Deep Discharge

[Peaky Rider]

Got back home this afternoon and just as I pulled up in front of my garage the battery indicator flashed red (after just 21 miles on a full charge).
Left it for an hour for the battery to settle down before charging it.
It would not take a charge.
Just tried again after three hours but it will still not charge.
I had this problem all last winter through the cold weather but the current situation is a first and it certainly isn't cold.
Anyone have any suggestions.
Oh! I have the later charger, 4.25 or 4.5. or whatever.

 

[steve_sordy]

Battery and charger needs to be above 11 degC. The problem went away when my charger was changed for the 4.0 Amp version, ie the old one, not the latest 4.5 Amp one. Mind you, I'm waiting for the cold weather to come, with some apprehension.

 

[Shy Ted]

I know there’s another thread somewhere referring to cold weather charging but as this one is fairly recent, here goes:
Got all kitted up for a ride yesterday only for the bike not to “start” it had been on charge for a few days since the last ride; solid green light on. I put the bike in the sun and reconnected the charger for a couple of hours. Tried to start it, nothing. After reading other threads brought the charger indoors and put it on the Aga(no comments please!) anyway, two mins later connected it to the bike solid green light.......hey presto it “fired up”. Went for a ride (15 miles and battery died with 200yds to go - that’ll have to be another thread). Bike put on charge (in a cold garage) overnight, solid green light this morning, tried again, nowt! Warmed up the charger, connected it to bike, but not to mains, and then it worked. There has to be a component inside the charger that just can’t cope with the cold. I’ve contacted Rutland where I bought it from and also Focus directly. PS it went down to around 0°C over the past two nights. Oh, and mine is the 4.5A charger.

 

[Peaky Rider]

That sounds more like a faulty battery/BMS Shy Ted.

 

[Beanz23!]

I know there’s another thread somewhere referring to cold weather charging but as this one is fairly recent, here goes:
Got all kitted up for a ride yesterday only for the bike not to “start” it had been on charge for a few days since the last ride; solid green light on. I put the bike in the sun and reconnected the charger for a couple of hours. Tried to start it, nothing. After reading other threads brought the charger indoors and put it on the Aga(no comments please!) anyway, two mins later connected it to the bike solid green light.......hey presto it “fired up”. Went for a ride (15 miles and battery died with 200yds to go - that’ll have to be another thread). Bike put on charge (in a cold garage) overnight, solid green light this morning, tried again, nowt! Warmed up the charger, connected it to bike, but not to mains, and then it worked. There has to be a component inside the charger that just can’t cope with the cold. I’ve contacted Rutland where I bought it from and also Focus directly. PS it went down to around 0°C over the past two nights. Oh, and mine is the 4.5A charger.

Im going through exactly this at the minute. my bike and charger are in a cold garage and going by whats been said ( needs to be above 11degrees) ive now brought the charger in to warm it up and hopefully try again tomorrow....if that doesnt work ill bring it in again and the bike to charge.

All new to me this EMTB lark

 

[steve_sordy]

Im going through exactly this at the minute. my bike and charger are in a cold garage and going by whats been said ( needs to be above 11degrees) ive now brought the charger in to warm it up and hopefully try again tomorrow....if that doesnt work ill bring it in again and the bike to charge.

All new to me this EMTB lark

The 11degC thing is not a design and operating requirement from Focus. It is a pragmatic workaround that seems to work for many Focus owners, but not all. But we should not have to do this at all, it is a fault of some kind, not currently recognised by Focus.

 

[Shy Ted]

It seems that most of us will have different symptoms for what maybe a similar problem but the common items seem to be cold temperature related. I checked the charger connection socket on my bike today and the two small pins had patina on and around (same sort of corrosion if you leave batteries installed for too long); I’ve scraped it off and sprayed contact cleaner on the plug and socket. I’ll see how it goes.
I’ve also had quite a nice reply from Focus who have referred me back to my dealer (Rutland) quoting Focus so they can sort it between them under warranty.
Looks like I’ll need to phone Rutland as they’ve not replied.

 

[mtbphysics]

My Focus Jam2 also has problems when deep discharged...any time it's in the red, it's a "crap shoot" as to whether it will recharge. Sometimes it won't accept a charge for several days, but eventually it responds and takes a charge...at least for now it does. I have no idea the reason or the remedy. I have ridden in all weather conditions, store the bike in a cold garage but moving into the hose has made no difference in it's response to deep discharge.

 

[mtbphysics]

Okay, so I seem to have made some sort of weird discovery when it comes to my Focus resisting a charge after riding it deep "into the red." Symptoms would be that the charger would flash green for a few seconds, click once, flash a couple more times, click again and then fail. The last few times I've ridden "into the red", I've let the charger click once, unplugged the charger at the unit and quickly plugged it right back in and held it under slight pressure, assuring good contact. It immediately started charging. Repeated now a couple of times and have had good success...charges right away. I know this sounds random but for now it seems to be the solution at least temporarily to my particular problem with charging. Maybe it will help someone else with charging problems. Cheers.

 

[Shy Ted]

If you mean the point where it connects to the bike then check the connector pins for corrosion and give them a clean as it sounds like a bad connection. I’ve seen this, as per a couple of posts back in this thread, and others have come across this, too.