Just got a Shred
- Thread starter DaveS
- Start date
Cancel That! My battery indicator hit 0 and started losing speed. Only rode it about 6 miles before last charge. Went home and charged the battery off the bike and after about an hour it was full. No freaking clue anymore. Im assuming either the battery was always full but when i charged it again, somehow, it reset the battery indicator on the display, and thats why it only took an hour to charge? I honestly don't know anymore. Starting to frustrate me because I was on my way to school and the thing started going on me, had to have my fiance come grab my lazy ass in the car because i wasn't riding the hills back lol.
DaveS
Member
Thanks for posting. Before you rode it for 6 miles and it died, how much did you charge it, and how many days had it been between charging and riding?
Also, when you say it started loosing speed, did it ever die, or just act a little sluggish? The battery does loose voltage as it runs down, and I can notice that the bike is more powerful at full than say half.
Also, when you say it started loosing speed, did it ever die, or just act a little sluggish? The battery does loose voltage as it runs down, and I can notice that the bike is more powerful at full than say half.
Before the 6 miles it was charged fully about 5 days prior and sat for a few days. Every day I noticed battery indicator was stating it was loosing power. Thought the conclusion was the display was just misreading the battery life. By the time it hit zero it was really sluggish, about half the power was gone and didn’t like even the smallest hill. At that point I turned it off and back on again and still same issue so I left it off. When I got home I plugged it in and checked it after an hour. Battery indicated it was full. No way it can charge that fast.
Also it shouldn’t be dropping power like that at half. These are lithium ion.
Hi guys..First post here. I thought I would share my experiences as well as a picture of my shred.
1. My battery is doing the same exact thing as others posting here. Fully charged and droping a 1/10(or more) every day.
2. I spoke with Gordon at S604 and explained my issue and he validated my concern and even went so far as to say its a known issue. He said that the issue is with the BMS( battery management system). You He mentioned that these were actually more expensive than the BMS on the colts and rooks but were having issues. It did not sound like he knew what the problem was but they were contacting the manufacturer for guidance.
3. I actually purchased two batteries so I could have a spare and it’s on my doorstep today. My guess is it will have the same problem and that’s a bummer because they are not cheap.
1. My battery is doing the same exact thing as others posting here. Fully charged and droping a 1/10(or more) every day.
2. I spoke with Gordon at S604 and explained my issue and he validated my concern and even went so far as to say its a known issue. He said that the issue is with the BMS( battery management system). You He mentioned that these were actually more expensive than the BMS on the colts and rooks but were having issues. It did not sound like he knew what the problem was but they were contacting the manufacturer for guidance.
3. I actually purchased two batteries so I could have a spare and it’s on my doorstep today. My guess is it will have the same problem and that’s a bummer because they are not cheap.
DaveS
Member
towelie55, I verified on mine that the display was inaccurate because the voltage measured at the output port was reading way more than the displayed fuel gauge showed. So at least on mine, I'm pretty confident my battery stack is healthy, and the display is in error.
The second part about why yours cut out (assuming it was nearly full) and why mine goes into a weaker mode is, in my mind, less certain. I thought, like you, that maybe something happens to reduce the power to the motor when the display says empty. So I tested it by letting the display run down to a few bars with a pretty full pack to see what happens. It did start slowing down at 1 bar left (about 24 miles on that charge) , and didn't just abruptly lower power when the display clicked to zero bars. And the overall transition to sluggish behavior was gradual, so I concluded that it was just the pack voltage sag, and in fact I was able to ride another 10+ miles on it by giving it full throttle (although it wouldn't reach the 20 mph max without some pedaling). So I may be wrong about it limiting the output when the gauge shows nearly empty. There does seem to be lots of energy left. This is consistent with your 1 hr charge to full.
I didn't want to charge it all the way up and then let it sit for 10 days until the display showed empty because that's not healthy for the pack, so maybe my test was flawed by my initial 14 mi ride. And maybe I should have waited until the display showed zero bars left (mine showed 2). It's hard to do accurate testing when you have a new toy and just want to have fun with it.
Thanks for posting your experience, the more people who provide their results, the better.
Couple last questions... What size pack do you have? And for those 6 miles you rode, would you say that was aggressive (28mph race to school, up big hills, heavy rider, type stuff) or were you easy on it (PAS level 1 with you pedaling along, paved road, etc)?
