Broken Carrera Crossfire after 1 hour ownership!

[DrMagical]

Thought I'd share my experience with the Crossfire e-bike so far!

Bought my Crossfire from Halfords last weekend and picked it up yesterday. I took advantage of 10% trade-in plus 7.5% NHS discount plus bought just 1 day before £100 price increase on Monday so happy with bargain!
Took it home and tested. Initially disappointed that 8th gear didn't work, chain kept slipping. I'm sure this is something easy to fix for keen cyclists.
Then after 5 miles test I get E42 message on the display. Switch off and on again and the message disappears but awful rubbing / metal grating noise from motor. This lasts a few minutes but disappears. OK I think, hopefully that's a one off. Few miles later same happens again.
Took it back to Halfords this morning, customer service excellent. Of course the bike is working perfectly now. However I'm not really confident in the bike.
E42 error is 'motor or motor communication fault' according to the manual. The motor cable is fine so sure if is a damaged motor. The manual says solution for this error is new motor or motor cable!
So even though working perfectly today and no proof of the error code or terrible (but intermittent) mechanical noise the manager straight away offered to replace it with a brand new one (sadly not in stock).

So 10/10 for customer service but 1/10 confidence in the bike so far as failed with <10 miles on the clock.....

I'll update when the replacement comes in!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Most likely the connector wasn't pushed all the way in. That's quite a common problem.

 

[DrMagical]

I did check the connector, seemed very tight. Don't think it would have caused the grating metal noise in the motor if it was a loose cable either. I think it would have stopped the motor (motor continued to work but very horrible sounds for a few minutes).

 

[Crockers]

Everything mechanical can break....it's how you're treated that counts. Sounds as though Halfords are treating you well.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I did check the connector, seemed very tight. Don't think it would have caused the grating metal noise in the motor if it was a loose cable either. I think it would have stopped the motor (motor continued to work but very horrible sounds for a few minutes).

It would cause exactly the noise you mention. That's what you get when the controller loses sync with the motor after it loses a hall signal. It's not just the noise either. It can feel like your motor is completely broken.

It's not enough that the connector should be tight. That's the cause of the problem when it goes tight before it's fully home. On some connectors there's a guide-line for how far it has to go, but you can walk around any bike shop and see examples where the line hasn't been reached.

 

[DrMagical]

Crikey. Looks like the shop are replacing a completely fine bike for such a minor fault! I feel bad for them now!!

 

[Andy Bluenoes]

Crikey. Looks like the shop are replacing a completely fine bike for such a minor fault! I feel bad for them now!!

If they knew what they were doing, they wouldnt have to replace it

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Most of the guys in Hafords and many other electric bike shops wouldn't have a clue how they work.

 

[egroover]

Crikey. Looks like the shop are replacing a completely fine bike for such a minor fault! I feel bad for them now!!

If they still have your bike in the shop, pop in and get them to undo the neoprene cover and reinsert the connector, it is tight so needs a good push home

 

[fatwomble]

Good to hear they are treating you well.

 

[DrMagical]

They still have the bike. I was told new one was ordered and would be built and ready to be collected by Monday. Sounds from the knowledgeable people here that a simple hard push of the connector is all that is needed. I had looked at the connector but it was so tied down with cable straps I couldn't move it so presumed it was in place correctly. Dilemma is to either wait until Monday and collect brand new bike or pop in tomorrow and see if my bike is still with them or sent back to warehouse.
Hmmmm.....

 

[lohr500]

I would take the new one on Monday. It may well be just the connector as suggested, but why mess around with it? It could be something else.