New Powacycle Windsor - intermittant power

[nin26]

Hello everyone - I hope someone can give me some advice on this one ....

I've just picked up my new Powacycle Windsor and ridden it the 11 miles home from the shop (pretty daunting when I haven't sucessfully ridden a bike for about 15 years!)

I made it in one piece (obviously!), but the power was intermittent after about the first 3 miles - cutting in and out. It did it whether it was on pedelec or throttle only, so I'm guessing that rules out the pedal sensor and it was predominantely when under load. I can't tell the bike shop until the morning, so I've put the battery on charge and I'm hoping that they simply didn't give it a decent enough charge to start with.

Anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to get fobbed off by the bike shop - I've waited nearly two months for this thing and I want to be able to use it! My bad knee is complaining very loudly at the abuse it got up the hills - although not nearly as badly as I was expecting it to after I realised just how heavy to pedal the bike is without any assistance from the motor.

 

[flecc]

A poor battery connection can do this, and it might disappear if you replug the battery into the bike. If it does tend to, it would be best to clean the plug-in connectors on battery and bike.

A knife blade with a piece of cotton cloth wrapped around it will get into the slots of the connectors, and it will be more effective if you have some solvent like meths, Iso-propyl alchohol, or white spirit to dampen the cloth.
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[nin26]

Thank you! I'll give that a go. I'll take it for a test ride in the general direction of the bike shop tomorrow - so if it's still doing it, I'll be going in the right direction.

I have to add though, that when the power was on, it was brilliant fun - even up the hills. I soon acclimatised to pootling along at 13 ish mph and the steering was becoming more natural towards the end of the trip.

I hope my second trip doesn't have the lurchy power problem! Fingers crossed![

 

[flecc]

I hope so too. Post back if it doesn't, and keep us informed of how you get on if you have to go back to the dealer.

In any event the problem isn't likely to be serious, most likely due to a poor connection problem. Powacycles are generally quite reliable bikes.
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[nin26]

Oh, that's good to hear - I was worried that it could be a duff battery. Given that mine was the only NiMH Windsor that the shop ordered, they wouldn't have a replacement to try - or to give me if mine turned out to be a Friday afternoon one.

One of my deciding factors of the Powacycles was the fact that they're supposed to be so reliable, so I can only pray that I don't have a duff one.

One other thing, (and it's going to sound reallly daft) - all the Windsor's that they ordered came with the batteries without the sticker for the top that shows the state of the charge. I got them to stick some sellotape over mine so no water could get in if it rained on the way home. There's a little tab thing on the top of the battery next to the lights - is the sticker purely cosmetic, or is it supposed to press the tab in? The bike shop have spoken to Powacycle and some stickers are being sent on.

 

[flecc]

It wasn't meant to press in any tab on the ones I've stripped to pinch the cellpacks, just meant as colour indicators of battery level. It's just possible that there's a loose internal connection on one of the two leads from the cellpack that bolt into the connector block at the base, but that's repairable as the battery is easily opened up, four self tapping screws from memory.
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[UrbanPuma]

Hi Nin26,

I just wanted to poiint out that the powacycle bikes do not have the same battery connection as other ebikes so this is unlikely to be the problem. Flecc, the connection has to be screwed into the battery so unless Nin26 has not tightened it properly it should not be obstructing power.

Nin, you may experience intermitten cutting out if the throttle/pedelec button is not pressed properly as it is quite small and delicate, so its a good idea to make sure you press it hard enouigh and check that it is switched completely on or off.

Hope this helps.....let us know the outcome.

UrbanPuma

 

[flecc]

I just wanted to poiint out that the powacycle bikes do not have the same battery connection as other ebikes so this is unlikely to be the problem. Flecc, the connection has to be screwed into the battery so unless Nin26 has not tightened it properly it should not be obstructing power.

UrbanPuma

The Windsor and Salisbury models have plug in blade connectors, though your model may be different UrbanPuma.

Poor connections can be a problem on the plug in models.
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[nin26]

Well, I've been test riding again - this time with much better results!

