All bars are not created equal!

[FOG]

I have had my E8000 powered bike for 3-4 months now and have only once been down to the last, red, bar once but that was very near home and wasn't a problem. This week in a longer ride in Scotland I was nearly home with 2 bars showing and a big hill to do. Just as I got onto the hill with about half a mile to the top and a mile downhill on the other side, the red bar popped up. Never mind thinks I , it will get me home. Wrong!!! Within quarter of a mile on Trail the battery went flat and I had to pedal the last quarter uphill.
Is this normal? I naively expected all the bars to give roughly equal power which they clearly don't.What is the point of the red bar if it only last a quarter of a mile? {it was a steep hill but really....}

 

[Gary]

Yeah. sounds fairly normal.
The battery indicator leds aren't linear or equal at all. first bar lasts ages, second a little less and the last two hardly any range at all.
When the red bar shows it's game over if you have another climb to do.
Droping to Eco and soft pedalling at low cadence keeping the assistance bar (on the display) low will eek out the most battery if you think you'll struggle to complete a ride. (not a lot of use once it's reached red mind)
if your motor chipped/derestricted this often makes battery range worse and you might find the battery leds don't always match the battery level on the display.

 

[ottoshape]

I hit the red bar on the battery indicator the other day when I was at the furthest point from my house. I was able to get out of the woods and onto flat, paved roads. I used ECO and a fairly high cadence, low or no stress on motor, and my 504wh battery lasted for almost 4 miles on the return to home.

 

[flash]

I've gone into the red a few times. I've always dropped to eco and been OK. Once rode home with 6km range showing (home was 5 kms). Still had 6km range when I got home. Had times where the bar display showed red but the battery said green. Had red and then turned the bike off and on and had two bars in eco. I've tried all the usual calibration stuff (running the battery down at different levels etc) and have decided it has no idea. So I now see the red light as a 5km warning and the bars as 100>65>30>10>3%. I tend to trust the display on the battery rather than the bars.

Gordon

 

[Dan63]

Your firmware could need updating

 

[njn]

With recent firmware updates, it seems more linear. Next time, record the mileage at each bar for a rough estimate assuming a similar elevation delta per mile.

 

[Akiwi]

My first bike had the E8000 and I definitely noticed that the last red bar basically means "THE END". Currently I have a Bosch Motor and it behaves exactly the same. On flat to rolling terain I can easily go 20 km on the first bar. With the same riding technique I think the last bar holds for about 1 or 2 km.

 

[Cooldaddygroove]

I ran in to a problem in the Fall where my display shows red, yet the display on the battery still showed 2 out of 5 bars. Bike went in to limp mode. What a PIA pedaling this thing a couple kms up a steep hill, Ugh.

Shimano was very good to deal with and replaced my battery

 

[suso]

I had similar behavior with old firmware releases.
After updating 3 times, now the last two bars last longer and I do not run directly in red flashing conditions.
Take a look at the following link:
ファームウェア更新情報　詳細｜E-TUBE PROJECT｜シマノ

 

[Brianjonesphoto]

That is the nature of lithium batterys. The the bars there are only 2 ways to judge battery state of charge on lithium cells. Voltage drop and current used over time. I have no idea how the BMS in the Shimano battery’s determines battery life. I know the voltage drop curve of lithium cells is very progressive which is why the work so well. A 18650 cell have a full charge voltage of 4.2v. The first 10% of battery capability there is a significant voltage drop 4.1 is about 90% charge state. The next 50% of charge has much less drop. 3.7v is about 40% state of charge. 3.5-3.4 is just about the end of useable charge. Around 3.2 is where most BMS will cut off to prevent cell damage. That seems to mirror the experiences with the gauge.

I haven’t yet been down beyond 2 left yet so I have no first hand experience.

 

[Cooldaddygroove]

With the latest firmware update from Shimano, I went for a ride with an eMTB friend and they shouted out "Are you going faster than 32kmh?"..........I looked down, and I was. I was like "Whoa! I have no limiter"............stopped for a coffee, turned bike off, then back on..........and the limiter was active again.....bummer

 

[njn]

Went into the red today, 2 bars on battery, 3 miles stated in high trail, 2 in boost. Rode about 3 miles in trail and boost to finally get into flashing eco mode. About 19 miles total.

I suspect riding at my us spec 20 mph will use slightly more energy than at 15.5 mph.

 

[Tuplis]

Is It always normal that display and battery show different status?

Emptied battery today in a 30km/3,5hour rough trail ride.
Mostly used trail mode.

When display showed zero bars and range, battery was still showing two bars when it turned off...

Edit: BT-E8010 battery and SC-E7000 display