and it works perfectly.

 

[steve mercier]

Interesting coming across this thread because my new Gazelle CityZen T10 (had it all of a week now) has also shut off mid-ride twice, where the display turns off and assist stops. I have to fiddle to turn it on again mid-ride, which is pretty bad. I do think both times came after going over a bump in the road. I’m a bit concerned, given others have seen similar things. For what it’s worth, mine has the Purion display, which is standard on the CityZens at this point, from what I’ve seen. I’m going to call New Wheel tomorrow and see what they say.

Please keep us informed.

 

[onethinline]

I called New Wheel and they suspect it's an issue with the power cable that they'd thought had been resolved in these bikes. Alas I'll have to take it in and have it in the shop for a few days so they can do the repair (and hopefully it is the issue he thinks it is). That's a bummer for a brand new bike, but to New Wheel's credit they offered me a loaner and have been great to work with so far. Sounds like this is a problem on Gazelle's side. I hope I can get it resolved quickly, because the bike is otherwise still so great.

 

[BAG]

I own the Bosch Performance Line Gen2 350w (2015) with an Intuvia controller and have been experiencing this issue intermittently for some time. Thanks to the many great discussions in this thread, I managed to consistently reproduce - and eliminate - at least one type of occurrence of this issue at will, isolating it to the contacts between the Intuvia (and presumably with similar) controller and harness.

Expected Behavior:
* (When already in mount and powered up) Starting from the "OFF" assist level, the +/- control buttons enable modification of assist level.
* (When mounting and powering up) Insert controller in mount. Power on. "Performance Line" logo appears within seconds, along with speed display (e.g. 0.0 mph). starting from the "OFF" assist level, the +/- control buttons enable modification of assist level.

Actual/Undesired Behavior (when already in mount):
* (When already in mount and powered up) Starting from the "OFF" assist level, pressing the "+" control momentarily toggles to the "Eco" assist level, but then it immediately drops back to the "OFF" assist level. No ability to enable assist.
* (When mounting and powering up) Insert controller in mount. Power on. "Performance Line" logo/speed display (e.g. 0.0 mph) does not appear. Starting from the "OFF" assist level, pressing the "+" control momentarily toggles to the "Eco" assist level, but then it immediately drops back to the "OFF" assist level. No ability to enable assist.

Steps to reproduce issue:
* Remove the controller. Disrupt the connection between EITHER OR BOTH of the two contact points shown in the attached illustration via physical insulator (in the illustration, covered using a piece of tape, but presumably this may happen in the field with air when a spring becomes jammed open or via dirt/grime). Remount the controller.

Fix and ensuing behavior:
* (without turning controller power off before remounting) Remove the controller. Re-establish the connection by removing the insulator (by cleaning the contacts and/or unjamming the spring for the controller unit's pin(s) using a paper clip or similar). Remount the controller. Wait for speed display to appear. Starting from the "OFF" assist level, the +/- control buttons enable modification of assist level.
* (with controller power off before remounting) Remove the controller. Re-establish the connection by removing the insulator (by cleaning the contacts and/or unjamming the spring for the controller unit's pin(s) using a paper clip or similar). Remount the controller. Power on. "Performance Line" logo appears within seconds, along with speed display (e.g. 0.0 mph). starting from the "OFF" assist level, the +/- control buttons enable modification of assist level.

 

[steve mercier]

very scientific logic! Maybe being a 2015 the contacts are worn to the point of replacing the whole Intuvia now?

 

[onethinline]

An update on my own situation: Got the call this afternoon. My bike is fixed and ready to be picked up. Apparently Gazelle had changed something on their production line and a whole group of bikes were built with too much of a gap between the battery terminals and the rest of the power circuit. Gazelle has been informed, they’re fixing their side, and New Wheel fixed my bike up with official support from Gazelle. Also, as ever, New Wheel have been great through all of this.

 

[steve mercier]

Glad to hear it. I like the specs on those bikes but always wondered if the support would be there.

 

[bob armani]

An update on my own situation: Got the call this afternoon. My bike is fixed and ready to be picked up. Apparently Gazelle had changed something on their production line and a whole group of bikes were built with too much of a gap between the battery terminals and the rest of the power circuit. Gazelle has been informed, they’re fixing their side, and New Wheel fixed my bike up with official support from Gazelle. Also, as ever, New Wheel have been great through all of this.

