Raleigh Stow E Way Tranzx problems

[ReltonP]

Hi All,

I bought a Raleigh Stow E way and rode it for a couple of years. The power intermittently cut out but came on straight away. Eventually the power cut off and didn't come back on at all. I took it to a shop who plugged up the diagnostic tool that said I needed a new controller, connecting cable and display. I got the display but the other parts stayed on order. The shop went bust and then Raleigh went bust so no parts. I bought another one on Ebay that didn't have a display. I plugged in my new display and everyting was perfect for two weeks. It then died exactly the same as the other one. I now have two dead Stow E Ways. No parts are available although I was able to source a brand new controller. Fitting that made no difference. I'm tearing my hair out. I can't seem to find any shop that has Tranzx diagnostic capability and can't find anyone on the web who has the same problem I nearly bought a third one but when I arrived it did exactly the same thing. No power. I have two batteries both of which have been tested an appear to be fine. Any ideas? I live in north west London.

I'M VERY FRUSTRATED!

 

[saneagle]

Hi All,

I bought a Raleigh Stow E way and rode it for a couple of years. The power intermittently cut out but came on straight away. Eventually the power cut off and didn't come back on at all. I took it to a shop who plugged up the diagnostic tool that said I needed a new controller, connecting cable and display. I got the display but the other parts stayed on order. The shop went bust and then Raleigh went bust so no parts. I bought another one on Ebay that didn't have a display. I plugged in my new display and everyting was perfect for two weeks. It then died exactly the same as the other one. I now have two dead Stow E Ways. No parts are available although I was able to source a brand new controller. Fitting that made no difference. I'm tearing my hair out. I can't seem to find any shop that has Tranzx diagnostic capability and can't find anyone on the web who has the same problem I nearly bought a third one but when I arrived it did exactly the same thing. No power. I have two batteries both of which have been tested an appear to be fine. Any ideas? I live in north west London.

I'M VERY FRUSTRATED!

Put them on Ebay as non-working bikes for spares and get a £245 bike from Argos with the money. The Argos bikes have standard Chinese electrics that anybody can fix.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1267677?clickPR=plp:14:13

 

[Nealh]

It is very rare for a display ,controller and trunk cableto need replacing and suspect they hadn't a clue .
Problemis with these tied systems is one is at the mercy of the dealers and their costs.
One would suspect the first likely cause may be the battery , was it ever considered or checked out ?

I agree with the above the bikes and systems are obsolete , if one wants reliability basic china systems are easy to repair and source spares.
Or very cheaply one can replace the system for a more generic KT control system.

 

[cyclebuddy]

...and then Raleigh went bust so no parts...

Eh? When did Raleigh go bust?

The Raleigh website is still up, and the Stow-e-way still advertised and being sold.

All the electrics are made by TranzX (nothing to do with Raleigh) and have (had) a two-year warranty from new. All those used on your bike are still made by TranzX (J D Components, EU base outside Frankfurt) - the F15 motor, the DP15 display, battery etc. but they're increasingly difficult to get in the UK because no other maker here still uses them. So as suggested, the good parts you have are worth a bit.

I was told by a dealer that the cadence sensor can be a bit dicky on those bikes and could account for intermittent power as you described - did you check/clean that?

 

[ReltonP]

Put them on Ebay as non-working bikes for spares and get a £245 bike from Argos with the money. The Argos bikes have standard Chinese electrics that anybody can fix.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1267677?clickPR=plp:14:13

Thanks for this. That's an incredibly good bargain. It seems like a no brainer. I'm sure I can cover the cost selling the other two. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[ReltonP]

It is very rare for a display ,controller and trunk cableto need replacing and suspect they hadn't a clue .
Problemis with these tied systems is one is at the mercy of the dealers and their costs.
One would suspect the first likely cause may be the battery , was it ever considered or checked out ?

I agree with the above the bikes and systems are obsolete , if one wants reliability basic china systems are easy to repair and source spares.
Or very cheaply one can replace the system for a more generic KT control system.

Both batteries charge fully and hold charge (according to the green lights). How would they be faulty and what could I check?

