clicking noise in eZee hub motor

medusa569

medusa569

100 W
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Messages
161
Location
Washington DC
After not riding my bike for a couple of weeks I came back to notice that there is a clicking sound coming from the motor.
It does not sound upon manual peddling , only upon the beginning and end of motor initiation and slow down. On higher speeds it goes away. Any ideas as to what may be amiss? Thank you .
PS BTW I LOVE my eZee motor. the weight and performance so far in cooler climes has been really nice over the heavier 9C motor I have and so far no noticeable strains or fuse blowouts. I'm holding my breath for the hotter climes of summer though...that will be the real test.


medusa
 
Either the 6-8 speed freewheel.. or the clutch inside... that's my best guess.
You may have to tear it apart to find out. watching the wheel as it spins and listening to certain parts can be helpful too.
 
I have observed the wheel as it spins and nothing visible from outside. The noise reminds me of a pebble or magnet loose inside an object.
 
my ezee once developed a slow speed / high load clicking type noise.
turned out to be loose spokes in my case.

the noise would only happen at low speeds and when the motor was under higher loads.
and it wasn't there when pedaling, only when on the throttle.

worth a look maybe a similar issue on yours ?

Jason.
 
Pour some 40 weight motor oil into the center of the freewheel and see if that fixes it. After about 18 months of use I started hearing the clicking pretty loud. Thought it was the motor too. It wasn't just dried up freewheel guts. I dumped oil into it and it's quieter then it was when new now.
 
Good answers. Eliminate the possibility of it being the freewheel or spokes first. Happening only when the motor is on sounds a bit like it could be a spoke talking at you. Motor on, a spoke gets pulled and makes the noise. Pedaling doesn't load the spoke the same.
 
the click only happens just as the torque of the motor changes? just one click? is it possible that your axle is loose and you are hearing the axle hitting the side of the dropout?
 
All good suggestions...will check spokes . The multiple clicks only happen during beginning acceleration and in the lowest stage of deceleration. On the reverse question I will say that I notice when manually backing up my bike it feels like a bump has developed instead of flowing back smoothly. I checked the tires for any embedded objects but didn't see any. I'll spray some lubricant liberally and see if that changes anything as well. The motor is less than a year old. thanks all!
 
Using big tires? Might be frame rub.
 
Well mystery solved......it turns out to be broken teeth on all 3 gears ! What a shame they don't make these things of a more durable composite. The motor is less than a year old . I don't know what normal turn around time for these things are but dang.
Ezee gears.JPG
 
medusa569 said:
Well mystery solved......it turns out to be broken teeth on all 3 gears ! What a shame they don't make these things of a more durable composite. The motor is less than a year old . I don't know what normal turn around time for these things are but dang.
Click to expand...

What a shame they don't make these things of a more durable composite.
Click to expand...

Well, maybe there are more durable gears available.
I've been thinking about this for a while now.
Bear with me as I lay this out.
The latest BMC V4 composite gears and clutch reto-fit all BMC motors back to the V1 series, correct(anybody)?
The V1 400 Watt motor is virtually identical to the 400 Watt Ezee, correct(anyone)?
ergo
The latest BMC composite gears should fit the Ezee.
You could contact Illia at Ebikes SF to see if this is in fact the case.

I don't know what normal turn around time for these things are but dang.
Click to expand...

You mean if you send the wheel/motor to NYWheels?

Just order the parts and do it yourself. Yeah, I know their site is all full of cautions and disclaimers, written by their lawyer no doubt.
You got the thing partialy apart, go for it, it's not rocket science.
 
That gearset does look suspicisiously like the new BMC or MAC clutch. Perhaps check with Justin or Adam at ebikes.ca. They ususally try to make things right at least that has been my experience.
otherDoc
 
I have emailed Justin 2 days ago and so far no answer. I did order another set just to have a spare handy and because I need my bike for almost daily usage ( sans car ) and getting one from NY would be quicker than Canada.,especially considering they are taking so long answering email much less mailing one out. I have looked at the BMC motors and the gear plates do look alike. I definitely will look into getting a more durable replacement ..even if its made of metal cogs. I am going to call Sf and see what they say. I really like this type of motor but with this apparent short lifespan of the gear mechanism it would be great to get something of quality and durability. Yes I will be changing it myself..waiting for my 4 inch puller. I can only hope the axle gear is fine. I couldn't get a look at that.
 
