Weird noise coming from the handle bar controller

[Goryl]

Hello everybody,

I had a series of punctures (which I was able to fix quite quickly). I had three punctures in the last two days. I could not find anything in the tyre but this morning on my way to work I had another one and decided to get the tyre changed (Felt like the obvious thing to do). The problem is that I was already too far and too late to go to the Electric Transport Shop so I went to a local bike shop and I bought the tyre. The problem is that they told me they knew how to fit it on an electric bike and I decided to let them do it instead of going home and do it myself (I was late to work).
They did exactly what I did when I fixed my first puncture, i.e. unplug the wire that goes from the motor to the controller (even though I warned them before but that's a different story). We have plugged it back and the bike works very well. I cannot notice anything different.

The only thing is that I have a kind of strange noise (zzzzzzz) which sounds definitively electric and that seems to come from the handlebar controller. It is not a heavy noise and is easily covered by the wind. I can only produce it when I am on the bike (i.e. I tried to run the throttle to locate the noise but I could not hear it anymore). It is very discrete but I am quite sure it was not there before.

Did anyone experience this kind of noise before?
It has rained quite a lot recently, could it be some water somewhere?

Any suggestion as to what it could be.

Thanks a lot.

Goryl

PS: When I write about the 905se it is always about problems (most of them self inflicted). Do not get me wrong, it is a really good bike and it has been more than reliable. I will write a full review as soon as I have time

 

[Mussels]

Do you get the same noise when you are using just pedelec instead of the throttle?

 

[Goryl]

Yes. I tried a bit this morning. My impression is that I get the same noise at high peak. When I start I get it, once the bike is at speed it disappear. On pedelec mode, I get it when it is at the maximum setting. It seems to disappear once the bike is at speed. I cannot hear it if I am on a lower setting.

Thanks,

Goryl

 

[Mussels]

I can't think what it is, I had an older 905 so it was different.
The only thing that comes to mind is it could be the gears in your motor but that's at the back and not where you think the noise is coming from.

 

[mountainsport]

Hi Goryl

I do understand what you are saying,and also agreeing with Mussels that it could be coming from the gears of the motor or some sort of vibration when excelerating.
Funny enough that sound could be coming from the braking system,but i have only heard this before when depressing the brakes creating a (zzzzzz) noise,which is near or closer to the handle bars. (some ose connection or short circuit)

Hope this helps
Mountainsport

 

[Goryl]

Would that also depends on how much stress there is on it?
Cause it is a bit hard to localize the sound...

Thanks,

Goryl

 

[flecc]

I think it's likely to be the motor's internal gear noise travelling through the bike frame. The fact that it occurs at lower speeds but tends to go at maximum speed supports that.

Another possibility is that something slightly loose is being excited into high speed vibration by the motor and producing that faint buzzing. That again would be speed dependent. If you go all over the bike checking all minor bolts on mudguards, carrier etc for tightness you may eliminate the source.

 

[Goryl]

Hi again,

I have played a bit with things trying to clean/tighten up at the same time. As far as I can tell I did not eliminate the problem. One of the screw on the controller box felt and I tried to replace it but the new one turned without gripping... The box is properly closed but it held only on two screws.

As part of the noise I do not notice any difference so I am bit puzzled as to whether I should take the train till I can get the bike checked... What do you think?

Thanks a lot for the advices.

Goryl

 

[flecc]

I'm sure it's ok to use, any noise that could cause damage would be very noisy and obvious and you wouldn't be in any doubt where it was coming from. Best to carry on using it and then if the noise worsens at all it will be easier to trace. However, my guess is that it will not worsen.

 

[Goryl]

Thanks for the advice. I will follow it and if I am in doubt I can always turn off the motor and sweat...

 

[Goryl]

I should have stayed home
Nothing to do with the noise: A car took me down in a round about this morning. I am lucky in the sense that I have only bruises. However, it looks like the bike will need some serious work before it is back on the road. One of the thing that really worries me, is that, as far as I can see, I did nothing wrong and don't really see what I could have done differently: I was already within the round about. The car was stopped at the entrance and started whilst I was in front of it....

In any case, I am happy to be in one piece!

Goryl

 

[flecc]

Sorry to hear this Goryl, I hope you were able to get the car driver's details since it was clearly his liability in the circumstance described.

It sounds like an A pillar blind spot problem. Many modern cars have an extensive covered area in the windscreen pillar area (the A pillar) formed by the pillar and the large side mirror. This can easily hide a complete bike and rider when it's lined up at that point when a driver looks and then moves off into the roundabout. It almost caught me out one day when driving and I'm very bike aware. That's not a defence though, it's still a driver liability to ensure the way is clear before entering.

The only defence against this is to ride well out from the side in a car-like position when circuiting a roundabout since that minimises the risk, but it's not always practical of course.

 

[Goryl]

Hi,

The driver stopped and gave me name/contact/plate number.
The blind spot would really explain things cause she was clearly trying to understand how come she did not see me. Hopefully she will admit being responsible but we will see.

I will keep the ride in car-like position in mind. I tend to take my space clearly but maybe I should do even more in the roundabout.

It looks like I will be without a bike for at least a few weeks.

Goryl

 

[grasshopper]

Hi,

The driver stopped and gave me name/contact/plate number.
The blind spot would really explain things cause she was clearly trying to understand how come she did not see me. Hopefully she will admit being responsible but we will see.

I will keep the ride in car-like position in mind. I tend to take my space clearly but maybe I should do even more in the roundabout.

It looks like I will be without a bike for at least a few weeks.

Goryl

Hi Goryl Sorry to hear about your RTA (sorry! It's RTI now, isn't it?) ,,, pleased you are OK.

I have a car with that exact blind spot ... I'm very conscious of it and try to remember to be extra vigilant at cross roads ... I don't think we have any roundabouts near me.

When I started cycling again, as I viewed cars approaching me in the rear view mirror, I would keep close to the left ... BUT, if I was 1 metre from the road edge, they gave me 1 metre of space on my off-side! If I stayed 2 metres from the road edge, they gave me 2 metres of space on my off-side! I now ride in what I believe you are describing as a car-like position and, although I feel safer, I'm mindful that I might appear to be hogging the carriageway!

 

[Mussels]

There are a couple of roundabouts near me where this is a common issue though I've never been driven into like that. I've been driven into from a T junction and had a car skid to a stop with it's bumper touching my pannier but luckily my worst damage has been from falling off without any other vehicles involved.

 

[Goryl]

What is an RTI?
I guess the R is for road, the I for Incident. I am missing the T.

There is quite a few roundabouts on the way to work. The irony is that this one does not even look dangerous....

On a few rare occasions, I have seen a car entering a roundabout in front of me as if there was no one. I had to brake quite sharply. This one was completely stopped, so I did not even think about it when I passed in front...

 

[flecc]

Road Traffic Incident.

Not sure why, not many other types really. Pedestrian falls over crossing road/ walks into lamp post/ trips over kerb etc. Shopping bag splits spilling contents onto zebra crossing are possibilities I suppose.

 

[grasshopper]

Road Traffic Incident.

Not sure why, not many other types really. Pedestrian falls over crossing road/ walks into lamp post/ trips over kerb etc. Shopping bag splits spilling contents onto zebra crossing are possibilities I suppose.

After all those years thinking that collisions were traffic accidents ... the 'powers that be' have deemed that 'accident' infers that no one is to blame. So 'incidents' they are! In any event, it is a 'coming together' in my simple mind; and that includes head hitting footpath after tripping over match stick.