Turbo Levo battery issue

[shaunculliss]

I plugged my battery into my 2019 Levo this morning and it didn't turn on.
Took battery back to house and placed on charge. One single green light flashes. Anyone know what this indicates.
I charged it up fully around a week ago and have not used it since, it's been stored on my house, not in the cold.
Any ideas @Specialized Rider Care

After just having my internal power cable replaced I am starting to think this bike is cursed, the bike is 2 months old.

The excess moisture in the picture is contact cleaner that I had just sprayed the port with.

 

[Mikerb]

why is it wet?

 

[wepn]

why is it wet?

That would be the most relevant question. Less relevant but still applicable - why keep it fully charged for a week? It will age much quicker...the manual says store at 30-39% but 50-60% is better than 100%.

In order to fact check myself I had a look at the website. So despite my printed manual stating the above, the website says:

How should I store my Turbo battery when I'm not using it for a long period of time?
Please refer to the battery manual and the symbols on the battery itself. Store the battery pack in a dry place, ideally at a temperature around 15° C (59° F). Recharge to around 60% every three months.

 

[shaunculliss]

why is it wet?

It's contact cleaner that I had just sprayed the ports with.

 

[shaunculliss]

That would be the most relevant question. Less relevant but still applicable - why keep it fully charged for a week? It will age much quicker...the manual says store at 30-39% but 50-60% is better than 100%.

In order to fact check myself I had a look at the website. So despite my printed manual stating the above, the website says:

It's contact cleaner that I sprayed the ports with just prior to taking the picture.
I charged the battery ready to go out on it the next day, however the weather had other ideas and it's been very wet.
Just had a new internal power lead that connects the battery to motor replaced under warranty, LBS believe it to have become faulty due to water ingress so have been very wary of riding the bike in the wet.
The bike is 2 months old.

 

[Donnie797]

What does the battery diagnostics in the secialized app say?

So if you put that battery in your bike, you can't turn it on and the bike's display stays black? Or does that show an error-code?

Does the charger flash red if you plug the battery in?

 

[shaunculliss]

What does the battery diagnostics in the secialized app say?

So if you put that battery in your bike, you can't turn it on and the bike's display stays black? Or does that show an error-code?

Does the charger flash red if you plug the battery in?

If I connect it too the bike it doesn't turn on, TCU stays dark, doesn't light up or make a beep. Doesn't appear to recognise the battery.
When I plug it in to the charger just a single green light flashes on the battery. The light on the charger stays green.

 

[Donnie797]

If I connect it too the bike it doesn't turn on, TCU stays dark, doesn't light up or make a beep. Doesn't appear to recognise the battery.
When I plug it in to the charger just a single green light flashes on the battery. The light on the charger stays green.

and can you find the battery with mission control and what does the diagnostics say? Oh, I guess the my19 battery doesn't have an on/off button anymore, so if you can't turn the bike on, mission control as nothing to connect to.

the interwebs is very quiet about those indicator led's on the my19 battery... did they show a different pattern before or is that light a normal status saying 75% full?

 

[shaunculliss]

and can you find the battery with mission control and what does the diagnostics say? Oh, I guess the my19 battery doesn't have an on/off button anymore, so if you can't turn the bike on, mission control as nothing to connect to.

the interwebs is very quiet about those indicator led's on the my19 battery... did they show a different pattern before or is that light a normal status saying 75% full?

Yeah there is no on or off button on the 2019 battery, just connect battery and turn on at the TCU which is on the top tube of the bike. Bike won't recognise battery so can't connect mission control app.
When it's plugged in and charging it's would show 3 lights on the battery to indicate 75% full and 4 to show 100%, the charger would be red when charging. The charger only goes green to indicate battery is fully charged, however it is also green when not connected to the battery.
Can't seem to find any other information on the web where someone has had a similar issue.

 

[Mikerb]

Did you spray contact cleaner first or after you had the fault?

