Can no longer charge ST5 - any ideas?

[Aleks]

I had few instances where my bike did not get charged but I could not replicate the problem. Now suddenly it becomes consistent.

• I tried two separate chargers with same results
• I tried keeping charger powered OFF before plugging input bike then turning it ON and keeping it powered ON before plugging into bike with same results

Bike is under warranty but LBS (Mike's bikes in Palo Alto) did not project air of confidence when they last serviced it (kind of "Stromer does not give us right tools to debug the problem"). Maybe there is "factory reset" or something I can try before bringing it back.

Thank you

 

[Petropoliskhan]

Hi!
try taking the battery out of the bike for at least 10 minutes before reinserting and charging. first plug charger into outlet and then into bike . battery removal for 10 minutes performs hard reset. Had that problem a couple of weeks ago and worked 4 me. no problems since. Good luck

 

[Insider]

I had few instances where my bike did not get charged but I could not replicate the problem. Now suddenly it becomes consistent.

• I tried two separate chargers with same results
• I tried keeping charger powered OFF before plugging input bike then turning it ON and keeping it powered ON before plugging into bike with same results

Bike is under warranty but LBS (Mike's bikes in Palo Alto) did not project air of confidence when they last serviced it (kind of "Stromer does not give us right tools to debug the problem"). Maybe there is "factory reset" or something I can try before bringing it back.

Thank you

Yes! this was a symptom of was happening to my ST5.

Read my post and maybe your bike has the same problem.

Stromer ST5: Is it reliable?

Back in July, I wrote about the excitement about getting a 2nd ST5 after the 1st ST5 failed the day I was to take delivery at Electric Bikes ZZZ. Between July and September, I experienced a lot of weird errors, I lost track of them. I was getting annoyed that the bike seemed to have been most of...

electricbikereview.com

 

[Aleks]

Yes! this was a symptom of was happening to my ST5.

Read my post and maybe your bike has the same problem.

Stromer ST5: Is it reliable?

Back in July, I wrote about the excitement about getting a 2nd ST5 after the 1st ST5 failed the day I was to take delivery at Electric Bikes ZZZ. Between July and September, I experienced a lot of weird errors, I lost track of them. I was getting annoyed that the bike seemed to have been most of...

electricbikereview.com

Mine appears different. I get "attention not charging" and battery is clearly making contact. Furthermore - I am able to charge battery outside the bike - so it is not charger or battery (I tried two chargers to rule out issue with one). Bike shop guy thinks it is battery charging harness. Let us see

 

[Insider]

Mine appears different. I get "attention not charging" and battery is clearly making contact. Furthermore - I am able to charge battery outside the bike - so it is not charger or battery (I tried two chargers to rule out issue with one). Bike shop guy thinks it is battery charging harness. Let us see

Well, if a pogo pin is retracted, you might not be able to charge.
I was seeing the same NOT CHARGING error messages at first. Then some weeks later, the bike wouldn't turn on.
It's easy to see - just pull the battery and take a picture of the plug end on the bike side.
The picture I took in my thread was with nothing disassembled.


"I am able to charge battery outside the bike - so it is not charger or battery"
Exactly, the problem is on the bike side. As with mine, one pogo pin on the BIKE SIDE of the battery compartment retracted.
Stromer referred this cable end - the wick cable.

The battery side of the rosenberger connector does not have any pogo pins. (pins are fixes.)

 

[Insider]

Problem solved?

 

[Aleks]

Problem solved?

Unfortunately not. I have been without (this) bike for about a month now. Took it to Mike's Bikes - they tried to help - but after almost two weeks Stromer decided to move bike to another shop (Palo Alto Bicycles). They've had it now for about 10 days and no ETA. Both shops don't seem happy to deal with it. Both said servicing Stromer is painful. Both refused to quote Stromer suspension fork installation (I was hoping to upgrade the bike).

Hopefully this will get fixed and it will be smooth sailing afterwards - but I am really getting nervous about pattern of difficulty in servicing it.

