Sense Check on Bosch Battery Charging

GeniusBike

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jun 17, 2017
5
0
42
UK
Hi Everyone,

3 weeks into E-biking and I think I have an issue with my battery charging. Can you help me sense check if there is an issue?

Battery = Bosch Powerpack 500

I plugged it in this morning to charge with the standard Bosch charger. The battery indicator light's on the battery illuminate however ...... on previous charging im sure the lights would flash, they are currently solid at 3 bars and after a few hours charging are not budging.

Can anyone confirm:
  1. Battery indicator lights should flash to indicate charging?
  2. How I'd check if the charger is faulty (other than testing on another battery)?
Any help would be appreciated, even if it's just to tell me I'm thick :)
 

GLJoe

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 21, 2017
852
407
UK
Hi Everyone,

3 weeks into E-biking and I think I have an issue with my battery charging. Can you help me sense check if there is an issue?

Battery = Bosch Powerpack 500

I plugged it in this morning to charge with the standard Bosch charger. The battery indicator light's on the battery illuminate however ...... on previous charging im sure the lights would flash, they are currently solid at 3 bars and after a few hours charging are not budging.

Can anyone confirm:
  1. Battery indicator lights should flash to indicate charging?
  2. How I'd check if the charger is faulty (other than testing on another battery)?
Any help would be appreciated, even if it's just to tell me I'm thick :)
Check there is actually power getting to the CHARGER.
I'm not 100% certain on this, but I think if the charger is plugged into the bike but is not switched on, the lights come on as you've described.
Check plug fuses etc.
Cheers
 

GeniusBike

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jun 17, 2017
5
0
42
UK
I swapped over the fuses this morning. Didn't have any effect. Indicator lights are on but the battery doesn't seem to be charging. :-(
 

Croxden

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2013
2,134
1,384
North Staffs
Tell us your approximate location and see if there is anyone close with a Bosch bike so you can try each other battery and charger.
 

GeniusBike

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jun 17, 2017
5
0
42
UK
I'm in East Manchester near the Etihad stadium.

I've just run a multi-meter on the charger and it's out-put voltage is zero indicating the it's broken.
 

chris_n

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 29, 2016
656
399
62
Niedeau, Austria
I'm in East Manchester near the Etihad stadium.

I've just run a multi-meter on the charger and it's out-put voltage is zero indicating the it's broken.
Not necessarily, it could be waiting for a signal from the battery before turning on. This would eliminate sparking when you plugged it in.
 

GeniusBike

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jun 17, 2017
5
0
42
UK
I've just taken the battery and bike to a bosch service centre.

The charger is working and charged another battery they had in the shop.

They can run a diagnostic on the battery but only when it's attached to the bike. I'll be taking it back on Monday. Not looking good for a battery that's done less than 500k.
 

Danidl

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 29, 2016
8,608
12,253
73
Ireland
I've just taken the battery and bike to a bosch service centre.

The charger is working and charged another battery they had in the shop.

They can run a diagnostic on the battery but only when it's attached to the bike. I'll be taking it back on Monday. Not looking good for a battery that's done less than 500k.
Couple of points.
1. The output voltage from the charger to the battery is zero until the charger is powered up and a contact has been made with the battery. The Bosch has extra contacts for this communication.
2. The green lights on the side of the battery pack blink as the battery charges and eventually all 5 should become solid green and then extinguish when the battery is fully charged. I am assuming that the electronics is measuring the charging current, and when it falls below a certain amount, the lights stop blinking. If your battery was becoming defective, then that might occur at a lower overall charge.
3. If you were to charge the battery while it is on the bike, using the connector built into the battery cradle, the state of charge will appear on the activia display.
4. 500k???? How could you do that after 3 weeks ? Or is the bike from a previous owner? Miles or km? . The 500 whr battery is recent. Is this a mistake or typo. ?. If it were truely miles, Bosch might want to put that battery in their hall of fame having thought about this number a bit more .. is it actually 500 km r about 300 miles , which would be reasonable for a three week ownership
 
Last edited:

panorama.bikes

Just Joined
Feb 7, 2020
1
0
I've just taken the battery and bike to a bosch service centre.

The charger is working and charged another battery they had in the shop.

They can run a diagnostic on the battery but only when it's attached to the bike. I'll be taking it back on Monday. Not looking good for a battery that's done less than 500k.
Have the same problem. What was the solution?
 

peter chapman

Finding my (electric) wheels
Aug 16, 2015
18
1
49
just had this issue brand new bike only second charge of the battery bike only done 16 miles, battery won't charge no leds light up. not the sort of reliability you would expect from a bosch unit.
 

Kresimir Piricki

Just Joined
Mar 19, 2018
3
0
47
London
Hi Everyone,

3 weeks into E-biking and I think I have an issue with my battery charging. Can you help me sense check if there is an issue?

Battery = Bosch Powerpack 500

I plugged it in this morning to charge with the standard Bosch charger. The battery indicator light's on the battery illuminate however ...... on previous charging im sure the lights would flash, they are currently solid at 3 bars and after a few hours charging are not budging.

Can anyone confirm:
  1. Battery indicator lights should flash to indicate charging?
  2. How I'd check if the charger is faulty (other than testing on another battery)?
Any help would be appreciated, even if it's just to tell me I'm thick :)
I had this issue also. When I put the battery back on the bike and turned it on and off with intuvia, and then again took it off and connected to a charger, it was charging OK.
 

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