Great news! Like to hear when a dealer/LBS stands behind their customers and is willing to go the extra mile. Always great for business in the long run!

 

[ollie44]

A similar issue popped up up once in a while on my Cannondale Mavaro, quickly diagnosed as the battery not locked properly (thankfully, it didn't fall). Over time, with close to 5,000 miles of commuting some play developed in the cradle assembly. I mitigated it with felt pads but bigger bumps would still cause the battery to move enough to create what feels like a quick connect/reconnect on the battery side and a surge that might cause the system to shutdown (no error codes, it is back on in seconds). Sure enough, I noticed a larger gap than usual between battery and connection hood. I used a small 4' cam strap to stabilize the connection and so far no shutdowns. I still need to check whether the lock assembly got loose or the connectors worn.
Only hiccup so far on the bike, no issues with bearings or the Intuvia.

 

[onethinline]

While my shutdown issue seems to indeed be fixed (hooray!), I’ve noticed the battery enclosure squeaking hasn’t gone away, and in addition to that noise while I pedal, there’s an occasional snapping or popping sound which I suspect is from the same area. Ugh. I’m going to call again today and see what they can do. It’s not reassuring to have a brand new bike sound squeaky and old.

 

[rich c]

While my shutdown issue seems to indeed be fixed (hooray!), I’ve noticed the battery enclosure squeaking hasn’t gone away, and in addition to that noise while I pedal, there’s an occasional snapping or popping sound which I suspect is from the same area. Ugh. I’m going to call again today and see what they can do. It’s not reassuring to have a brand new bike sound squeaky and old.

Check the crank bolts and pedals. I always put a dab of grease on those bolts and on the crank mounting. Aluminum cranks on a steel shaft can make for some movement and noise. A crack/pop can even come from the seat. Check those bolts too. Well actually check every fastener, it's a requirement on bicycles.

 

[heatlamp]

I'm having the motor cutout problem with my 2018 Arroyo. Bike is at LBS now with no resolution, but I appreciate hearing about other people's problem with this, if only to back up my complaint.

 

[Alaskan]

having the motor cutout problem with my 2018 Arroyo. Bike is at LBS now with no resolution, but I appreciate hearing about other people's problem with this, if only to back up my complaint

What display unit do you have? If it is the Intuvia, did you try removing it and cleaning the 7 shiny connector points on both the face of the mount and the back of the display unit. Best is to use a pencil eraser on the contact points and then carefully remove all residue and wipe down with a clean cloth. That commonly works for this issue. There is a wealth of info on this forum about this. Use the search function at the top right of the page and search for what you want to learn about.

 

[elliot friedman]

Heatlamp
I had a cut off problem on my 2017 bosch speed performance equipt Felt ebike for more than two years. Bosch stood by me and replaced the battery harness and suggested a few other remedies to rectify the issue. FINALLY, they replaced my intuvio MOUNT with the latest version that has the configuration of 3 gold pins on the left column and silver, gold, gold, silver order on the right column. Initially, I was skeptical that the pin order could remedy an issue that showed itself when going over bumps but It's been several hundred miles with out any cut offs. It completely changed my riding enthusiasm to know that every ride will be shut down free.
Headlamp, if your intuvio mount has a different pin configuration, I implore you to state your case to Bosch and have the mount exchanged.
Good luck to you........elliot

 

[SeanM]

An update on my own situation: Got the call this afternoon. My bike is fixed and ready to be picked up. Apparently Gazelle had changed something on their production line and a whole group of bikes were built with too much of a gap between the battery terminals and the rest of the power circuit. Gazelle has been informed, they’re fixing their side, and New Wheel fixed my bike up with official support from Gazelle. Also, as ever, New Wheel have been great through all of this.

Thanks for this thread Just found this forum while puzzling over my CityZen t10 that I bought this August. After 1K miles, I suddenly started experiencing repeated shutdown mid-ride, almost always after a sharp bump. No evidence of corrosion or heat warping in controller (Purion) or the battery. So clearly time to get some warranty help from the vendor (ElectricCityBikes in DC). I wonder if my bike was in that bad batch. I;m addicted to the ride so have been reluctant to go to the dealer and maybe give up my bike for even a few days, but this random punishment schedule of bike-shutoff is becoming unbearable.

