Focus jam 2 won't switch on?

[Russ]

I have a focus jam 2 , it about 3 months old , in general I really like it
Love the way it rides and looks. Anyway yesterday got ready for my ritual Sunday ride , lovely weather press on button and nothing (incidentally it's always taken 2 presses to start up) keep pressing on button but not playing ?
Battery took a full charge the previous night no problem .
Reconnect battery charger , green light on for about 20 seconds then to red
flashing fault light on charger .
Being the person I am a strip down commenced, removed motor to get battery out , removed all wiring and switch , checked wiring for continuity (seems ok) not impressed with the wiring by the way just a bunched up mess at bottom of battery.
Checked for volts at battery terminals, nothing.
Opened battery case ( your going to say I should not have done this now!)
There is 42 volts at the cells ?
I can only assume that the BMS is faulty
Looking like new battery??
Cheers
Russell.

 

[Peaky Rider]

I have a focus jam 2 , it about 3 months old , in general I really like it
Love the way it rides and looks. Anyway yesterday got ready for my ritual Sunday ride , lovely weather press on button and nothing (incidentally it's always taken 2 presses to start up) keep pressing on button but not playing ?
Battery took a full charge the previous night no problem .
Reconnect battery charger , green light on for about 20 seconds then to red
flashing fault light on charger .
Being the person I am a strip down commenced, removed motor to get battery out , removed all wiring and switch , checked wiring for continuity (seems ok) not impressed with the wiring by the way just a bunched up mess at bottom of battery.
Checked for volts at battery terminals, nothing.
Opened battery case ( your going to say I should not have done this now!)
There is 42 volts at the cells ?
I can only assume that the BMS is faulty
Looking like new battery??
Cheers
Russell.

Firstly I would comment on the need to push the on/off switch twice that you mention, as I have read other threads where people complain of this.
The manual that came with my 2019 bike clearly states that to switch on the power the on/off button needs to be pressed twice, holding it down for three seconds on the second press for the electronics to activate. If on standby, whatever that is, only one push is required.

I dropped my battery out to re-route the dropper post and gear cables and I agree, the mish mash of wires is a complete mess.

Finally, if your bike is out of warranty, why not have a fiddle with it, I would. Maybe an electronics engineer could sort it for you. Any idea how much a new battery is?

OhOh! just noticed your bike is only three months old. Back to the dealer then and hope he can't tell you've been tinkering.

 

[Akiwi]

I used to have a Focus Jam 2 with that same problem. Actually I had no end of problems with the bike. Firstly the Shimano display wouldn't go out of Boot up mode. So It would display Shimano.. and nothing else. The bike worked ok though, but you couldn't read which mode you were in or how fast you were going.
I also had the problem that occasionally the bike wouldn't turn on. This got me particularly pissed off when it happened in the middle of a tour in the Swiss alps. Just before a long uphill section.
I had the bike in and out of repair 7 times and they never found the problem.
Eventually it got sent back to Focus where they had it for 7 weeks and apparently re wired everything.
When I got it back It turned on OK, But I couldn't turn it off.

After that I changed bike and motor brands. Hope you have more luck than I did!

 

[Russ]

Can anyone confirm that there should be full battery voltage at the positive and negative terminal's on the battery , or does the internal battery management system disconnect this this when not in use ,
If I connect a voltmeter there is no reading (the cells are full)
Cheers
Russ.

 

[steve_sordy]

I don't like the sound of all this. Glad I bought from a dealer!

 

[OldBean]

To get my TEC pack to switch on I have to press the battery button first...took a while to fathom this out ....still need 2 or 3 main switch presses then

 

[Gasser]

HI Russ, there is a post a little while back about taking the battery apart and also I had exactly the same problem with mine not switching on, Fortunately my local dealer offered to sort out and eventually Focus sent out a complete wiring loom, which once installed sorted the problem, for now and hopefully no more issue, crossed fingers.

Can't help with the battery voltage readings, but I'm guessing the BMS would cut off the voltage until required, maybe....

 

[Russ]

It's a good day!!
New battery arrived yesterday after a month of waiting (£400 from j e James).
All wiring refitted and a good smearing of dielectric grease on all connectors , battery in , motor fitted etc. Finger hovering over on button, first 3 second push of button to wake up battery, then second push of button and.................. Button lights up , display comes on , beeps ! Success!! It lives again?
Hope it lasts longer this time!
Russ

 

[steve_sordy]

A few weeks ago, I turned up at the trail centre and the on-switch had no effect. I was about to lead a guided ride, so that was more than usually inconvenient! There was a bike shop and workshop on site, so I took it there. The mechanic there had not seen a Focus Jam2 before, but he pressed the on-button for ten seconds, and it started! He called it a "hard reset".

