Shimano SW-E8000-L switch teardown

[StephanT]

hi All,

just bought a preowned emtb and the previous owner had replaced the SW-E8000 with another switch and added the E8000 switch to the pack... So over the weekend I thought, let's have a look at what this SW-E8000 looks like...

This is purely for fun - I'm planning to dig into the Di2 communication a little more.. the protocol that kind of stuff.. (spoiler alert - no matter what all the guru's tell you.. it's *NOT* CAN-bus...
but for now.. let's look at the switch - spoiler alert 2 : I'm pretty impressed with the design...

2 screws removed - 2 covers removed. Straight away you get the feeling of good quality mechanical design.

Reading about this switch, I noticed that many people were unaware that they could adjust the position of the levers - don't think that there is a lot of use for this information.. as most people now prefer the electronic switches...

here we see the other side of the switch, and we see how they managed to weatherproof the switch.. all the electronics is potted (seen in the bottom housing.. and the switches have 3 magnets that obviously trigger read switches as they move from side to side - a really elegant way to achieve weather proofing...
Side note: don't bring a strong magnet close to your E8000 switch
...Alternatively - depending on your sense of humor - blu tack a strong magnet to your buddy's E8000 switch

here is a better view of the one side of the mechanicals...

and the other side..

the little plate that contains 2 of the magnets, just unclips

put it all back together again - and best of all - it still works - and no spare parts!

 

[B1rdie]

Thank you!
The spectralon came with one of these but it stopped working after two years.
The system seemed not to recognize it. Then I bought the XT version and then the display did not even turn on anymore, so I thought it was sending some kind of signal the dysplay did not recognize, while the broken one did send no signal at all.
then I started etube and even with the display down it recognized all the components, including the deraileur and shifter tha I had upgraded six months ago and started a process of firmware upgrade to all components, including the motor wich was kept with USA speed, so now its all working very well.
Now I have a shifter just like the one that you disassembled and was afraid of doing it.
Do you have any idea of why it could stop sending the signal and if there is a chance I could fix that?

 

[StephanT]

I would take it apart - it’s super easy.. and check that all 3 magnets are there.. if a magnet is missing that could be an issue..

then, unlike the newer ones they have removable SD50 cables.. so that could be easily replaced...bit at £23 or so thats a couple of ? so you wouldn’t want to do that for no reason.. so i would connect it to your display - you can connect multiple switches at the same time - and use the E-tube or ST unlocker software to see if it recognises that switch - if it does, naturally your cable is good..

If it’s not cable or magnets, it is most likely the electronics and that’s potted in a hard epoxy that i dont think you will be able to remove without major damage to the components on the (PCP)..

best
Stephan

 

[B1rdie]

I have checked that the cable is Ok, so now will open it and see if the magnets are in...
The photos that you posted will be a great help.
Thank you!

 

[StephanT]

Good luck - let us know what you find!

 

[mxh]

Thanks for the post - it made sorting out my issue relatively easy, and the following may be of use to someone else.

Whilst having a 'moment' on the bike, I managed to hit the shifter with my knee (luckily I had knee pads on) - after which it refused to change power modes. The levers felt like they were clicking OK but the power mode wasn't changing.

When I got it home and started to prod around, the little plate (as described in your final photo) just fell to the floor. This piece is just held in by a couple of pegs on one side, and the casing on the other - I'd obviously managed to force the casing apart enough with my knee for the plate to pop out of position. Luckily it didn't fall out completely on the trail.

So when putting it back together, I used a bit of glue to stop it coming off again. Might be worth doing as a matter of course if you have this switch apart for any reason.

 

[jpaulo.emtb]

I have this remote on my bike and sometimes the remote works and sometimes it doesn't. As time went by, it got worse and agglutination only works if you apply a force on the plastic housing contrary to the force applied to the handle.

The solution seems to be to align the mechanical part that has the magnets or to pull the magnets further away from where they are placed. But both solutions seem to me difficult to carry out.

Any suggestion?

 

[mxh]

Any suggestion?

Have you actually pulled the switch apart as detailed by the OP? There seems to be little inside that is likely to go wrong , apart from the 'floating' plate that I commented on in my post above. Maybe this has become partially dislodged so is only working intermittently?

agglutination

Good word - not come across that one before!

 

[Venda]

My problém was not the switch it self, but cabling. My rubber hand grip was loose a little and cables travelled underneath, so eventually it cut off one of the wires

 

[miguel s]

hi All,

just bought a preowned emtb and the previous owner had replaced the SW-E8000 with another switch and added the E8000 switch to the pack... So over the weekend I thought, let's have a look at what this SW-E8000 looks like...

This is purely for fun - I'm planning to dig into the Di2 communication a little more.. the protocol that kind of stuff.. (spoiler alert - no matter what all the guru's tell you.. it's *NOT* CAN-bus...
but for now.. let's look at the switch - spoiler alert 2 : I'm pretty impressed with the design...

2 screws removed - 2 covers removed. Straight away you get the feeling of good quality mechanical design.

Reading about this switch, I noticed that many people were unaware that they could adjust the position of the levers - don't think that there is a lot of use for this information.. as most people now prefer the electronic switches...

here we see the other side of the switch, and we see how they managed to weatherproof the switch.. all the electronics is potted (seen in the bottom housing.. and the switches have 3 magnets that obviously trigger read switches as they move from side to side - a really elegant way to achieve weather proofing...
Side note: don't bring a strong magnet close to your E8000 switch
...Alternatively - depending on your sense of humor - blu tack a strong magnet to your buddy's E8000 switch

here is a better view of the one side of the mechanicals...

and the other side..

malá destička, která obsahuje 2 magnety, stačí odepnout

dát to všechno znovu dohromady - a co je nejlepší - stále to funguje - a žádné náhradní díly!:chladný:

super good joob very than k you

 

[Shorty4]

I had the right hand switch fail when the end/hook part of the top spring snapped off, this caused the levers to float around a bit and gave me weird gear changes. As we were away travelling at the time I carefully bent the next part of the spring into a hook and refitted it. It's now been working fine that way for a couple of years since, I couldn't get a spring from Shimano so sourced a packet of ten the correct size on ebay. I've not fitted a new one as yet as the repaired old one is still going fine.

 

[LongEZ]

Thanks for your fabulous information Stephan. I had an intermittent mode switch. For awhile it would only increase boost, then it quit completely. I was afraid of springs going flying if I dissembled my defective switch. So I cleaned it up as best that I could then sprayed WD-40 through every entry area I could find. I did it a couple times with a rag underneath to catch the drippings. It is working fine now. I think I move to the Steps SW-E7000 switch, as it's sealed. I believe my failure was powder in the switch that entered through the lever areas that caused the failure.