don't know about a short life span, i have 3 years on mine now, and not one sign of trouble.
(apart from one hall problem, quickly solved with a simple solder fix)

are you pushing more than about 1000w through it ? that will shorten it's life considerably.
i limit mine to 20A and 1000W, but usually im running less than 500W. use mine as a true assist,
and i pedal lots :) (to give you an idea, i usually manage under 4wh per km on most of my rides)

Jason.
 
medusa569 said:
I have emailed Justin 2 days ago and so far no answer. I did order another set just to have a spare handy and because I need my bike for almost daily usage ( sans car ) and getting one from NY would be quicker than Canada.,especially considering they are taking so long answering email much less mailing one out. I have looked at the BMC motors and the gear plates do look alike. I definitely will look into getting a more durable replacement ..even if its made of metal cogs. I am going to call Sf and see what they say. I really like this type of motor but with this apparent short lifespan of the gear mechanism it would be great to get something of quality and durability. Yes I will be changing it myself..waiting for my 4 inch puller. I can only hope the axle gear is fine. I couldn't get a look at that.
Click to expand...
I have emailed Justin 2 days ago and so far no answer.
Click to expand...

Don't email Justin, email sales

I definitely will look into getting a more durable replacement ..even if its made of metal cogs.
Click to expand...
From what I've read, you don't want metal, the scream like crazy. Besides, I don't think anyone offers them.

I am going to call Sf and see what they say.
Click to expand...
I would, by all accounts Illia is very helpful. Coghog, in the New Parts section(BMC motors for sale) here would be another possible source of info.

I really like this type of motor but with this apparent short lifespan of the gear mechanism it would be great to get something of quality and durability.
Click to expand...
This motor come out in 2007 and there have been hundreds, if not thousands sold Worldwide and it does not have a reputation for eating gears. There are members here that have many 1000's of miles on the Ezee's, one guy getting close to 10,000 miles.
Either it's just bad luck or it's something that you are doing to it.
What Batt./controller combo you running?
You're not riding over curbs or though pot-holes under power are you?
 
Don't email Justin, email sales

I should have said more accurately I emailed ebikes.......still nothing so far.

From what I've read, you don't want metal, the scream like crazy. Besides, I don't think anyone offers them.

where there's a will theres a way..i ready this morning that at one time if not still Lyen was selling metal cogs that replace the MAc motors. From what I understand the MAC are a BMC knockoff and BMC's are supposed to be the same size as the eZees.

Coghog, in the New Parts section(BMC motors for sale) here would be another possible source of info.

I'll look into that...

Either it's just bad luck or it's something that you are doing to it.

I have read that some others have had broken spurs as well although I don't know if they had it to the degree I have.
I have a 36 volt eZee battery and the controller is the one that came with the set from Ebikes.ca The motor is the 350 watt.

You're not riding over curbs or though pot-holes under power are you?[/quote]

I do not ride over curbs...I am a somewhat mature lady ....my bike is utilitarian. Mostly for shopping trips to hardware, grocery etc....not used for fun. Pot holes ( of which DC has many) I try to avoid since my fork has no shocks. I roll over them at slow speeds when I can see them.
 
I don't recommend the metal cogs at all, the (newer) composite gears in the BMC & MAC motors are strong and durable. I think the MAC gears might be a bit too wide, but I believe there are BMC gears that would fit.
 
Architectonic said:
I don't recommend the metal cogs at all, the (newer) composite gears in the BMC & MAC motors are strong and durable. I think the MAC gears might be a bit too wide, but I believe there are BMC gears that would fit.
Click to expand...

Justin finally answered me and is sending me some composites as well as getting another set from Coghog for the future breakdowns. I hope the composites live up to my expectations. Aside from noise issues why do you not favor metals?
 
Architectonic said:
medusa569 said:
Aside from noise issues why do you not favor metals?
Click to expand...

Well I've heard a few horror stories on this forum, but the major problem is wear. Unless the motor is filled with oil, metal gears won't be lubricated effectively.
Click to expand...


I hadn't read any of those horror stories yet ..but did read where someone did put some oil in his motor to cut down on heat.
I may try that anyway because of these geared motors heat up more than the DD than this summer might be a bummer for me...I'll have to wait and see. Or maybe I might just replace the one cog with a metal as suggested by another poster. Lets just see how long the composites last.
 
I heard that the metal gears were extremely loud.
i believe they will also start wearing on the sun ring eventually too, which is NOT good.

The composite gears are very strong, can't recommend them strongly enough.
 
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