Bionx system died on me mid-day

[taiwwa]

I had my Bionx P350 installed on a recumbent and it was working great. I rode to a place and stopped there for an hour, locking up the recumbent.

When I returned, the system was not working. The throttle would power up but then it would flash constantly. I was able to get it working for a brief moment but then it quit again.

When I got home I plugged it in overnight.

In the morning it was worse. Now, the throttle light doesn’t even flash. It will light up for a moment. There will be four beeps from the battery. Then it will shut off.

Any idea? I suspect that it is most likely the battery that has gone bad. But it is really weird that it would die midday like that. Maybe I drove it too hard and that killed it? It is from 2018/2019 so maybe it is time for replacement. Problem is that this is kind of a black box.

 

[2old]

The other problem is BionX is out of business, and the only one who may be able to help (AFAIK, but there may be others) is ebikesca.

 

[99t4]

Make sure the display is correctly seated in its slide-in holder, and all the wiring is properly connected. In fact, unplug and replug all the connectors to be sure, and to wipe away any corrosion. Do this while the battery is disconnected if possible.

 

[amberwolf]

I had my Bionx P350 installed on a recumbent and it was working great. I rode to a place and stopped there for an hour, locking up the recumbent.

When I returned, the system was not working. The throttle would power up but then it would flash constantly. I was able to get it working for a brief moment but then it quit again.

Was it recently installed, or has it been installed on that bike for a long time and working correctly all that time with no problems?

Has it ever had any problems previously, either on this bike or on previous bikes?

Was the system new when you got it, or was it used? (the latter means there could be problems with it you cannot know about, or ones the previous owner(s) advised you of that aren't posted here). But if you have that info, it might help lead us to an answer.

When I got home I plugged it in overnight.

In the morning it was worse. Now, the throttle light doesn’t even flash. It will light up for a moment. There will be four beeps from the battery. Then it will shut off.

Any idea? I suspect that it is most likely the battery that has gone bad. But it is really weird that it would die midday like that. Maybe I drove it too hard and that killed it? It is from 2018/2019 so maybe it is time for replacement. Problem is that this is kind of a black box.

Assuming a battery problem, if the bike was parked in the sun, perhaps overheating of already-aged cells has caused enough degradation of one or more of them to create an imbalance the BMS can't deal with, or the BMS itself has a problem.

Some of the BionX batteries use a BMS that will brick itself if certain problems arise, and require either replacement with a new BionX BMS (if the system is one of the ones that wont' work if it doens't talk to the battery and get the OK to run), or reset by someone with the dealer software and hardware to talk to the system. There are still some poeple out there with the latter, but the former would only be available in another similar battery (and if removed from the cells could brick itself for the same reasons).

 

[taiwwa]

Was it recently installed, or has it been installed on that bike for a long time and working correctly all that time with no problems?

Has it ever had any problems previously, either on this bike or on previous bikes?

Was the system new when you got it, or was it used? (the latter means there could be problems with it you cannot know about, or ones the previous owner(s) advised you of that aren't posted here). But if you have that info, it might help lead us to an answer.


Assuming a battery problem, if the bike was parked in the sun, perhaps overheating of already-aged cells has caused enough degradation of one or more of them to create an imbalance the BMS can't deal with, or the BMS itself has a problem.

Some of the BionX batteries use a BMS that will brick itself if certain problems arise, and require either replacement with a new BionX BMS (if the system is one of the ones that wont' work if it doens't talk to the battery and get the OK to run), or reset by someone with the dealer software and hardware to talk to the system. There are still some poeple out there with the latter, but the former would only be available in another similar battery (and if removed from the cells could brick itself for the same reasons).

Yes that sounds the most likely. The only clue I have really are the four beeps. Playing the guessing game isn’t much fun given the amount of labor needed. Better to sell I suppose.

The quick death of ebike cells reminds me a lot of the Nissan Leaf. This is entirely because of no thermal management imo.

I really wish the Bionx were not proprietary.