Cannot charge both batteries together

[2wheelspaul]

Hi. New to this forum but as the supplier cannot, or will not deal with this issue, perhaps one of you has had a similar issue or can suggest a fix? If I try to charge both the range extender and the frame battery together - as stated in the manual - only the frame battery ends up charged. The range extender charges fine if disconnected from the frame connector. This dual charging did work to start with, became intermittent, the supplier replaced the RE, it worked for a while and then the same again, he did a firmware upgrade, it worked for a while and now not at all. It's really frustrating as if we are on tour and the bike is on charge in a shed, you cannot rely on both batteries being charged the next morning. Apparently this is the only one in the world with this issue! If so, replace all the bloody electronics to fix it once and for all. Too simple an answer it seems. Anybody else experienced this and any other suggestions. Thanks

 

[Rangerider]

Hi. New to this forum but as the supplier cannot, or will not deal with this issue, perhaps one of you has had a similar issue or can suggest a fix? If I try to charge both the range extender and the frame battery together - as stated in the manual - only the frame battery ends up charged. The range extender charges fine if disconnected from the frame connector. This dual charging did work to start with, became intermittent, the supplier replaced the RE, it worked for a while and then the same again, he did a firmware upgrade, it worked for a while and now not at all. It's really frustrating as if we are on tour and the bike is on charge in a shed, you cannot rely on both batteries being charged the next morning. Apparently this is the only one in the world with this issue! If so, replace all the bloody electronics to fix it once and for all. Too simple an answer it seems. Anybody else experienced this and any other suggestions. Thanks

Same issue here. I have just received a replacement range extender from the dealer ( it took 3 months to get from Orbea). The original range extender worked twice then set off the purple light on the IWOC one.
The replacement range extender does not charge when connected up as per the Manual. It did however charge through to the on onboard frame battery. I tried a second time and got a red light on the range extender despite a 10 hour charge. When I disconnected the range extender and charged independently it reached full charge ( solid white light on range extender) after three hours.

the work around is a pain in the rear as on a tour you do not want to get up in the middle of the night to disconnect and separately charge the range extender.

I am waiting for a response from the UK dealer and will pass on what they they say. If anyone has a better fix please share

bikerider

 

[2wheelspaul]

Thanks Rangerider, it good to know that we are not the only ones with this issue.

The shop we originally purchased the bike and range extender from is now ignoring my emails about the problem although they have stopped selling Orbea eBikes despite their popularity. Does that perhaps tell us something about reliability issues as the retailer is ultimately responsible for the product they sell? I would take legal action against them but might just be throwing good money after bad! For those reading this thinking of buying an Orbea ebike take note - Great product but almost no chance of getting the thing fixed if it goes wrong!!

Any electronics wizzkids out there who might have an answer to this strange issue? The fact that both range extenders have worked for a while and then exhibited this charging issue makes me think it is something to do with the state of the cells. We charge both batteries to 100% each time as that's the way the system is set to work, but if you read the battery blogs they all say the same - charge to 80% max if you are not going to use the bike for a while. Easier said than done! Do the cells start off in a perfect state and then get screwed by always being charged to 100%? I say always, but as with Rangerider, the dual RE/frame battery charging fails in the first few weeks of the RE being fitted so only after a few charge cycles.