Viking eco power issue

[1984danc]

Hi everyone.
So my next door neighbour gave me a bike for my wife. She gave it to me knowing there was a issue with it. The pedal assist works fine on the flat but doesnt work on a incline! Battery is fully charge. Haven't looked at it properly yet, just thought I'd put it out there to see if anyone had some suggestions! Thanks for your time

 

[Nealh]

The pedal assist or we call it PAS if it works on the flat terrain will work on inclines, the limiting factor for inclines is the motor rpm winding, controller current or an ageing battery so the answer isn't an easy this or that.
Likely looking at the bikes condition if it hasn't been used much then the battery is probably passed it's best and tired, how old is it ?

For the PAS check the magnetic disk is firmly fixed to the BB axle and doesn't rotate around the axle it self, disc should only rotate with each crank turn. The gap between it and the sensor should be 1- 2mm ideally.

That front hub looks a bit sorry looking at the state of it, may be it could do with a little service. They are often quite easy to open up.

Even a tired battery will or can fully charge but if the cells are ageing they don't have the pep to produce sufficient energy under load.
Can you tell us the battery age ?
Also what voltage reading does a fully charged battery give ?

 

[1984danc]

The pedal assist or we call it PAS if it works on the flat terrain will work on inclines, the limiting factor for inclines is the motor rpm winding, controller current or an ageing battery so the answer isn't an easy this or that.
Likely looking at the bikes condition if it hasn't been used much then the battery is probably passed it's best and tired, how old is it ?

For the PAS check the magnetic disk is firmly fixed to the BB axle and doesn't rotate around the axle it self, disc should only rotate with each crank turn. The gap between it and the sensor should be 1- 2mm ideally.

That front hub looks a bit sorry looking at the state of it, may be it could do with a little service. They are often quite easy to open up.

Even a tired battery will or can fully charge but if the cells are ageing they don't have the pep to produce sufficient energy under load.
Can you tell us the battery age ?
Also what voltage reading does a fully charged battery give ?

 

[1984danc]

Hi nealh
Thanks for the reply! I'm unsure of the age of the bike to be honest. We have two batteries and I have fully charged both of them and tried them both. Both batteries could be old and not performing as they should. I've noticed that they magnetic disk does turn on it own without pedals being turned. It's not a easy turn but they do turn! Also the sensor is quite tight to the disk but is at a angle. Would this be a issue? (See pic) thanks again for your reply

 

[1984danc]

Hi nealh
Thanks for the reply! I'm unsure of the age of the bike to be honest. We have two batteries and I have fully charged both of them and tried them both. Both batteries could be old and not performing as they should. I've noticed that they magnetic disk does turn on it own without pedals being turned. It's not a easy turn but they do turn! Also the sensor is quite tight to the disk but is at a angle. Would this be a issue? (See pic) thanks again for your reply

 

[1984danc]

I've just taken the front hub off. All seems good to me. Gears are all good, no broken or missing teeth. No play in the bearings. What's the general way to service these? Just a regm grease? Again, ive attached pic of front hub. Thanks

 

[1984danc]

I've just taken the front hub off. All seems good to me. Gears are all good, no broken or missing teeth. No play in the bearings. What's the general way to service these? Just a regm grease? Again, ive attached pic of front hub. Thanks

I have just noticed 4 score Mark's inside the hub. Not very deep. Would these affect anything?

 

[wheeliepete]

Motor looks fine, have you measured the voltage of your batteries when fully charged? I think they are the most likely cause of your problem.

 

[1984danc]

Motor looks fine, have you measured the voltage of your batteries when fully charged? I think they are the most likely cause of your problem.

 

[1984danc]

Hi mate. No I haven't measured voltage of batteries. Need to get myself a volt meter. What should the output be when fully charged? Thanks

 

[wheeliepete]

I think your bike has a 24v battery, so fully charged should be 29.4v. Unfortunately, As Nealh has said, voltage is not always an indication that the battery is capable of suppling the ness. current under load, ie; up hill. The only way to tell is to measure the voltage with a load on the battery. Does your bike have a throttle?