The second part about why yours cut out (assuming it was nearly full) and why mine goes into a weaker mode is, in my mind, less certain. I thought, like you, that maybe something happens to reduce the power to the motor when the display says empty. So I tested it by letting the display run down to a few bars with a pretty full pack to see what happens. It did start slowing down at 1 bar left (about 24 miles on that charge) , and didn't just abruptly lower power when the display clicked to zero bars. And the overall transition to sluggish behavior was gradual, so I concluded that it was just the pack voltage sag, and in fact I was able to ride another 10+ miles on it by giving it full throttle (although it wouldn't reach the 20 mph max without some pedaling). So I may be wrong about it limiting the output when the gauge shows nearly empty. There does seem to be lots of energy left. This is consistent with your 1 hr charge to full.
I didn't want to charge it all the way up and then let it sit for 10 days until the display showed empty because that's not healthy for the pack, so maybe my test was flawed by my initial 14 mi ride. And maybe I should have waited until the display showed zero bars left (mine showed 2). It's hard to do accurate testing when you have a new toy and just want to have fun with it.
Thanks for posting your experience, the more people who provide their results, the better.
Couple last questions... What size pack do you have? And for those 6 miles you rode, would you say that was aggressive (28mph race to school, up big hills, heavy rider, type stuff) or were you easy on it (PAS level 1 with you pedaling along, paved road, etc)?
No problem..
Yes, they’ve been pretty responsive. My bike was purchased direct and traveled all the way to Atlanta Georgia. As you might expect, it had some shipping damage. They were accommodating and took care of all my issues, So I fully expect them to take care of this as well. The question is how and that’s a big question.
If it truly is the BMS, perhaps there’s a way to flash it or replace it without shipping things back to Canada. I paid for the upgraded batteries and I expect them to work as advertised or what’s the point?
The sooner the better! My bike rides fantastic and it’s a great machine. One of the smoothest I’ve been on. The last thing they want is the Internet filling up with comments about bad batteries.
By the way, does anyone know who the packer of this case is? Anyone know what the actual BMS is called? If so, let me know and I’ll see what I can find out about it.
Yes, they’ve been pretty responsive. My bike was purchased direct and traveled all the way to Atlanta Georgia. As you might expect, it had some shipping damage. They were accommodating and took care of all my issues, So I fully expect them to take care of this as well. The question is how and that’s a big question.
If it truly is the BMS, perhaps there’s a way to flash it or replace it without shipping things back to Canada. I paid for the upgraded batteries and I expect them to work as advertised or what’s the point?
The sooner the better! My bike rides fantastic and it’s a great machine. One of the smoothest I’ve been on. The last thing they want is the Internet filling up with comments about bad batteries.
By the way, does anyone know who the packer of this case is? Anyone know what the actual BMS is called? If so, let me know and I’ll see what I can find out about it.
I got a response back from surface about the issue and im sure some of you have too.
This is what they told me:
There is a way to bypass this issue, but it does require a little bit of work (takes around 5 minutes). It’s trying to configure according to your battery but I’m not entirely sure why but sometimes it does not configure.
If you open up the battery lock compartment, (it should be held by 4-5 screws) at the top where the lock set is, you should be able to pull that compartment out. Once you’ve done so, you’ll see a couple of wires. Snip the green wire (photo is attached) and then screw the piece back into place and you should be good to go.
as far as mine dave I have just he basic 10ah battery and I ride about 20 mph on pedal assist 2. hills but not too big, i weight 200lbs. My first ride with this bike was close to 20 miles and i still had little under half a battery left.
I emailed them again to find out exactly why im cutting that green wire. One im not an electrician and cutting wires on a near $2000 bike worries me a little. Two, why am i cutting this wire? obviously they put that in there to do something in the first place, if I cut my wire am I going to lose some function that might have been useful vs them just fixing the problem, i get its a bypass but i want a fix not a work around. $2000 is a lot of money to me, I could have easily bought the juiced bike that has a few better components but i choose surface because they seemed a little more well built. Hopefully all these issues get resolved properly.
This is what they told me:
There is a way to bypass this issue, but it does require a little bit of work (takes around 5 minutes). It’s trying to configure according to your battery but I’m not entirely sure why but sometimes it does not configure.
