Giant Trance E+ Sudden Off!!

[7869hodgy]

Has another couple of “sudden offs” on Sunday. One time I got the error code “syncdrive error”. Checked via the app and all was well.

Weird......no consistent reason for offs.

EDIT - rode for 26km today, the first time in the wet in 5 weeks ownership. Not crazy wet, but wet. Battery was fine for 20km and then had a “sudden off”. I was on the flat so just kept switching on/off 5/6 times until it stayed on until I got home.

Washed the bike as normal, maybe a bit longer as the dirtiest it’s been.

Charged the battery in the bike. Just went to turn off charger and check it had charged. Press on button, all lights come on.....then they went off. Tried a few times, removed battery but still lights then none.

Leaving the battery out overnight to see if that has a miraculous effect. If not it’s back to the dealer on Friday.

One thing I noticed was the battery is not 100 aligned into the frame......maybe it’s moved as it’s been super bumpy out on the bridleways where the tracks/horse footprints have dried hard.

 

[7869hodgy]

The two screws holding the lock at the top of the battery were too high, the battery could not be fully inserted. Just loosening them a little and setting them in a lower position fixed 100% the issue!

Will try that as battery is not aligned on mine. The 2 screws and plate are not straight. Will report back.

 

[7869hodgy]

Will try that as battery is not aligned on mine. The 2 screws and plate are not straight. Will report back.

After adjusting the lock mechanism I had an uninterrupted 34km ride. Let’s see how it goes.

 

[7869hodgy]

I am about 4-500km further into ownership and after a few more “offs” whilst riding but since re-aligning the battery catch mechanism it was way better but did turn off occasionally.

I had an app update a couple of weeks ago and have subsequently ridden 150 trouble free kms.

Anyone else still having the issues/had an update and issue “fixed”?

Also, I store my bike vertically and have got into the habit of fitting the battery whilst the bike is upright. This makes the weight of the battery push itself into the frame and may be a contributory factor to its lack of offs???

 

[Minxter]

I have had to send my Liv Entrigue PRO back for a second time due to the power going off. I was offered a refund but wouldn't have been able to get an equivalent bike for the money due to the price hike so felt obliged to get it fixed again. Been without it for 2 months now during the summer

 

[KuRi]

I am suffering this problem just 2 years and 2 weeks after... so Giant is saying not under warranty... unbelievable.

Not sure yet it if is battery or motor, but it will cost me ~800 eur

 

[Evolution Stu]

You guys on this topic may well benefit from a video I recently made.

GIANT Trance "Bench Test" Rig

Hi folks, Not been posting of late as been crazy busy at work and havent been able to concentrate on much else thanks to COVID giving me a pay free year off work. Anyway... I decided to do a quick video of my home test rig as I know many GIANT Trance E-Bike owners are plagued with reliability...

www.emtbforums.com

 

[Minxter]

I have had to send my Liv Entrigue PRO back for a second time due to the power going off. I was offered a refund but wouldn't have been able to get an equivalent bike for the money due to the price hike so felt obliged to get it fixed again. Been without it for 2 months now during the summer

So, got my bike back last week. Put all my own bits back on the bike. Tried it out in the street and all seemed fine. Thought I better have a longer run though before setting off up the hills. Got a mile away from home and it went off again.? Ride control said fully charged and it had been fully charged when I sent it back. Giant didn't even send a ride report as to what they had done to the bike. Went back today for a refund? I emailed giant myself couple of weeks ago. Didn't even get a reply.?

 

[KuRi]

Sorry to hear that. Most of the times this problem is related to the battery seat, but it requires patience and lot of trial to set it up correctly. I know because I had this problem on a very new bike a friend recently bought. We tried 10 different setups and since the last one, no more shut down and 500+ over rocky roads

 

[7869hodgy]

Sorry to hear that. Most of the times this problem is related to the battery seat, but it requires patience and lot of trial to set it up correctly. I know because I had this problem on a very new bike a friend recently bought. We tried 10 different setups and since the last one, no more shut down and 500+ over rocky roads

I am over a 1000kms now and have not had an “off” since using the method of putting the battery in whilst the bike is vertical (using a Clug vertical storage clamp). I also make sure the Torx lock screw is super tight.

 

[funnel]

The sudden off was happening to me too. I removed the battery, blown the dust off from the contacts with compressed air, and cleaned both the battery and bike contacts with a Qtip dipped in isopropyl alcohol. Since then I did 5 rides without any auto shutdowns. So I guess it's solved.