 

[1984danc]

I think your bike has a 24v battery, so fully charged should be 29.4v. Unfortunately, As Nealh has said, voltage is not always an indication that the battery is capable of suppling the ness. current under load, ie; up hill. The only way to tell is to measure the voltage with a load on the battery. Does your bike have a throttle?

Not it has no throttle. Just looking around at batteries. Looks like they are quite hard to find now!

 

[Andy-Mat]

Not it has no throttle. Just looking around at batteries. Looks like they are quite hard to find now!

There are companies that will re-cell a battery, someone here may know of a good one, near to where you live possibly.
The problem may even be a slightly loose battery, gravity might move it too far away from the connector on upward hills. Is it OK downhill?
Or a broken battery connector or even a loose wire/wiring. Possibly even inside the battery.....
I personally do not trust such connectors after seeing one cause a lot of problems for a neighbours e-bike....It was also loosing power at odd times, his wife got very exasperated!
Best of luck
Andy

 

[1984danc]

There are companies that will re-cell a battery, someone here may know of a good one, near to where you live possibly.
The problem may even be a slightly loose battery, gravity might move it too far away from the connector on upward hills. Is it OK downhill?
Or a broken battery connector or even a loose wire/wiring. Possibly even inside the battery.....
I personally do not trust such connectors after seeing one cause a lot of problems for a neighbours e-bike....It was also loosing power at odd times, his wife got very exasperated!
Best of luck
Andy

Hi mate. Yes it's fine down hill and on flat! Just uphill it seems to loose power!! I'll take a look at all the connections! Thank you

 

[Andy-Mat]

Hi mate. Yes it's fine down hill and on flat! Just uphill it seems to loose power!! I'll take a look at all the connections! Thank you

Maybe make sure that the battery cannot "slop about" might be the first place to look. Pack it in place with something, just so it cannot move at all.
Next, see if the contacts are MAKING contact, and have not been pushed too far apart. That is just wear and tear on an older bike. Very gentle and careful bending may help.
Are the contacts dirty? Clean with an old eraser rubber.
At the end of the day, such things are often simple to fix, when you finally find out what it is! BUT GETTING TO THAT POINT CAN BE FRAUGHT!!
Best of luck!
Andy

 

[1984danc]

What about the position of the sensor against the magnets? Does it matter that it's at a angle against the magnets? It's only 2 mm away on the top edge but maybe 7 or 8 on the bottom

 

[1984danc]

Here's a pic of the sensor

 

[wheeliepete]

What about the position of the sensor against the magnets? Does it matter that it's at a angle against the magnets? It's only 2 mm away on the top edge but maybe 7 or 8 on the bottom

I don't think this is an issue as the bike is working fine on flat road. You will struggle to find many 24v batteries as most bikes now are 36v. You also have the problem that the controller on your bike is housed in the battery mount, so this will need to be placed elsewhere if you fit a different style of battery. It's unfortunate that because ebikes "age" quite quickly that bikes soon become difficult to keep in service even when, like yours, they have seen very little use. Having said that, you could upgrade the controller and battery to 36v for around £300 and have a bike that should last a few years.

 

[1984danc]

I don't think this is an issue as the bike is working fine on flat road. You will struggle to find many 24v batteries as most bikes now are 36v. You also have the problem that the controller on your bike is housed in the battery mount, so this will need to be placed elsewhere if you fit a different style of battery. It's unfortunate that because ebikes "age" quite quickly that bikes soon become difficult to keep in service even when, like yours, they have seen very little use. Having said that, you could upgrade the controller and battery to 36v for around £300 and have a bike that should last a few years.

That sounds like a plan. Are you able to point me in the right direction for a new controller and upgraded 36v battery please? Is it possible to add a throttle?

 

[Nealh]

It appears to me that the disc has been replaced with a smaller diameter one and the sensor has been bent so that it gets a signal, the signal pickup might not be 100%. You need to buy the proper larger disc, I posted three options to buy.
If the disc isn't tight on the axle and is also tight to the sensor then the disc likely doesn't rotate correctly, any disc that isn't tight can be easily sorted out by wrapping some electrical tap or amalgamating tape on the axle first then twist the disc on to it.