 

[Donnie797]

Yeah there is no on or off button on the 2019 battery, just connect battery and turn on at the TCU which is on the top tube of the bike. Bike won't recognise battery so can't connect mission control app.
When it's plugged in and charging it's would show 3 lights on the battery to indicate 75% full and 4 to show 100%, the charger would be red when charging. The charger only goes green to indicate battery is fully charged, however it is also green when not connected to the battery.
Can't seem to find any other information on the web where someone has had a similar issue.

Hm... really searched a while, also in german forums and spesh helpdesk (and i have a black belt in google-foo)... but found absolutely nothing about those battery indicator lights. that's a shame. Are you sure it's a levo? Maybe you ride a haibike and didn't know it ^^
Just kidding

 

[shaunculliss]

Did you spray contact cleaner first or after you had the fault?

After

 

[wepn]

Not being able to check MC Diagnostics, this seems to be the Workshop Manual procedure.

 

[Wurley]

Hi, Ive had similar problem with my 2019 Levo expert
Chris Berkshire cycles asked me how I cleaned the bike and what I do afterwards
It turn out that using wd40 to clean off any water from where motor cable plugs into battery isn’t good for the connectors
I air lined the connectors off and wiped them clean and plugged it back together and everyt Works ok

 

[shaunculliss]

Hi, Ive had similar problem with my 2019 Levo expert
Chris Berkshire cycles asked me how I cleaned the bike and what I do afterwards
It turn out that using wd40 to clean off any water from where motor cable plugs into battery isn’t good for the connectors
I air lined the connectors off and wiped them clean and plugged it back together and everyt Works ok

Interesting. I did use contact cleaner on it maybe a 2 charge cycles ago.
My plan tomorrow is to take it to my dad's garage who has a compressor and airline and give it a blow out.

 

[Wurley]

Interesting. I did use contact cleaner on it maybe a 2 charge cycles ago.
My plan tomorrow is to take it to my dad's garage who has a compressor and airline and give it a blow out.

Hopefully sort it out??

 

[Mikerb]

Some contact cleaners are quick drying....others not. I do not use it on the battery terminal because there is no way to turn it off. Onbthe motor side and charger lead I spray then dry with paper towel or a lint free cloth. Just thinking that the only thing that happened between it working and not working was the removal of the battery. Were the battery and motor to battery terminals left uncovered during that time? If so there is a chance either could have attracted debris. A close visual check of both with a torch is worthwhile. The other thing that happened was plugging and unplugging....check the small connectors are not stuck

 

[Mikerb]

Ps the way in which contact cleaners work is that they detach oxidisation deposits from metal contact surfaces. Those deposits in turn hold dust and grime. So most are designed as a fairly firm jet spray to loosen the deposits and blast them away. That does not work in a recessed set of contacts though so it needs wiping out. I think the battery contacts are spring loaded...they can get stuck.

 

[shaunculliss]

Some contact cleaners are quick drying....others not. I do not use it on the battery terminal because there is no way to turn it off. Onbthe motor side and charger lead I spray then dry with paper towel or a lint free cloth. Just thinking that the only thing that happened between it working and not working was the removal of the battery. Were the battery and motor to battery terminals left uncovered during that time? If so there is a chance either could have attracted debris. A close visual check of both with a torch is worthwhile. The other thing that happened was plugging and unplugging....check the small connectors are not stuck

I do tend to leave bike in shed with the power lead covers with a bag. I store the battery indoors and usually leave it connected to the charger (which isn't always on charge) however last time I did store it inside but not always connected to charger.
I will give it a good clean and airline it and hope that fixes it. (And stop using contact cleaner in the future)

 

[Mikerb]

Contact cleaner only needs to be used very occasionally.....say every 3 months. If you look at the way the charger to battery connection works the charger contacts are recessed whilst the battery pins are spring loaded and need to go firmly into those recesses and the connection is held by magnets. If the battery pins get partially stuck or the recesses on the charger plug end contain any debris....or if the flat surface faces of either have any debris a good connection is not made. Since neither the charging plug or the motor lead appear to be making a good connection to the battery it suggests the battery terminal is the most likely problem.

