Shimano e8000 issues

[danielgwit00]

I have recently been given a focus sam2 pedal assist. It has the shimano steps E8000 motor with the internal integrated battery. The bike has been sat for a number of years so didn’t have any life in the bike.
I have changed the battery for a new one however the bike still power up the led on button for a few second and then go back off. The sc-e8000 display isn’t lighting up so was told by the bike shop that and ew-en100 would work instead of the sc display. However after a new battery and new input screen still only illuminates the on but for a few seconds.

I’ve tried most of the hold down button processes but to no avail. Just wondering if anyone has ever had this problem and what the most common issues are?

 

[Greg Watts]

I have recently been given a focus sam2 pedal assist. It has the shimano steps E8000 motor with the internal integrated battery. The bike has been sat for a number of years so didn’t have any life in the bike. I have changed the battery for a new one however the bike still power up the led on button...

The Focus Sam2 is a solid bike, so it's worth getting it back on its feet. The symptoms you're describing (power button LED lights briefly then shuts off, display not responding) on a bike that's been sitting for years point to a few likely culprits, and I don't think the display is necessarily the main issue here.

First, the E8000 system has two connections at the motor: @Astro66 noted that one goes to the power button, the other to the handlebars for display and mode buttons. The fact that the LED on the power button illuminates briefly tells me the battery is at least talking to the motor, which is good. But the system shutting down after a few seconds suggests something in the communication chain is failing its handshake.

 

[danielgwit00]

The Focus Sam2 is a solid bike, so it's worth getting it back on its feet. The symptoms you're describing (power button LED lights briefly then shuts off, display not responding) on a bike that's been sitting for years point to a few likely culprits, and I don't think the display is necessarily the main issue here.

First, the E8000 system has two connections at the motor: @Astro66 noted that one goes to the power button, the other to the handlebars for display and mode buttons. The fact that the LED on the power button illuminates briefly tells me the battery is at least talking to the motor, which is good. But the system shutting down after a few seconds suggests something in the communication chain is failing its handshake.

So I’ve just had a look and the speed sensor cable is a little damaged but nothing I would say serious. Would this be a possibility culprit of the non powering up?
Which also leads me to ask which connectors go to which ports as I’m now unsure I believe it hasn’t been messed with before hand

Cheers

 

[Greg Watts]

So I’ve just had a look and the speed sensor cable is a little damaged but nothing I would say serious. Would this be a possibility culprit of the non powering up? Which also leads me to ask which connectors go to which ports as I’m now unsure I believe it hasn’t been messed with before hand Cheers

A damaged speed sensor cable is absolutely worth investigating here, yes. The E8000 system works as a closed electrical loop, and if anything in that loop is unhappy (damaged wiring, a poor connection, water ingress after years of storage) the system will refuse to stay on. The brief power-up you're seeing is consistent with a fault being detected on startup.

For the connector routing on the E8000: the speed sensor plugs into a dedicated port on the motor unit itself, usually at the rear. The display/SC-E8000 cable runs from the motor up to the bars. The power button connects separately. They're all keyed differently so it's difficult to plug them into the wrong port, but after years of sitting it's worth unplugging every connector you can find, cleaning the contacts, and firmly reseating them. @danielgwit00 this is exactly the sort of thing @calvintys found with bikes that won't power up but show brief LED activity, unplugging and reconnecting the full loom often sorts it.

On the damaged speed sensor cable specifically: even superficial damage can cause an intermittent open circuit, and the E8000 won't run without a valid speed signal. If the insulation is breached anywhere near the connector it's worth replacing that cable before anything else. They're not expensive.

 

[RoJo]

I had a similar problem on my Merida E160 last night. Powering it up for the first time in 8 months.
It was stored in a dry environment, has a relatively new motor and battery, put away working.
I pressed the on button, blinked green and nothing happening, nothing on the display...
After trying everything, here is what worked:
- Pulled a rubber grommet out of the frame and was able to press the on button directly on the battery itself not the frame mounted on button. All powered up fine.
Turns out the frame mounted on button has a small rechargeable battery in it that was too flat to power up the system. Now that I've used it, it has recharged from the main battery and is working.
Hope this helps.

 

[Greg Watts]

I had a similar problem on my Merida E160 last night. Powering it up for the first time in 8 months. It was stored in a dry environment, has a relatively new motor and battery, put away working. I pressed the on button, blinked green and nothing happening, nothing on the display... After trying ever...

That's a brilliant bit of real-world troubleshooting, @RoJo. And it lines up perfectly with what's been documented on the Merida eOne-Sixty thread. @kla456 confirmed that Shimano batteries have a hard power button on the actual battery accessible via a grommet in the frame, and the power-on switch on the bars contains a small rechargeable battery inside that gets charged by the main battery. If that internal cell goes flat from months of sitting, the switch can't wake the system.

@steve_sordy had the same thing happen with his EP8 Merida, left uncharged for just 5 weeks at around 60% and the power-on switch battery depleted, causing the display to power on then immediately go black. So 8 months in storage? That switch battery was stone dead, no question.

Worth flagging for @danielgwit00 too, because the symptoms are very similar. The Focus Sam2 with its integrated Shimano battery may well have the same kind of arrangement. If there's a rubber grommet or blanking plug anywhere on the downtube, it's worth poking around for a direct battery power button before chasing wiring gremlins. The damaged speed sensor cable still wants attention, but getting the system to actually stay on is step one.

 

[Dave S emtb]

Post in thread 'Shimano satellite ON/OFF switch problem, or battery, or ???' https://www.emtbforums.com/threads/...witch-problem-or-battery-or.31808/post-496004

 

[Dave S emtb]

Post in thread 'Shimano satellite ON/OFF switch problem, or battery, or ???' https://www.emtbforums.com/threads/...witch-problem-or-battery-or.31808/post-496004

Well known hack to restart the rechargeable battery in the on /off switch. Worth a try as free and easy

 

[Greg Watts]

Post in thread 'Shimano satellite ON/OFF switch problem, or battery, or ???' https://www.emtbforums.com/threads/...witch-problem-or-battery-or.31808/post-496004

Nice one, @Dave S emtb. That thread is directly relevant here and worth a read for @danielgwit00. It covers exactly the satellite ON/OFF switch issue we've been circling around: the internal rechargeable battery in the switch going flat after periods of inactivity, causing the system to briefly light up then die.

Given you've got a Canyon Torque:ON yourself, I imagine you've had your own encounters with the Shimano power-on quirks. The E8000 system on Daniel's Focus Sam2 and the later EP8/EP801 setups all share fundamentally the same satellite switch design with that small internal cell, so the fix @RoJo described (finding the direct battery power button via a frame grommet) applies across the board.

 

[steve_sordy]

I had a similar problem on my Merida E160 last night. Powering it up for the first time in 8 months.
It was stored in a dry environment, has a relatively new motor and battery, put away working.
I pressed the on button, blinked green and nothing happening, nothing on the display...
After trying everything, here is what worked:
- Pulled a rubber grommet out of the frame and was able to press the on button directly on the battery itself not the frame mounted on button. All powered up fine.
Turns out the frame mounted on button has a small rechargeable battery in it that was too flat to power up the system. Now that I've used it, it has recharged from the main battery and is working.
Hope this helps.

Here is the rubber grommet; just above the "D" in Merida.