 

[Kiwi Giant]

Unfortunately this occurred to me yesterday on my new 2021 Giant Stance E+2 that I just purchased in June, I've just completed around 750km without any issues. I was headed out and down the road away from home for a ride and suddenly the bike just switches off, no lights on the controller, just suddenly dead. Switched it back on and good for another 30 seconds then off again. This repeated at least 10 times, never lasted more than a minute before switching off and sometimes only seconds. At the bottom of the hill I gave up and stopped, I took the battery out and all looked good, the battery tested OK so I refitted it and this seemed to sort the problem. I rode a further 20km without fault.

Today I have covered another 35km on rough tracks and road and it hasn't played up. Before this ride I removed the battery and cleaned both the female battery contacts and the male battery contacts on the bike with CRC Contact Cleaner and also put a light coating of Stabilant 22, an electrical contact enhancer that we use at work (aircraft engineer) on the male battery contacts. The battery appears secure with no movement and the although it's still winter down here in New Zealand the tracks have been pretty dry in the last week so the bike hasn't been washed the last couple of rides so there should be no moisture issues.

This has come out of the blue so any suggestions appreciated. I did want to check the bikes total mileage after the last ride before this all occurred so I connected with the Giant RideControl App thru my iPhone which carried out an update to the latest firmware. Not much else I can add. Any thoughts guys.

Regards - Kiwi

 

[KuRi]

Hi, this is very similar to the problem I am having now after upgrading my battery from 500wh to 625wh after 1 year of using the new 625wh battery. In this case, as you described it, I think it is not related to the contacts or the position of the battery (I have experience on that).

If when this happened you tried to switch it on and it did switch off again every 10 seconds, it is hardly related to contacts. Did it switch off without moving or 10 seconds after you started pedaling again? If it was after pedaling again then the problem is the battery controller, just like mine. If you were not pedaling, then yes, it can be related to contacts or battery movement.

Mine does this after some hard uphill riding. It is related to temperature or high current demand. When you let the battery rest for some minutes it does not switch off again until you ride hard again for some kms.

My battery is currently under inspection at the LBS and will let you know how it goes, but a friend has lent me his 500 battery and this has never happened again.

Cheers!

 

[DaveMatthews]

My 2021 Stance E+2 did that as well.
Clean connectors/re-seat battery didn't work. Shim under the connector plate in the frame didn't help. Replaced the controller didn't help.
Ended up getting a replacement bike, and this bike has zero issues.
One thing to note... the first Stance had a bit of a noisy motor, much noisier than my previous 2019 Fathom E+2.
The new Stance is as quiet as a mouse.

 

[DrStupid]

My 2021 Stance E+2 did that as well.
Clean connectors/re-seat battery didn't work. Shim under the connector plate in the frame didn't help. Replaced the controller didn't help.
Ended up getting a replacement bike, and this bike has zero issues.
One thing to note... the first Stance had a bit of a noisy motor, much noisier than my previous 2019 Fathom E+2.
The new Stance is as quiet as a mouse.

My 2021 Trance x is noisier than the 2019 Trance by a good amount. The pwx just growls kinda low like, while my pwx-2 almost seems to have a vocabulary.

The 2019 also suffered from sudden power off, but readjusting the battery latch, and keeping the connectors clean & treated with with dielectric grease solved it.

 

[Kiwi Giant]

Hi, this is very similar to the problem I am having now after upgrading my battery from 500wh to 625wh after 1 year of using the new 625wh battery. In this case, as you described it, I think it is not related to the contacts or the position of the battery (I have experience on that).

If when this happened you tried to switch it on and it did switch off again every 10 seconds, it is hardly related to contacts. Did it switch off without moving or 10 seconds after you started pedaling again? If it was after pedaling again then the problem is the battery controller, just like mine. If you were not pedaling, then yes, it can be related to contacts or battery movement.

Mine does this after some hard uphill riding. It is related to temperature or high current demand. When you let the battery rest for some minutes it does not switch off again until you ride hard again for some kms.

My battery is currently under inspection at the LBS and will let you know how it goes, but a friend has lent me his 500 battery and this has never happened again.

Cheers!

Thanks for the reply KuRi.

