Gtech battery problems

[allanpcat]

Thanks for the link, I'm not sure if its just that part that is required, I really need to look at a V2 battery to see what the difference is. I dont know anyone who has one though. Its possible that the base of the battery is different where it sits in the cradle?
Thanks anyway, more investigation required.

 

[allanpcat]

View attachment 35735View attachment 35736View attachment 35736

Pictures above are the Gtech V2 battery base and battery holder. Hope that helps.

 

[Mefmotorsport]

Thanks, I can see from that picture that the V2 battery and the holder (which houses the motor controller circuitry) is completely different to my V1 battery so it looks to me that it’s never going to be possible to convert V1 to V2.

The V1 batteries are no longer available from Gtech which leaves an awful lot of older V1 ebike owners with potentially scrap bikes if their battery dies.

cheers anyway

 

[allanpcat]

Thanks, I can see from that picture that the V2 battery and the holder (which houses the motor controller circuitry) is completely different to my V1 battery so it looks to me that it’s never going to be possible to convert V1 to V2.

The V1 batteries are no longer available from Gtech which leaves an awful lot of older V1 ebike owners with potentially scrap bikes if their battery dies.

cheers anyway

That sounds bad but maybe worth investigating if you could fit a V2 battery holder to your bike and then be able to fit V2 batteries?

 

[Mefmotorsport]

That sounds bad but maybe worth investigating if you could fit a V2 battery holder to your bike and then be able to fit V2 batteries?

yes but its not so simple, the V1 battery connector housing on the bike has the circuit board for the motor controller embedded in it, the connections to the motor cable and pedal sensor are terminated on the rear of the PCB inside, all potted in epoxy resin, it doesn't look like its meant to be messed with!

 

[allanpcat]

Oh no! That does sound a bit terminal. Gtech might be able to help but I wouldn't hold my breath! Good luck!!

 

[Mefmotorsport]

I rang Gtech and all they had to say was that they no longer stock the V1 battery And the V2 isn’t compatible.

 

[thingi]

Gtech don't do any bike support anymore. It's was all done via cycle republic Sole distributor.

They did sell v2 and v1 cages and batteries (its a lottery which one you'll get even when they order the correct part - sigh).

You need both the new v2 bracket and also the new v2 battery holder. Bracket needed as well as the v2 battery holder - the battery retention clip is different on each. On your v1 frame only one screw hole is in the right place for the v2 holder but it's not an issue and is not over strained.

I have two v1 batteries (Both in surprisingly good health + v1 holder I could let go of...

 

[Mefmotorsport]

I’d certainly be interested in buying a V1 battery from you, can you email me at Mefmotorsport@btinternet.com

 

[thingi]

I’d certainly be interested in buying a V1 battery from you, can you email me at Mefmotorsport@btinternet.com

The Battery holder + Bracket are dead simple swap out. Just inside the frame near the bottom bracket there's a standard (nine pin DIN?) connector plus a single lead for the pedal sensor (which is also inside the bottom bracket) the other cable leads to the motor.

Don't be afraid of them, on the new battery holder there's another nine pin din connector so it is a simple swap out and cable ties are all that's needed (that rubbery epoxy stuff comes off real simple, not scary at all).

Sent you a pm in case you just want a v1 battery instead. Since you do need a new charger to go v2 - luckily I already had one from my v2 battery mtb that I have as well as the city model.

 

[Minimo]

The usb connection will be for powering usb devices (such as phone used as satnav).
USB voltage would not be useful for charging from car.

I can't access the usb port when the battery us on the bike so I cant use it for phone navigation. If I try to use it to charge up ,say, headphones, when I stop, the battery just turns off.

 

[Minimo]

I am also having a problem with my gtech battery , when we contacted the seller they want to take the battery and charger for a week to test. But we live in Spain. My problems are similar to other people's. Sometimes charging sticks at a random percentage, sometimes it doesn't seem to charge at all, but the biggest bugbear is that when I stop or if I want to change from eco to max, it just wont switch off or change. Turning on takes quite a few seconds too. I am an old fart and to go to max I cannot afford to cycle onehanded, pressing the button and not looking at the road for the time it takes to, maybe, change power setting. Very fustrating. I certainly cannot afford a new battery! Yes to the person who suggested listing problems and their solutions.

 

[Cobra68]

Have a slightly different problem with battery pins on a V2. Just through normal use one of the pins on the battery base bent and then lost contact And would not charge. This first happened when the bike was 8 months old, returned to Cycle Republic, they had the bike, battery and charger for around 3 weeks. On return all seemed OK, now it’s happened again and Cycle Republic closed, I now wonder if they just repaired the battery. Bike is now 18 months old so trying to get through to Halfords. Happy with bike but this connection problem with simple battery pins on a sealed unit costing £300 is Extremely frustrating.

 

[sandman117]

Looking at a V2 battery holder swap it all looks simple except for the small wire to the pedal sensor, does anybody know the procedure for pedal sensor swap, what needs to come apart?
Thanks

 

[thingi]

Looking at a V2 battery holder swap it all looks simple except for the small wire to the pedal sensor, does anybody know the procedure for pedal sensor swap, what needs to come apart?
Thanks

There is no need to change the sensor, just the v2 battery holder (and it's bracket, two separate items BOTH are required for the swap). then it's just a simple matter of connecting the new holder to the current cable at the crank (there's a hole in the bottom of the frame for this purpose, it's dead simple).

 

[sandman117]

Thanks thingi for your reply
In case others read this please note you can't see the crank sensor connection from the outside, it's poked inside the bike frame but a long enough cable to pull it out and disconnect it, looks like a smaller version of the hub cable connector.

 

[thingi]

Yup, indeed the sensor connector does look like a small hub cable connector, it's also possible to sniff the sensor readings / send fake readings to the battery / controller via a Raspberry Pie Zero or Arduino to de-restrict and/or make push button powered any of the GTech ebikes (it's ******* that they aren't moddable).

I've not done mine yet... but the PoC worked.

 

[wheeliepete]

it's also possible to sniff the sensor readings / send fake readings to the battery / controller via a Raspberry Pie Zero or Arduino to de-restrict and/or make push button powered any of the GTech ebikes

Do you have links to any useful info?

 

[thingi]

Do you have links to any useful info?

How to Use an Oscilloscope - SparkFun Learn

https://circuitdigest.com/microcontroller-projects/arduino-waveform-generator

https://www.hackspace.org.uk/

= advice & probably some help + access to stuff you don't have already or want to buy (google hackspace + your closest city if none on the list are close to you, the list is far from complete).

 

[stucam006]

Email me direct. I may have a solution for you which worked for me. allanpostgate@btinternet.com

Hi Allan, sent a question. Hope thats ok. My battery keeps needing to be pressed on to get a boost....