Known Issues & Problems with Bosch Products + Help, Solutions & Fixes

[mca59]

How many would you like?
In fairness you are right, the actual circlip used by Bosch is like their bearings, a bespoke part! I have been searching for 6 months! And as no one would make them for me (unless I wanted 50,000 or more!) So, I have found the closest possible match. They are 0.078 (2mm) thick, then I have to give them a slight tweak and a touch on the grinder to make them identical to the original Bosch ones.
A pain to do but it's the only option available at this time.
Give me a shout through www.performancelinebearings.com and I will help you out.

Thanks for the info but it was just a curiosity. I don't need it at the moment, I was just wondering where I could find a replacement. I am currently using both FSA and Miranda crank arms and both makers told me to close the bolts to 40 Nm (not more), so I never had problems whit these circlips.

Anyway it is very strange that since they are available as NA84 here (https://www.gandini.it/www/anelliar...id=gb&idsottocat_articoli=NA&idcat_articoli=8), they should be also availabe as NAS84 here (https://www.gandini.it/www/anelliar...d=gb&idsottocat_articoli=NAS&idcat_articoli=8) but for some kind of magic NAS84 is missing...
Anyway, if I'll need a replacement I'll contact you surely.
Thanks again.

 

[Haibike Rider]

It still wouldn't help! The circlip is 19.5mm ID and that size is not available anywhere! There is no inch equivalent either. But at least we now have a solution.

 

[simonns]

Hi everyone, my Bosch performance line motor has started cutting out on random bumps while I am riding. Its a commuter bike just over a year old with about 6500 miles on it. It doesn't do it on every ride, but some rides it will happen more often than others. I will be riding along, hit a bump on the sidewalk, lose assistance, look down at the lcd just in time to see it say "shutting down" then it shuts down. No errors when I power it back up and everything is back to normal and it may or may not happen again on that ride. One oddity I've found while looking around the bike. The terminals on the bike where the battery plugs into have little holes or indents on them where the battery contacts rest on them. Its worse on the plus terminal, but the minus terminal has them also. Has anyone seen that before? The motor is still under warranty so I will take it in soon to have it looked at. Thank you!

 

[batmick1]

Hi everyone, my Bosch performance line motor has started cutting out on random bumps while I am riding. Its a commuter bike just over a year old with about 6500 miles on it. It doesn't do it on every ride, but some rides it will happen more often than others. I will be riding along, hit a bump on the sidewalk, lose assistance, look down at the lcd just in time to see it say "shutting down" then it shuts down. No errors when I power it back up and everything is back to normal and it may or may not happen again on that ride. One oddity I've found while looking around the bike. The terminals on the bike where the battery plugs into have little holes or indents on them where the battery contacts rest on them. Its worse on the plus terminal, but the minus terminal has them also. Has anyone seen that before? The motor is still under warranty so I will take it in soon to have it looked at. Thank you!

View attachment 27694

I am actually having my local shop try a warranty claim for the exact same thing on my Haibike. Corrosion and deformation on the plus terminal of my battery. When I carefully clean them off and bend them in I can make it better but it usually comes back after a while. I get the same occasional cut-out when I hit a bump. Also, sometimes the battery starts charging but quits before it is full. My guess is that the heat from the charging process is enough to bend the plus terminal enough to lose contact. I'm hoping to get a replacement battery.

 

[Haibike Rider]

Spray battery grease or terminal grease on your terminals and set your battery clamp tight, almost so you have to use two hands to clip the battery in. Always works for me

 

[simonns]

Hi everyone, my Bosch performance line motor has started cutting out on random bumps while I am riding. Its a commuter bike just over a year old with about 6500 miles on it. It doesn't do it on every ride, but some rides it will happen more often than others. I will be riding along, hit a bump on the sidewalk, lose assistance, look down at the lcd just in time to see it say "shutting down" then it shuts down. No errors when I power it back up and everything is back to normal and it may or may not happen again on that ride. One oddity I've found while looking around the bike. The terminals on the bike where the battery plugs into have little holes or indents on them where the battery contacts rest on them. Its worse on the plus terminal, but the minus terminal has them also. Has anyone seen that before? The motor is still under warranty so I will take it in soon to have it looked at. Thank you!

View attachment 27694

Hello all, just wanted to follow up on this. I took the advice of a few people here and tightened the battery mounts and that did seem to fix it. I've had a strap around the battery since I bought the bike to hold the battery in place better but I guess that wasn't enough. Anyway, I have over a hundred miles without a shutdown. Thanks everyone!!

 

[JohnDoe1983]

Hello.
Can you tell me if those bearings problems are only related to the CX motor ? I own a Drive Line motor at 63nm and I am a bit anxious about motor’s problem since it is my third e-bike. The first 2 (other brand of motor) gave me a lot of trouble.
Thank you

 

[Haibike Rider]

Hello.
Can you tell me if those bearings problems are only related to the CX motor ? I own a Drive Line motor at 63nm and I am a bit anxious about motor’s problem since it is my third e-bike. The first 2 (other brand of motor) gave me a lot of trouble.
Thank you

Virtually all ebike motors suffer the same issues. If your bearings get water in them, they will fail at some point. The more water, the quicker they fail.

 

[JohnDoe1983]

Virtually all ebike motors suffer the same issues. If your bearings get water in them, they will fail at some point. The more water, the quicker they fail.

