Yt decoy 29 - 3 days old and broke

[mikeyneale21]

Took delivery of a decoy 29 on Wednesday. Built it on Thursday and have ridden it twice on 2 short test rides. Tried to turn it on today to go out and the shimano steps screen freezes on boot up and will not turn on or off.

The only way to get the bike off again is to remove the battery but when you reinsert the battery the same problem occurs. I washed the bike last night so I have removed the battery and dried all connections. Still the problem occurs.

The bike is 3 days old and I’ve done less than 3 hours on it. After waiting 5 weeks for an in stock bike and now this I’m quickly falling out of love with YT. The bike looks and rides amazing (when it was working) but I’m starting to regret this purchase.
Just wondering if anyone has had a similar issue and if so if they managed to fix it. I’ve only had the bike for 3 days and the last thing I want to do is send it back to Germany and potentially not see the bike again for weeks on end.

Any help would be much appreciated as I’m completely depressed

 

[R120]

If you are the UK, they now have a service centre here in Guildford

YT Industries

YT Industries | YT showroom | YT Mill | United Kingdom

www.yt-industries.com

I would give them a call tomorrow.

In the meantime remove the connections form the display, check nothing in there, and push back in properly. Unfortunately on the YT due to the frame design you cant check the other end of the connections at the motor, without dropping the motor.

 

[R120]

This thread has links to the manuals for shimano to try and see if anything simple is causing the issue

Official Shimano Service Manual, and User Manuals for all Steps EMTB motors

Here is a link to the official service manual for all the Steps System's, a useful resource for bodging and fixing https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/sm/SM-SHIMANO_STEPS_US-000.pdf This is the E7000 user manual: https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/um/UM-79E0A-002-00-ENG.pdf And the E8000...

www.emtbforums.com

 

[mikeyneale21]

If you are the UK, they now have a service centre here in Guildford

YT Industries

YT Industries | YT showroom | YT Mill | United Kingdom

www.yt-industries.com

I would give them a call tomorrow.

In the meantime remove the connections form the display, check nothing in there, and push back in properly. Unfortunately on the YT due to the frame design you cant check the other end of the connections at the motor, without dropping the motor.

Thanks a lot. Yeah I’ll give them a call tomorrow. Going to try and leave the battery out for a while and see if that does anything. After googling the problem it seems like lots of people have had the same problem which is disappointing. A few suggest it could be a communication problem between the yt battery and the shimano controller

 

[leftside]

Decoy Hacks??!!

Reading through the forum whilst eagerly anticipating delivery of my Decoy Pro 29 - trying hard not to focus on the bad sh1t but it's difficult! With this in mind, I'd be interested to hear about any hacks you guys have to help try prevent the more common issues - thinking mainly around the...

www.emtbforums.com

 

[ichauchtt]

A friend of mine had the same issue, it was moisture in the connections after washing the bike. If removing the battery and blow drying everything does not help, you need to drop the motor and check the connections there. He had to do that eventually and everything is fine again.

 

[mikeyneale21]

A friend of mine had the same issue, it was moisture in the connections after washing the bike. If removing the battery and blow drying everything does not help, you need to drop the motor and check the connections there. He had to do that eventually and everything is fine again.

Thanks Mate. I think this is exactly the same problem. I did see a bit of water near the top battery connector. Dried it all out with a hairdryer but still nothing. Dropping the motor out might have to be the next step

 

[Fatbap]

I washed mine after my first ride an had the same fault. I blew it all out an still would not turn on had to leave the battery out over night an that worked. Did it twice so I fixed it not I can wash it as much as I like without any issues

 

[mikeyneale21]

I washed mine after my first ride an had the same fault. I blew it all out an still would not turn on had to leave the battery out over night an that worked. Did it twice so I fixed it not I can wash it as much as I like without any issues

Might have to just leave the battery out for a while then. Not being able to wash the bike is hardly ideal living in the UK

 

[Lowrance]

I washed mine after my first ride an had the same fault. I blew it all out an still would not turn on had to leave the battery out over night an that worked. Did it twice so I fixed it not I can wash it as much as I like without any issues

Can you clarify how you fixed it?

 

[leftside]

Might have to just leave the battery out for a while then. Not being able to wash the bike is hardly ideal living in the UK

Check the link I posted above. I had the same problem as you. Been problem free 50+ rides and 1000km later. I wash the bike after every ride.

