Giant Reign 2022 first problem

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,535
5,015
Weymouth
I guess it depends where in the UK. I live on the south coast and the forest trails I ride are sandy/loamy soil rather than clay. So I never wash my bike. I leave it to dry....which it usually has by the time I get home in the van.........and use soft and hard bristle brushes to brush off the dirt, then wipe over with a damp cloth, then spray every now and then with silicon shine. My bikes are kept in the house so they have to be clean before bringing them in.
In the end its a bit like polishing a tu#d since the frame is covered in plastic ( invisiframe).........I wish it was not but it was done before I bought the bike. Never invisiframed my other bikes, just used a kit to protect the few obvious areas of potential damage from the chain or tyres.....so I could actually polish/protect the paint finish which looked heaps better!!
 

cappuccino34

Active member
Nov 24, 2020
530
329
Helmshore
IMG_20220322_150858.jpg
 

cappuccino34

Active member
Nov 24, 2020
530
329
Helmshore
Very few.
Not been jetwashed either.
Not sure yet if the connector O-ring has allowed it in, if has got in via the wire grommets, if it's capillaried in through the wire itself from an outside connector or if it's got into the motor through a bearing or the vent and just corroded the power connector because it's at the bottom of the motor.

Trouble is, they won't allow us to pull it apart to find out, and their solution is to "clean the contact and return the bike to the customer", which is going to work for what, a week at best.

This isn't just a Yamaha/Giant issue, all motors have water ingress issues.

I'm working on a solution for all compatible motors, maybe to offer a conversion kit in time.
I Can't divulge too much information because I might patent the idea yet. It's not actually a new idea, it's a new application of an old idea.
 

Polaris

Active member
Oct 15, 2018
388
262
Lancashire, England
Very few.
Not been jetwashed either.
Not sure yet if the connector O-ring has allowed it in, if has got in via the wire grommets, if it's capillaried in through the wire itself from an outside connector or if it's got into the motor through a bearing or the vent and just corroded the power connector because it's at the bottom of the motor.

Trouble is, they won't allow us to pull it apart to find out, and their solution is to "clean the contact and return the bike to the customer", which is going to work for what, a week at best.

This isn't just a Yamaha/Giant issue, all motors have water ingress issues.

I'm working on a solution for all compatible motors, maybe to offer a conversion kit in time.
I Can't divulge too much information because I might patent the idea yet. It's not actually a new idea, it's a new application of an old idea.
I’ve been riding Bosch and shimano EMTB’s in boggy Lancashire UK for years now, jet washed after ever ride with no issues st all. This Yamaha motor would melt
 

Letford

Member
Jul 21, 2019
90
72
Basford
I had no idea they were this bad, I ride all year round and had so many issues with my Levo and water ingress was kind of hoping the Giant would be a lot better.
 

cappuccino34

Active member
Nov 24, 2020
530
329
Helmshore
I’ve been riding Bosch and shimano EMTB’s in boggy Lancashire UK for years now, jet washed after ever ride with no issues st all. This Yamaha motor would melt
All motors give trouble here (in boggy Lancashire)
Shimano, Bosch, Brose, Yamaha. Etc etc.

I've yet to see a broken Poilini though, but given the I've only seen two of them and I own one of those two, I hope not to see any. :-D
 

cappuccino34

Active member
Nov 24, 2020
530
329
Helmshore
Hmmm it looks like perhaps the motor was underwater for a bit… do you ride through creeks or water at all ?
It just rain here, a lot. The dirt is mostly abrasive too so everything gets killed.

Bike and motor manufacturers should come here to test and develop stuff, not California and the Algarve. Shimano came here once because they couldn't believe the wear rates on mechanical stuff, and their visit directly led to them making changes to improve durability.
 

Acmac999

Member
Dec 26, 2021
102
52
Australia
Very few.
Not been jetwashed either.
Not sure yet if the connector O-ring has allowed it in, if has got in via the wire grommets, if it's capillaried in through the wire itself from an outside connector or if it's got into the motor through a bearing or the vent and just corroded the power connector because it's at the bottom of the motor.

Trouble is, they won't allow us to pull it apart to find out, and their solution is to "clean the contact and return the bike to the customer", which is going to work for what, a week at best.

This isn't just a Yamaha/Giant issue, all motors have water ingress issues.

I'm working on a solution for all compatible motors, maybe to offer a conversion kit in time.
I Can't divulge too much information because I might patent the idea yet. It's not actually a new idea, it's a new application of an old idea.
Is there any grease application needed for a new bike to help keep the water out? Or not effective…
 

John Cap

Member
Jan 29, 2022
28
41
Greece
perhaps a good practice would be to add some touches of dielectric grease on contacts, connectors, etc on these bikes, before getting them out
 

Rickster

Well-known member
Subscriber
Feb 19, 2022
353
468
Ok BC Canada
Absolutely not, dielectric grease is an insulator.
Err maybe there’s a lot more to it then that…

“Contrary toInternet rumors, advertisements, and articles low viscosity silicone dielectric grease will NOT insulate pressure connections. Silicone dielectric grease will prolong connection life as well as, and have just as good conduction performance, as a properly selected metallic powder grease (conductive grease). On the other hand, and improperly selected "conductive" grease can actually cause connection problems.”
Complete article, Dielectric Grease vs Conductive Grease
 

cappuccino34

Active member
Nov 24, 2020
530
329
Helmshore
You use it if you want to.

