Wisper 705 Problems

[Peter.Bridge]

Hi all,
My wife bought a 3 1/2 year old wisper 705 with the 575 battery. We tried it out and it was great for a few miles and then the display cut out and the assist stopped working. We put the battery on charge and the same thing happened again after about a mile. The battery went just onto the red light when you press the battery check and the display wouldn't turn on. If I leave the battery for a few minutes one or two green lights reappear on the battery when you do the battery check. One thing that I did notice was with the battery clicked into position and the battery switched off, if I click on the battery check it is just red (Usually when I press the battery check with the battery off and the battery is out, nothing displays )
Just got a multi meter, battery showing 38.3v after charger goes onto green (battery supposed to be fully charged)
Any thoughts?

 

[slowcoach]

I used to find with my 705, starting out with a fully charged battery (according to the charger) after a mile or two, it would suddenly go dead. No power to anything.
Usually, if I took the battery out and then replaced it, I could get power again for another few hundred yards.
That was 3 years ago. Having had time to think about the problem, I do wonder if the battery connections with the bike were at fault. The controller was replaced several times by the dealer, but he would not look beyond the controller. He kept trying to blame me for burning them out, so clearly he was clueless.
Perhaps worth a look at the connection between battery/bike.

 

[cyclebuddy]

From everything you've said, it points to a knackered battery. It should measure 41.5-42v fresh off the charger. 38.3v is way too low, and why as soon as you try to use it that voltage will sag/collapse badly and result in the BMS turning off both assist and display (voltage will recover slightly when relaxed thereafter).

Many batteries will last longer than 3.5 years if cared for; second hand you don't know how it's been treated, and 3.5 years isn't unusual if it's been abused or neglected.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

From everything you've said, it points to a knackered battery. It should measure 41.5-42v fresh off the charger. 38.3v is way too low, and why as soon as you try to use it that voltage will sag/collapse badly and result in the BMS turning off both assist and display (voltage will recover slightly when relaxed thereafter).

Many batteries will last longer than 3.5 years if cared for; second hand you don't know how it's been treated, and 3.5 years isn't unusual if it's been abused or neglected.

OK - tried charging this morning and the charger light was red (charging) for a few hours - charger light turned green (full) and I checked - 41.1V - slightly more hopeful. I have put it back on the charger until tomorrow even though the charger light is green(battery full) and report back

 

[cyclebuddy]

If the battery had been sitting unused for a long period, cycling (putting it through a few charge/discharge cycles) can help re-balance the cells.

The test will be putting it on the bike and seeing how far you get. Good luck.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Ok thanks everyone, tried using it yesterday - 5 miles until it cut out. Put it on charge, only charged for 20 minutes and ended up less than 40v - tried again this morning - it is gradually getting worse. Spoke to Adrian at Wisper, he confirmed I need a new battery - was worth a try !

 

[cyclebuddy]

You had nothing to lose by giving it a try, especially considering the cost of replacing it. You never know the condition of the battery when buying second hand, so really do need to assume its toast and factor that into the price.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

All working great with the new battery !

 

[Bogmonster666]

Well, disappointing you had to buy a new battery, but Wisper does appear to be one of a few suppliers who does offer good after sales service and continues to support it's products. So many ebikes, even (especially) from big retail outlets leave buyers high and dry out of warranty.

It does genuinely make me cross. Many people buy ebikes to reduce their carbon footprint and end up with expensive landfill in 2 years when something craps out and there are no parts available. I'm sure it's not news to anybody here that a typical ebike is a significant investment. You would not expect to buy a car and find it can't be repaired after a year or two (although there are a few horror stories).

Anyway, pleased that you are rolling again.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Well, disappointing you had to buy a new battery, but Wisper does appear to be one of a few suppliers who does offer good after sales service and continues to support it's products. So many ebikes, even (especially) from big retail outlets leave buyers high and dry out of warranty.

It does genuinely make me cross. Many people buy ebikes to reduce their carbon footprint and end up with expensive landfill in 2 years when something craps out and there are no parts available. I'm sure it's not news to anybody here that a typical ebike is a significant investment. You would not expect to buy a car and find it can't be repaired after a year or two (although there are a few horror stories).

Anyway, pleased that you are rolling again.

Thanks Bogmonster!

I am massively against built in obsolescence, as was the bicycle industry until the big brands eventually discovered e-bikes were a good idea! I am also against the whole “a new model every year” racket that forces such big changes that older components become obsolete a couple of years after launch. We upgrade components regularly but whenever possible make sure that either new components are compatible with older systems or we, at some considerable expense, put older components into stock. Our current “Traditional” range are in their 8th year. We’ve made many, many changes and improvements in that time but can still keep the 8 year old models on the road. Even our 15 year old bikes can in the vast majority of cases be kept going!

As we have made so many improvements to our Traditional range, we now offer an electronics renewal service for about £400.00. We service, then change all the electronics, except motor and battery as they don’t often need changing, to our very latest tech. Of course we can change the motor to the latest version if required and we make sure the latest version of batteries are always available in a timely manner and the new batteries fit older bikes.

In terms of short term financial gain our anti obsolescence policy isn’t great. Those companies that are used to building obsolescence into their washing machines etc should take a long hard look at what they doing to the environment. We all at Wisper believe we have a responsibility to both our customers and the planet.

Maybe we should be shouting more about this!?

All the best, David