 

[mikeyneale21]

Check the link I posted above. I had the same problem as you. Been problem free 50+ rides and 1000km later. I wash the bike after every ride.

Thanks a lot mate ill check it out now

 

[Hannes]

My Decoy has the problem for the first time after about 4000km. Immediately after washing, the bike could no longer be switched on. The screen got stuck on Shimano. I took out the battery. And I blown everything dry with compressed air. Also at the point under the frame where the plugs are. Then the bike worked again. I couldn't find out what kind of component is causing the problem. It's definitely down to the washing and water. And not from sudden accumulator problems as is often assumed.

 

[mikeyneale21]

My Decoy has the problem for the first time after about 4000km. Immediately after washing, the bike could no longer be switched on. The screen got stuck on Shimano. I took out the battery. And I blown everything dry with compressed air. Also at the point under the frame where the plugs are. Then the bike worked again. I couldn't find out what kind of component is causing the problem. It's definitely down to the washing and water. And not from sudden accumulator problems as is often assumed.

I’ve done the battery end but I think I need to inspect the motor connector now. Thanks for the info ?

 

[Armeniandave]

When you check the connectors to the motor you can put some dielectric grease to keep out the water.
I'm in San Diego so we have lots of dust which causes issues and the dielectric grease works great.

 

[mikeyneale21]

When you check the connectors to the motor you can put some dielectric grease to keep out the water.
I'm in San Diego so we have lots of dust which causes issues and the dielectric grease works great.

Thanks mate, I checked the cables and I bought some grease but still no joy. Think I’m going to have to send it back to YT ?

 

[mikeyneale21]

I dropped the motor and inspected the cables. Cleaned replaced, and rebuilt. Thought I had sorted it for a moment as the screen did not come on as soon as I inserted battery like before. Problem is now I can’t get the screen to come on at all. Power going to switch though. Anyone got an suggestions of what I can try next. I really don’t want to send the bike back to YT as I’ve only just had it. Any help would be much appreciated

 

[TransAmMan]

Did you check the resistance across the Shimano DI2 E-Tube wires that connect the display ? May have a faulty one? One other person had this problem and used 2 decoys to trace it. Swapped everything back and forth and it turned out to be a faulty cable.

They are fairly cheap to buy .. but you should be able to check with an ohmmeter

Shimano Di2 Ew-Sd50 E-Tube Wires | Jenson USA

www.jensonusa.com

I sealed around the entire battery to frame interface with clear 3M plastic film .. no water can get in. Have never had any problems of water entering even with a pressure washer. Only remove my battery to store over winter. Contacts look brand new..

 

[mikeyneale21]

Did you check the resistance across the Shimano DI2 E-Tube wires that connect the display ? May have a faulty one? One other person had this problem and used 2 decoys to trace it. Swapped everything back and forth and it turned out to be a faulty cable.

They are fairly cheap to buy .. but you should be able to check with an ohmmeter

Shimano Di2 Ew-Sd50 E-Tube Wires | Jenson USA

www.jensonusa.com

I sealed around the entire battery to frame interface with clear 3M plastic film .. no water can get in. Have never had any problems of water entering even with a pressure washer. Only remove my battery to store over winter. Contacts look brand new..

I’ve got the decoy 29 base which doesn’t have di2. There is a cable in there ready for di2 but it’s not connected to the display. It is connected to the motor and I did wonder if it was causing any issues and thought about disconnecting it but didn’t. Maybe that’s worth a try. The only other thing I haven’t checked is the switch in the frame

 

[seamarsh]

I’ve got the decoy 29 base which doesn’t have di2. There is a cable in there ready for di2 but it’s not connected to the display. It is connected to the motor and I did wonder if it was causing any issues and thought about disconnecting it but didn’t. Maybe that’s worth a try. The only other thing I haven’t checked is the switch in the frame

Not the di2, he is talking about the wire that comes out of your display. Another user had issues and replaced that and fixed problem. User was RB search yt forum h did a good write up on it.

 

[Martini]

I had occasional issues of battery shutdown on really rough trails here in Vancouver, it got to the point of the bike shutting down 10-15x per ride. The service guy that I talked to in the US told me to remove the two shims that hold the battery in place. How he explained it to me is that all of the battery compartments vary a bit because they are handmade, the shims are used to compensate for the variance. After removing mine I have not had one single shutdown in weeks.