Thanks for the info. I will be cautious about that.
Cheers.

 

[Over50]

I had a minor issue with the motor casing nuts on my Bosch Performance Speed motor coming loose. Bike doesn't have a lot of miles. I posted pics in my owner's thread:

https://electricbikereview.com/foru...s-rohloff-chronicles.24062/page-2#post-176110

 

[JohnDoe1983]

I had a minor issue with the motor casing nuts on my Bosch Performance Speed motor coming loose. Bike doesn't have a lot of miles. I posted pics in my owner's thread:

https://electricbikereview.com/foru...s-rohloff-chronicles.24062/page-2#post-176110

Wow!!! Looking at your pictures, it does seem to have any locktite on these bolts ? Thanks for the info, I will check mine just in case. Cheers.

 

[E-Wheels]

I had a minor issue with the motor casing nuts on my Bosch Performance Speed motor coming loose. Bike doesn't have a lot of miles. I posted pics in my owner's thread:

https://electricbikereview.com/foru...s-rohloff-chronicles.24062/page-2#post-176110

Over50,
I would be checking if the bolts are long enough
Nyloc nuts are designed to prevent the nut becoming loose
I suspect the bolts are too short and therefore did not allow the nuts to thread on the bolt enough to allow the nylon section to grip
As a general rule the nut “make up length” should be 1.5x the diameter of the thread size
I.e. an 8 mm diameter bolt, should have 12 mm of thread length for the nut to locate

 

[Over50]

Over50,
I would be checking if the bolts are long enough
Nylon nuts are designed to prevent the nut becoming loose
I suspect the bolts are too short and therefore did not allow the nuts to thread on the bolt enough to allow the nylon section to grip
As a general rule the nut “make up length” should be 1.5x the diameter of the thread size
I.e. an 8 mm diameter bolt, should have 12 mm of thread length for the nut to locate

The LBS closed everything up by the time I picked up the bike. So I didn't think to suggest the Loctite or to check bolt length. But bolts of the wrong length would imply wrong parts used at the Bosch factory? Or at R&M? I'm not sure who does final assembly of the motors. I'll make sure I have the LBS open it up again and check after a 100 miles or so. I was at 600+ before realizing something was rattling around inside the motor housing. No idea how many miles I'd ridden with the bike in that state.

 

[Haibike Rider]

Unfortunately, it's not a fault of the bolts or nuts. When the motor is mounted from new, it has a thin foam gasket between the motor/motor bracket and frame. This gasket compresses over time allowing the motor to become slightly loose. Once the motor is loose it wears this gasket away and this allows for even more movement.
I would suggest, on a new bike, it would probably be worth checking these bolts after 500 miles. This should give the gasket time to compress but not wear away.

 

[dblhelix]

Unfortunately, it's not a fault of the bolts or nuts. When the motor is mounted from new, it has a thin foam gasket between the motor/motor bracket and frame. This gasket compresses over time allowing the motor to become slightly loose. Once the motor is loose it wears this gasket away and this allows for even more movement.
I would suggest, on a new bike, it would probably be worth checking these bolts after 500 miles. This should give the gasket time to compress but not wear away.

@Over50, I think this is a description of the damping film issue described a few months ago by Dan Richman. The thread is in the RM forum. Thanks Haibike Rider, I was wondering where this “damping film” was located.

 

[dblhelix]

Unfortunately, it's not a fault of the bolts or nuts. When the motor is mounted from new, it has a thin foam gasket between the motor/motor bracket and frame. This gasket compresses over time allowing the motor to become slightly loose. Once the motor is loose it wears this gasket away and this allows for even more movement.
I would suggest, on a new bike, it would probably be worth checking these bolts after 500 miles. This should give the gasket time to compress but not wear away.

Is this gasket the damping film described here? See especially the UPDATE/Oct22 entry

https://electricbikereview.com/foru...-pedal-play-from-bosch-engine-thoughts.25759/

 

[Haibike Rider]

Is this gasket the damping film described here? See especially the UPDATE/Oct22 entry

https://electricbikereview.com/foru...-pedal-play-from-bosch-engine-thoughts.25759/

Yes dblhelix, it is the same "damping film" they are talking about. It is quite a common issue.

 

[Over50]

...it would probably be worth checking these bolts after 500 miles. This should give the gasket time to compress but not wear away.

This is very informative. And thanks to @dblhelix for linking to the other thread. Is there anything else I need to do regarding my issue? They tightened everything back down but no mention was made of a gasket/damping film. Do I need to have them check this? I haven't ridden the bike since then (1 mile home from the shop) due to inclement weather.

 

[Haibike Rider]

This is very informative. And thanks to @dblhelix for linking to the other thread. Is there anything else I need to do regarding my issue? They tightened everything back down but no mention was made of a gasket/damping film. Do I need to have them check this? I haven't ridden the bike since then (1 mile home from the shop) due to inclement weather.

I wouldn't worry in your case. The motor came loose due to compression of the damper. Your bolts were re-tightened, so it should not happen again. If they fit a new damper pad, you may have to go through all this again as it will just compress over time again.

 

[Lorax]

Just wanted to add another data point here. Bought a new Raleigh Lore with a Bosch Speed unit and got the 500 error after 1 month and less than 300 miles. Currently at LBS awaiting replacement. No idea what caused it - water ingress? Electronics? Not sure.