Very poorly Quando :'( Any advice appreciated

[cocoabeans]

Hello all,

My eZee Quando II is not happy at all at the moment. It all started on Monday when my journey to uni and back was in the pouring rain. The symptoms began on my way home on Monday and haven't improved since.

The motor now makes a horrible growling sound most of the time - imagine an old rickety 50cc scooter and that's probably what it sounds like when I cycle past you! It's clearly vibrating a lot as I can feel the vibrations through the saddle, and the power I'm getting from it is definitely reduced.

I brought my bike inside lastnight (it's normally left outside as I live in a flat), as I assumed the motor was waterlogged or something. I also gave it a bit of a clean up this morning as it was pretty grubby after going through all those muddy puddles! There has been very little, if any, improvement though. I struggled to uni and back today mainly without using the power (which with no gears isn't much fun!). I think tomorrow I'll have to resort to the bus...

I know it's difficult to tell from a written description, but does anyone have any idea what might be wrong? I've never had a major problem with my bike and as such am not sure where I could take it for repair - I know regular bike shops are reluctant to look at e-bikes and this is an electrical problem anyway. Does anyone know anywhere in the Southampton area that may be able to help?

The bike is now over 6 years old - I bought it from a friend a couple of years ago - and I'm starting to wonder whether this might be something terminal and I'll have to start looking for a new one. If that's the case I may come here for some advice as I'm a little out of date on what's available these days!

Thanks everyone for a great forum,
Cocoa

 

[flecc]

Hi Cocoa, good to hear from you again. That saddle is still going strong!

The controller on these is vulnerable to water penetration, especially if they are laid on their side or turned upside down when wet. If water gets in, the motor phases can fire unevenly causing a huge increase in noise and loss of power. I can't say it's this with absolute certainty but have had it happen on my Quando. Drying out thoroughly solved the problem.

In my case I brought it into a small room with a dehumidifier and a 1 kW fan heater running, closing the door on them, and 30 minutes did the trick. If you haven't got a dehumidifier it could take quite a lot longer, but a dry warm room should do it eventually.

The controller is the oblong box behind the battery mount and just below the keyswitch box, and the vulnerable entry for water is where the cables enter below.

Let us know how you get on.
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[cocoabeans]

Many thanks flecc - glad to hear the saddle is still serving you well - I'm still very pleased with mine too

It does seem too much of a coincidence for water entry not to be the problem. I'll leave it in the warm and dry (no dehumidifier unfortunately), and if I get the bus tomorrow it can stay there until Monday morning.

Fingers crossed!

 

[flecc]

Good luck with that Cocoa, let us know if there are any more problems.
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[cocoabeans]

Argh!

Well, I left my bike in the warm and dry for 4 days straight. Last night I tested it out by giving it a run around the block which includes a steep hill, and it seemed to be much better.

However, that was evidently not a good enough test, as today the symptoms were back again - initially only intermittently but by the end of my return journey I couldn't get any smooth running out of the motor at all Today was only slightly wet, just a little bit of drizzle on the way out and no rain on the way back - it's coped with far worse before and been fine. I feel like I really can't trust the motor any more, which with the single-geared quando is not good at all.

Any thoughts on what I should do next? I feel it's time to get it looked at by a professional but I have no idea where I can do that round here. Oh how we take things for granted until they're broken - the alternative to my lovely 20 minute cycle is an all-around-the-mulberry-bush bus journey of at least an hour

 

[flecc]

If the damp is all out of the controller, it's likely to be poor connections in the leads from the motor to the controller Cocoa, and after reading below, you can decide whether you feel up to tackling that job. If you decide against that, the only thing I can advise is that you copy and print the advice below to hand to whoever will tackle the job for you. The main possibilities are a Powabyke service shop, an auto electricians, or a small motor cycle dealership.

Later Quandos have the motor's eight wires connected in this way just behind the bottom bracket and under the battery. There are three thick wires with "bullet" connectors which are very unlikely to be the problem, and five thin control wires with a plastic five way flat connector. These are all in the lead from the motor spindle and just below the battery, wrapped in insulation.

If the insulation is removed from around the five way and it's unplugged and replugged a few times, the connections will be remade, and it gives a chance for that area to dry out. It's also worth remaking the bullet connections of the three thick wires at the same time, but it's important to only part one at a time since they have to be connected the right way and the wire colour codes don't always match. A tie-wrap usually has to be cut to unearth the wires from the bundle there, and of course the connector has to be thoroughly insulated again. However, I don't know if your early Quando has this same connector in the five wires.

