Paul Carruthers
Member
If this is for real it’s a major design flaw, it’s obvious that ,dirt, grit, water ingress will occur in this area. My bike in for a second time today, not a happy chap, this Rosenberger connection is obviously not sealed correctly, what are Specialized going to do?Have just read through this thread and can see there are a few similar (but not identical) issues going on. Apologies to those of you that have had problems - we'll take some time to investigate with engineering and speak to a couple of key retail partners before coming back, so please allow a few days for that.
I can clear up some of the questions/comments however: -
1) Yes - the battery-to-motor cable is intentionally quite long, to allow for enough play on the Rosenberger (battery charging) end. (If it was exactly the right length, pulling the charging end of this cable would put direct pressure on the motor connection - which we don't want)
2) Yes - the cable is curved/bent around in a tight profile close to the motor. The bend radius however is absolutely fine. We've had cables back to inspect (including Rob Hancill's ) and we have tested a number of them - none (including Rob's) had any damaged cores, i.e. continuity was good on all pins.
3) Yes - there was a minor running change requested to this cable by our design team (before any field issues were reported) to shorten the amount of thick rubber sheath on the bend itself, ensuring a more flexible curve with less pressure on the rubber boot at the motor connection. Largely cosmetic.
So - what do we believe is going on in the cases above? Hard to diagnose over a forum, however there are a couple of key retailers listed on this forum which we'll reach out to. It's probable that a short-circuit or break in connectivity IS involved - however cable inspections have shown no evidence of this between the electrical terminations on the cable itself. Much more likely are one or all of these scenarios: -
1) Water/grit in the battery charge connector. Usually happens when washing the bike with the cable disconnected (please don't!) - but if grit/dirt HAS got in to this area it may compromise the rubber seals or stop the connector fitting tightly. Solution is to dry the area and blow out any gunk with compressed air.
2) Water/grit in the Rosenberger connector. This has two possible effects that are quite different a) water causes a short between some of the 4 small pins - which are very sensitive and typically put the battery into protect mode (The four LEDs on the battery will flash in alternating pairs to indicate a short). It will get you home, but once you turn the bike off it won't turn on again until the short is resolved. b) grit in these sprung pins will prevent a good connection with the battery pins - most sensitive are the data pins. Visually inspect these and really gently depress the four sprung pins one at a time with a small flat-bladed screwdriver, clean with compressed air if they seem stuck (a small amount of contact cleaner won't hurt if in doubt).
3) Metal in this plug or socket is unhelpful - especially if it is magnetic it will stick to the socket and prevent the plug from fitting tightly. Check carefully as compressed air may not always remove metal. Small shards of metal are often on workshop floors - so don't rule this out.
Will dig further and come back once we can shed more light.