New bike

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
19,517
16,457
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
those aren't the problem because they dry up very quickly.
The problem is usually at the junctions nearer to the ground where humidity dwells for long time.
Typically: where the cable exits the pedal sensor, junction between the speed sensor and the controller, junction between the e-bus cable and the controller, between the battery and controller and the 9-pin motor connector.
 
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D

Deleted member 25121

Guest
I always put silicone grease in them that seems to do the job.
I used to think that if the connectors are packed with silicone grease then water vapour wouldn't be able to get near the metal connectors. I suppose though that problems would arise if water vapour got into bubbles adjacent to the metal connections.
If you packed both halves of the connector with silicone grease you'd have problems trying to mate them together so the likelihood of having bubbles form inside the connectors somewhere is quite high.
 

georgehenry

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2015
1,435
1,259
Surrey
I have both a German/Yamaha derived crank drive Haibike ebike and a Chinese derived rear hub Oxygen and have found both to be very good.

I love the Chinese derived rear hub Oxygen and use it for loads of shopping and other general errands as well as the odd 20 mile return trip to work on the road.I probably use it almost every day and must have covered a huge mileage. I have to put it ahead of the Haibike as it is older (2011) model, still works beautifully, is very easy to use and relaxing to ride and I am sure would be easy to fix if it ever went wrong and hardly requires any maintenance at all.

However I bought the Haibike to allow me to ride to work using an mostly off road route and love the sophistication of the whole design and how the crank drive system works off road. However the drive system, chain, cassette, and chain ring require much more maintenance and wear out an order of magnitude sooner. I still love it and have found it also to be tough and reliable having covered over 11,000 miles.

My 1999 Mercedes is tremendous, but I think they were made better back then.

I think there is a lot to like about both German and Chinese engineering although I do think that German engineered products are not as realiable as they like to make out in their marketing, quite the opposite, love them as I do.
 
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MikelBikel

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 6, 2017
591
285
Ireland
..The problem is usually at the junctions nearer to the ground where humidity dwells for long time..
I suppose lengthening all the cables to a controller heated & therefore dried junction box/bag under the saddle might limit one's design options unduly. And how then to disconnect the motor for wheel removal? Y, Choices and decisions.
Like the Rambla, v.clean looking & neat to take wiring thru frame where practicable. Cheers. Mikel
 

Laser Man

Pedelecer
Jul 1, 2018
196
122
Michelmersh SO51
Sorry guys, I'm confused! This is what I am referring to, though they don't seem to be connectors?
Yes - those really are connectors.
They come apart between the second and third complete rings.

Putting tape round them is a REALLY BAD idea - the rings will stop the tape sealing the joint and will potentially lead to water being trapped in exactly the worst place.

Having worked on boat electrics I'm a great fan of silicone grease. A bit of grease pushed down the female holes and a smear around the coloured female part where the male cover slides over gives me peace of mind - though it will be a year or two before I can find out whether it has really helped.
As someone else said, don't try to fill the whole connector with grease!

PS It is good practice to turn off or completely remove the battery before playing with the connectors.
 

John F

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 3, 2013
435
55
Yes - those really are connectors.
They come apart between the second and third complete rings.

Putting tape round them is a REALLY BAD idea - the rings will stop the tape sealing the joint and will potentially lead to water being trapped in exactly the worst place.

Having worked on boat electrics I'm a great fan of silicone grease. A bit of grease pushed down the female holes and a smear around the coloured female part where the male cover slides over gives me peace of mind - though it will be a year or two before I can find out whether it has really helped.
As someone else said, don't try to fill the whole connector with grease!

PS It is good practice to turn off or completely remove the battery before playing with the connectors.
Amazing I coudn't see the joint or pull them apart! Thanks.

Still trying to understand all the bits and pieces on my new bike
 

John F

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 3, 2013
435
55
Still trying to figure out which connectors I have, as it doesn't appear to be on the Julet web site? The length of my connectors on the photo is 57mm which doesn't agree with any of those shown?
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
19,517
16,457
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
Still trying to figure out which connectors I have, as it doesn't appear to be on the Julet web site? The length of my connectors on the photo is 57mm which doesn't agree with any of those shown?
The picture you post is of the JY1T4.

 
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Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
19,517
16,457
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
Julet JY1T4:

I buy Julet cables from these people

 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
3,986
Basildon
The black multi-pin one is the worst offender. I've seen many of those, where the 36v pin snaps off due to corrosion. It's because it sets up a corrosion cell if any water gets in, which it often does because it's not very well sealed. Definitely put silicone grease in that one.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
19,517
16,457
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
The black multi-pin one is the worst offender. I've seen many of those, where the 36v pin snaps off due to corrosion. It's because it sets up a corrosion cell if any water gets in, which it often does because it's not very well sealed. Definitely put silicone grease in that one.
on his Camino, the 10 pin connector is inside routed completely inside the downtube, about 12" from the bottom bracket. There is no chance water can get in at that location and there is plenty of air around it.
Basically, the downtube is turned into the junction box. The entry point is like you see on many bike with internal routing, at the underside of the bottom bracket where water naturally drains out.
I can post some pictures tomorrow if anyone is interested.
 
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John F

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 3, 2013
435
55
on his Camino, the 10 pin connector is inside routed completely inside the downtube, about 12" from the bottom bracket. There is no chance water can get in at that location and there is plenty of air around it.
Basically, the downtube is turned into the junction box. The entry point is like you see on many bike with internal routing, at the underside of the bottom bracket where water naturally drains out.
I can post some pictures tomorrow if anyone is interested.
Yes please!
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
19,517
16,457
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk


previously, Chinese bikes tend to have exposed electric wiring.
The Camino has internal cable routing. The cables exit the controller vertically, straight through a hole on the downtube (left insert). There is no way water can get inside the downtube, and even if it does, the drain is at the base with a drip loop (right insert) so that no cable is bent with a short radius and humidity is not let in. All the junctions are located in the middle of the downtube.
The second insert from the left shows how the gear cable and the 1 to 4 e-bus cable exit from the underside of the downtube near the headtube.
The third insert shows the top tube with a watertight gland for the rear hydraulic brake hose.
The fourth insert shows the drain hole at the bottom of the downtube and the drip loop on the pedal sensor.
 
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