It all happened in a bit of a hurry as you can imagine, but as best I can remember it only occurred while pedalling. I did stop a couple of times and from memory if I was stationary it would stay on until I moved off pedalling, I was riding with my wife who had gone off ahead unaware of my problems so I was focused on catching her up so was doing a lot of switching on while riding. The beginning of the ride from our place is a 2km downhill road and I was probably 100m down when it first occurred. I don't remember it occurring while I was stopped. It certainly isn't related to temperature or high current demand as the battery was cold and downhill at the beginning of the ride. Yesterday I completed a 35km ride without an issue, part of that was a 6km uphill to Colonial Knob summit in Wellington and then some further uphills (709 m elevation gain for the whole ride) so if it was related to temp then it would have reoccurred yesterday.

I agree that it is unlikely to be battery connection, there is no movement of the battery, I am an Aircraft Engineer and deal with electrical connectors all the time, this connection shows no sign of movement (oxidation, arcing or fretting) and the connection was clean and dry with no oil or dirt.

One of my concerns is the firmware update I carried out after the ride prior to to this happening. Giant's software has been a mess for some time, previously I owned a 2020 Fathom E+3.

I'm hoping this was a one off, but I doubt it will be.

Again, thanks for your input - Kiwi

 

[Kiwi Giant]

My 2021 Stance E+2 did that as well.
Clean connectors/re-seat battery didn't work. Shim under the connector plate in the frame didn't help. Replaced the controller didn't help.
Ended up getting a replacement bike, and this bike has zero issues.
One thing to note... the first Stance had a bit of a noisy motor, much noisier than my previous 2019 Fathom E+2.
The new Stance is as quiet as a mouse.

Hi Dave.

Thanks for the reply, I can't say I have noticed that the Stance's motor is any more noisy than my 2020 Fathom E+3 which had the same motor. As I said to KuRi, I agree that I don't think this is a battery issue. But removing and reseating the battery seemed to make it go away, we call this a "global reset" at work (removing then reapplying all power sources from the aircraft) which has the feeling of a software issue.

I have cleaned the battery contacts and applied a light coating of Stabilant 22 (electrical contact enhancer) just to convince myself that I have done a positive action. Again I'm hoping this was a one off....

Kiwi

 

[DaveMatthews]

Hi Dave.

Thanks for the reply, I can't say I have noticed that the Stance's motor is any more noisy than my 2020 Fathom E+3 which had the same motor. As I said to KuRi, I agree that I don't think this is a battery issue. But removing and reseating the battery seemed to make it go away, we call this a "global reset" at work (removing then reapplying all power sources from the aircraft) which has the feeling of a software issue.

I have cleaned the battery contacts and applied a light coating of Stabilant 22 (electrical contact enhancer) just to convince myself that I have done a positive action. Again I'm hoping this was a one off....

Kiwi

Yeah, like you my Fathom had the same motor as well. So I was surprised that the first Stance was as loud as it was. My LBS had it for 10 days and gave up trying everything Giant told them to do.
No worries, new bike is excellent!

 

[Miestenmies]

Another victim here! I had first service done to my bike few weeks ago, last sunday i rode 40km in rough terrain, no probs whatsoever.

Yesterday first shut off was after 15km, rolling up a hill at slow pace, no roots, medium assist and bike shuts off. First few tries to press on gave me speed sensor error. I checked sensor and magnet which looked just fine to me. I got bike working by waiting few minutes and then pressing on.

After that Trance worked for a good 6km until it switched off again and after that it started to switch off even more frequently. I ended up pedaling dead bike back home from forest trails for 10km. First part of my journey were moderate heart rates and good speed, last part was high heart rates and slow speed.

I called My local Giant dealer who sold bike to me and they said that they have never heard this kind of problems, we'll see how they tackle this I'll keep you guys posted when I know more... My bike is 2021 model.

 

[KuRi]

Yes please, let us know. I have been trying to get a battery replacement under warranty for 2 months! Giant and my LBS are not been very helpful.

 

[Miestenmies]

Called LBS, they suspect faulty control box, they also have asked from Giant but so far no reply so we'r waiting for now.

 

[KuRi]

what is the control box? the ride controller one? Thanks

 

[Miestenmies]

what is the control box? the ride controller one? Thanks

I suspect motor controller, not ride controller.

 

[KuRi]

But that's inside the motor

 

[Kiwi Giant]

An update, it's been 3 weeks & 350km of MTB trails & road riding since my issues. No further sudden offs, although posting this is tempting fate!

 

[MrsToast]

I thought I'd jump in and add my woes to the list!

