Haibike Yamaha - battery replacement options

[soundwave]

https://www.pedelecforum.de/forum/index.php?threads/erfahrungen-mit-akkus-für-yamaha-von-drittherstellern.46096/

 

[doomo]

shame I never found that 612w battery before buying the 468 w one otherwise I would have snapped that up. Gutted!

Interesting that the findings in that thread link above are different to my own personal experience of the 468w battery (which are: a noticeably better range and linear loss of capacity, the opposite of what they said). 20 down to 10 on the original battery seems to disappear in so little time, and interestingly I've noticed that the original battery doesnt seem to charge in a linear fashion either, i.e. the last 25% takes much longer than the other 25% blocks. I wonder if its duff, and I think I will take it into the shop to get it tested.

Anyway, still no update on results of testing the battery I returned. I have requested that they keep me in the loop regarding what the failure was too, in case I have to try to fix it myself when it fails again (which will probably happen when it's just out of warranty).

 

[doomo]

https://www.bga-reworking.co.uk/

they can recell the pack to your spec

That service is not advertised on their site from what I can see. Do you know how much they charge and what they can do wrt spc (max capacity).

 

[soundwave]

its not advertised but they can do it price will depend on what cells you want to use how many that will fit in the case and whats used to link the cells together. nickle copper or silver is a option.

best just to email jimmy and ask for a price
https://ebikebatteries.co.uk/recelling/

 

[doomo]

Ah. I contacted them a while ago (Insat International) and I think Jimmy wasnt very well and had more or less stopped doing it.

 

[soundwave]

hope not as he is the only person that can do bosch batts and my 400w will need doing soon

 

[doomo]

In that case it might be a good idea to contact them because if he has indeed stopped (as they implied) it gives you some time to find an alternative solution.

 

[soundwave]

he is the only person in the uk that can do them, a company in Germany does it but not a option because of the postage rules on batts.

 

[wheeliepete]

Don't quote me, but I think GLS are a company that will courier batteries within the EU.

 

[doomo]

Update from allBatteries:

"It appears the customer has blown the internal 20 A fuse, either the customer has short circuited the terminals of the battery or the motor on the bicycle has drawn excessive current, this may mean a potential fault with the motor.

We can replace the fuse and return to the customer as a good will gesture, but the failure is due to customer error."

I have asked them for details on how to replace this fuse in future if it blows again

 

[georgehenry]

Hi doomo,

I find their response a little disingenuous, you might want to point out that you only bought their battery to have an increased range and are still using the original battery that continues to work perfectly with no sign of a blown fuse or any other issue, rather pointing the finger back at their battery and the way it is protected and how that might differ from the original battery.

If it is designed to replace the original battery but fails in operation you might be able to make a case that their battery is not fit for purpose to get your money back and re think your options.

Perhaps bite the bullet and buy a second hand original battery. I have seen a couple of Yamaha batteries on ebay described as new and unused, one by a bike shop that said it was where a customer had asked to upgrade the original 400Wh battery to a 500Wh. It was only lightly discounted to just under £550 but you might have been able to do negotiate a bit further.

However a pedelec member lzzyekerslike bought an allbatteries battery for his Yamaha and as far as I know has had no issues at all with it. Something is not quite right.

 

[GLJoe]

Hi doomo,

I find their response a little disingenuous, you might want to point out that...

While their comment that it was due to 'customer error' would appear to be incorrect and slightly annoying in this case, they are only trying to cover themselves from liability, but they are going to fix it and send it back, so personally, I'd not look a gift horse in the mouth, and just get the battery back fixed for free! If it happens again, then, I'd start to make a fuss!

We don't know what has happened here. It might simply be a fuse that was out of tolerance straight from the component factory (at the low prices of these 3rd party batteries, its a fair guess that they aren't going to put the absolute best components in).

It would be really great to know where and how to replace the fuse though.

 

[georgehenry]

You might be right GLJoe. I was reacting to the companies rather pompous language.

If it only happens only very occasionally and changing the fuse is easy and you carry the original battery with you so you can swap over if need be then carry on.

Though usually fuses blow for a reason and it is best to get to the bottom of what that is to sort it out.

Fuses are though cheap and once you know how easy to change.

 

[Izzyekerslike]

Hi doomo,

I find their response a little disingenuous, you might want to point out that you only bought their battery to have an increased range and are still using the original battery that continues to work perfectly with no sign of a blown fuse or any other issue, rather pointing the finger back at their battery and the way it is protected and how that might differ from the original battery.

If it is designed to replace the original battery but fails in operation you might be able to make a case that their battery is not fit for purpose to get your money back and re think your options.

Perhaps bite the bullet and buy a second hand original battery. I have seen a couple of Yamaha batteries on ebay described as new and unused, one by a bike shop that said it was where a customer had asked to upgrade the original 400Wh battery to a 500Wh. It was only lightly discounted to just under £550 but you might have been able to do negotiate a bit further.

However a pedelec member lzzyekerslike bought an allbatteries battery for his Yamaha and as far as I know has had no issues at all with it. Something is not quite right.

Almost 18 months on and the Yamaha allbatteries is still working perfectly with no apparent loss of performance.
I would definitely buy another one if I ever needed to.

 

[sol1963]

Hi I telephoned Jimmy on Friday he was in fine fettle. He is 69 but still going strong. If he does ever retire - there will be a lot of disappointed customers .

 

[doomo]

Hi I telephoned Jimmy on Friday he was in fine fettle. He is 69 but still going strong. If he does ever retire - there will be a lot of disappointed customers .

I'm so glad to hear that. It didnt sound good from what they told me last year.

 

[doomo]

I replied telling them that Ive done over 300 miles since on the original battery and there have been no problems. I have also requested they tell me how to replace the fuse in case it blows again. Perhaps there is a slight issue with the motor but I dont believe they are service-able items and need replacing entirely if they break.
Perhaps the fuse was a bit duff from the outset. I guess time will tell and I haven't given up on the spare battery. I will just have to always make sure I carry both and never rely entirely on the spare.

 

[doomo]

Well, their engineer has offered nothing in the way of a how to replace the fuse guide because "It requires opening the battery case". No ****, sherlock!

 

[georgehenry]

I doubt it will be rocket science but it would have been nice to have had the heads up.

I had to recently open my Yamaha battery on my Haibike to replace a broken charging socket after my dealer told me that the suppliers did not offer any facility to repair it leaving me with the only option of buying a new battery and charger or repairing it myself.

No prizes that I decided to try to repair it myself. We ended up opening up the battery and soldering the wires directly inside where they cannot be bent or broken.

Nothing dreadful happened when we opened the battery case and the battery charged just as before when we had put it all back together.

 

[doomo]

Good work! Well I have replied saying that having rebuilt engines in the past I think I could handle opening up a battery. Doubt it will help much. Like you say, just a heads up like "do this, dont do that, remove this, the fuse is there" etc would have been great. I get the impression the engineer is a moron who really couldn't care less. Oh well. When it comes to it I'll have to take my chances.