Levo Gen 3 newbie confusion about charging, TCU, and/or Mission Control

[Porcupine Slim]

Hi,
I have a new 2023 Turbo Levo and am confused about how to observe the state of charging while charging. I can see the green blinking light near the charger port, but it does not seem convenient to have to bend over and peek inside the cavity.

The printed charger instructions say, "Power OFF your Turbo bicycle when plugging in the charger", but I think I have seen people write about using the TCU or Mission Control app to see the battery status while charging.

Can I turn the TCU on after plugging in the charger?

Thank you.

 

[jb3112]

Look at the blinking led

 

[Polar]

Hi,
I have a new 2023 Turbo Levo and am confused about how to observe the state of charging while charging. I can see the green blinking light near the charger port, but it does not seem convenient to have to bend over and peek inside the cavity.

The printed charger instructions say, "Power OFF your Turbo bicycle when plugging in the charger", but I think I have seen people write about using the TCU or Mission Control app to see the battery status while charging.

Can I turn the TCU on after plugging in the charger?

Thank you.

No you can't turn on TCU while charging for safety reasons but you got 4 green light which is 25% each so I don't see the problem since they get constant green one by one (25-50-75-100 %) and when all are solid green battery is fully charged and charger light goes from constant green to red.

Bendig down/up is just healthy.

 

[salko]

When battery is full charger led goes from red to green...

 

[Porcupine Slim]

This is one of the statements I read that led me to think it might be okay to turn on the TCU while charging:

from: Charge Limit FAQ

"While the bike is charging, the Mastermind TCU or TCD will show a dashed line on the battery icon"

With my bike set near a wall with the drive-side facing outward and the battery door and motor connector plug blocking the view of the green LEDs, it seems like it would be convenient to note the state of charge at the TCU or the Mission Control app.

 

[Haveland]

This is one of the statements I read that led me to think it might be okay to turn on the TCU while charging:

from: Charge Limit FAQ

"While the bike is charging, the Mastermind TCU or TCD will show a dashed line on the battery icon"

With my bike set near a wall with the drive-side facing outward and the battery door and motor connector plug blocking the view of the green LEDs, it seems like it would be convenient to note the state of charge at the TCU or the Mission Control app.

How would the battery that is disconnected from the bike when charging connect with the bike? The battery would need to Bluetooth or Ant+ to the TCU which just seems like a wasted bit of hardware on the battery.

 

[Porcupine Slim]

I don't understand your reply. I was not making a feature request or asking Specialized to integrate a $4 Bluetooth circuit into its $1500 battery.

Are you attempting to explain that when charging the bicycle, the power harness is unplugged, and therefore, the battery and the TCU are not connected or in communication with each other?

With that in mind, it does seem obvious that neither the TCU nor Mission Control could ascertain the battery's charge status.

With that in mind, it also seems obvious that if one disconnected the power harness, the bicycle would essentially be powered off before actually plugging in the charger.

I jumped into this e-bike acquisition after a 23-year hiatus from working in the bicycle industry.

My most recent bike build was a 2013 Surly ECR assembled with NOS circa 1995 XTR bits purchased off eBay and featuring a friction-shifting "transmission".

I was temporarily overwhelmed with info while assembling a 2023 bicycle and learning all the new tech.

I was trying to reconcile why one set of instructions describes viewing the TCU while charging while another set of instructions suggests you should turn off the TCU before plugging the charging cable in.

"Power OFF your Turbo bicycle when plugging in the charger"

"While the bike is charging, the Mastermind TCU or TCD will show a dashed line on the battery icon"

Perhaps the instruction would seem clearer if it said, "Power OFF your Turbo bicycle before unplugging the Main Harness"

Thank you.

 

[Haveland]

Depending on what model you have, the TCU might have a separate battery so the TCU can still power on. On the mastermind TCU it gets its power from the battery and will not power on while charging.

Agree the instructions could be clearer but can't help with that. I'm just addressing the original question. The answer is no nothing other than the indicator on the battery and charger can tell you the battery status since the battery is disconnected from the bike while charging.

If I'm interested in getting a quick percentage number I'll quickly unplug the charger, reconnect the bike and turn it on.

 

[rzr]

on Levo/Kenevo to charge the battery you have to disconnect it from the bike (TCU), so the only progress is on LEDs on the battery. or Charger - red - charging, green - not charging anymore.

on Levo/kenevo SL - you don't disconnect the bike from the battery while charging (there is just a socket on a bike) and you can observe the status on TCU/bike display.

 

[Porcupine Slim]

Hi,
Thank you for explaining.

I have lots to learn.

Thank you.

 

[McInner1]

This is not an answer to the original question, but I'll describe how I do it:
Unless absolutely necessary, I never charge my battery to 100%. I usually charge to about 70% - what’s enough for my usual tours. Fully charging and deep discharging are stressful for these batteries.
I know that the original charger charges the 500 battery by around 30 percentage points per hour and the 700 battery by around 20 percentage points per hour. When I finish my bike ride, I check the charge status and know how many percentage points are missing to approx. 70%. Then I set the timer on my cell phone accordingly and charge until the timer rings.

 

[Porcupine Slim]

Thanks for the explanation. This seems like a practical way to keep track of the charge.

Thank you.

 

[Romney]

I just keep an eye on the charger led and charging port leds. (With the tcu powered off and it works ).

 

[Dave G]

Hi,
I have a new 2023 Turbo Levo and am confused about how to observe the state of charging while charging. I can see the green blinking light near the charger port, but it does not seem convenient to have to bend over and peek inside the cavity.

The printed charger instructions say, "Power OFF your Turbo bicycle when plugging in the charger", but I think I have seen people write about using the TCU or Mission Control app to see the battery status while charging.

Can I turn the TCU on after plugging in the charger?

Thank you.

No need to bend down, just stand further back to observe the leds

 

[Dave G]

No need to bend down, just stand further back to observe the leds

 

[TurboJoe]

Do you have the Specialized App? Not the Specialized Mission Control App. The Specialized one is the latest app. With it you can limit charging to 80%.
But you original question, With the bike turned off and charger plug into power, plug the charger into the bike. With either app you should be able to read the percent of charge. That assumes you have done the pairing of bike to app. On the first page you should see what you call your bike, under that you should see "Connected" and to the right the percent battery charge this is using the Specialized App.

 

[brigcampbell]

Do you have the Specialized App? Not the Specialized Mission Control App. The Specialized one is the latest app. With it you can limit charging to 80%

Mission Control supports charge limits, it was released in MC first

 

[TurboJoe]

Mission Control supports charge limits, it was released in MC first




View attachment 131503

As I understand it the Specialized App will be replacing the Specialized Mission Control App.

 

[kurienp]

As others have said, set the charge limit to 80% in the app and then forget about it. When you get time to check the next day or two, then unplug it and leave it ready for your next ride.

Btw, this is my first post on here I think. Picked up a 2023 full fat levo and loving it! A 2022 was also available, but wanted the mastermind TCU.

Good to be on here and read your experience and stories. Thanks all and a happy new year to all.