2022 Spectral:ON Battery Connection Issues

[Paul L.]

I have a 2022 Spectal:ON with about 1600 miles on it. For the last 200 miles or so I have had a couple of issues that I believe are related to the Rosenberger connector used for battery connection and charging. The main issue is that when powering the bike on I will get the Shimano Steps screen and then the screen goes blank. The first time this happened it was after arriving at the trails on initial start-up but since then it has lost power while riding and sometimes took a few minutes of reconnecting and powering on to get going again. The other issue was while riding I lost power and got a E020 code on the display. The bike restarted fine and this has not reoccurred.
Web research on the E020 error says that it is most likely caused by low battery in the remote power switch. I do not think this would apply to the Spectral:ON as the power switch is integral to the battery and also according to Shimano, the power switch battery charges during rides and mine died mid ride.
I called Shimano and they said to take it to a shop for them to read error codes.
I emailed Canyon and they repeated this advice.
The Specialized Turbo Levo also uses the Rosenberger connector and there are a few threads discussing the need to keep the connectors very clean and that the magnetic parts attract the contaminates.
Is anybody else seeing these power issues? Any suggestions for care and cleaning of the Rosenberger connector?

 

[FtOrdFanatic]

I as well have a 2022 spectral On and recently ran into the same issue. But with mine I was doing an update which failed at around 70% due to a disconnect via Bluetooth. After that I was unable to get the bike to turn on. The screen would turn on for 2 seconds then turn off.

Took the bike to a shop to have the update finish. Bike still had issues until we pushed the power connection together harder.

Went for ride today got the E020 code. Now regardless of how hard I press connection together it will not start. Rode a dead bike home.

Do you still have issues? How did you fix it? I'm frustrated.....

 

[Paul L.]

I cleaned the connectors with a can of spray contact cleaner from Walmart and my issues have been greatly reduced. I am being careful to keep the charger connector clean as it will pick up all kinds of little rocks and such if dropped on the ground.
One suggestion on an EP8 thread was to press the start button twice. One time when the bike would not start, I pressed the start button and when the screen came up I quickly disconnected and reconnected the battery and the bike started. This was only one time and might be anecdotal but is worth a try.

 

[Paul L.]

I looked on line for covers for the connector. I found a cover for sale on e-bay for a 3d printed cover for a Turbo Levo. I then made the cover below by hot gluing a washer to an appropriate sized bottle cap - a health-aide kombucha bottle cap in my case. The connector magnet holds the cover in place. I will leave in on the charger cord and while charging will place it on the bike battery connector.

 

[FtOrdFanatic]

So, my problem has been resolved. Apparently the cable from the battery to the motor didn't connect very well. The connector at the motor became corroded and lost connectivity. Hopefully this helps someone fix an issues down the road.

 

[Narfel]

What model is that? Are you sure it's a 2022 (M129) or am I mixing things up? Mine looks like this and its giving me grief already.

 

[Drew502]

What model is that? Are you sure it's a 2022 (M129) or am I mixing things up? Mine looks like this and its giving me grief already.
View attachment 114753

What kind of grief?

 

[Narfel]

Nothing major but frustrating since it came this way out of the box and the cover is deformed as well. It was not fastened securely and stuck out. They send me the cable harness but said there is no spare part for the socket on the battery and it works anyway. I can't argue with it works, because it does. Still, the battery is an expensive part and there are clearly screws so it should be repairable. But well, I now have a paper trail should something happen in the future.

 

[Drew502]

Hmmm . . . not good - keep us posted.

 

[PaintSlinger]

So, my problem has been resolved. Apparently the cable from the battery to the motor didn't connect very well. The connector at the motor became corroded and lost connectivity. Hopefully this helps someone fix an issues down the road.

View attachment 114721

So, my problem has been resolved. Apparently the cable from the battery to the motor didn't connect very well. The connector at the motor became corroded and lost connectivity. Hopefully this helps someone fix an issues down the road.

View attachment 114721

Just found this out for myself. Good find here. Did a new cable resolve your issue?

 

[Paul L.]