 

[sjpt]

Both batteries charge fully and hold charge (according to the green lights). How would they be faulty and what could I check?

When a battery gets old it can still charge fully and hold charge for at least a few days. The problem comes when it tries to deliver significant current. The voltage drops dramatically, often to the level where the BMS turns everything off. That could explain some of your issues, but can't explain it working for two weeks then failing again.

For a simple battery you can apply a load (such as a kettle element) and measure the voltage drop with a standard meter. Unfortunately it is very difficult to check the battery of a proprietary electrical system. It may be a back to the dealer, who even with the right proprietary test equipment may not be that competent to know what is going on.

 

[ReltonP]

Eh? When did Raleigh go bust?

The Raleigh website is still up, and the Stow-e-way still advertised and being sold.

All the electrics are made by TranzX (nothing to do with Raleigh) and have (had) a two-year warranty from new. All those used on your bike are still made by TranzX (J D Components, EU base outside Frankfurt) - the F15 motor, the DP15 display, battery etc. but they're increasingly difficult to get in the UK because no other maker here still uses them. So as suggested, the good parts you have are worth a bit.

I was told by a dealer that the cadence sensor can be a bit dicky on those bikes and could account for intermittent power as you described - did you check/clean that?

HI Raleigh Parts closed down so there is nothing available at all. Having said that, I used your advice and stuck a load of electrical contact cleaner on the cadence sensor and HEY PRESTO, it all fired up! I'll run it for a couple of days to check that that was the issue, but the display wouldn't turn on despite there being power to it. I guess the motor checks in with the sensor and if it doesn't get a signal it doesn't contact the display.,

 

[cyclebuddy]

...it all fired up! I'll run it for a couple of days to check that that was the issue, but the display wouldn't turn on despite there being power to it. I guess the motor checks in with the sensor and if it doesn't get a signal it doesn't contact the display.,

Is the bike running?

The controller initiates a boot-up cycle that takes a few seconds when you switch it on, checking all the bits are there and functioning. It may be that since you changed the display/controller it doesn't match the software version logged in the controller... normally after a component change you re-load/upload/update the software.

You can see here how separate components store the version no. (the last 3 digits of the software in General settings matches Display and Controller versions - in this case 224).



Here's the Tranzx Logix diagnostics video that comes from:

 

[ReltonP]

Is the bike running?

The controller initiates a boot-up cycle that takes a few seconds when you switch it on, checking all the bits are there and functioning. It may be that since you changed the display/controller it doesn't match the software version logged in the controller... normally after a component change you re-load/upload/update the software.

You can see here how separate components store the version no. (the last 3 digits of the software in General settings matches Display and Controller versions - in this case 224).

View attachment 59341

Here's the Tranzx Logix diagnostics video that comes from:

Thanks for this . It's very interesting. I don't know how to make the Tranzx software work. I have a copy but it just wants me to install adobe acrobat which I already have intstalled.

Both my bikes now work, but it seems one of my batteries is faulty. Both bikes work with one of them, but neither of them work with the other although it is fully charged and shows full green lights. I'm not sure what to do next. I don't know anything about batteries but I know it's not just a case of plugging them in. Any advice would be welcome. If there's an up to date version of the Tranzx software, please point me in the right direction. Nobody seems to do it anymore. Both shops I visited were useless and didn't know what they were dealing with at all. All it took was some electrical contact cleaner on the torque sensor and everything came back to life. Weird!

 

[cyclebuddy]

I don't know how to make the Tranzx software work. I have a copy but it just wants me to install adobe acrobat which I already have intstalled.

Good news both bikes now working.

Install an OLD version of Acrobat Reader from a CD Rom or off an old laptop. It's only used to read/display the service documentation, but the diagnostic software won't run without it.

Once you've done that, the Diagnostics will connect to TranzX's database and update to the latest version automatically.

Then you can connect your bike(s) and run the full test sequence, and see what's reported back with the non-working battery.

 

[ReltonP]

Thanks for this. I've downloaded an old version of Adobe but now I can't find the Tranzx software!!!! Do you have a link by any chance?

 

[ReltonP]

Good news both bikes now working.

