Even a high-quality e-bike can experience technical difficulties. Learn how to address issues with this electric bike troubleshooting guide.
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An electric bicycle is a reliable way of getting around, whether you need to get to work or want to explore the great outdoors on two wheels. However, like a regular bicycle, an e-bike needs occasional maintenance and repairs.
Thankfully, repairing your electric bike isn&#;t as expensive as you might think. Even if you need to call in the professionals, e-bike repairs are much cheaper than maintenance on a car, truck, or motorcycle.
Plus, that&#;s assuming you need to take your e-bike into the shop in the first place! A lot of the time, you can check and fix many common e-bike problems on your own. This electric bike troubleshooting guide has you covered. Read on to learn about the most common electric bike issues and general tips for checking your e-bike&#;s functionality.
Although electric bikes are sophisticated and reliable machines, every tool needs TLC from time to time.
Fortunately, most of the common issues you&#;re likely to encounter can be resolved swiftly and at no cost. From a controller malfunction to your battery not charging, some common problems happen in e-bikes regardless of the brand, type, or model. Here are some issues you may experience as an e-bike owner, with a quick DIY troubleshooting guide, so you know how to address each one.
Your e-bike controller connects the bike&#;s various electrical components, like the e-bike motor, throttle, pedal assist, battery, sensors, and LCD (if it has one). It&#;s basically like a small computer and coordinates the bike&#;s overall function.
Think about it like the brain of your e-bike. If it isn&#;t working, the e-bike&#;s brain isn&#;t working.
Various issues can impact the controller, like faulty wiring and other connections coming loose, the on/off switch not working, or the controller&#;s fuse or circuit breaker not functioning properly.
Whatever the issue, remember to stay calm. It&#;s likely a small and simple problem that can be resolved within a few minutes. When in doubt, try restarting your e-bike, just like you would restart a malfucntioning iPhone. If that doesn&#;t work, we explain some of the most common e-bike troubleshooting solutions below.
Take these steps to see if the e-bike controller is the issue:
Any issues that involve a feature being broken, such as the fuse or a system malfunction, are highly unlikely if your bike is newer. These issues typically occur after you&#;ve ridden for many miles on your bike.
However, if you are encountering broken features on a new bike, you may need to seek professional assistance.
Some e-bikes have throttle assist and a pedal assist system (PAS). Throttle assist engages the motor even when you aren&#;t pedaling, powering the bike forward independently.
The throttle is what activates this mechanism. If there&#;s something wrong with the throttle, the throttle assist function won&#;t work.
If you&#;re riding on a Velotric bike, you&#;ll have a throttle and a PAS at your disposal. Thankfully, this doesn&#;t require double the maintenance or work compared to bikes with just one or the other.
That being said, having a PAS and a throttle can make it more difficult to detect where the issue lies. Certain problems can arise that involve both parts of the bike, and it&#;s important to test both to find out which is malfunctioning.
In most cases, the throttle malfunctions because it&#;s been overused. If you push on the throttle for too long, it can get stuck in position and fail to revert. As a result, the throttle can become damaged or loose over time. You may notice that throttle assist simply cuts out while cycling.
Follow these steps to troubleshoot the throttle:
Again, throttle replacement should only be needed if your bike has seen a lot of wear and tear. If you do need a replacement, rest easy knowing that it shouldn&#;t be prohibitively expensive.
The PAS helps power the bike forward while you&#;re pedaling. Most bikes have different levels of pedal assist, providing different levels of support.
For example, Velotric&#;s Velotric Nomad 1 and Velotric Discover 1 have five levels of pedal assist. If the pedal assist system isn&#;t working, you&#;ve basically got a regular bike.
We love standard bikes, but we chose an electric bike for a reason. We want the additional features and benefits e-bikes have to offer! Thankfully, there are easy fixes for PAS issues, too.
The PAS may malfunction because of power cutoffs or inconsistencies in the power supply. Depending on the type of system, connectivity issues with the bike&#;s pedal, sprockets, chain paddles, or wheels might be to blame for the intermittent power. An issue with the magnet ring and sensor on the front sprocket can also be the cause.
Here&#;s how to figure out what&#;s causing your PAS problems:
If the e-bike controller is comparable to the vehicle&#;s brain, you could say the battery is like the e-bike&#;s heart. It keeps the bike&#;s motor going, allowing the PAS and throttle assist to work.
If the battery isn&#;t charging, you won&#;t be able to use your bike&#;s full functionality. It may not start or keep powering off, for example.
The e-bike battery can fail to charge for various reasons. A fuse might be blown, the battery might be depleted from too-frequent charging, or the battery pack may simply be old or defective.