 

[Aerosir]

Hello Everyone,
I had similar issues on my Bergamont E-Line N8 with Active Line from 2017. The intuvia screen would shut and restart while on the road. Sometimes it happened a few times in a 12 miles commute, and then disappear for long. And it happened on the smoothest roads, lower speeds, but normally while on effort. So it was not coming from a loose battery connection, which I first suspected.

Recently it stated happening again, I would remove the intuvia, rub the connectors of the intuvia and the ones on the mount, but, 3 to 5 minutes later it would happen again. I was going crazy, because, again, it was happening on the smoothest roads. But then I guessed what was the cause in my case.
I had previously raised the stem to a higher position, and that caused the wires connecting to the intuvia mount to be more tense, because they became more distant, and that is the main reason for loosing connection.

I had a plastic strip holding all the wires together (it came from factory like that) to give a cleaner look. So I removed the intuvia mount wires from that route and made sure they have absolutely no tension at all until they go in the mount and... voilá! Zero problems from there. Never disconnected again. But if it happens, I will surely change the mount to the new one with the two gold pins on the right (mine are all silver). That connection between the mount and the wires is reeeally sensitive!

Oh and I had a problem with the power selector also: pressing up and the power would go down. Also solved with removing tension from the wire to the mount, now it's always spot on.

I hope this can help others, in witch the problem is the same.

 

[SeanM]

So, after grave reluctance to bring my bike (Gazelle Cityzen Speed/500 T10 53 MidStep ) into the local bike shop where the bike was purchased.
They were helpful but had some issues replicating the problem....but eventually they did (after a week in the shop)

3/6/21 QUICK DROP- Spoke to XXX about this some time ago. Warranty repair but the major problem is power turns off while riding. Know. Problem with Purion controller.

3/9/21 XX - Test ride, please.

3/13/21 XX - Got bike to shut off twice. Got the second one on video. Seems to happen at random, but both times it happened I was accelerating with force trying to accelerate quickly in Tour mode and I think the first time I was in the sport mode. Email sent to XX for warranty.

3/21/21 Bike was updated and test riddent by two people. No Codes after update. Bike works as it should. Called client and left vm that bike is not ready yet. May be expirencing codes on longer rides. XXX and I are still looking into it.
, we cleared the error codes but it sounds like from the mechanics in the back that the issue is showing up on much longer rides so we may need to get a new battery from Bosch. I think we will be having one of our other mechanics taking it on another long test ride and double checking.....
But then....

3/21 - Test rode bike as well, it seemed to be working. No further issues found
We updated your bike and it reset the error codes and cleared the system. This seems to have helped because I can't get your bike to shut off anymore. I'd say you're set for pick up
Testing was completed about 5-6 times since drop off
3 prior to repair, and 3 unable to replicate the issue

3 prior to repair, and 3 unable to replicate the issue

As far as I know, the repair was a software update. But indications here are that a manufacturing problem was at the root of this issue, especially with Gazelle.
Coda - Picked up bike Saturday evening. On ride home this past Saturday, at mile 8 or so I got my first cutoff - and since then, every two miles or less (total of 8 shutoffs). I think this argues strongly for cutoff stemming from mechanical issues with control-cabling, connection, or battery housing and motor cutoff usually occurs after a strong bump (*and I am a heavy guy - 245 lbs on a good day*).

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[elliot friedman]

By now I hope your issues have been rectified. If not, the only solution that fixed my problem (same as yours) was stated 3 replies above. The latest MOUNT for the Intuvia display. Changing the display didn't help. The mount was the issue. Been perfect for six months now.
Good luck.

 

[Alaskan]

By now I hope your issues have been rectified. If not, the only solution that fixed my problem (same as yours) was stated 3 replies above. The latest MOUNT for the Intuvia display. Changing the display didn't help. The mount was the issue. Been perfect for six months now.
Good luck.

This is more likely a problem common to a batch of bikes from Gazelle as reported by onethinline above in post #87. This bike should be taken back to the Gazelle dealer to have the proper fix to correct the problem identified with battery terminal installation during manufacture of the bike. If that did not do it, then the mount would be a good next step to investigate.