Install an OLD version of Acrobat Reader from a CD Rom or off an old laptop. It's only used to read/display the service documentation, but the diagnostic software won't run without it.

Once you've done that, the Diagnostics will connect to TranzX's database and update to the latest version automatically.

Then you can connect your bike(s) and run the full test sequence, and see what's reported back with the non-working battery.

Please ignore that, I've just found it.

 

[ReltonP]

Good news both bikes now working.

Install an OLD version of Acrobat Reader from a CD Rom or off an old laptop. It's only used to read/display the service documentation, but the diagnostic software won't run without it.

Once you've done that, the Diagnostics will connect to TranzX's database and update to the latest version automatically.

Then you can connect your bike(s) and run the full test sequence, and see what's reported back with the non-working battery.

Wow, that worked. I have the software up and running. I'll let you know how I get on with the test when I can. Many many thanks.

 

[pgousseau]

HI Raleigh Parts closed down so there is nothing available at all. Having said that, I used your advice and stuck a load of electrical contact cleaner on the cadence sensor and HEY PRESTO, it all fired up! I'll run it for a couple of days to check that that was the issue, but the display wouldn't turn on despite there being power to it. I guess the motor checks in with the sensor and if it doesn't get a signal it doesn't contact the display.,

Hi there,

I seem to have a similar issue! Could you please explain where to find the cadence sensor and what it looks like?

Many thanks!

Pierre

 

[ReltonP]

Hi there,

I seem to have a similar issue! Could you please explain where to find the cadence sensor and what it looks like?

Many thanks!

Pierre

So, if you look at the inside of the crankwheel, you will see a small plastic disc with small circular magnets on it. These will probably be dirty and covered in crap. Then on the crank housing itself you will see a smallish black plastic sensor with a couple of wires coming out of the back. I wiped them down and then gave a healthy blast with electrical contact cleaner. If you can't find it, I'll try and post a picture but its the only thing down there.

 

[pgousseau]

So, if you look at the inside of the crankwheel, you will see a small plastic disc with small circular magnets on it. These will probably be dirty and covered in crap. Then on the crank housing itself you will see a smallish black plastic sensor with a couple of wires coming out of the back. I wiped them down and then gave a healthy blast with electrical contact cleaner. If you can't find it, I'll try and post a picture but its the only thing down there.

Thank you very much! Will let you know how it goes!

 

[ReltonP]

Thank you very much! Will let you know how it goes!

Please do. I'm still quite angry about the two "specialist" shops I took my bike to who didn't know this could be an issue. One wanted me to spend £300 in parts and the other tried to say I had a bad connector which they actually damages! Very best of luck.

 

[Nealh]

Please do. I'm still quite angry about the two "specialist" shops I took my bike to who didn't know this could be an issue. One wanted me to spend £300 in parts and the other tried to say I had a bad connector which they actually damages! Very best of luck.

This is the issue with so called ' specialist ' shops , there are non. They either know it or they don't and that is one reason why this specialist forum exsists and has done now for some 18 years.
Most of them have little idea of how to carry out simple diagnostics on the simplest EAPC electronics on hub bikes and they come no simpler then that.

The LBS that sell so called premium mid drive have no idea either , they can't even repair the bikes they sell . All they do is swap out parts once the pc tells them which ones and are in the main just box sellers.

 

[ReltonP]

This is the issue with so called ' specialist ' shops , there are non. They either know it or they don't and that is one reason why this specialist forum exsists and has done now for some 18 years.
Most of them have little idea of how to carry out simple diagnostics on the simplest EAPC electronics on hub bikes and they come no simpler then that.

The LBS that sell so called premium mid drive have no idea either , they can't even repair the bikes they sell . All they do is swap out parts once the pc tells them which ones and are in the main just box sellers.

Exactly. Of the two batteries I have, only one works with the bike. The other one charges and has full voltage but the bike doesn't seem to know it's there. No lights come up on the display and the Tranzx software won't read the battery. Any ideas where I might take it? I live in London. I've a feeling that the BMS has packed up because the battery went completely flat when my bike was off the road for a couple of years but I don't know anything about batteries at all.