New to eBike Problems!

[salaryman]

Update to my original Post from Friday, May 28, 2021.

Thank you everyone who responded and helped me out. I followed the instructions that were provided and was able to get the motor
to work again. The issue was related to an adjustment that I needed to make to the motor inhibitor sensor, which is located on the brake
handle. I unscrewed the bolts and reset both sensors. That cleared up the error message #5 and then got the motor to kick in!!! I took
the Populo Lift out for a 22 mile ride with no issues. I am so very happy and grateful for this forum and those of you who took
time to help me. I found my bike 3 1/2 years ago on the forum reviews and now I feel like my bike was saved because of you!
Unfortunately i have yet to hear from Aventon and from what I can tell I will most likely never hear from them.

Much appreciated,
Roger
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Hi All
I have been lucky to not have had any serious maintenance issues on my 3 1/2 year old Populo Lift Electric Bicycle until
it fell to the ground last week as I was preparing to ride it

Now as soon as I turn it on I get an as error code 05 on the display (manual says "Malfunction in Brake Sensor"). When I try to ride the bike I am riding without any
pedal assist-basically riding a 50 lb bike without power! I took it into a local shop that services Trek E-bikes and they advised me that its most likely
a malfunction in the Brake Throttle Interrupt Sensor. They also checked the Disc brakes which were fine in case they were sticking, which was
my first thought. They could not help me as they could not identify any of the parts since they all seem to have no
name/brand on them, including the motor and the control panel. Even the Populo manual that came with the Lift doesn't identify any parts
and has a different control panel than what came on the bike. I reached out to them but Populo has been taken over by Aventon and there seems
to be no information on how to trouble shoot this or where to find a dealer even for parts. I have reached out to Aventon but they directed me to
an Amazon "Ask a Question" page for Populo Tools, which seems to be for electronic tools like drills!

I live in the Northern Virginia/DC area and if anyone knows of a bike shop or mechanic that could help me I would be most appreciative as I love this
bike and hate to think that my time with it has come to an end. It seems that the local shops only deal with Name brands and are not interested in
helping with what they call an "off brand"?

Thank you very much for any advise you could offer.
Roger

 

[PatriciaK]

Hi All
I have been lucky to not have had any serious maintenance issues on my 3 1/2 year old Populo Lift Electric Bicycle until
it fell to the ground last week as I was preparing to ride it

Now as soon as I turn it on I get an as error code 05 on the display (manual says "Malfunction in Brake Sensor"). When I try to ride the bike I am riding without any
pedal assist-basically riding a 50 lb bike without power! I took it into a local shop that services Trek E-bikes and they advised me that its most likely
a malfunction in the Brake Throttle Interrupt Sensor. They also checked the Disc brakes which were fine in case they were sticking, which was
my first thought. They could not help me as they could not identify any of the parts since they all seem to have no
name/brand on them, including the motor and the control panel. Even the Populo manual that came with the Lift doesn't identify any parts
and has a different control panel than what came on the bike. I reached out to them but Populo has been taken over by Aventon and there seems
to be no information on how to trouble shoot this or where to find a dealer even for parts. I have reached out to Aventon but they directed me to
an Amazon "Ask a Question" page for Populo Tools, which seems to be for electronic tools like drills!

I live in the Northern Virginia/DC area and if anyone knows of a bike shop or mechanic that could help me I would be most appreciative as I love this
bike and hate to think that my time with it has come to an end. It seems that the local shops only deal with Name brands and are not interested in
helping with what they call an "off brand"?

Thank you very much for any advise you could offer.
Roger

Aventon does have SOME physical dealerships - have you checked their website to try to locate one? Last time I checked, there was one in Wilmington, NC, which would be quite a haul for you!

You might at least call a brick and mortar Aventon dealer to see if they have any ideas... Good luck!

 

[salaryman]

Aventon does have SOME physical dealerships - have you checked their website to try to locate one? Last time I checked, there was one in Wilmington, NC, which would be quite a haul for you!

You might at least call a brick and mortar Aventon dealer to see if they have any ideas... Good luck!

Thank you very much Patricia-had not thought of that! Will do.
Roger

 

[PatriciaK]

Thank you very much Patricia-had not thought of that! Will do.
Roger

You're welcome! Just hope they're willing to service a product line they purchased (probably with the intent of "retiring" it).

 

[rich c]

If you can follow the wires from the brake handle into the controller, try unplugging one at a time. It would identify which side has an issue. You could possibly leave that side unplugged and continue to ride. I say possibly because I don't have knowledge about that bike. Most eBikes can be ridden without the motor interruptor.

 

[AHicks]

If you can follow the wires from the brake handle into the controller, try unplugging one at a time. It would identify which side has an issue. You could possibly leave that side unplugged and continue to ride. I say possibly because I don't have knowledge about that bike. Most eBikes can be ridden without the motor interruptor.

I agree, I just wanted to add that all of the bikes I've messed with have those plugs located within 18" or so of the brake handle. Follow the WIRES from each brake handle and disconnect them as Rich mentions. Then see if you get that error.

 

[salaryman]

Thank you so much guys-will do and will report back!

 

[AHicks]

Just occurred to me that you should be warned about plugging those wires back in. Be VERY carefull to align the plugs as required to prevent bending or breaking the pins. They can be pretty fragile in inexperienced hands!

Best of luck! -Al