Another possibility is that the battery&#;s pins, which serve as the connector to the charging port, aren&#;t properly placed, so the electric circuit isn&#;t completed when the battery&#;s plugged in &#; meaning it doesn&#;t charge.
Try these steps for troubleshooting your e-bike&#;s electric battery management system:
It&#;s also important to have a backup battery pack on-hand. Sometimes, we forget to charge our batteries before a big ride. Other times, our batteries just aren&#;t working. While we can troubleshoot our battery issues eventually, having a backup battery charged and ready to go means you can ride now and worry about the rest later.
Your e-bike brakes are essential for safe cycling, ensuring you can stop when necessary.
There are different types of e-bike brake systems (we talk about the various types of brakes). The reasons for e-bike brake malfunctions can vary according to the brake system type, so it&#;s important to know what brakes you have.
Regardless of the type of brake system, e-bike brakes can get worn out with time. Factors like external dirt, debris entering the brake system, and poor brake alignment can worsen the problem. If the brake pads or rotors become damaged or worn down, braking may not be as smooth or sharp.
To troubleshoot your e-bike brakes, follow these steps:
The more you know about your e-bike, the better you can care for it &#; and the longer it will last.
Check your e-bike functionality using the below steps.
The e-bike&#;s battery voltage determines its power. If the battery isn&#;t meeting its full voltage capacity, it might be old and needs replacing &#; or, if you&#;re dealing with a new e-bike, the battery might be defective.
It&#;s good to identify defects immediately while your bike is still under warranty.
You can check an e-bike battery&#;s voltage with the help of a voltmeter or multimeter. Start by attaching the prongs of the device to the battery, aligning the positive and negative sides accordingly.
Alternatively, you can secure the voltmeter to the battery&#;s charger connector.
The voltmeter will show you if the battery drains faster than it should. If it drains too fast, determine when the battery was last charged.
If the battery pack hasn&#;t been charged for six months or less, it may need a top-up. If the battery pack hasn&#;t been charged in over six months, it might be defective.
Sometimes, it&#;s not the battery that&#;s the issue but the battery charger. This is an easy issue to troubleshoot.
You don&#;t even need any tools to get it done. Plug the battery charger into an electric outlet. Ideally, the indicator light will come on and stay on steadily.
However, if there is an issue, the indicator light may not come on or blinks intermittently. This indicates the charger isn&#;t getting power from the socket as it should.
You can use a voltmeter to double-check. The voltmeter should give a reading a little bit higher than the designated voltage of the charger. If the charger&#;s reading is below voltage, you&#;ll need to replace the charger.
The various components of your e-bike &#; like the controller, motor, and battery &#; are connected with wiring systems. These wires transfer power between these key parts, so if they&#;re loose, frayed, disconnected, or otherwise faulty, the e-bike might experience mechanical issues.
Consult your e-bike user manual to identify and locate the various wiring systems. For example, the e-bike controller (the &#;brain&#; of the bike) is one wired component.
Check for loose or incorrectly placed wires. This is simply because the wires are color-coded: A blue wire fits a blue port, a red wire fits a red port, and so on.
In some cases, loose wiring might be the issue. In others, the wire might be damaged. You can use a voltage tester to check a wire&#;s integrity, moving it along the length of the wire to determine where voltage is diminished &#; an indication of damage.
Depending on the issue, you might need to replace the wire. This is a job best left to a professional repair shop. They&#;ll know what parts to replace and can make sure they&#;re properly installed.
You can help keep your e-bike in good working order &#; and hopefully avoid some of the issues described above &#; with regular maintenance. Our e-bike maintenance checklist covers some of the most important maintenance tasks.
Want more information on i-bike electric solution? Feel free to contact us.
Even with proper maintenance, every e-bike is bound to experience technical issues at some point. Knowing how to handle problems as they happen can make your life as an e-bike owner easier.
Investing in a good quality e-bike can help minimize the risk of needless problems. Velotric has tried-and-tested electric bicycles to suit every need.
Velotric&#;s Velotric Discover 1 bike has a 500/900 W rated/peak rear hub motor and a range of up to 65 miles. The 48V 14.4Ah battery is certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a global safety standards organization, and charges fully in just six hours.
For a more rugged ride, try the Velotric Nomad 1 bike. It has fat front and rear wheels, giving you greater stability on unpaved surfaces. The Velotric Nomad 1 has a 750/1,200 W rated/peak motor and a range of up to 55 miles (slightly less because the bike is heavier).
For either bike, you can choose a frame that fits your size and needs. The high-step model is best for cyclists 5&#;6&#; to 6&#;9&#;, while the step-through model fits cyclists 5&#;1&#; to 6&#;4&#;. Learn more about the different types of bike frames.
Whichever bike you choose, you can be sure you&#;re getting a quality product. Our bike frames have been rigorously tested more than 150,000 times, ensuring your safety and comfort.
