Ezee Torq the end of the road for me

kenrea

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 11, 2008
8
0
Hi All
I took delivery of my Ezee Torq that I had purchased from 50 Cycles in May 2006, I was well pleased with how it performed and its sturdy construction, over the first year had many enquiries from people about it.
Excepting for one time 7 months after purchase the bike had an electrical problem that was quickly sorted by 50 Cycles after being returned to their factory

Everything was ok until mid October 2008 when again the electrics failed, after several attempts over a week to get it started and realizing the bike was no longer under guarantee I decided to look inside the control box and to see if an onboard fuse was blown on the circuit board. What I saw was quite amazing, all 22 wires going into this circuit board were hard soldered, so no unplugging several multi pinned connectors for me and ordering another control unit.
Another observation was all the chips on the circuit board were glazed over, so any id of the components was impossible.

By the end of October the bike was returned to Cyclepoint for them to repair, I let 4 weeks go by and gave Cyclepoint a call to check on progress, I spoke to someone called Rhys who assured me that the bike should be back with me by Christmas.
I phoned at the end of January and was told that a pin was being ordered. By mid February I had a call from Cyclepoint to say that the new controller had been fitted but that there was a problem with the front wheel and motor it was not turning and making a funny noise.
Also at this point I was offered a new bike for a considerable discount, I declined and asked if a new wheel and motor could be fitted only.
Earlier this week I phoned Cyclepoint and was told that a new wheel was going to be fitted to my bike and agreement over the approximate cost was made. On Wednesday I received an invoice for £480 and today Friday Cyclepoint phoned me to say that the wheel could not be fitted because it would not fit on the forks and quickly reminded me that they could sell me a new bike for just £600, I again declined the offer and was now realizing that this company were not proficient at serious mechanical or electrical repairs.

The simple facts are that I cannot afford their offer, my plans now are to ask them to return the bike after removing their newly fitted parts I’ll pay for the carriage and when I get the bike back, I will dispose of it at the local tip and write off the £1200 paid for this load of rubbish.
Regards
Ken
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,559
30,848
Sorry to hear of your problems Ken. The controllers on all these eZeebikes have 2 connectors external to the unit and it's changed as a unit with those connectors and remaining cables. Your series bike has 5 soldered Hall wire connections alongside the front fork as well as three bullet connectors on the 3 motor phase leads, plus bolted connections to the battery base plate and keyswitch.

The problem with your motor "not turning and making a funny noise" is almost certainly due to a mismatch of the three motor phase wires or the five Hall sensor wires, the former being the most likely. Unfortunately with all Chinese production colour codes are often unreliable and the Torq is no different in this respect.

Should you wish to recover anything from this mess by having the bike returned with the new controller fitted ready for connection correction, here's some more information for you on my Torq Talk website:

Motor wiring colour code mismatch

Wiring routing diagram showing controller and the connector points
.
 
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Tiberius

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 9, 2007
919
1
Somerset
Hi Ken,

Sorry to hear about your troubles. But don't throw it away; it can probably be fixed quite easily.

Ezee changed the motor and the forks on the Torq at some stage, so its possible that the new motor won't fit the old forks. As Flecc says, the motor not turning may not actually be a serious problem.

Where are you? Its worth another try, but if you are determined to get rid of it, I'll make you a better offer than the local tip.

Nick
 
C

Cyclezee

Guest
Ken,
As Nick says, don't scrap the bike for what might be a fairly simple fault. I am sure there are many peolple on the forum who could give helpful advice or be more than willing to take it off your hands and pay you what it is worth for spares or repair.
Surprisingly you do not mention any battery problems which plagued Ezee bikes of that vintage?

J:) hn
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,559
30,848
Surprisingly you do not mention any battery problems which plagued Ezee bikes of that vintage?

J:) hn
I bought mine in July 2006 with the recently introduced Li-ion batteries, but Ken buying in May 2006 possibly has an NiMh battery. My NiMh from August 2006 is still performing well.
.
 

stranger

Pedelecer
Feb 7, 2009
103
0
New Forest. Hants.
when I get the bike back, I will dispose of it at the local tip and write off the £1200 paid for this load of rubbish.
Regards
Ken
Oh no. Don't do that.

I'm sure that there is someone here who is willing and able to 'talk you through'/ help you repair your bike. With the help of the right people, even I managed to repair mine.

And if not, then someone will probably be willing to make you an offer for the remains.

