Urban Mover problem

[MaryinScotland]

A couple of weeks ago, I remarked that I'd never had any problems with my Urban Mover UM55. Well, no good deed (or comment) goes unpunished...

My bike is stored indoors. I set off this morning on my 3-mile commute, with a freshly-charged battery, in moderate rain. A few hundred yards from home, my motor cut out for a few seconds, then came back. Continued for more than 2 miles in heavy rain. Shortly before reaching work, the motor again cut out for a few seconds, then came back. I parked the bike as usual, then when it was time to go home, the motor wouldn't work at all. So had to pedal home, telling myself the exercise is good for me...

The indicator LEDs both on the battery and on the handlebar control show full charge, so the battery is connecting into the system. I can't get power either from the twist-grip or from pedalling. So I think it must be a connection into the motor that has failed. Given the two earlier short failures, I guess that something was either working loose or on the point of breaking, and has now gone completely. I looked into the box under the battery, and saw lots of wires and connectors, with nothing obviously wrong. A cable vanishes into the hub motor (on the same side as the derailleur) -- I'm not attempting to dismantle that.

Just on the off-chance that it's water ingress causing the problem, I'll give it until tomorrow to dry out, and try again. But I expect I'll have to take it back to the dealer (local) for an opinion. The bike is out of warranty, so I may be faced with the choice between an expensive repair, or writing it off. (Well, we always need an excuse to get a new bike...)

Mary

 

[flecc]

That's typical of a situation of water in the controller Mary, something I've suffered myself on the odd occasion, though water shorting connections elsewhere is also possible.

When I've suffered it I usually bring mine in and expose it to a gentle fan heater setting and a dehumidifier for a while to dry it out.
.

 

[MaryinScotland]

Thanks for the hopeful opinion, Flecc. I haven't tried applying heat, but the bike lives in my flat, which is warm and dry, so I'll give it some time and see what happens.

I knew I should have got the bus this morning...

Mary

 

[flecc]

If it starts to recover with some fitful bangs and partial tries to rotate, it will be the controller damp, and drying some more clears that until it runs properly.
.

 

[Haku]

Does yours have the pedlec sensor? last summer my bike was parked outside during one of the really heavy downpours, afterwards as I cycled off the pedlec system worked ok then shortly aftwards it got stuck on, the bike was going along without pedalling or twisting the throttle, so I braked, after that the pedlec sensor stopped working and to get any power for the hills on the way home I had to use the throttle.

The next day it all worked fine and when I mentioned this to Keith of Urban Mover he said that water had gotten in the way of one or more of the four optical sensors of the pedlec system, and that the remedy was to point a hairdryer a couple of feet away from the front chainring for a while to dry it all out.

If you don't know these things can happen it does feel a bit daunting when things stop working like that, but now I know I won't be worried if it ever happens again.

 

[MaryinScotland]

Haku, I don't have the torque sensor like you, mine is the basic version where, if the pedals go round, the motor is full on (or should be).

It looks like Flecc was right and it was water in the controller, or somewhere. I considered that at the time, but wasn't initially convinced because of the first blip happening after only a couple of minutes, in moderate rain. After that, admittedly, I went through a real downpour that would be hard on anything electrical.

I was testing it by picking up the back end and twisting the throttle. Eventually, late in the evening, I got it to come on once - only for a few seconds, as I was holding up the bike one-handed and had to let the motor stop, to put it down. Next try, nothing. But this morning it worked all 3 times that I tried. I haven't taken it on the road yet, but will try it tomorrow.

Once I'm sure it's thoroughly dried out, I'll go over it and try to cover any possible water entry points, hopefully without blocking any intentional ventilation.

Mary

 

[john]

The other thing to look out for is water in the connectors, particularly the low current ones i.e. connecting to the throttle, pedals, brakes etc. This can cause either full on or full off, so try to keep water away from these.

 

[Haku]

When I had a peek in the compartment in my bike immediately below where the battery sits, I was suprised to find a big hole in the bottom of that compartment which is immediately underneath the control module.
There was a small amount of dust/sand type of debris in the compartment that I take to mean spray from the front wheel has gotten in & dried out - I haven't bothered to plug the hole with a gromet because I figured they wouldn't put a hole there without a purpose, unless they forgot to plug it up?

Mary, does your bike have a hole in the bottom of the controller compartment?

 

[flecc]

Yes, that is the common controller problem that I mentioned Mary.

Don't seal up the hole at the base of the controller as it's meant to provide air to prevent condensation damp buildup. What you can do is arrange a plastic flap fastened in any way convenient so it sits below and a little away from the hole, that deflecting any water from splashing directly in, That will help prevent the problem in future.
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