 

[Johnny]

Unfortunately not. I have been without (this) bike for about a month now. Took it to Mike's Bikes - they tried to help - but after almost two weeks Stromer decided to move bike to another shop (Palo Alto Bicycles). They've had it now for about 10 days and no ETA. Both shops don't seem happy to deal with it. Both said servicing Stromer is painful. Both refused to quote Stromer suspension fork installation (I was hoping to upgrade the bike).

Hopefully this will get fixed and it will be smooth sailing afterwards - but I am really getting nervous about pattern of difficulty in servicing it.

Take it to New Wheel if you can.

Also as others said the pins on the connector is likely the problem. Photos can help.

 

[Aleks]

Well, if a pogo pin is retracted, you might not be able to charge.
I was seeing the same NOT CHARGING error messages at first. Then some weeks later, the bike wouldn't turn on.
It's easy to see - just pull the battery and take a picture of the plug end on the bike side.
The picture I took in my thread was with nothing disassembled.


"I am able to charge battery outside the bike - so it is not charger or battery"
Exactly, the problem is on the bike side. As with mine, one pogo pin on the BIKE SIDE of the battery compartment retracted.
Stromer referred this cable end - the wick cable.

The battery side of the rosenberger connector does not have any pogo pins. (pins are fixes.)

Would above make sense even if battery has not been touched? Would pogo pin retract on its own or perhaps was not fully extended in the first place?

 

[Aleks]

Take it to New Wheel if you can.

Also as others said the pins on the connector is likely the problem. Photos can help.

I will check New Wheel out. Do you know if they do warranty work on/service bikes not purchased there and know anyone there who is "Stromer guy" to ask for?

 

[Johnny]

I will check New Wheel out. Do you know if they do warranty work on/service bikes not purchased there and know anyone there who is "Stromer guy" to ask for?

They are all Stromer people and most likely the best place for Stromer work in the US. They do warranty work on Stromers not purchased from them but you will most likely be charged for labor. You should get in touch with them and Stromer us to see what can be done.

Your battery problem is most likely the connector pin as stated before, just take a photo and share it so that people can comment on it.

 

[Insider]

I will check New Wheel out. Do you know if they do warranty work on/service bikes not purchased there and know anyone there who is "Stromer guy" to ask for?

Would above make sense even if battery has not been touched? Would pogo pin retract on its own or perhaps was not fully extended in the first place?

You'd have to understand how a Rosenberger connector works.

RoPD®

RoPD® – Rosenberger Power Data Connectors with magnetic self-mating mechanism are designed for Light Electric Vehicles (LEV) including e-bikes and e-scooters as well as UGVs and drones. Providing fast and reliable magnetic connection, these are particularly suited for data communication and...

www.rosenberger.com

One side of the connector (Bike side - battery conpartment) the conductor contacts are spring loaded. (Like a Pogo stick)
Same as on the end of your charger. (All 6 contacts are spring loaded. Just push them with a tooth pick)
Every time you connect the charger to the bike those pins are pushed back. (Not retracted in that sense)
One or more contacts on the bike side is basically not springing back into position, therefore the bike will not charge.
I theorize this is due to dust ingress in a downward position and jamming a pin in place


The New Wheel will charge you EXTRA for any work if you didn't buy the bike from them. Warranty or not.
They wanted to charge me $300 for installing the Wren suspension works. (No Thank you)

I bought my ST5 from https://www.elvmotors.com/ I have purchased the suspension forks + fender through ELV and they shipped directly to my house.
Nate handled my warranty work.

They helped me with the warranty work after I discover the wick connector issue.

 

[Aleks]

Any words of wisdom how to get more support from Stromer? The bike has been in the shop (two shops actually) for almost two months now with no indication on progress. (The service manager of second shop - Palo Alto Bicycles is leaving and it was clear that work was not a priority from the beginning - so nothing is going to happen there).

I emailed Stromer + left phone messages.