I bought a Liv Intrigue E+1 in May. During our annual (and extremely soggy) trip to Glentress at the start of last month, it cut out on a climb, and wouldn't come back on again - or rather, wouldn't stay on. The Ride Control lights all came on (occasionally with a red LED), then immediately went off. It recovered about ten minutes later, and was fine for the rest of the holiday.

Then a few weeks ago, I was riding Cannock Chase blue. I'd done a couple of laps, with the combined grand total of 5.7 miles, when it died again. This time, it didn't recover for at least two hours (it was still dead after the hour or so drive home), but it was back to life a couple of days later.

I took it into the local Giant dealer to be fixed under warranty - they said that the error codes suggested a sensor issue caused by water ingress. I got the bike back, took it on a short test ride (on a sunny day!) around the roads to make sure it was fine for my weekend plans, and it seemed fine.

PLOT TWIST! It was not fine.

I charged it for a while before going to load it onto the bike rack, switched it on to check the battery (to see if I needed to take the charger) and... it was dead again. Lights come on, lights immediately go off.

I've asked for a refund as it's only four months old (and has only done 270 miles) and one repair has already failed, so it's back off to Giant.

My four year old Lapierre Overvolt HT is once again my main trail bike, having done nearly 2000 miles with no issues at all.

 

[DaveMatthews]

I thought I'd jump in and add my woes to the list!

I bought a Liv Intrigue E+1 in May. During our annual (and extremely soggy) trip to Glentress at the start of last month, it cut out on a climb, and wouldn't come back on again - or rather, wouldn't stay on. The Ride Control lights all came on (occasionally with a red LED), then immediately went off. It recovered about ten minutes later, and was fine for the rest of the holiday.

Then a few weeks ago, I was riding Cannock Chase blue. I'd done a couple of laps, with the combined grand total of 5.7 miles, when it died again. This time, it didn't recover for at least two hours (it was still dead after the hour or so drive home), but it was back to life a couple of days later.

I took it into the local Giant dealer to be fixed under warranty - they said that the error codes suggested a sensor issue caused by water ingress. I got the bike back, took it on a short test ride (on a sunny day!) around the roads to make sure it was fine for my weekend plans, and it seemed fine.

PLOT TWIST! It was not fine.

I charged it for a while before going to load it onto the bike rack, switched it on to check the battery (to see if I needed to take the charger) and... it was dead again. Lights come on, lights immediately go off.

I've asked for a refund as it's only four months old (and has only done 270 miles) and one repair has already failed, so it's back off to Giant.

My four year old Lapierre Overvolt HT is once again my main trail bike, having done nearly 2000 miles with no issues at all.

Bummer!
My LBS exchanged my Stance E for a new one and zero problems since then at over 1000kms.

 

[7869hodgy]

I thought I'd jump in and add my woes to the list!

I bought a Liv Intrigue E+1 in May. During our annual (and extremely soggy) trip to Glentress at the start of last month, it cut out on a climb, and wouldn't come back on again - or rather, wouldn't stay on. The Ride Control lights all came on (occasionally with a red LED), then immediately went off……

PLOT TWIST! It was not fine.

I charged it for a while before going to load it onto the bike rack, switched it on to check the battery (to see if I needed to take the charger) and... it was dead again. Lights come on, lights immediately……...

Did you ever remove the battery and put it back in after an off?. I found that sorted mine and since putting the battery in whilst the bike is vertical I have since had no offs whatsoever.

I did adjust the battery lock/clamp too to make sure the battery was tight.

It’s not had a winter yet so let’s see how it handles wet conditions….my 2020 E+1 was bulletproof last winter.

 

[DrStupid]

Is it possible, sudden off failures are corrilated to rider size and mass? More frame flex moving the control points?

 

[MrsToast]

Did you ever remove the battery and put it back in after an off?. I found that sorted mine and since putting the battery in whilst the bike is vertical I have since had no offs whatsoever.

I did adjust the battery lock/clamp too to make sure the battery was tight.

It’s not had a winter yet so let’s see how it handles wet conditions….my 2020 E+1 was bulletproof last winter.

Yep - I'm assuming that the dealer also did as well when they investigated and waterproofed it. ? Its with the warranty team now, I'm going for a refund. I can't have a bike that's got a proven track record of being unreliable - intermittent faults are the worst, because you never know when it's going to go off, or when it will come back on again. ?

Is it possible, sudden off failures are corrilated to rider size and mass? More frame flex moving the control points?

As a 5ft 2 woman, I sincerely hope that I'm not hefty enough to break the bike, even if I need to lose a few pounds! ?