If you open up the battery lock compartment, (it should be held by 4-5 screws) at the top where the lock set is, you should be able to pull that compartment out. Once you’ve done so, you’ll see a couple of wires. Snip the green wire (photo is attached) and then screw the piece back into place and you should be good to go.
as far as mine dave I have just he basic 10ah battery and I ride about 20 mph on pedal assist 2. hills but not too big, i weight 200lbs. My first ride with this bike was close to 20 miles and i still had little under half a battery left.
I emailed them again to find out exactly why im cutting that green wire. One im not an electrician and cutting wires on a near $2000 bike worries me a little. Two, why am i cutting this wire? obviously they put that in there to do something in the first place, if I cut my wire am I going to lose some function that might have been useful vs them just fixing the problem, i get its a bypass but i want a fix not a work around. $2000 is a lot of money to me, I could have easily bought the juiced bike that has a few better components but i choose surface because they seemed a little more well built. Hopefully all these issues get resolved properly.
Now that is interesting. Well, we know that green wire does something, but what? F they get back to you, please PM me or post here. I just went for a ride when I got home and started with a 9/10 battery.(Not the brand new one that arrive today.Its charging) I went 7.9 miles and the battery showed 4 clicks left. (48v 14ah) I also noticed a change in power on the way home. Nowhere near the torque as when I started. Very odd.
I pulled mine apart but my cable looks a little different then the one he showed me. For instance his red cable is also cut. Also colors looked a little different. Im going to hold off on cutting until I hear back from him.
Also side note. You guys ever look up the specs on the motor. Says it’s only ip54 rated. Doesn’t even say it’s recommended for mountain bikes. The other bafang motors are ip65 rated and say mountain bike on them.
Also side note. You guys ever look up the specs on the motor. Says it’s only ip54 rated. Doesn’t even say it’s recommended for mountain bikes. The other bafang motors are ip65 rated and say mountain bike on them.
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DaveS
Member
I called S604, and they confirmed that by clipping the green wire in their sample cases it fixes the problem. They said the green wire is sending a signal to the BMS to configure the pack, and for some reason it never stops being sent. So removing the wire is effectively canceling the configure message. They confirmed you should leave the white and blue wires in tact. Instead of clipping the wire, I decided to remove the pin from the connector instead. So I separated the connector that is partially circled in towelies second picture, and I inserted a straight pin into the pin release hole, and gently removed the green pin. Then I electrical taped it so it wouldn't short to anything, reattached the connector, and buttoned it all back up.
It seems to be reading fine. It just went from 7 bars to 6 during a test ride around the block, and this would be about right because yesterday I went on an 18 mile ride after a full charge. I'll let it sit a couple days and see if it stays at 6 bars (the real test). I did not notice any missing functionality during the test ride after the surgery.
It seems to be reading fine. It just went from 7 bars to 6 during a test ride around the block, and this would be about right because yesterday I went on an 18 mile ride after a full charge. I'll let it sit a couple days and see if it stays at 6 bars (the real test). I did not notice any missing functionality during the test ride after the surgery.
That’s good information. I’ll be interested to see what the results are. What worries me, is that it must do something right? What are we giving up by cliping that wire? Without the configure signal been sent, is the pack not balancing itself now. Will it not have the same longevity? The way my brain works I will need to know what that wire is actually doing before I clip it.
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Dave you didn’t happen to take a picture of it after did you.
P.s you voided your warranty now.
I just charged up the new battery that I received on WED. I charged it all night and took it off the charger this morning. This evening, I hooked it up and it was already down a notch. That’s a bummer as I was hoping they would be shipping “fixed” batteries now that they kno there is a problem. No such luck. I have attached my route and the meter reading after a brief 3.8 mile ride.
Something about the explanation from Surface 604 doesn’t make sense. If I am reading the previous post correctly, they want us to snip the green wire coming from the controller which is located in the frame of the bike. That may fix the controller so that it displays correctly but that doesn’t explain why the battery is discharging one tick every day OFF THE BIKE. I donot charge it on the bike and it discharges one bar everyday by itself. We all know that is NOT what Li-ion batteries are known for. Am I missing something? I think the most concerning issue is with the BMS, which Gordon eluded to over the phone. That’s a much more concerning issue as the fix is a bit more complicated.