I could - in theory - take bike back myself take it to New Wheel - etc - but that feels like a wrong thing to do and Stromer should somehow step up and figure out how address the situation. I'd be happy to have bike shipped to Stromer so that they can fix it - but still need Stromer to get more engaged.

Another wrinkle is that connecting phone app to bike never worked (even bluetooth connectivity did not work the first time). Tried different phones (including shop manager) - so there is more than one issue I hope Stromer can deal with.

 

[PedalUma]

Two years ago at the start of the pandemic lockdowns Mike's Bikes referred a guy to me who was stuck on the side of the road with his Stromer. When he set out from Novato the bike's display said that he had a range of 220 miles with the second battery. The bike died in Petaluma, the next town North. Strong headwinds from the Petaluma Gap killed it. Mike's is great but they are not setup for these bikes. I got him back on the road and sent him to the New Wheel for warrantee work. They are setup for these bikes but pricy. This is what one of my electric bikes looks like. If you squint you can see the wire coming out of what appears to be a water bottle. It is all open source like Linux or Wiki. A second charger cost $20 at Target, Staples, Amazon... I like that lightweight mid-drives can get away with lightweight batteries.

 

[Insider]

Any words of wisdom how to get more support from Stromer? The bike has been in the shop (two shops actually) for almost two months now with no indication on progress. (The service manager of second shop - Palo Alto Bicycles is leaving and it was clear that work was not a priority from the beginning - so nothing is going to happen there).

I emailed Stromer + left phone messages.

I could - in theory - take bike back myself take it to New Wheel - etc - but that feels like a wrong thing to do and Stromer should somehow step up and figure out how address the situation. I'd be happy to have bike shipped to Stromer so that they can fix it - but still need Stromer to get more engaged.

Another wrinkle is that connecting phone app to bike never worked (even bluetooth connectivity did not work the first time). Tried different phones (including shop manager) - so there is more than one issue I hope Stromer can deal with.

Too bad you don’t have easy access to the bike, but I feel strongly that you have the same problem as I did. This is the $20 connector at the bottom of the battery compartment that caused the unreliable connection.
(cannot charge battery while battery in bike, can charge battery out of the bike. )

 

[Aleks]

Too bad you don’t have easy access to the bike, but I feel strongly that you have the same problem as I did. This is the $20 connector at the bottom of the battery compartment that caused the unreliable connection.
(cannot charge battery while battery in bike, can charge battery out of the bike. )



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Yep - wished I could have checked. But I am at the point where I feel if I take bike back - it is now my responsibility with no pressure on Stromer. Also phone connectivity issue is definitely not something I can fix myself

Did you have to fix it yourself?

 

[Insider]

Yep - wished I could have checked. But I am at the point where I feel if I take bike back - it is now my responsibility with no pressure on Stromer. Also phone connectivity issue is definitely not something I can fix myself

Did you have to fix it yourself?

I would have fixed it my self as I was the one that discovered the fault.
However, ELV Motors did the work under warranty and the tech even came my house. (100 miles round trip) (I tipped the tech with cash.)

The work was not hard - no splicing any wires just a connector (plug & play by colors) tail piece under the bottom of the battery compartment -

Oh look! I even found the Stromer TSB that describes the defective Rosenberger connector. I had a problem with a small signal pin while the TSB describes a problem in a large power pin.

As in life, no one takes care of you like you take care of you.

 

[Aleks]

An update - I got bike back last Fri 5/27 - basically 2.5 months after dropping it off. Finally David from Stromer had it shipped from 2nd store to New Wheels at SF and things went much smoother after that.

1. Charging had some hardware issue - some controller needed replaced
2. Occasional regeneration kicking in was due to faulty torque sensor
3. Unable to connect to bike had something to do with another account associated - now able to
4. I also decided to upgrade fork to suspension

So for last 2.5 months I've been using my Specialized Turbo and now I got on Stromer - what a difference. My commute time went from an hour to 40 min and bike just wants to keep going fast.

Also Kudos to New Wheel - pleasure to work with... All work (except fork) was done under warranty - perhaps due to my "special case"

 

[PedalUma]

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