Shimano BT-E8010 dead after 3 rides

[Craig.cook87]

Hey guys and gals,

I bought a Vitus E-Sommet VRS from CRC during their recent sale. I won't go into CRC and the experience of buying a bike through them here, but I will mention how my Battery has completely died after 3 rides. Has anyone else had the same problem?

The battery charger (EC-E6000) flashes orange 6x when the battery is plugged in. I've been trying to find a reason that the battery may have failed. I've ridden a total of <60km in dry conditions here in Germany. I'm hesitant to start the warranty process with CRC after hearing the horror stories of 6 weeks turn around, from people living in England. The Shimano service centres here don't want to help so it's looking pretty grim.

Any information or help would be great.??

 

[R120]

Firstly the Shimano service centres should be helping you, the warranty with the battery is with Shimano, whether via CRC on a service center.

I haven't heard of the charger being able to show a fault, but what happens when you press the on button on the battery when it is unplugged and not on the bike? Usually a combination of the lights on the battery indicates the problem. Here are the error codes

 

[R120]

Ok found the dealer manual for the charger

https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/um/UM-71C0A-004-00-ENG.pdf

The flashing light indicates charging error - are you using a mains adapter for a UK plug to EU socket? Or does the charger have an EU plug?

 

[R120]

Also check their is no crap in the charge port on the battery - I once went out for a ride and forgot to close the cover, and got a load of gunk in there, and had to give it a good clean out to charge.

 

[Craig.cook87]

I left the battery on the bike overnight with the intention of riding it this morning. There was still 3 bars left and the battery was definitely turned off. When I pressed the battery button, there was no light at all. I tried charging it, thinking that maybe there is considerable drain on the battery if left on the bike. The battery started charging as if it was empty but quickly gained a bar with another flashing within the space of 10mins. After an hour, the charger was not displaying a green light and the battery had no lights showing. Once unplugged from the charger, the battery was still dead. When plugging back in to the charger, the charger displayed the flashing orange light.

I am using a UK to Euro adaptor. Our power here in Germany is 230v 50hz which is well within the chargers guidelines ??

Cheers for the info

 

[R120]

First step for me would be going to LBS if they stock shimano, and trying the battery with another charger and vice versa

 

[Craig.cook87]

That was my first idea. So, I started calling up lbs today (esp the shimano service centres) but because the bike wasn't ordered through them, they don't want to help (bike shops are going crazy over here at the moment and are booming, so they don't really care about outsider business). I know eventually I'll have it replaced, either by CRC or when the bike shops quieten down, I was just hoping someone may have had a similar issue with a reason it has happened and how they dealt with it. I'm just gutted my new toy isn't working haha

 

[steve_sordy]

Long shot.
There was a problem with battery chargers last year (long thread). Is it cold where you are? If so try bringing the battery and charger indoors and trying again.
It was for Shimano driven Focus bikes, but it may be worth trying. It was not a battery problem it was a charger problem.

 

[Craig.cook87]

I did read about this in another thread, but it hasn't been cold for the last 3 days. I'm in Saarland and the weather has been 18-24 during the day and not really cold at night. My charger lives inside. It just doesn't make sense to me that the cells in the battery would die. Everyone else I know around here has Bosch so I can't even try their charger. Like @R120 said, I'll keep hitting up local bike shops until someone is willing to help me, and then hopefully organise warranty through Shimano. Worst case scenario will be a warranty with CRC, I just don't like the idea of sending my whole bike back and being without it for 6 weeks ? such is life

 

[Gary]

I've had shimano chargers do weird stuff (odd battery light errors and the orange light you mention) when plugged into certain sockets at other places than mine.
Worth a try just trying the charger plugged into a few different socket points (or a different adapter)

 

[Craig.cook87]

I'll give that a go ??

Have you ever had a Shimano battery fail completely?

 

[Gary]

Have you ever had a Shimano battery fail completely?

No. but i've had one not want to do anything until removed from the bike. all good once removed and charged.

 

[Craig.cook87]

I tried the other end of the house to charge the battery, and now for a brief moment the battery is showing 3 bars when I attach it to the charger, before extinguishing and the charger flashing orange non stop. This was the amount of charge that was left when I finished my ride.

I'm thinking the BMS has a fault, but the cells are still good. Because the BMS has a fault, the charger doesn't want to do it's thing. Either way, I wish I knew more about batteries because this bike absolutely bloody rips and I just want to ride it again.

Hopefully a local will have a look at the battery/charger. Do they have a diagnostic tool for batteries?

 

[Gary]

is this still using a Euro to UK adapter?

I'd try changing that too

 

[Craig.cook87]

Yeah it is unfortunately, as that's all it was supplied with. Another reason why I can't wait for a local to give some help and eliminate what factors might be causing the issue. The problem arose whilst the battery was still attached to the bike this morning, that's why I assumed it was the battery and not the charger. I haven't charged the battery while it is still connected to the bike. Have you heard of a motor causing problems to the battery?

 

[R120]

So just to confirm, with the battery off the bike and not attached to the charger, if you hold down the power button does it light up any of the bars?

 

[Craig.cook87]

Nothing lights up. I found someone mentioned a hard reset where holding down the button for 12 seconds helped them, and still nothing.

It doesn't make sense to me, except for the BMS has detected some sort of error whilst being attached to the bike... Which I can't make sense of either

 

[Craig.cook87]

An update for anyone that was curious about the problem. I eventually found a Shimano service centre willing to have a look. But, they said the battery is dead and to warranty the battery, I need to send the whole bike back to CRC. So, back to pedal power for me for the next 6 or so weeks ?

 

[R120]

Double check you need to send the bike back - lbs should be able to send battery to Madison for warranty, which will be a lot quicker

 

[Craig.cook87]

That's what I would've thought. I have to use my partner as my translator, and she's not the most bike oriented person. She's under the impression that wasn't an option. I pick the bike up this afternoon, so I'll try my luck again.

 

[Puiu]

Hello Craig, did you solve your problem anyhow?
I have the same problem - battery not charging nor showing anything, while charger flashing 6 times when plugged in.
Thanks

 

[CloudInMyHead]

My BT-E8010 battery charges but will never power on bike and won't show the charge bars if I press the battery button while off the bike and charger. It does show bars when charging and no button is pressed.