I can't guarantee this is the cause though it's the most likely to fit the circumstances. Here's the directory to find your nearest Powabyke dealer or service centre:

The Powabyke Directory of Dealers & Distributors
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[cocoabeans]

Thank you once again flecc - you're always here with prompt and comprehensive advice, we are so lucky to have you around

I am in the process of trying to locate someone who can help - spoke to a local electric bike dealer who were apologetic but said that without a wiring diagram they wouldn't be qualified to carry out any work on it. Trying to get hold of cyclepoint now but getting the answerphone. I'll let you know the outcome!

 

[flecc]

Thanks Cocoa.
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[wotwozere]

Hi Coco

Sell it, and save yourself a mischief - ebikebay is the new ebay just for us.

thx

Bob

 

[cocoabeans]

Right well here's the latest:

Cyclepoint were very helpful indeed and got in touch with the local dealer to let them know that they could supply wiring diagrams and parts as necessary. So the dealer agreed to have a look at it and I took it down this morning. The guy was convinced from a brief test of the motor that a new motor is needed. I had a fairly long chat with him and he's happy to do the repair job if I want him to. Cyclepoint tell me that a new motor would be £175. The dealer also explained that fitting a new motor involves deconstructing the whole rear wheel apparatus - that seems to be confirmed by information on your site flecc. So I'm thinking there my be a fairly hefty labour cost to add on.

I'm now in a bit of a dilemma as to whether I should try and get the quando fixed or sell it on and buy a new bike. I had a look at the bikes the dealer sells - they stock powacycle and wisper. The wisper 805fe is a nippy little folder and at £645 seems good value for wisper. I also looked at the powacycle windsor and salisbury which I know are popular models.

Ebikebay doesn't actually seem to exist anymore - is that correct? If so I'm unsure of how best to sell my quando and what I might be able to get for it, if I did decide on that option.

Hmm...........

 

[cocoabeans]

Well I thought in my dilemma it might be worth having a look at the wiring you mentioned flecc - it does seem to be set up in the way you describe, and sure enough there was a bit of dampness inside the insulating sleeve!

There was a bit of blue substance in the five-way connector, which suggests to me there may have been some corrosion. I have cleaned it all up and remade the connections and now the motor seems to be running much better I just need to re-insulate before using it again of course. I was a bit taken aback by the speed at which the dealer wrote off my motor this morning ... maybe there's life left in the bike after all!

Thanks again flecc, you may have been spot on

 

[flecc]

That's good Cocoa. The blue was probably oxide corrosion as you suspected. You can use ordinary PVC insulating tape to proof it, but it's worth securing the ends with tie wraps or a tied binding to keep them secure.
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[cocoabeans]

Excellent, PVC insulating tape is what I'd picked up from the DIY store this evening

I feel a bit resentful of the dealer now - it did seem that he made an awfully quick judgement that my motor was shot - one quick twist of the throttle and he was apparently convinced! I got a horrible feeling that I was being treated in a certain way because I'm female/youngish as well - lots of use of the word "darling" etc - argh that kind of thing really gets on my nerves !!! (Sorry, rant over!)

It's a shame because it was nice to find a local electric bike company - not sure if I'll feel so able to trust them now

Proper test of the bike tomorrow, fingers crossed! Thank you

 

[flecc]

I feel a bit resentful of the dealer now - it did seem that he made an awfully quick judgement that my motor was shot - one quick twist of the throttle and he was apparently convinced! I got a horrible feeling that I was being treated in a certain way because I'm female/youngish as well - lots of use of the word "darling" etc - argh that kind of thing really gets on my nerves !!! (Sorry, rant over!)

It's a shame because it was nice to find a local electric bike company - not sure if I'll feel so able to trust them now

This is all too common Cocoa, just looking for the quick and profitable solution, rather than risk time "lost" in diagnosing a fault. We are in a parts changing age, true repair procedures beyond the capability of most repairers in all fields now. The motor industry went this way a long time ago.
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[cocoabeans]

It's back to normal again

Flecc, you are a legend - I really can't thank you enough!

 

[flecc]

Thanks Cocoa.

The important thing is that you're mobile again. These Quando motors are potentially very long lived so as long as the water is kept out of the wiring and controller they'll run troublefree for years.
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