TSDZ8 clicking noise

[E-HP]

I'm still trying to solve some of the odd noises I'm getting with this motor. It developed a creaking sound which ended up being the motor loosening, and the creaking stopped after tightening it down. I also added a few 1/2" zip ties to secure the motor and eliminate chance of it loosening again. What I have left is a clicking sound coming from the bottom bracket are. The clicking occurs when the crank arms are parallel to the ground with the left crank forward. It more noticeable when pedaling harder. I thought it might be that the crank arm needed tightening, so I checked both and tightened them slightly, but they seem secure.
My next step will be to take off both crank arms and rotate them 90 degrees to see if the clicking still occurs and in the same rotation of the crank or whether it shifts. Other than the noise, it doesn't seem like anything else is wrong. Any tips on how to further diagnose this issue would greatly appreciated. I'm not familiar enough with the construction of this motor to figure out if anything is happening internally or not.

EDIT: Rotating the cranks made a difference. I think the clicking follow the rotation of the motor/spindle position. There's no clicking in the parallel to the ground position now, but I can hear a faint click when the pedals are up/down, but since there's not much pressure being applied with the cranks in that position, the clicking is barely audible. I'm still concerned that there's something going on with the motor, but I'll monitor it to see if the clicking gets louder again.

 

[Zambam]

Did you ask Varstrom what may be causing the clicking? I had a clicking sound on my TSDZ2 which was a pain to chase down. I thought it was coming from the motor but wasn't sure. I wired up an FM transmitter with a contact mic, listened with a FM radio + ear set, moved the contact mic around (held with double sided foam tape) in an attempt to localize where it's coming from by loudness. I determined it was not coming from the motor but elsewhere. The clicking sound went away by itself so I never found the source.

 

[E-HP]

Did you ask Varstrom what may be causing the clicking? I had a clicking sound on my TSDZ2 which was a pain to chase down. I thought it was coming from the motor but wasn't sure. I wired up an FM transmitter with a contact mic, listened with a FM radio + ear set, moved the contact mic around (held with double sided foam tape) in an attempt to localize where it's coming from by loudness. I determined it was not coming from the motor but elsewhere. The clicking sound went away by itself so I never found the source.

Thanks. I think it’s the motor. I just took a 15 mile test ride and no clicking after rotating the crank arms. I’m going to assume it’s good or not causing damage now unless it resurfaces later.

 

[cstasek]

I would like to add my 2 cents worth on the clicking sounds. I have the same problem and have made a few observations. The clicking sound occurs once per revolution of the drive sprocket whether you are pedaling or throttling. And it occurs in the same revolution position of the crank arms for the most part. i.e left pedal forward. The fact that it clicks pedaling or throttling should be a clue. I believe the sound comes from the motor. The only parts that rotate in synch with the drive chain are the chain ring itself (would have to be making a frame strike to make noise once per revolution) and anything synched with that drive sprocket which would be everything inside the motor that is rotationally aligned with the bottom bracket and drive sprocket. Everything in the motor that is before the bottom bracket (motor, etc.) is at a much higher revolution than the bottom bracket and sprocket so the sound frequency would be way higher, not synched to once per revolution of the drive sprocket. I opened up the motor and looked for any signs of unusual parts contact and saw no issues that way. One thing I noticed is that the disk that contains the magnets to trigger the hall sensor is fairly loose. But that disk is just following along with the pedaling and is not part of the drive chain itself so probably not the culprit. I have also noticed that my chain ring does not spin completely true. It has a very slight wobble in it. Perhaps as the chain ring rotates it slightly changes the torque vectors and cause the bottom bracket to shift laterally in the bearings or something like that there... This is a very tough problem to pin down. It's not a show stopper but it is annoying.