I just received an email from Gordon at Surface 604 and I find it a little concerning as he stated that he doesn’t know what model BMS is. That’s in direct contrast to his earlier comment to me on the phone. At that time, he was telling me all about how this BMS was much nicer and more expensive than the ones in the 10ah batteries and they were perplexed by the situation.
Of course they know what model the BMS is. They pay for every part on that bike so the veracity of his comments are concerning. I am always willing to work with a manufacturer as long as they are being straight with me so this evasiveness is worrisome. Like they said to me when I bought the bike, the battery is the most expensive part of this bike. We deserve honest answers, ya know?
Anyway, the pics below show the quick ride today. New Battery, Started at 9/10, 3.8 Miles, end with 7/10... 48v 14ah Battery.
Something about the explanation from Surface 604 doesn’t make sense. If I am reading the previous post correctly, they want us to snip the green wire coming from the controller which is located in the frame of the bike. That may fix the controller so that it displays correctly but that doesn’t explain why the battery is discharging one tick every day OFF THE BIKE. I donot charge it on the bike and it discharges one bar everyday by itself. We all know that is NOT what Li-ion batteries are known for. Am I missing something? I think the most concerning issue is with the BMS, which Gordon eluded to over the phone. That’s a much more concerning issue as the fix is a bit more complicated.
I just received an email from Gordon at Surface 604 and I find it a little concerning as he stated that he doesn’t know what model BMS is. That’s in direct contrast to his earlier comment to me on the phone. At that time, he was telling me all about how this BMS was much nicer and more expensive than the ones in the 10ah batteries and they were perplexed by the situation.
Of course they know what model the BMS is. They pay for every part on that bike so the veracity of his comments are concerning. I am always willing to work with a manufacturer as long as they are being straight with me so this evasiveness is worrisome. Like they said to me when I bought the bike, the battery is the most expensive part of this bike. We deserve honest answers, ya know?
Anyway, the pics below show the quick ride today. New Battery, Started at 9/10, 3.8 Miles, end with 7/10... 48v 14ah Battery.
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I went ahead and did what Dave did. Took out the pin and electrical taped it. Battery jumped up one tick after.
By the way you guys have any way of sealing up the hole in the bottom tube? I took the bottom plastic piece off because I dropped a screw. When I took it out I noticed water got in there from the rain. Wonder if there is some type of putty I can seal it with.
By the way you guys have any way of sealing up the hole in the bottom tube? I took the bottom plastic piece off because I dropped a screw. When I took it out I noticed water got in there from the rain. Wonder if there is some type of putty I can seal it with.
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Towelie55, Thanks fo the response and snipping the wire would make sense if the the battery went down a tenth everyday, while on the bike. What about off the Bike? Mine goes down like several others here, while off the bike.
In other words, the battery is draining in my situation where snipping the wire would make no difference because it not connected to the frame and/or controller. Li-Ion batteries should hold there charge for months if left alone, going down slowly. These are ticking down a 1/10 everyday while off the charger.
I think the snipping of the wire corrects the erroneous battery level on the controller which might fix the issue of the bike going into slowdown mode. However, that doesn’t seem like it would fix the fast draining problem when the battery is off the bike.
Make sense? I think Dave understands what I am talking about as he mentioned the battery STAYING at level 6 as the REAL test. If snipping the wire works, it leads me to believe that putting in on the bike after the snipping the wire causes the battery to be reset or something. Then, when off the bike, maybe it stops draining. I would be surprised if that works.
In other words, the battery is draining in my situation where snipping the wire would make no difference because it not connected to the frame and/or controller. Li-Ion batteries should hold there charge for months if left alone, going down slowly. These are ticking down a 1/10 everyday while off the charger.
I think the snipping of the wire corrects the erroneous battery level on the controller which might fix the issue of the bike going into slowdown mode. However, that doesn’t seem like it would fix the fast draining problem when the battery is off the bike.
Make sense? I think Dave understands what I am talking about as he mentioned the battery STAYING at level 6 as the REAL test. If snipping the wire works, it leads me to believe that putting in on the bike after the snipping the wire causes the battery to be reset or something. Then, when off the bike, maybe it stops draining. I would be surprised if that works.
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