Orbea Rise H15 Battery Charge/Discharge issues

[DubSea]

Plug it in @ 8-10pm, charge until I ride in the morning unplug between 6-10am. Common to leave it charging for 12hrs. I have on a few occassions have left it on for a day or two when I ended up not riding as planned and forgot to unplug it.

Interesting. Id be curious to hear what happens if you charge to full. Unplug and then plug back in overnight.

 

[BiGJZ74]

Interesting. Id be curious to hear what happens if you charge to full. Unplug and then plug back in overnight.

I wouldn’t. when a battery is fully charged it makes no sense to plug it back in to charge it more overnight to see if mis-use causes battery malfunction…

 

[DubSea]

I wouldn’t. when a battery is fully charged it makes no sense to plug it back in to charge it more overnight to see if mis-use causes battery malfunction…

That's actually not how smart chargers are supposed to work. You should be able to plug it in and it trickle charges to keep it at full charge.

 

[BiGJZ74]

That's actually not how smart chargers are supposed to work. You should be able to plug it in and it trickle charges to keep it at full charge.

Smart charger is just a general term that says the battery has a microprocessor on it....not all smart chargers share the same features. According the Orbeas websire, the only smart feature of the battery is current recognition to swap between 2-4A currents when it recognizes the extender(2A) or internal battery(4A).

 

[larshkj]

I have never had this issue on my H15.....shipped in February. I use a Garmin 1030

Same here. I charged my H15 from about 23:00 yesterday evening to 07:00 this morning. Battery was at 65% yesterday, and 100% this morning after 8 hours on the charger. Or maybe 8 hours is not enough?

Lars

 

[DubSea]

Smart charger is just a general term that says the battery has a microprocessor on it....not all smart chargers share the same features. According the Orbeas websire, the only smart feature of the battery is current recognition to swap between 2-4A currents when it recognizes the extender(2A) or internal battery(4A).

If draining the battery to ~84% was a feature of the system, one would think Orbea would simply state that or that it would be addressed in their extensive tech documentation / blue paper. However, they claim it is not normal and that they "are studying the case".

@larshkj - for me it has taken longer than 8 hours from a partially full battery but it seems like there are people who are unable to replicate the issue so maybe it's not impacting all Rise Hydro's.

 

[thewrx]

this is normal on all new gen Li-ion battery controllers, look at your phone, your laptop, your car even they all keep at 80% to extended length of battery cells; if they were full at all times they would degrade over time. Just have to be aware of it, and adjust how you charge or reprogram the battery ecm.

 

[piotreek]

Hm, this thread makes me worried as I thought about this bike for my gf.

@Longfellow78, I don't think this explains that. I have an ebike with a modern Bosch system (gen 4), and the battery can stay 100% (or any other level) for any reasonable amount of time. Definitely, it doesn't drop a single % within a week or two. Even when I left it for the winter (~around 50%), I think it was pretty much the same (or very close) next spring.

 

[redrhino]

Not sure about these claims of batteries discharging to 80% while plugged in as being normal. If I leave my iPhone or laptop plugged in for two days it does not discharge to 80%. It is always topped up when I go and unplug it. Same with my last eBike (yt decoy) and the carbon orbea rise also stays at 100% when plugged in for days.

Regardless, Orbea has now confirmed this is a firmware/charger issue and they are accepting warranty claims for a replacement. File on through your Orbea dealer.

 

[BiGJZ74]

Hm, this thread makes me worried as I thought about this bike for my gf.

@Longfellow78, I don't think this explains that. I have an ebike with a modern Bosch system (gen 4), and the battery can stay 100% (or any other level) for any reasonable amount of time. Definitely, it doesn't drop a single % within a week or two. Even when I left it for the winter (~around 50%), I think it was pretty much the same (or very close) next spring.

My h15 charges to 100% and stayed full even after a 12hr charge the had stayed at 100% for as long as a week when I charged for a ride then ended up not riding…..

 

[redrhino]

Hm, this thread makes me worried as I thought about this bike for my gf.

@Longfellow78, I don't think this explains that. I have an ebike with a modern Bosch system (gen 4), and the battery can stay 100% (or any other level) for any reasonable amount of time. Definitely, it doesn't drop a single % within a week or two. Even when I left it for the winter (~around 50%), I think it was pretty much the same (or very close) next spring.

A total of 6 people in my group have the h15. All of them have the problem with the bike discharging if left plugged in for around 24 hours or more. None of us have issues with the bike discharging once unplugged. I think you are good on that front.

 

[Longfellow78]

In my earlier post where i said battery was discharing were wrong. I tested this myself again more carefully. I left on charge for 2 days from 55% and when I checked to turn it off the battery was 100%. I also tried charging from about 75% to 100%. Stopped and unplugged. Then plugged back in for another day, it stayed at 100%. So my battery (or firmware) do not suffer from this after all. Maybe there is a firmware update that fixes this. My bike was delivered in May and is likely to be on latest firmware.

 

[winsail]

In my earlier post where i said battery was discharing were wrong. I tested this myself again more carefully. I left on charge for 2 days from 55% and when I checked to turn it off the battery was 100%. I also tried charging from about 75% to 100%. Stopped and unplugged. Then plugged back in for another day, it stayed at 100%. So my battery (or firmware) do not suffer from this after all. Maybe there is a firmware update that fixes this. My bike was delivered in May and is likely to be on latest firmware.

