Intermittent "Motor Error" on '19 Levo

Eljay

Member
Dec 2, 2018
45
21
San Francisco
I recently had a failing motor warrantied (about 200 miles ago) and now have just started intermittently getting the "Motor Error" (see pic) on my '19 Levo during riding - the error will just pop-up and the assist cuts out & when I keep pedaling it will usually kick back in - I recall getting this error when I 1st got my bike and wanted to try a 27.5+ tire on the rear and didn't install the magnet so it seems logical that it has something to do with the sensor not picking up the magnet? This is also supported by the fact that it only seems to happen at slow speed / low cadence

I tried turning it off and on, checked Mission Control but says everything is fine (the manual recommends "rebooting" - I assume this is just turning off and on or is there more to it?) - I also tried cleaning off the sensor and magnet, but didn't fix it - I'm guessing a bad/weak connection of some sort? - before posting I did a search and found a thread where @All Mountain Coaching had this problem and @Specialized Rider Care apparently helped him fix it but I couldn't find out exactly what was done from the thread - hoping it is a simple fix I can do rather than having to wait weeks for the shop to fix it.

Any ideas or help is appreciated!

Error pic:
IMG_4500.JPG
 
Last edited:

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,540
5,029
Weymouth
I recently had a failing motor warrantied (about 200 miles ago) and now have just started intermittently getting the "Motor Error" (see pic) on my '19 Levo during riding - the error will just pop-up and the assist cuts out & when I keep pedaling it will usually kick back in - I recall getting this error when I 1st got my bike and wanted to try a 27.5+ tire on the rear and didn't install the magnet so it seems logical that it has something to do with the sensor not picking up the magnet? This is also supported by the fact that it only seems to happen at slow speed / low cadence

I tried turning it off and on, checked Mission Control but says everything is fine (the manual recommends "rebooting" - I assume this is just turning off and on or is there more to it?) - I also tried cleaning off the sensor and magnet, but didn't fix it - I'm guessing a bad/weak connection of some sort? - before posting I did a search and found a thread where @All Mountain Coaching had this problem and @Specialized Rider Care apparently helped him fix it but I couldn't find out exactly what was done from the thread - hoping it is a simple fix I can do rather than having to wait weeks for the shop to fix it.

Any ideas or help is appreciated!

Error pic:
View attachment 22109
that error code is "motor not found" so more likely a bad motor to battery connection......and more likely to appear if intermittent when current is low. Factory reset via the TCU is on page 11 of the manual.
 

Eljay

Member
Dec 2, 2018
45
21
San Francisco
that error code is "motor not found" so more likely a bad motor to battery connection......and more likely to appear if intermittent when current is low. Factory reset via the TCU is on page 11 of the manual.

Thanks for the response - according to my user manual, the error code is "Motor Error" - the "Motor Not Found" is listed as when the red light and blue light directly below it light up with no space - the error code I am getting has one space

D0148A4A-A640-4DDA-86DF-7E34C76DE928.jpeg
 
Last edited:

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,540
5,029
Weymouth
Ah...I could not see that on the photo. Could well be the speed sensor then since it will cut motor power if it reads zero (or max assist speed).
 

Salespunk

Active member
Jul 27, 2020
107
144
Encinitas, CA
I got this error recently and it was a magnet alignment issue on the rear wheel.

As an FYI a reboot is turning the bike on then immediately holding down the mode button for 15 seconds. This will do a complete reboot including installing new firmware if it is downloaded.
 

Eljay

Member
Dec 2, 2018
45
21
San Francisco
I realized that I never reported back what the solution to my issue was. It turned out the cable that connect the sensor to the motor was faulty - replaced it and have not received the error since
 

Eljay

Member
Dec 2, 2018
45
21
San Francisco
I got this error recently and it was a magnet alignment issue on the rear wheel.

As an FYI a reboot is turning the bike on then immediately holding down the mode button for 15 seconds. This will do a complete reboot including installing new firmware if it is downloaded.

Thanks for the info on the reboot

Curious how the magnet becomes misaligned? Seems like with it being embedded w/ the rotor bolts, there is no way it could move?
 

RUNDCM

Member
Oct 26, 2019
7
2
Maryland
I realized that I never reported back what the solution to my issue was. It turned out the cable that connect the sensor to the motor was faulty - replaced it and have not received the error since
Is that cable the motor to battery power cable or something else
 

RUNDCM

Member
Oct 26, 2019
7
2
Maryland
Update: speed sensor & cable replaced. Continue to get same error as yours. Shop has checked all connections or replaced all motor to battery related cables & connections along with software updates to batteries & TCU. Been in shop 4 times still not fixed. This particular error code info is way too vague to tell any one anything of value.
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,540
5,029
Weymouth
The main brain of the Levo and the item most likely to get damaged is the TCU. With everything lese that has been checked or replaced I would think trying another TCU would be in order.
 

syncro

Member
Mar 30, 2021
24
14
Spain
I highly recommend using version 2.2.0 Build 50 of Mission Control. This declares the number of the error that is occurring (at the moment it is of little use until information is obtained about the correspondence of the error number with its description).

Error 2-señalado.png

Does anyone know if the soft they use in the dealerships (Turbo Studio) gives them this correspondence between the error number and its description?
Or are they just as lost as other mortals, substituting parts blindly?
 
Last edited:

Zimmerframe

MUPPET
Subscriber
Jun 12, 2019
14,017
20,775
Brittany, France
The bike shop has been consulting with specialized. The error info seems vague to them which is why the lowest cost parts got replaced already ——could be this could be that....
If you're not sure what the problem is, it's normal to swap out the easiest to change parts first, especially if the error is suggesting a cabling issue. They're just working through the problem.

A couple of weeks ago there was a guy who'd demanded the shop changed his motor, so in the end they did - going on his posts here he was a bit of a nut so they probably wanted an easy life. It turned out he'd actually crashed the bike and damaged the selector switch, but not bothered to tell anyone that part.

So when he got the bike back, it failed again and he went absolutely nuts .. Because he'd decided what was wrong and didn't let them work out what was actually wrong.

It's frustrating, but some problems just aren't immediately obvious to find. The bike shop, whilst being an experienced bike shop, might not have that much experience with ebikes. It takes time to learn faults and how to diagnose them.
 

Eljay

Member
Dec 2, 2018
45
21
San Francisco
Here's a strange one - I have 2 batteries and am intermittently getting the error again but only with 1 of the batteries, so it must be the battery right? A-ha not so fast! I also have a Kenevo and this battery which doesn't work in the Levo works perfectly fine in the Kenevo! Any thoughts?
 

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