Wisper 905e Battery Problems!

[Dave]

Hello,

I've just received my Wisper 905 eco and assembled it, everything was fine and I took the battery out and went to put it on charge overnight.

The charger's LED is supposed to be yellow/orange whilst charging, and it was for about 5 seconds, but then it changed to green (full charge).

I tried this a few times but it always changes to green, so I left it overnight for 12 hours as it says in the manual. When I went to try it on the Wisper and turned it on there was no power, the lowest LED on the battery indicator was on (also on bike as well) and after a while it went off and there was no power from the battery at all.

I'm still trying to get it to charge and am leaving it overnight again even though it's probably in vain because the light is still green. When I turn the key whilst it's charging (not sure if I'm supposed to do that) it shows fully charged, probably because it's on charge - but if I remove the charger and try it again it is on the lowest level - so it seems to be getting some charge but is not fully charging.

I've contacted the shop I got the bike from and they've suggested to check the plastic box on the handle bars and make sure all of the plugs are connected, and also to check the fuses in the battery. The plugs were all fine and tightly connected, although I don't know how I can test the fuses I wouldn't have thought it could be them.

Am I doing something wrong, or is it a dud?

Any advice is much appreciated, this is my first e-bike.

Thank you,

Dave

 

[CeeGee]

This thread may help: http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/wisper-bikes-clinic/4725-normal-charger-behaviour.html
Take note of the post by "Blew it"

Good luck
Colin

 

[Alex728]

blew it's advice is good but for a 2008 model and I think Dave has a '09 as the front connection box is mentioned

As the connectors are different it might be slightly confusing as the charge connector is now a silver 3 pin XLR rather than a phono(?) connector

my "charging drill" is to

1. ensure handlebar switch (RED) and ignition key are turned OFF
2. insert XLR plug (silver thing with 3 pins) into charging socket of battery
3. turn on mains to charger.

When it is charging properly the orange LED will light and you will hear the fan spinning. when the charge is complete the fan stops spinning and the light is green. The fan isn't particularly noisy but distinctive, I can hear it well despite there already being a small computer server in my house (part of a VOIP phone system and thus usually left switched on 24/7) with a similar fan.

to test the fuses you need a multimeter, continuity tester or a battery and bulb.

A multimeter with continuity tester (it goes "beep" when the electric circuit is complete) is about a tenner these days and is useful to have for other purposes.

 

[Mussels]

Unscrew the fuse on the charger next to the cable and look at it to see if it's OK.

 

[Alex728]

have to admit I hadn't looked at the fuses on my unit to see if they were clear glass or enclosed ceramic ones. I tend not to open fuseholders on known working kit unless I have a replacement fuse to hand as I've had (non-blown!) fuses fall apart in my hands before where the cement between the metal caps and the glass has given way..

Clear glass ones are obviously easy to check if they have blown, as Mussells says check if the wire is broken or not.

There is also another fuse on the 2009 model battery, to the LHS of the keyswitch. I am not sure if this is for the charging input or the output but from its size it looks like a relatively low current one, so I expect would be for the charging input.

 

[Dave]

Thanks for all your advice guys.

The fuses in the battery are both white so I can't see whether they are intact or not, but the fuse in the charger is clear and looks to be perfectly intact.

Alex you are right, I do have the 2009 model with the 3 pin charging plug so I can't do anything like Blew It suggested, although it's correct that the charger behaves in exactly the same way when the battery is not connected although as I said before, the battery shows full charge while it is plugged into the charger - I don't know if this is significant.

I will definitely get a test meter of some kind tomorrow as they are extremely useful.

Any other ideas will be appreciated.

Dave

 

[Alex728]

just a thought - Is the "XLR" definitely pushed right in as far as it will go?

I managed one night to only push the plug in halfway and although the battery did charge it did make me think it would be an easy mistake to make.

A "proper" XLR (as used on professional audio/video equipment) has a latch and goes click when you push the thing all the way in, but these connectors used on e-bike charges do not have this bit (perhaps because the release latch on some sockets could be a snag point)

 

[Dave]

Yeah, it's not possible to push it in any more - I'm familiar with the ones used for audio/video equipment, they are much better.

 

[Sir_Bob]

Hi

Yeh I found my key for agutta it was drop down my radiator, i have now made a note of the key number thanks to flecc.

I cannot live without my bike and will get a whole new set with lock replacemnet planned for winter service.

thx

Bob

 

[Blew it]

It's D.O.A.

Dave,

I realise how disappointing this is, but I'm afraid your machine has to be declared Dead On Arrival.

It appears the Battery Management System is blocking the chargers output. The BMS is an integral part of the battery and has obviously suffered a latent failure. This type of component failure, as opposed to catastrophic failure, is the one that manufactures hate as it means the fault occurs in the hands of the consumer

In an ideal world, your supplier would send out a replacement machine and instruct the courier to bring the failed machine back. How they actually deal with this will be a test of their procedures.

Good luck
Bob

 

[Dynamic Position]

I'd try cleaning the connectors as it might just be a protective coating is insulating the contacts? With a new bike, I would have thought that the Wisper dealer/supplier would have completed at least one charge of the battery sucessfully just to ensure that everything was working before sending a bike to the purchaser?

