e6000 - wont power on after possible e012

[lando_s]

hi, I'm new here and hopefully can find some advice. i cant find any info on my problem and the bike shop are waiting until monday to talk to shimano tech support.

i have an eCargo bike with the older e6000 version of the steps system (square-ish head unit) it has di2 shifting and an alfine8 hub
its about 4 years old, i bought it 2nd hand via bike shop a year ago. it had just under 1000km on it and ive since put anohter 8500km on it.
ive never had any problems to date, but the battery has been feeling less "strong" recently. i dont know if it was winter tyres or kids getting heavier but its been on my mind to maybe replace it in the summer.

so yesterday i covered about 30km on the bike without issue and parked up for a while. when i came back to start the bike it immediately threw an error and shut down.
i believe this error was e012 but it was gone so quickly i cant be 100%

after that the bike refuses to power on. this model of the e6000 is activated by pressing the button on the battery.
when the battery is on the bike, i press the button and no green lights come on and nothing happens on the head unit. there are no sounds of the hub or motor doing their startup.
when its off the bike, if i press the button i get 5 green lights (fully charging was the first thing i did)

the bike shop attempted to run diags for me as i was cycling past anyway and have booked me back in for monday.
the diags would not run at all - just a message of "cannot run diags without battery connected"

as its the older model, the shop do not have a battery on hand to test with.

has anyone seen something like this before?

my thoughts are :
a) its some sort of fail safe related to the e012 but the shimano troubleshooting is quite limited for that. its also strange that the diags wont run anymore or power on as none of that is listed as a symptom of e012
b) the battery has failed and needs to be replaced
c) some other component is damaged somehow (its a heavy bike and it has a lot of miles on it) but i cant see any obvious wire breakages


i think this sums up my situation and i hope there may be someone who can point me towards an option. my main worry is that shimano wont really troubleshoot it and will just recommend i replace the motor and battery.

thanks in advance!

 

[lando_s]

So the motor is dead it seems. Shimano recommend to replace at cost of €750!

Do I have an option here of a cheaper replacement? Dealer says Shimano have to code the motor so buying one 2nd hand is not possible.

Is there a way to convert to a non e-bike somehow or use a 2nd hand motor?

 

[speedub.nate]

If you read through my recent thread, you'll see that programming is necessary but you'll have to find a bike shop with the eTubes setup, and they'll have to do an online session with Shimano to set all of the motor's parameters.

Steps E6000 W012 (torque) error -- fix & keep, or return?

I purchased a Raleigh Misceo with a Steps E6000 drive and about 500 miles on it from BicycleBlueBook in San Jose. I'm deciding whether to fix and keep it, or thanks to their friendly store policy, return it. The test ride on the flat streets of the San Jose business park went well enough and...

electricbikereview.com

Finding a shop to do the programming work was the hardest part for me.

The actual motor swap was as easy as pulling the cranks (you'll need a special inexpensive TL-FC38 tool for the E6000 chainring, plus a TL-FC32 or equivalent, and the usual square taper crank-pulling tool).

I picked up a "new" motor that was advertised as a take-off from a new bike with a damaged frame. It was less than half the cost of buying new.

Shimano has to be part of the programming session because only they can adjust speed-sensitive parameters (they seem fairly strict about enforcing their regional speed limits). It took about an hour for the shop to hand my newly-programmed bike back to me.

 

[lando_s]

Thank you! The local shop I was in have the full diags setup but they only gave me the option of a new one from Shimano, didn't say they could code one that I sourced.

I've brought it back to the original dealer, to see what options they provide. I think they have the full diags setup too

 

[lando_s]

I found a very cheap motor in eBay.
Is the brake type relevant to the drive unit or is this a bargain?

Shimano STEPS Drive Unit DU-E6012 Motor E-Bike Coaster Brake ONLY // 250 Watt | eBay

Getting around town has never been easier. Cycle to work and pass traffic jams without over-exerting yourself. Drive Unit for Coaster Brake. Speed sensor and magnet included. Maximum Rated Power (Watt)250.

www.ebay.com

 

[speedub.nate]

Maybe, brake type could be important. A "Coaster Brake" is the type where you put force on the pedals in the reverse rotation, which via the chain engages a brake mechanism built in to the rear hub. It would be most important if your bike uses a coaster brake.

The normal E6000 (disc brake, rim brake) has a one-way clutch so that when pedaled backwards, the crank arms spin freely and don't turn the chainring or move the chain.

Perhaps ultimately this doesn't matter (whether or not your chain moves backwards). Every other bike on the planet will move the chain in both directions, and we all get along just fine. I'd only be concerned that maybe somehow the mounting dimensions are different because of it.

Your best bet, since that motor is such a bargain, is to call Shimano directly and ask. That's what I did. I asked the seller for a photo of the serial number, and Shimano was able to tell me that yes, there would be no problem using that motor with my bike.

If you're ok with a coaster brake-compatible version of the E6000 -- which won't prevent you from using whatever brakes you have, BTW -- and Shimano says it fits, then I'd say go for it!

 

[speedub.nate]

Lando, I was poking through Shimano's tech manual for this motor. The one obvious difference that jumped out at me is the interface for the headlight and taillight connection. It appears your cargo bike has integrated lights? This motor uses screw terminals for power rather than the eTube connection that the other motor uses. That may be a factor depending on whether your lights plug directly into the lighting port on your E6000 motor. I would imagine a very simple splice is a possibility for adapting your lights to the E6012 terminals (get a spare length of eTube wire and create a pigtail connection). The mounting interface and power output appear to be identical to the other E6000 variants.

https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/dm/DM-SP0001-16-ENG.pdf