Heavy Rain Malfunction

I had to ride 5 miles home in extremely heavy rain and driving wind last night.

My bike had been left outside slightly sheltered but still getting rained on.

Straight away I noticed that throttle response seemed a bit odd and not linear or immediate. As the ride went on throttle response got worse and worse until eventually throttle became unresponsive.

Then with throttle in fully closed position suddenly I get full power! This was a bit scary to say the least.

I realised I couldn't trust the kit so every time I approached a stop I switched off controller. Last thing I wanted is the bike to throw me into the path of traffic.

The malfunction would go - throttle half working, not working, full power.

I am guessing there was water ingress into the throttle causing the problem.

I've tried the bike briefly today and all seems to be ok.

Anyone else had this issue?

Anyway to mitigate water ingress in really heavy rain?

Cheers,
Kudos

Does the throttle have a battery level indicator?

I have read that if so and if it gets saturated it could cause full throttle.

Dan

happened to me on heavy rain too.

I now make sure I have good cut off system

I did not want to chance it with the full throttle possibility, have heard of several instances in the rain, so did a remote throttle that is cable actuated. Throttle is under cover and handlebars free of wire with the exception of the headlight and battery pack that runs it. It's a good thing to be able to control your throttle no matter the weather.

DAND214 said:

Does the throttle have a battery level indicator?

I have read that if so and if it gets saturated it could cause full throttle.

Dan

Click to expand...

It's been a few years since I had one of those with +48V stuffed in close proximity to the throttle signal but mine went WOT a few times in heavy rain. Those situations taught me to put a plastic grocery sack over the handgrip/throttle if it's really coming down hard.

The simple hall throttle sans high voltage meter LED's seems to be less susceptible to this but I still use plastic grocery bags if/when caught in really heavy downpour.

TBH brakes should always be able to stall the motor wheel under any WOT condition but a handy cutoff is always a wise idea.

DAND214 said:

Does the throttle have a battery level indicator?

I have read that if so and if it gets saturated it could cause full throttle.

Dan

Click to expand...

Nope, just a standard crystalyte twist throttle.

Interesting to see others have had the same happen.

I'll be extra careful next time to make sure throttle is kept dry.....

Kudos

It can happen, when dirty water shorts the + to the - of the 5v circuit in the throttle. I have gotten it after a good crash in wet snow. I blew hard on the throttle and it got better enough to limp home.

I thought if you got the 36v shorted to the 5v, it would toast the controllers 5v circuits, or at least the halls in the throttle. I have a few throttles with that, and generally just clip that pack voltage wire so that can't happen.

A bag for the handlebars is a thing you should carry on a commuter bike or touring bike. On my fun ride bikes, less likely to get caught out in a downpour. But if I do, I cover the throttle with my palm. It's a funny way to hold a half twist throttle, but it works in a pinch. Just smother that crack between the throttle body and the twist with your index finger and palm, while doing the actual grip with your little fingers.

Despite the advances in motors, controllers and batteries, we're still stuck using crappy plastic throttles that are susceptible to problems like this.

I think most people here would be willing to spend $50-100 on a quality throttle that doesn't look, feel and behave like a cheap toy. Something like an aluminum ATV thumb throttle in terms of form factor.

http://holmeshobbies.com/Magura-Twistgrip-5k-throttle.html

A few people rate the magura throttle but I've never used one?

Kudos

Ykick said:

Those situations taught me to put a plastic grocery sack over the handgrip/throttle if it's really coming down hard.

Click to expand...

+1

The hall sensor has exposed wires where the wires are soldered. In heavy rain the compartment where it's installed can fill up with , which will short the connections and give all sorts of problems.All you need to do is fill up the compartment with silicone sealant,oe at least cover the connections in sealant.

Are you using brake cut-offs? If not,this is another reason for them.

Here you can see the exposed wires at the end of the shrink-sleeve:



This one too in a thumb-throttle:

d8veh said:

Are you using brake cut-offs? If not,this is another reason for them.
]

Click to expand...

I do have a front brake cut off using a hidden wire brake sensor actually.

I'll have to open up a throttle and see how I can seal it better, I've got a few spares.

Kudos

Just to confirm it was my throttle, I swapped it out for another one and all is fine once again.

Kudos

I'm a 'me too' but it wasn't the throttle, mine was the connectors to the motor which I'd thought well protected with that self amalgamating tape.

a generous dollop of dielectric grease or even regular Vaseline on the bit of exposed leads does wonders to keep water out of the hall sensors. it is also great for sealing connectors.

it may be a little messy but once it is sealed away it does not matter.

rick

Ok, so it happened again!

I don't know if I'm more annoyed with myself for at first remembering to take a plastic bag, because I knew it was going to rain but then then forgetting it, or if I'm more annoyed at Crystalyte for producing such utterly rubbish throttles that can't survive a bit of rain.

This time left me in a far worse situation than the last time. I was getting zero power to full power instantly back and forth. This torque was so powerful that it pulled my wheel Loose from the drop outs.

I made the mistake of lifting my real wheel which then immediately fell out only held on by the torque arm.

So picture the scene, it's midnight, pitch black with no light, it's pouring with rain, blowing a gale and there I am stuck with my rear wheel hanging off with no tools to fix it. I'm about 3 miles from home which is a 100m elevation from where I am.

I had to basically carry the bike to a place where there was some light which was a late night fast food place. I asked to borrow some tools but all they had was a flat head screwdriver and a spanner!

It took me about half an hour to get the axle back into the dropouts it was so awkward without a Phillips screwdriver to take off then TA. I then had to push the bike all the way home up the largest longest hill on the island.

Lesson learned. Don't go anywhere without a bike multi tool which I have loads of, also some plastic bags. I would like to try some nordlocks on the axle too just to see if this helps maybe, it's not the first time I've had axle bolt loosening issues.

I've ordered some more throttles and the standalone cruise control option. I can't face the expense of the APM which to be honest doesn't really tell me anything useful anymore other than voltage.

Kudos

Stick some 'kin silicone in there. 5 minutes work and you won't have to worry again.

d8veh said:

Stick some 'kin silicone in there. 5 minutes work and you won't have to worry again.

Click to expand...

Will do d8veh.

Would help if it stopped raining for 5 minutes though, seems to be an annual problem now, weeks of consecutive day rain lasting over half a year.

Kudos

It's happened to me a few times in heavy rain now.
Once was approaching a major traffic intersection in rush hour, downhill, on a slippery wet road..... pretty scary. My brakes are always better than my engine though, on every vehicle that I drive..... so just scary and not life threatening.

I reckon dogman nailed it accurately with the problem and there has been a few good solutions posted so far in particular from cwah, ykick ,d8veh & rkosiorek.... all of these seem like a sound solution to me. The plastic bag one is cheap and works, done it heaps, but you gotta remember to carry a bloody plastic bag around with you all the friggin time, so bugger that.

I try not to ride on rainy days anymore but I think if you just injected clear silicone into the guts of it all your problems might go away.

anyway,
good luck

Hi Guys,

Heavy rain on my ride home last night, but no problem due to me covering the throttle with a plastic carrier bag.

Now, I could open up the throttle and fill it with silicone sealant of course but I was just wondering if there is a decent throttle on the market that can take heavy rain already?

Some people use Magura throttles I know but there seems to be issues with dead bands top and bottom ?

I would just like to purchase a decent throttle !

Kudos