 

[Dave]

Dave,

I realise how disappointing this is, but I'm afraid your machine has to be declared Dead On Arrival.

It appears the Battery Management System is blocking the chargers output. The BMS is an integral part of the battery and has obviously suffered a latent failure. This type of component failure, as opposed to catastrophic failure, is the one that manufactures hate as it means the fault occurs in the hands of the consumer

In an ideal world, your supplier would send out a replacement machine and instruct the courier to bring the failed machine back. How they actually deal with this will be a test of their procedures.

Good luck
Bob

This is very disappointing indeed! My first e-bike and it's inoperable. I've just received an e-mail from the supplier and they are liasing with Wisper and will be replacing the battery and the charger. I trust that this will suffice? Surely the bike itself doesn't need to be replaced?

Thanks for all your great advice everyone - hopefully I will be posting soon about how much I love my new *working* e-bike.

Dave

 

[Alex728]

I'd try cleaning the connectors as it might just be a protective coating is insulating the contacts? With a new bike, I would have thought that the Wisper dealer/supplier would have completed at least one charge of the battery sucessfully just to ensure that everything was working before sending a bike to the purchaser?

Wisper do an extensive check at China (your bike should have had a tag with its frame number and the name of the Chinese manager who checked it!)

There is even a flap in the box to charge the battery from outside, not sure if it is put there for the benefit of the Chinese or the dealers (a 2009 Wisper battery is a fairly sophisticated device and may even be able to be monitored via the charge connector).

Unfortunately not only can things get bashed around between China and England, from many years of experience including my own employment in various high-tech companies I get the impression it is in actually in England at the dealers/distributors (not the manufacturers!) where the customer service ball is often dropped .

I think it should only require the replacement of the battery, and I hope this battery is with you early next week, with no excuses....

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Doa

Hi Dave

Sorry to hear about the problems, yes of course we will get it sorted out straight away. Who supplied the bike?

It may still be a fuse problem have you spoken to Norman, service@wisperbikes.com ?

I am off to the factory tomorrow and will be out for a week but Norman will be please to deal with you.

The charging flap is on the boxes so we can give the batteries a conditioning charge if they are in stock for more than 10 weeks, happily this never happens.

Regards David

 

[Dave]

Yes I noticed the charging flap on the box that it arrived in, I still have the tag with service details on the bike.

The supplier is e-bikes direct (they have an ad on this forum). They have been fantastic from the very beginning - answering all my questions and helping me to choose the right bike.

They have said that they have dispatched a new charger first class, and would like me to send the old one back to Wisper.

I carefully checked all of the fuses in both the battery and the charger earlier and they are all intact.

I was just going to wait for the new charger but I'd be happy to speak to Norman if you think that would help - he may have already spoken to the supplier about it though.

Again, thanks for everyones help with this, I'm impressed with how helpful everyone has been, it's much appreciated.

Dave

 

[Alex728]

Yes I noticed the charging flap on the box that it arrived in, I still have the tag with service details on the bike.

The supplier is e-bikes direct (they have an ad on this forum). They have been fantastic from the very beginning - answering all my questions and helping me to choose the right bike.

although in my case I already had my mind made up to get a Wisper I will also vouch for e-bikes direct's customer service. The only time it took a bit longer to answer a query of mine was forgiveable as they were also dealing with the knock-on effects of a recent postal strike.

 

[Dynamic Position]

Hi Dave

Sorry to hear about the problems, yes of course we will get it sorted out straight away. Who supplied the bike?

It may still be a fuse problem have you spoken to Norman, service@wisperbikes.com ?

I am off to the factory tomorrow and will be out for a week but Norman will be please to deal with you.

The charging flap is on the boxes so we can give the batteries a conditioning charge if they are in stock for more than 10 weeks, happily this never happens.

Regards David

David,

Quote from Wisper Bikes on-line manual.

"If you are going to leave your battery uncharged for more than eight weeks it is best left half charged. You should then re charge it every four weeks for two hours to keep it in top condition"

Assuming that Wisper Bikes ship their bikes/batteries half charged for supply, leaving the bike in stock for 10 weeks before applying a conditioning charge could leave some batteries vulnerable! The length of time some batteries might sit could be 15 weeks if shipping time from factory is included. Perhaps Wisper Bike retailers should give the batteries a conditioning charge within 3 weeks of receiving the stock and then top it up every 4 weeks while it remains in stock?

 

[Dave]

You might be right because my battery was/is completely empty.

 

[Dave]

Update

I've just received the new battery charger from Wisper and as far as I know it works, but unfortunately I'm still not getting anywhere.

I suspect that my other charger works as well but unfortunately the battery refuses to charge. I am having exactly the same problem with the new charger. I suspected that it was a problem with the battery first of all because the battery indicator showed full when the charger was connected - there was just no charging happening.

I'm gutted

Dave

 

[eddieo]

why did you get an E instead of the more popular SE?

I would take this as an opportunity to exchange it for a 14 amp SE before you regret it.