AH--I see that someone already HAS!. :rolleyes:
 

kenrea

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 11, 2008
8
0
@ flecc
It's a lithium-ion battery and I can't say I have had any problems with it.I am hoping to speak to Cyclepoint today I will keep you all informed.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,559
30,848
Thanks for the answer kenrea, that's quite amazing for one of those lithium batteries to be still working ok at nearly three years old. I can only think it's due to the lack of use during the various down times with other troubles, a small silver lining.
.
 

kenrea

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 11, 2008
8
0
I contacted Cyclepoint and was told the new fork was in and would be fitted soon, two weeks later after phoning was told that it was a mistake and that mine was still on order, so later this week I will check again the progress. Thought you might like this link to some ezee spares in the US.
Parts for eZee bike
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,559
30,848
Thanks for the link kenrea. I knew Nycewheels were one of the two eZee agents in the States, but wasn't aware of this useful spares page.
.
 

Tiberius

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 9, 2007
919
1
Somerset
I contacted Cyclepoint and was told the new fork was in and would be fitted soon, two weeks later after phoning was told that it was a mistake and that mine was still on order, so later this week I will check again the progress. Thought you might like this link to some ezee spares in the US.
Parts for eZee bike
Hi Ken,

I know Cyclepoint have recently had a container load of stuff from eZee, because there were a few items in there for me. I'm sure it will all get sorted out soon, but please keep us posted here on Pedeleces - there's lots of expertise here in the group.

Is it a suspension or non-suspension fork that you are waiting for?

Nick
 

kenrea

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 11, 2008
8
0
Hi Nick
It's a non suspension but I think they were going to fit a suspension type fork on
I am not dead sure. It would be a bonus if they did.
 

Michael of Gwynedd

Pedelecer
Jun 30, 2008
39
0
Caernarfon, Gwynedd
I’m still learning how to reply using quotes – might have got it wrong !
I hope you solve the problems with your Ezee bike, I have a Ezee forza and find it’s a very comfortable and reliable bike, apart from a slowly failing battery.

Many thanks for the link to Ezee Spares, found this very useful, and hope that cyclepoint will soon have a list of spares.

Michael.
 

kenrea

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 11, 2008
8
0
I have now got my repaired Ezee Torq back from Cyclepoint, complete with new suspension forks and wheel and motor and looks different from the old. I took it out for a spin and noticed it was touching 20 mph at top speed. Yesterday I noticed that I had a puncture so in the evening turned the bike over and repaired it, when I had finished I turned it back over and put it in the shed.
I don't no why but I decided to just run the front wheel after lifting it off the ground, as I turned the throttle nothing happened.
After a few minutes repeated the process and keeping the throttle wide open noticed the new controller was flashing 3 pulses followed by 5 pulses, on release of the throttle the controller returned to a solid red.Today the problem still exists, so I phoned Cyclepoint and have ordered a new throttle my third since owning the bike.
My concerns though, is this all that is wrong, your suggestions would be welcome.
one other thing what is the little square oblong box strapped to the front fork with the motor cable going into it, it doesn't look very waterproof
regards
ken
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,559
30,848
Hi Ken. The diagnostic on 3 flashing reds is a brake cutout operating, possibly a brake lever not returning fully. Try flicking the brake levers a couple of times to see if that clears it, the contact release may be sticking.

Faulty throttle diagnostic is 5 flashing reds, so I'm not sure why they say it could be the throttle when it flashes 3 initially. The fact that you turned the bike over may have disturbed the brake levers and/or throttle.

I'd guess the black box is a connector housing for this motor, not originally on the Torq.
.
 
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kenrea

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 11, 2008
8
0
The new throttle arrived today from Cyclepoint, fitted it and still no go.
@ flecc where is the brake cut out electrics is this on the front or rear brake caliper on the handlebar? or is it near the rear brake cable on the back wheel, because I can't see anything.
Sorry if I seem a little dim but it's been a long time since I've seen the bike
 

Tiberius

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 9, 2007
919
1
Somerset
Hi Ken,

The new motors are narrower than the original one, so that's why you got a fork upgrade as well.

The various boxes and connections around the handlebars are susceptible to damp. That may be the cause of the current problems, especially if it was wet when you turned it upside down. If that's the case then it will eventually dry out and start working again. Or as Flecc says, it could be sticking brake switch - I think they are built into the brake levers.

Nick
 

kenrea

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 11, 2008
8
0
Hi Nick
I've just checked again there is absolutely no electrical connections anywhere around the brake levers