 

[shaunculliss]

Contact cleaner only needs to be used very occasionally.....say every 3 months. If you look at the way the charger to battery connection works the charger contacts are recessed whilst the battery pins are spring loaded and need to go firmly into those recesses and the connection is held by magnets. If the battery pins get partially stuck or the recesses on the charger plug end contain any debris....or if the flat surface faces of either have any debris a good connection is not made. Since neither the charging plug or the motor lead appear to be making a good connection to the battery it suggests the battery terminal is the most likely problem.

Am I correct in that the pins on the battery terminal are not spring loaded? They all appear to be very firm.

 

[NZ Levo Rider]

I had this exact issue this weekend, arrived in Rotorua (New Zealand) for a mountain bike race, with my 1 month old 2019 Levo. I’d been riding the weekend before, cleaned and charged the bike, headed off to Australia for the week and when I joined the family’s Saturday, exactly the same thing happened. End result is the battery is being replaced by Specialized.

Put new battery in, bike worked perfectly.

Don’t bother trying to fix it, send it back to the bike shop. I didn’t spray the terminals, just washed the bike, charged it, put it in the bag and a few days later, dead battery.

Might be a faulty batch of batteries.

 

[shaunculliss]

I had this exact issue this weekend, arrived in Rotorua (New Zealand) for a mountain bike race, with my 1 month old 2019 Levo. I’d been riding the weekend before, cleaned and charged the bike, headed off to Australia for the week and when I joined the family’s Saturday, exactly the same thing happened. End result is the battery is being replaced by Specialized.

Put new battery in, bike worked perfectly.

Don’t bother trying to fix it, send it back to the bike shop. I didn’t spray the terminals, just washed the bike, charged it, put it in the bag and a few days later, dead battery.

Might be a faulty batch of batteries.

Interesting.
I have just had an email back from the shop I purchased it from and they are in conversation with Specialized in order to get the battery looked at and replaced if needed.
I had my internal power cable replaced 2 weeks ago but starting to wonder now if the issue has been the battery all along.

 

[TheBikePilot]

Had the same issue the night before the Megavalanche. Battery was toast..!

I charged the battery straight after a long hot ride and maybe the battery was too hot. I was then told you need to leave it an hour after the ride before charging. After cleaning I remove the battery connector to allow it to dry. I've toasted a charger plugging it in with water on the connector also.

Apparently, it's a duff cell somewhere in the battery. Took it into Berkshire Cycles and Chris exchanged it there and then for me no question.

I've also had a new power lead but I don't think the two are related. I think you are looking at a warranty replacement for the battery

 

[NZ Levo Rider]

Interesting.
I have just had an email back from the shop I purchased it from and they are in conversation with Specialized in order to get the battery looked at and replaced if needed.
I had my internal power cable replaced 2 weeks ago but starting to wonder now if the issue has been the battery all along.

When I was at the shop, they plugged the battery into the computer, got a whole lot of diagnostic data right there... battery was half charged but it got a big red button icon saying it wasn't working. Not sure if every bike shop has this ability.

 

[NZ Levo Rider]

Had the same issue the night before the Megavalanche. Battery was toast..!

Reoccuring theme... Levos don't like racing!!!!

 

[TheBikePilot]

When I was at the shop, they plugged the battery into the computer, got a whole lot of diagnostic data right there... battery was half charged but it got a big red button icon saying it wasn't working. Not sure if every bike shop has this ability.

Yeh I imagine one cell or a block is dud..

 

[TheBikePilot]

Reoccuring theme... Levos don't like racing!!!!

No mate!! They are too pretty for it..??

 

[NZ Levo Rider]

Update: Specialized replaced the battery, and I got them to send a 700WH battery back instead of the 500WH, paid the difference.

 

[TheBikePilot]

That's great news. You will love the 700wh mate..