Bosch system startup issue

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Lately having an issue with Bosch system.
I start up Intuvia, and it turns on but it is not fully activated, meaning I cannot make the assist level go up.
It does not display the speedometer, although it displays the clock.
When it gets to that state, I cannot activate the system fully until I recharge the battery again.

This happens occasionally, like when I stop somewhere, maybe come back in 15 minutes, then turn it on again. The battery level is about half at that point.

Then, when I go home and fully charge the battery, and I can activate the system again. This has occurred for like three times in the past 2 months or so. The mileage on it is about 7600 miles. Not sure if this is a battery problem or something else...

If anybody is familiar with this situation, let me know.

 

[rich c]

I've read about this several times. Usually taking off the display and cleaning the contacts takes care of it.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

I had this happen. It was dirt on the contacts in the button pad that controls the level of boost. There are two small screws on the bottom that you can unscrew, the thing pops open, and clean those little contacts. You can also just try to shoot some compressed air in the sides of that pad from a tire inflating canister. Only happened once so far in 2500 miles, but that was once too often.

This on my Trek xm700

 

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Thank you for responses! I will watch out on those things.

 

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Yes, and I tried both of the suggestions, and I got it to work.
I don't know which one was the root cause, but it now turns on fully. Thanks again.

 

[Leandro]

The issue of not being able to toggle through assists levels typically arises when the display is not properly seated onto the display mount or when the contacts are dirty/corroded/wet. Cleaning and wiping down the contact points before properly seating the display in place will typically resolve the issue.

I have also seen the case where a battery is not functioning properly and will cause the assist levels not to initiate. In this case the battery will likely need to be warranted.

 

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Thanks Leandro. I had response from your place (may have been you), but holding the battery button for 10 seconds or so to reset the battery and restart works every time. I do it often though. This may need inspection as you said. But mine had been bought longer than 2 years ago.

 

[Leandro]

My Pleasure!

A hard reset can work wonders for smaller issues and should always be one of the first steps taken prior to warranting a battery. I am glad that the reset has helped get you and your bike back out onto the road. I suggest doing a hard reset every now and again, though you certainly should not need to do this every time that you ride the bike. If you get the chance, I highly recommend plugging the bike into the Bosch diagnostic and getting a report as well as an update. Happy riding!

 

[GiantEnemyCrab]

I am not familiar with Bosch diagnostics. Quick google search didn't get me to things that looked immediately relevant to ebikes / Bosch battery. Any more info on that?

 

[Leandro]

The Bosch diagnostic tool is only available to dealers and Bosch service centers. You will need to find a local bike shop that has the tool in order to get a diagnostic report.

 

[lilrich]

We have five bosch certified techs and all the diagnostic tools and software. It is always a good idea to have your bosch system serviced occasionally. The firmware is being updated all the time. The diagnostic reports are very useful for seeing error logs, cycles and other useful information. The diagnosis and update is quick and easy and can many times be done as you wait depending on service backlogs.

 

[Peter J]

Could you clarify what you mean by "battery reset"? With the battery removed, I hold down the button on the side of the battery and it appears to turn on (lights indicating level of charge), and after 5 seconds, the lights turn off. But (!), if I turn on the battery, and release the button, the lights turn off after 5 seconds. So I don't think I'm "resetting the battery.

 

[Peter J]

My bike has been experiencing similar problems. I just now noticed that when the +/- controller doesn't allow the bike to provide assist, the lights on the battery weren't lit. So I pushed the button on the battery, and everything seems fine. Could turning on the battery separately solve the issue?

I have noticed that the bike's start-up problem occurs with my battery, but not one I borrowed from a friend...

 

[GiantEnemyCrab]

I am not sure what the cause was for my case.
I got myself a new battery (PowerPack 500), and I haven't had issues with it so far. I could conclude that there was something going on with the battery, because things are working well for me with a new one now.

The old battery (Powerpack 400), it was already after 2 year warranty.

 

[MarkH]

Lately having an issue with Bosch system.
I start up Intuvia, and it turns on but it is not fully activated, meaning I cannot make the assist level go up.
It does not display the speedometer, although it displays the clock.
When it gets to that state, I cannot activate the system fully until I recharge the battery again.

This happens occasionally, like when I stop somewhere, maybe come back in 15 minutes, then turn it on again. The battery level is about half at that point.

Then, when I go home and fully charge the battery, and I can activate the system again. This has occurred for like three times in the past 2 months or so. The mileage on it is about 7600 miles. Not sure if this is a battery problem or something else...

If anybody is familiar with this situation, let me know.

I have found that I can get it working by using the down arrow for assist, even though it is in assist level 0.

 

[Fitzy]

I have a similar issue with my original 400Wh PowerPack that got a good smash when it fell off the roof of my car when I was doing about 30MPH. The case cracked, and the test-button no longer illuminates the battery's LEDs. The battery charges fine, and when it works, it works well...getting the expected range out of it. The LEDs illuminate when it's turned on as well.

I know this isn't a case of a poor connection between the Intuvia and the motor. The system will always work after a full-charge, but will sometimes not energize after being turned off in the 80%-charged region. When this happens, I'll just pedal assist-free and periodically check to see if the system will respond until it does. It always has too, like within 10-minutes, leading me to belive there's either a timeout or a heat-sensor prohibiting energizing the pack. I've found that when this occurs, and I have my charger handy, I can resuscitate it by just plugging the charger in momentarily, and the system comes online; sorta like an eBike-Defibrillator.

It's a pain in the ass since the battery's only a year old, an I'm not even gonna bother trying to warranty it considering the case was cracked. I've since bought a 500Wh replacement (arriving today as a mater of fact). I'm on the fence though about accepting delivery at this point: it's so expensive, maybe I should just invest in a second bike with the same battery for about as much more. Oh well...I'm addicted now.

If anyone could direct me to some technical documentation regarding these Bosch PowerPacks, I'd appreciate it. I have an engineering background, and now that I have a replacement, I'd like to work on repairing this defective pack myself. I'm a bit disappointed that there are no provisions for certified-repairs for these extremely expensive, modularized parts of these bikes. Bosch's option is disposal and replacement. Totally LAME. I'm fortunate I have a local dealer who's Bosch Certified. He has no options for refurbishment or core-crediting though.

 

[Fitzy]

I have found that I can get it working by using the down arrow for assist, even though it is in assist level 0.

Curious: do you have the Intuvia? You get assist by continuously holding down the minus-button? Any idea what level of assist you get with this configuration? Will the system work normally afterwards?

 

[Peter J]

I tried both pressing and holding down the minus button without success.

I tried plugging the bike it, and indeed, it works.

Even easier, turning the battery on with its button (with battery mounted on the bike) works for me. Turning it on there (in addition to turning it on at the Intuvia display) allows the power assist to turn on.

I discussed my findings in this thread: https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/bosch-motor-wont-power-up.15747/

 

[Peter J]

I dissembled the +/- device as Saratoga Dave described here, and that seems to have helped. The power assist now turns on and off like it should.

 

[MarkH]

Curious: do you have the Intuvia? You get assist by continuously holding down the minus-button? Any idea what level of assist you get with this configuration? Will the system work normally afterwards?

No, I don't hold the button down. I just found that occasionally, when I don't have assistance on, the up button fails to switch on the assistance, but using the down button will take me into ECO mode. Once I have done that, the up button seems to work normally.