I know an earlier postings said this but lithium batteries don't like to be plugged in and charged for days at a time. They usually perform best when charged to 80% (2.5 to 3 hours with my Rise H) then topped off to 100% right before my ride (about 30 minutes) This gives you maximum range and longevity. I loved the earlier idea of a timer attached to charger to automatically stop charge after a pre-set time. Great way to avoid overcharging. My Chevy Volt does this with onboard software that starts and stops charge based on departure time the next day. Most electric cars have a sophisticated internal timer that when set finishes the 100% charge right before your departure time. Since e-bikes don't we can achieve the same thing manually. I use the same charging strategy with my wife's Norco Sight VLT. That bike takes about 15 minutes to top off compared to the 30 minutes for the rise.

 

[FloridaDan]

more will start wondering why they drop 1 bar so quickly on a ride.

That’s been me since I got my H30. I thought maybe faulty display. Happy to know the answer, but having to keep track of the charge to get 100% is an unwelcome surprise.

Edit: just realized this is an older thread. Was there a fix from Orbea?

 

[DubSea]

That’s been me since I got my H30. I thought maybe faulty display. Happy to know the answer, but having to keep track of the charge to get 100% is an unwelcome surprise.

Edit: just realized this is an older thread. Was there a fix from Orbea?

Orbea finally said this was an issue with the firmware on the original chargers.

After months of being cagy about it, they sent another charger that seemed to address the issue, but that new charger also required that I unplug it and plug it back into the outlet after each charge. If I left it plugged into the wall, and plugged my bike in after a ride it would not charge the battery.

I would recommend talking to your dealer and asking them to have orbea send a charger with the updated firm wear. 2 chargers that don't work properly are better than 1 that doesn't work properly, I guess.

 

[VicenarianEbiker]

Orbea finally said this was an issue with the firmware on the original chargers.

After months of being cagy about it, they sent another charger that seemed to address the issue, but that new charger also required that I unplug it and plug it back into the outlet after each charge. If I left it plugged into the wall, and plugged my bike in after a ride it would not charge the battery.

I would recommend talking to your dealer and asking them to have orbea send a charger with the updated firm wear. 2 chargers that don't work properly are better than 1 that doesn't work properly, I guess.

Thank you for the info! I also got the new charger that I have to unplug and plug back in every time I use it. No kidding on trying to get help. I called Orbrea, my dealer, and another dealer and instead of getting a clear answer just got "oh well you shouldn't leave the charger plugged in all of the time". Apparently these people have never heard of a trickle charger

 

[matjas]

How does your charger behave when the charge is complete?
My h15 charger is pulsating blue light even at 100%. So it is doing something still.
2022 h15 rise

 

[BiGJZ74]

How does your charger behave when the charge is complete?
My h15 charger is pulsating blue light even at 100%. So it is doing something still.
2022 h15 rise

My charger goes solid blue when fully charged

 

[matjas]

this is weird - when I unplug and plug again at 100% it will go solid blue. when I leave it in just charging up from anything below 100% it will just oscillate into eternity
MAYBE if I keep it plugged in overnight it will start discharging. Need to check it.

 

[VicenarianEbiker]

How does your charger behave when the charge is complete?
My h15 charger is pulsating blue light even at 100%. So it is doing something still.
2022 h15 rise

Mine goes solid blue once it hits 100%. Now I haven't been able to verify this but it seems that when I leave it on the charger overnight it discharges to around 85%. Yesterday I unplugged the bike as soon as it went to solid blue and on my ride the first bar seemed to last forever compared to before. I need a way to see the actual %

 

[LeeS69]

Mine goes solid blue when finished, and doesn't discharge at all no matter how long it's been left on.

Dubsea said above it's a charger issue if it's discharging.

 

[VicenarianEbiker]

Mine goes solid blue when finished, and doesn't discharge at all no matter how long it's been left on.

Dubsea said above it's a charger issue if it's discharging.

Well according to Orbea US support and the only two Orbrea dealers in my area, you're an idiot and you're wrong. It's completely normal for the charger to do this.

I even posted on this forum and people jumped to defend Orbea. Why can't people just admit this is an issue???

 

[LeeS69]

Well according to Orbea US support and the only two Orbrea dealers in my area, you're an idiot and you're wrong. It's completely normal for the charger to do this.

I even posted on this forum and people jumped to defend Orbea. Why can't people just admit this is an issue???

You OK hun? You need a hug?

Mine doesn't do it, so it's not an issue for me, perhaps I'm the only person in the world that can leave their Orbea Rise charger plugged in and not have a problem, or perhaps it's just a problem on some chargers - as DubSea said above.

 

[VicenarianEbiker]

You OK hun? You need a hug?

Mine doesn't do it, so it's not an issue for me, perhaps I'm the only person in the world that can leave their Orbea Rise charger plugged in and not have a problem, or perhaps it's just a problem on some chargers - as DubSea said above.

I'm just salty from all the gas lighting from the manufacturer, dealers, and other orbea owners. The fact they won't admit this is a problem is beyond me.

 

[LeeS69]

As this guy says it now seems to be fixed, I don't have the issue... Send this to your dealer...

 

[VicenarianEbiker]

As this guy says it now seems to be fixed, I don't have the issue... Send this to your dealer...

I'm going to give a try... Hopefully they don't blow me off again

 

[MOG]

I've always had this problem from new (H15 Feb 2022). When my motor recently died the first thing I did was a firmware update followed by dealer check and 6 days later the bike had a new motor. Since getting the bike back the problem appears to have gone away. Hopefully all fixed now. Will post here if it shows its' ugly face again.

 

[VicenarianEbiker]

I've always had this problem from new (H15 Feb 2022). When my motor recently died the first thing I did was a firmware update followed by dealer check and 6 days later the bike had a new motor. Since getting the bike back the problem appears to have gone away. Hopefully all fixed now. Will post here if it shows its' ugly face again.

Did you replace the charge and/or battery or just the motor?

 

[MOG]

Just the motor