 

[nB2000]

I thought this was going to be another Shimano motor issue but it seems info froM others suggests it’s a YT Motor connection / damp issue.
what a shame that’s not been fixed in production. It can’t be all of them realistically or they’d be over run with claims and bad PR.

Take it to Guildford and ask for a refund. I’d not be messing with a new bike myself - if avoidable - although I can imagine it’s tempting to attempt a fix.
They have a workshop at Guildford so should deal with it. Maybe they can do something about waterproofing if you’re willing to give it another go.
If it’s sensitive to water it’s of little use honestly. Not fit for purpose seems to be the magic phrase.

 

[seamarsh]

I thought this was going to be another Shimano motor issue but it seems info froM others suggests it’s a YT Motor connection / damp issue.
what a shame that’s not been fixed in production. It can’t be all of them realistically or they’d be over run with claims and bad PR.

Take it to Guildford and ask for a refund. I’d not be messing with a new bike myself - if avoidable - although I can imagine it’s tempting to attempt a fix.
They have a workshop at Guildford so should deal with it. Maybe they can do something about waterproofing if you’re willing to give it another go.
If it’s sensitive to water it’s of little use honestly. Not fit for purpose seems to be the magic phrase.

how about don’t wash your bike too! There’s no need... use a brush and a wet rag.

 

[leftside]

I had occasional issues of battery shutdown on really rough trails here in Vancouver, it got to the point of the bike shutting down 10-15x per ride. The service guy that I talked to in the US told me to remove the two shims that hold the battery in place. How he explained it to me is that all of the battery compartments vary a bit because they are handmade, the shims are used to compensate for the variance. After removing mine I have not had one single shutdown in weeks.

Hit me up if you want to take the Decoy's out on the shore.

 

[steve_sordy]

Just caught up with this as I don't have a Decoy. I have two possibilities for you to check.

I had a problem last year with my Focus that has Shimano e8000. Check the wires that go into the back of the display. Pull them out, clean and dry everywhere, then re-insert firmly.

The next possibility is the wires that go from the display down to the motor. They can get trapped between the battery and the frame and get squeezed during installation if it's not done with proper care. (Given the success of the Decoy, maybe YT have taken on some new workers to assemble the bikes). This squeeze causes intermittent problems, sometimes permanent. When I took my bike in, the tech guy took it away to connect his laptop to it and brought it back after 10 mins and said "fixed!" As I took hold of the bike by the bars, I gave them a good side to side twist and the screen went dark again. Twisted the bars again and the screen came back. New wires, properly installed fixed that one.

As a possible diagnostic, try twisting the bars. Or maybe pulling on the wires that come out of the frame and into the screen.

Best of luck.

 

[mikeyneale21]

Not the di2, he is talking about the wire that comes out of your display. Another user had issues and replaced that and fixed problem. User was RB search yt forum h did a good write up on it.

Only 2 wires coming out the display

 

[mikeyneale21]

Managed to diagnose the problem. It’s the battery. Took a battery out of another decoy and it works fine. Put my battery in his bike and it had the same issue. I’ll ring YT in the morning and hopefully they will be able to send out a new battery. It’s a relief to find out what the issue is and should be an easy fix without having to send the whole bike back

 

[leftside]

Managed to diagnose the problem. It’s the battery. Took a battery out of another decoy and it works fine. Put my battery in his bike and it had the same issue. I’ll ring YT in the morning and hopefully they will be able to send out a new battery. It’s a relief to find out what the issue is and should be an easy fix without having to send the whole bike back

Great news mate.

 

[mikeyneale21]

Great news mate.

It was until I went to the mill yesterday and they insisted they had to check the whole system even though the bike works fine with another battery in it. Waiting game again now until I can ride my brand new bike. Getting really depressed by the whole situation

 

[Bigship]

Managed to diagnose the problem. It’s the battery. Took a battery out of another decoy and it works fine. Put my battery in his bike and it had the same issue. I’ll ring YT in the morning and hopefully they will be able to send out a new battery. It’s a relief to find out what the issue is and should be an easy fix without having to send the whole bike back

Congrats!. Sorry you had this problem, but your taking the time to discuss helps all of us. YT is pretty good about standing by their product. I trust you will receive a new battery very quickly.