Other Turbo Levo randomly with no power assistance

[MTBBiker01]

Hi

I have 4 years old ebike Secialized 2017 Turbo Levo FSR Comp 6Fattie, motor has around 6000km done,
I have no FW updates 3 years, but I think this is not SW issue.

I have issues with my motor assistance, sometimes motor is randomly loosing all power, or after new charge when I plugin the bike cable > assistance not working, also +- speed button has no reaction on LED display signals.
Only thing what is working is this : when I re-plug the cable between battery and bike then suddenly works ( on 5th attempt etc, very annoying)
the PIN connector looks fine ( no oxidation or other damage)
So I assume that issue is broken cable, when it sometime works and sometimes not. Imagine that after re-plugging many times the cable can be broken inside. My suspicion.

I don't know why there is so bad system developed that the battery must be connected with this cover connector which is feeding the engine.

I think that I can exclude issues with motor, because if motor is broken than it will not work anymore.
Also battery can be excluded, because I have two batteries and got same issues. Mission control shows that battery is healthy.

So does anybody has similar issues ?
How difficult is to replace cable inside the motor?

I think replacing the cable can fix this issues, but I am not electro specialist so I will try to check with my Specialized service store.

 

[tsf]

I've been having similar intermittent issues with my Turbo Levo 2018.

I think with mine it is the battery-motor connection that is the issue. In my case, scrubbing the oxidation off of the contacts on both the battery and on the connector cable has given me a more consistent (not perfect) connection.

For diagnosis, it can be useful to remove the battery from the bike, reconnect the power cable, switch on, and then move the battery through various angles whilst manipulating the cable. If some angles work, then yes it's probably your cable. If pushing down hard on the plug makes it work, then possibly it's your connectors that need cleaning.

Here are a couple of links I found during my investigations:

S206800004 Cavo alimentazione turbo levo 2019 220mm

Cavo di alimentazione per Turbo Levo 2019 e Kenevo 2020. Lunghezza 220 mm. ATTENZIONE, il prodotto è stato sostituito con il seguente modello: Codice articolo S226800018 https://www.cingolanibikeshop.com/specialized-s226800018-cavo-alimentazione-turbo-levo-gen2-150mm.html

www.cingolanibikeshop.com

Internal Power Cable Failure, Levo 2019

Seems to be an issue only with the newer 90° connectors. Does beg the question, why the change to the new and then unproven, now proven dubious connector in the first place? Looks like a version 3 is needed, with a more durable 90 degree connector shroud, and better sealing from water...

www.emtbforums.com

 

[GL1]

I've been having similar intermittent issues with my Turbo Levo 2018.

I think with mine it is the battery-motor connection that is the issue. In my case, scrubbing the oxidation off of the contacts on both the battery and on the connector cable has given me a more consistent (not perfect) connection.

For diagnosis, it can be useful to remove the battery from the bike, reconnect the power cable, switch on, and then move the battery through various angles whilst manipulating the cable. If some angles work, then yes it's probably your cable. If pushing down hard on the plug makes it work, then possibly it's your connectors that need cleaning.

Here are a couple of links I found during my investigations:

S206800004 Cavo alimentazione turbo levo 2019 220mm

Cavo di alimentazione per Turbo Levo 2019 e Kenevo 2020. Lunghezza 220 mm. ATTENZIONE, il prodotto è stato sostituito con il seguente modello: Codice articolo S226800018 https://www.cingolanibikeshop.com/specialized-s226800018-cavo-alimentazione-turbo-levo-gen2-150mm.html

www.cingolanibikeshop.com

Internal Power Cable Failure, Levo 2019

Seems to be an issue only with the newer 90° connectors. Does beg the question, why the change to the new and then unproven, now proven dubious connector in the first place? Looks like a version 3 is needed, with a more durable 90 degree connector shroud, and better sealing from water...

www.emtbforums.com

Fully agree it's most likely battery / motor connection and the cable you listed above. Helped my buddy with his 2016 that had these exact symptoms and this was it ultimately although some wire brushing and dielectric grease did help initially but not long term. The real fix occurred when he replaced that cable and it works great. Nothing LOOKED wrong with it so we had initially ruled it out at first but sure enough that was it. I don't think the battery / motor connectors were great on these years. They improved them 2018 forward.

 

[MTBBiker01]

Hi

One correction, I had probably model 2018 as I purchased it this year 2018 and new model 2019 was not yet available in the summer.

I already took the bike to the repair Specialized service. Will see..
They told me that cable cost around 100e + 100e work... if issue is the cable...

However I am little disappointed what I heard in the service.
I asked them if I can buy/order the cable by my self for the next case ( have backup cable) .... told me that not possible.. only service can order it, they don't do it for me..
But question is if e.g. in next two years will be even this cable available yet... if I'll have the same issue again.

They told me that yes this is possible issue, also they have already issues now with ordering this old V1 motor...
So they advised me to buy new e-bike for next case ...
What a joke. So according Specialized support > I have to buy every 2 years new ebike.
If I spent 5k eur for ebike, after 3 years you can just throw it away, because no spare parts for 100$ part.

I think this is really bad, that you cant replace / fix old parts after 3 years of use. ( 2 years is warranty)

I think also new car is not buying everyone every 2-3 years, and here you have probably more spare parts available.