You're not allowed to use it in aircraft, is what I know, because they crash and people die when things don't work properly.

I'll take aircraft engineers over turntable engineers. :)
 

Evolution Stu

E*POWAH Master
Jun 30, 2019
457
448
Blackpool. U.K.
You're not allowed to use it in aircraft.

Add motorsport engineeers to that. We wont go near the stuff on low voltage connectors as a rule.
We use it in super high voltage shunts where we need to stop it tracking though, which, incidentally, is what the stuff was originally developed for.

A solution was needed to stop HT volage tracking down plug leads when engine blocks got wet and this stuff came about from that. I recall Lucas OIls were one of the first to come up with this easy to fit solution that allowed you to coat the lower innards of the spark plug boots and solve the issue. It eventually became known as "Tune Up grease" in the industry as we painted it onto HT lead innards during a tune up.

Anyway...
Dielectric grease is absolutely an insulator / waterproofer but it should certainly be noted that it can still work in good electrical contacts because the spring pressure from the contact wiper drives it out upon connection, so essentially removes your error for you. The contact patch should remain grease free and still work as lots of E-Bike owers will have proven.

Try it again in a few years time when the connectors have lost their tension though and see how the connection fares with a dielectric material between the contact points.

If you want to use a quality electrical grease, I personally first clean with Electrolube CGS (Strips) and then lubricate with Electrolube CG70. You wont find better.
 

pwiles1968

Member
May 22, 2022
70
60
Leicestershire
Just an update on this. The bike shop fixed the not powering down issue. Now it has a new fault where intermittently when I power up the bike the display will fully illuminate both rows of lights and no motor assistance is available. It will stay like this until I pull the battery. So it's back in the bike shop.
Did you get the bottom of this issue my bike has just started doing this.
 

Goughy75

Member
Sep 22, 2019
87
58
UK
Did you get the bottom of this issue my bike has just started doing this.
It was a loose battery. When I tightened up the battery I didn't let it tighten until you hear the ratchet. That in combination with some water ingress around where the battery connects to the motor.
 

Nobrks

Active member
Sep 16, 2021
94
117
Denmark
The TCU on the Specialized Levo...also on the top tube like the Reign...........always caused water ingress issues unless properly protected. I do not know the design on the Reign, but on the Levo the TCU also had a USB port sealed with a rubber plug. If that rubber plug was not pushed home fully it provided easy access for water ingress. Secondly the TCU is constructed of an upper and lower section. The seam between the upper and lower section was not waterproof. Thirdly the TCU had a "tail" of wires connected in the back that then were connected to the controller and down to the connections on the motor. Those connections were not water tight.
On most if not all bike frames the connection of the top tube to the headtube is open, meaning any water getting into the headtube either from a bove or below ( below being wide open if you wash the bike with it upside down on the bars) can pass straight into the top tube.
Then there is a matter of how well the TCU ( Reign on/off/battery display) is sealed against the top tube.....not at all is my guess!. any water from directly a bove, like rain, will likely be kept out but any water hitting it sideways, like a hose when washing the bike, will not!!

Phew! So what is the answer? On my Levo I removed the TCU and completely wrapped it in amalgamating tape. I similarly wrapped the connectors coming from the TCU. I then used "liquid gasket" to create a seal between the TCU and the frame. ( If you apply a thin layer of grease on the top tube sruface first the liquid gasket will only adhere to the bottom of the TCU/Reign display so it can be removed when required). I also used frame protector to stick across the bottom of the headtube.

I never had any water related problems with those modifications.
The issue with the giant controller design, is that they have mechanical load on thin transpatent plastic, in the assembly.
It separes or cracks if you pu some lod on, like from cables below or using to much force when removing it
I have glued mine twice.
 

On.Works

Member
Sep 30, 2023
4
1
New Zealand
Just an update on this. The bike shop fixed the not powering down issue. Now it has a new fault where intermittently when I power up the bike the display will fully illuminate both rows of lights and no motor assistance is available. It will stay like this until I pull the battery. So it's back in the bike shop.
Did you get a solution or determine what causes both rows of LEDs to be fully illuminated white with no power to motor and unable to switch off? I have the same issue start today but pulling battery does not solve it. The issue persists.
 

shep

New Member
Nov 4, 2023
111
65
In a field
Did you get a solution or determine what causes both rows of LEDs to be fully illuminated white with no power to motor and unable to switch off? I have the same issue start today but pulling battery does not solve it. The issue persists.
Its giant....
 

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