 

[Andy A]

I always press my on button for a few seconds as the bike goes into sleep mode and it needs holding down a bit.

 

[highpeakrider]

It's a good day!!
New battery arrived yesterday after a month of waiting (£400 from j e James).
All wiring refitted and a good smearing of dielectric grease on all connectors , battery in , motor fitted etc. Finger hovering over on button, first 3 second push of button to wake up battery, then second push of button and.................. Button lights up , display comes on , beeps ! Success!! It lives again?
Hope it lasts longer this time!
Russ

Russ did you pay for the battery, thought they were covered for 2 years?

 

[Russ]

Russ did you pay for the battery, thought they were covered for 2 years?

Yes I paid for it but that's my fault for letting my curiosity getting the better of me and opening the battery case up. It was very obvious that this had been done so didn't even bother trying to get on a warranty.

 

[Craig s]

I have a focus jam 2 , it about 3 months old , in general I really like it
Love the way it rides and looks. Anyway yesterday got ready for my ritual Sunday ride , lovely weather press on button and nothing (incidentally it's always taken 2 presses to start up) keep pressing on button but not playing ?
Battery took a full charge the previous night no problem .
Reconnect battery charger , green light on for about 20 seconds then to red
flashing fault light on charger .
Being the person I am a strip down commenced, removed motor to get battery out , removed all wiring and switch , checked wiring for continuity (seems ok) not impressed with the wiring by the way just a bunched up mess at bottom of battery.
Checked for volts at battery terminals, nothing.
Opened battery case ( your going to say I should not have done this now!)
There is 42 volts at the cells ?
I can only assume that the BMS is faulty
Looking like new battery??
Cheers
Russell.

 

[Craig s]

Hi mate did you ever get to the bottom of this problem as i have the exact issue

cheers craig

 

[couchman75]

My 2018 Jam2 has just done the same thing, went out one morning for an hour, came back and put it on charge and didn't notice anything untoward. Next day took it off charge, drove out to a park and it wouldn't start at all, tried all sorts of things...gutted. The charger now loops between trying to charge then the red error light. Any ideas before I open it up? Its almost 3 years old but I've never had any issues.
Cheers

 

[OldBean]

Mine did that ...eventually dealer found it to be corrosion on the battery terminals quite bad ......battery was also on the brink after 3 years and as they had new battery in stock I bought it ........VERY expensive day.but I did get my 2nd vaccine shot . FREEDOM!
As an aside ...do electric car buyers realise they are in for a huge shock ! When battery deteriorates ?
Rutland were extremely helpful and efficient...well done .
Ridr tomorrow .in the snow??

 

[couchman75]

Cheers OldBean, not a lot of Focus bikes are sold here in NZ so I'm hoping its not too much of a part replacement exercise.
On the EV front, I have one myself and have been putting all my Petrol money aside for when the battery needs replacing, only 6% down on capacity in almost 3 years and the car didn't cost any more than an equivalent petrol one.

 

[Peaky Rider]

On the EV front, I have one myself and have been putting all my Petrol money aside for when the battery needs replacing, only 6% down on capacity in almost 3 years and the car didn't cost any more than an equivalent petrol one.

That's interesting, can I ask what model and make of car you have (here in the UK electric cars are 50% to !00% more than the same petrol model) and also, what mileage you did over the three years?

It's always interesting to hear of practical experiences.

 

[couchman75]

That's interesting, can I ask what model and make of car you have (here in the UK electric cars are 50% to !00% more than the same petrol model) and also, what mileage you did over the three years?

It's always interesting to hear of practical experiences.

I have a used 2014 Nissan Leaf imported from Japan (cost 8000 quid), they are very good value in NZ, clocked about 40000km in the 3 years. New EV's are still expensive here although MG are bringing out some pretty good value models now. I can even put my Jam2 in the back if I take the front wheel off, makes it a cheap and cheerful trip to the local MTB park.

 

[Peaky Rider]

Thanks c75, that makes more sense now, I thought we were talking about new cars which are stupidly expensive at the moment.