My bike died at 2,500 miles - about 1,000 miles after the first E020 error. In that time I had several E020 errors but the bike always restarted. The LBS with Shimano first analyzed it as the power cable which showed damage similar to FtOrdFanatic. Replacing the cable did not fully resolve the issue - mechanic said it would not work in Boost and next blamed battery. New battery did nothing but it was no longer possible to get any communication to the motor. Motor replacement resolved all issues. I believe that the damaged cable caused damage to the electronics inside the motor.
I have added dialectric grease to the cable to motor connection in an effort to keep out dust and moisture. I plan to clean and re-grease periodically and at the first instance of an E020 error.
Maintaining clean contacts on the cable to battery connection has eliminated the startup issues where the display would turn-on momentarily and then turn off.

 

[PaintSlinger]

My bike died at 2,500 miles - about 1,000 miles after the first E020 error. In that time I had several E020 errors but the bike always restarted. The LBS with Shimano first analyzed it as the power cable which showed damage similar to FtOrdFanatic. Replacing the cable did not fully resolve the issue - mechanic said it would not work in Boost and next blamed battery. New battery did nothing but it was no longer possible to get any communication to the motor. Motor replacement resolved all issues. I believe that the damaged cable caused damage to the electronics inside the motor.
I have added dialectric grease to the cable to motor connection in an effort to keep out dust and moisture. I plan to clean and re-grease periodically and at the first instance of an E020 error.
Maintaining clean contacts on the cable to battery connection has eliminated the startup issues where the display would turn-on momentarily and then turn off.

Fortunately for me a new battery to motor cable resolved the issue. Shimano even covered the cost of the cable. My LBS mechanic stated that if failure were to occur again that Shimano would warranty the motor and power cable. I hope it doesn’t happen again and I have already done the dielectric grease. Thanks for your reply.

 

[Windsurfer]

Nothing major but frustrating since it came this way out of the box and the cover is deformed as well. It was not fastened securely and stuck out. They send me the cable harness but said there is no spare part for the socket on the battery and it works anyway. I can't argue with it works, because it does. Still, the battery is an expensive part and there are clearly screws so it should be repairable. But well, I now have a paper trail should something happen in the future.
View attachment 114778 View attachment 114779

In Germany there is a dealer for this Rosenberg socket incl. cables. However , you have to connect the 6 cables with the old or you have to open the battery to connect them directly to the circuit board inside.
Link:

https://akkuplus.de/Rosenberger-C003-B1-500-C-Power-Data-RoPD-Gehaeusebuchse-rechteckig-25mm

 

[Narfel]

Hmmm . . . not good - keep us posted.

Just an update on this one. So far I had two occasions of the cover coming loose or power cutting out. One time I went through a really rough rock garden, the other was a bump on a log. Not ideal, but in both times the cover just loosened, so no danger while riding. If it stays that way I can live with it. I do make sure that the contacts are clean, though. I had one time where setting the cover not 100% correct would not let me turn it on, but that's an easy to avoid problem.

Thanks @Windsurfer for the link. It is interesting that they describe the connection as "Instead of mechanical locking, they use a magnetic connection system". That sounds like that there is no mechanical latching in the parts that are broken in my case. I don't think they meant it can hold a structural part of the bike solely by that magnet, but hey I'm not an engineer. At least it is possible to get this socket, however I will not go near a 1000 eur battery with a soldering iron as long as there is warranty on it. I don't think you can open it without destroying the case anyways.

 

[Windsurfer]

I would not open the battery case as long there is warranty and due to the magnets inside the connection still works.

If the electrical connection is lost during a ride, the reason could be the extra specialized housing which includes the socket of the motor cable. After some time in use, the housing expands and the magnet does not surely manage to connect all of the contacts anymore. In that case you can open the housing and place a small coin (in Europe a 2 cent) behind the socket. This will press the socket forward the female part. I had the same problem and it works fine. This suggestion tip is from a thread in the german levo forum.
PS: sorry for my poor english.

 

[Antonio barron]

Seems like I have same problem, or very similar

Do you know what could cause this?