I cleaned the contacts with white spirit, gave the battery the full 12 hours charge that the instructions recommended for a first charge and went for another ride. Everything was as it should be until I bumped it down over a kerb and then the intermittent power thing came back. I took the battery out and slotted it back in again - and it's been fine ever since.

I took a ride up the most vicious hill I know (one that I've always struggled with - even before my knee injury) and I got to the top - in first gear, but still on the bike. It didn't cut out once. I carried on to the second most vicious hill I know and made it to the top of that one too. I have to say I'm extremely impressed - I didn't expect the low-powered Windsor to be able to let me get anywhere near the top!

I'll keep an eye on it for a while yet - if the intermittent power problem comes back, I'll probably take it to the bike shop and ask them to check all the connections.

Thank you for all the advice! Oh, and Flecc, you remember that I wanted to go out for rides with the kids and be able to keep up? Well, my kids came with me on the latest ride and they could barely keep up with me! Even my eldest on her Saracen Backtrax was having to pedal like the wind to keep ahead of me! I haven't had so much fun for years.

 

[flecc]

That's brilliant the the kids were seen off, great fun.

The Windsor and Salisbury can climb reasonably well, since the motors are geared a touch lower, sacrificing some speed for better torque, sensible in this country.

I'm glad it ran ok, and it seems the connections are the problem as I thought. They can improve with regular plugging in and out, that bedding down the contact area faces and keeping them clean. The thicker blade contacts on eZeebikes can also give this trouble at times, and many times I've stopped after setting off to replug the battery when I sensed a power loss.
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[nin26]

I rode the Windsor to work yesterday - the bike performed impeccably - unfortunately, the same can't be said of me ....

I got a bit unnerved by the sheer quantity of traffic (one lane merging into 3) at a busy set of traffic lights - so much so that I was so busy minding the cars pushing past me with millimeters to spare that I clipped the kerb and went over like a sack of spuds.

The bike didn't sustain any real damage (thank heavens!) - just a few scratches on the end of the handlebar. I hurt my ankle, but not so bad that I couldn't carry on, so I just got back on the saddle and kept going. When I got to work I realised that I'd taken a huge slice out of my knee as well. As soon as the first-aider clocked me trying to stick a plaster on it, I got hauled off to A&E and ended up with six stitches and a tetanus shot. Rats. The doctor reckoned I was the 3rd cyclist that he'd seen that morning.

Oh well, I suppose I should let everything heal up a bit before I attempt that one again. The girls in the office now officially think that I'm as nutty as a fruit cake!

 

[flecc]

Sorry to hear that nin26, but I hope you heal quickly. In my London fringe area scary traffic is a permanent fact of life, but one gets used to it. Best advice, though not easy to adopt if you haven't ridden regularly, is to take more space than you need at all times which gives you room for manoeuvre. The more confident and dominant you are in taking the space you need for safety, the more other road users respect you and give space.

In that situation I just take the middle of the lane and control the traffic behind until there's more space. I've only ever had one protest at that, from a woman driver behind calling out for me to move into the edge of the road, which I ignored. When the lights changed and we moved off, she stalled her engine and was unable to get it started before the lights changed again behind me, a measure of her competence to judge my actions.
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[nin26]

Thanks for the kind thoughts! It's funny really - I don't have a problem with heavy traffic on a motorbike or in a car. I think it's just because I'm going so much slower than everyone else - and it's making me overly aware of the cars constantly zipping past me.

My other half thinks I'm barking mad, but I'm keen to try the commute again as soon as my knee has knitted a bit and my ankle isn't so swollen (turns out I sprained my foot). I'm seriously tempted to push the bike across the junction on the pavement next time or even coast slowly along if there's no pedestrians. If a policeman did stop me, I could show him the impressive scar I'll have from the last time I tried riding on the road approaching those traffic lights!

It doesn't help that there is a cycle lane painted on the road that suddenly dissapears just before the traffic lights, so all the cars carve you up as they push past - probably not realising that there's no cycle route anymore and you've got nowhere to go.