Find your new e-bike today.
Sources
The Health Benefits of Electric Bikes | PeopleForBikes
Why e-bikes are fast becoming the green transport of choice | TechHQ
Why Restarting Your Smartphone Fixes (Most) Problems | Make Use Of
You could sit around dreaming of a maintenance-free world. You could think about how nice it would be if vehicles didn't break down and even build a cushy little bubble where maintenance isn't a part of things.
If something breaks, just replace it.
Or, you can accept that things will break from time to time. Considering you're the type of person who enjoys pulling yourself by your boot-straps, rolling up your sleeves, and getting to work, we know you're more accustomed to option two.
The simple fact is that your hunting eBike is going to experience failure at one point or another. However, unless you have the money to replace it or the time to send it off to the repair shop, there are some things you can easily do yourself.
That's why we want to take a minute to talk you through some of the most common problems and what to do when you encounter them.
Thankfully, eBikes are pretty simple, so you'll be ready to roll with the punches in no time.
Following are the top five electric hunting bike problems:
Motor noise is about the worst of the issues you're bound to encounter.
As you're riding along, you may hear a whirring noise whenever the motor is engaged. Just like on your hunting rig, this is a sine of worn-out bearings.
Bearings are almost a sacrificial part. While they do feature rolling elements to reduce friction, they will still wear down over time.
On an eBike that doesn't see adverse conditions, the bearings that could last the lifetime of a motor, mountain, and hunting eBikes are often a different story. Some bearings give up after just around a thousand miles or so.
There's no need to panic about worn-out bearings, and you can likely have them replaced through the warranty. If the warranty is out, you can opt to replace them yourself to save money.
You just need to make sure you follow the exact procedure as laid out by the manufacturer.
The next most serious issue you can run into is water in the system, including your eBike's battery.
Some models may warn you if there's water in the battery or other electrical components, and you should act accordingly if you see them. Others don't.
eBikes are tough pieces of gear, but they aren't invincible, and they certainly aren't intended to be submerged in water.
Getting water inside can be highly dangerous to the electrical components, and you want to keep it out.
If the bike is submerged in water or known water is inside key components, you will want to remove the battery and store the eBike in a dry area with low humidity for a day or so to allow the moisture to evaporate.
If you still get any warnings, you may need to use the warranty or replace damaged components.
What if your eBike checks out and there are no obvious issues, but when you go to start moving, there's no power?
The motor is trying to provide motion, but it just doesn't have enough oomph. Well, it could have something to do with the speed sensor.
The speed sensor lets the system know how fast the eBike is going, necessary for motor input.
Without this information, the motor won't know if power is necessary, and power levels can be all off. A tell-tale sign that it is the issue is a lack of speed readings on your display.
If you are experiencing this issue, you should first make sure there is no debris on the spoke magnet to throw off the reading.
Next, make sure the spoke magnet is in the correct position and that the spoke is not loose.
If you're still experiencing issues, locate the wiring and see that it's not damaged or disconnected. Unfortunately, it is common for rough terrain to wreak havoc on this component.
Nothing will stop you in your tracks faster than a dead battery. It is the life force of your eBike, after all.
It's not something that'll exactly send you into a panic, especially not if you have a spare fully charged and ready to go.
If your battery is dead after it's been on the charger all night, there are a few things you need to inspect.
First and foremost, make sure the charger is plugged in and working. If the charger checks out, it's important to think about the area the battery is sitting in while it charges.
It's not likely to be subjected to extreme heat, which impacts charging, but you might have made the mistake of keeping it somewhere cold.
If that's true, relocate it to an area where climate conditions are more acceptable and charge again. If the issue persists, it may be time to replace the battery.
The last issue we will look at is probably the least concerning, which is a dead display.
This won't keep you from taking the eBike hunting as you normally would. It just means you can't monitor what's going on. You should still get it squared away ASAP because there's a lot of important data you need to keep in mind.
The solution might be as simple as a loose connection. Some displays use their flat battery, though, and you will need to replace it if it's dead.
If neither of these issues is present, you will want to visit a professional shop that can perform the necessary repair or put your warranty to work.
Now for the bad news. These are just some of the most common issues across all eBikes. They don't consider that your particular model may have a few quirks that are worth being aware of.
Some bikes might have issues with handlebars coming loose, others with chains popping off. It all depends on what you have to work with.
The point is to do the homework, find out what issues others commonly run into, and learn how to deal with them accordingly. That might sound like a lot of homework, but eBikes are nearly as simple as any other bicycle.
They don't rival the complexities of other systems you've already mastered, and you should have no trouble keeping yours in check.
Are you interested in learning more about ibike electric bike manufacturer? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!