Question is how it looks from other brands. Bosh, Yamaha ( Bosh is more used in other brands. maybe more luck with spare parts , so I'll consider in next buy, what brand...)

I found some eshop, link with this cable, but looks that this is only for model 2019+, not found any 2018 supported model

SPECIALIZED LEVO MK2 MOTOR CABLE G2

SPECIALIZED LEVO MK2 MOTOR CABLE G2 £80.00

www.thebikefactory.co.uk

Also here is video tutorial how to replace cable

 

[GL1]

Well, you bring up something I often think about. What is the expected lifespan and support life of our eBikes? I mean your smartphone has a limit and an eBike will as well. As far as I see it, these things should be able to go 4-5000 miles and "last" or be supported up to 4 years. I take that from what I'm seeing with mileages thus far and what Specialized has committed to with a warranty. After the 4 year window I think we will all be on our own like we are with our cars when they are out of warranty as well. I do hope there are parts available long after but it's all so new we won't know and the tech will keep moving forward so no guarantee on OEM parts after 5 years I'd think. There are places that will rebuilt motors and batteries which will help. Have you even owned an old car? Same situation except the life cycle is likely even shorter based on the tech involved in these I fear.

 

[Norange]

Mine did that, 2018 bike. It was with Performance Line Bearings having the motor upgraded. So they were able to do a load of swapping out to see what was causing it, including different motor and putting mine in another bike. It was the bar controller in the end, once disconnected everything was OK. Have you tried that?

 

[MTBBiker01]

Well, you bring up something I often think about. What is the expected lifespan and support life of our eBikes? I mean your smartphone has a limit and an eBike will as well. As far as I see it, these things should be able to go 4-5000 miles and "last" or be supported up to 4 years. I take that from what I'm seeing with mileages thus far and what Specialized has committed to with a warranty. After the 4 year window I think we will all be on our own like we are with our cars when they are out of warranty as well. I do hope there are parts available long after but it's all so new we won't know and the tech will keep moving forward so no guarantee on OEM parts after 5 years I'd think. There are places that will rebuilt motors and batteries which will help. Have you even owned an old car? Same situation except the life cycle is likely even shorter based on the tech involved in these I fear.

4-5k miles ? are you serious ? I got info that general ebike electro motor life span is around 10 000 km minimum, so it can last maybee 20k km, my has now around 6000km. And yes my 1st motor was broken after 1 year ( in warranty replaced) , 1500km, on winter, I realized that snow is not good friend with ebike motor

 

[GL1]

4-5k miles ? are you serious ? I got info that general ebike electro motor life span is around 10 000 km minimum, so it can last maybee 20k km, my has now around 6000km. And yes my 1st motor was broken after 1 year ( in warranty replaced) , 1500km, on winter, I realized that snow is not good friend with ebike motor

I don't think we really know yet what they are capable of (and I don't know if Spec does either yet.) They are sort of works in progress as I see them.

If I go off what I see on the forums and almost exactly what I have also experienced I'm seeing 2500 miles as an average for these motors in an MTB application (at least for the stock 2019-2021 motors.) AND, I also had a battery replaced at around 1000 miles. So as much as I love these things, from what I'm seeing and experiencing I'm not sure I could believe they (the motor specifically but other major components too) could make 6,000 - 10,000 miles; at least not riding them in a typical mountain biking fashion. Maybe the general figures are for path bikes and such. And it goes without saying that drivetrain components will need replaced. I've averaged new chains and casettes every 1500 miles. I think the fact that you have 3,700 miles on your second replacement motor is GREAT! It gives me hope that my replacement motor (which I am currently awaiting) might get that or more! I guess we will all see how far they can ultimately go but unless they have made major changes to the motors I couldn't believe they could pull anywhere near 10,000 miles on stock motor and battery let alone many of the other parts riding them as most will offroad.

 

[TrackRat]

I have just noticed something similar happening to mine. Not completely sure that the power is fully cutting out but I have started to get an error message on my display (hard to tell exactly if it was error 2,3,or 4 - should have taken a picture). Seems like its an issue recognizing the motor or battery. Has only been happening when ascending and at a low cadence. Error lights will flash, then the standard display reappears. Seems to go away when I resume a reasonable pace on a more flat grade or going down hill. Haven't been able to get out that often so haven't spent all that much time trying to diagnose the issue yet. The fact that its happening on steeper inclines seems like maybe something is shifting within the downtube causing it.

 

[MTBBiker01]

Hi All,
Sorry for late response, so after 1 week in service shop, they already fixed the issue ! Problem was of course in the cable, picture uploaded here, according the service guy, the issue was the damage on the top of the cable, so cable was replaced and voila : bike is working better than before : no power drop,
As I realized I had issues with power drop for last 2 years, but I was not focused on this issue, I started investigation just after the bike was not working at all
So complete replacement cost around 150Eur, 100e cable + 50e work,

One note to the cable replace :
My Levo 2018 used old cable with 2 PINs, but new cable part has 4 PINs,
Old cable parts are already not available now, but service guy told me that this no issue, new 4 PINs cable is compatible, so can be replaced also in the future.