I'll definitely try being more dominant on the road though! I know from my moped riding days many moons ago that it's the only way to survive really - and I won't get sucked into the kerb again in a hurry - it hurts too much!

 

[flecc]

Too right! Your physical well being is far more important than the car driver behind saving a quarter second in the getaway.
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[jimmyengland1000]

Yes, I'd say that too re adopting a more dominant road attitude. I always did that on motorcycles. Riding along in the gutter almost encourages car drivers to try and slip past you (they probably think you're letting them past). If you're in the middle with your reflective gear on (I won't mention hats! please see other thread), they are less likely to squeeze you out.

By the way, you're not the only one to fall off! You probably didn't read it, but I posted on here a while ago after I fell off my brand-new Wisper. Like you, my first thought was for the bike! I thought it was ice at first but it was a patch of diesel in the road at a junction. I lost the front end of the bike in a flash, bashed my thigh, elbow and shoulder and felt quite shaken up by it.... and a embarrassed. It made me buy a hat... perhaps as a sympathetic magic totem.

 

[frank9755]

Nin,
Sorry to hear about your fall but hope you get back on your bike again.
Glad that you got your bike working properly. I'd be 99% sure that the battery wasn't charged when you picked it up. That is exactly how a Powacycle performs when the battery is getting flat (my wife has a Windsor). It will go on for a fair while on the flat but when you hit a hill start to cut out.
Good luck,
Frank

 

[john]

Thanks for the kind thoughts! It's funny really - I don't have a problem with heavy traffic on a motorbike or in a car. I think it's just because I'm going so much slower than everyone else - and it's making me overly aware of the cars constantly zipping past me.

Nin, I know how you feel. Came off myself recently.

And I understand what you mean about speed. I feel much safer in traffic at 20mph than at 15mph and more confident at taking up more of the lane. I don't know whether this would have been taken into account when framing the pedelec legislation.

 

[nin26]

Nin,
Sorry to hear about your fall but hope you get back on your bike again.
Glad that you got your bike working properly. I'd be 99% sure that the battery wasn't charged when you picked it up. That is exactly how a Powacycle performs when the battery is getting flat (my wife has a Windsor). It will go on for a fair while on the flat but when you hit a hill start to cut out.
Good luck,
Frank

First off, thank you for confirming that! I suspected it was a combination of a flatish battery and Flecc's suggestion, but it's nice to have it confirmed that it's normal behaviour for a Windsor with a flagging battery to cut in and out under load.

Thank you everyone for all the kind thoughts. I now have the most spectacular bruising on my hip, knee and foot .... most impressive indeed! My ankle and foot are starting to become more flexible again, so I'm hoping to go for a ride at the weekend. I'll start off short and easy though -especially since I'm going to have those stiches for another 10 days at least. I don't want to risk coming off again while my knee is still such a mess .... it doesn't bear thinking about. I don't want to wait too long before getting back in the saddle though - it would knock my confidence too much.

As strange as it sounds, it's almost a relief to hear that others here have taken spills on their bikes - my other half is now paranoid about letting me loose on the roads again (especially the rush-hour trip to work). I keep telling him that I've fallen off of pretty much every bike I've owned but its not like I make a habit of it! At least I know I'm not alone!

I do wonder whether or not there would be any difference in accident statistics if e-bikes and pedelecs were limited to 20mph instead of 15mph. It's hard for me to comment on what my natural cruising speed on a bicycle would be, given that I struggle so much getting going on a normal bike, but I do find the Windsor's 6th gear a shade too low for my liking. I've already learnt to just kick back and relax my riding style a bit, but I think it would be a more natural ride if there was another gear above 6th and a top speed of about 17/18 mph. Once I'm going, I seem to pedal up to 16/17 mph anyway - it's just the initial knee crunching start and the hills I can't cope with unassisted.

 

[flecc]

Merv is now another victim nin26, knocked down by a car and in plaster now.

He's posted in The Charging Post.
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[nin26]

Poor fella. My other half has had the displeasure off bouncing off a car when he was riding a motorcycle - it's certainly not to be recommended.