Gotway ACMv2 will not power on anymore

[jdsr4c]

Hey all,

I have been riding my new Gotway ACMv2 for a few weeks now, and I just received a new 5A smart charger I bought for it from ewheels.com today. After charging it up, I took it for a ride. Only after a few minutes, I stepped off a little awkwardly (the machine leaned to the side a little bit but did not hit the ground) and it shut off. Now it won't start back up again. All it does it light up in the back as I press  and hold the button in. Could this new charger have fried my motherboard? Has anyone troubleshot this problem before?

[Marty Backe]

Hmmm. The ACM2 (like the Tesla) has a higher turn-off angle than the earlier models. But it just stops balancing until you bring the wheel upright again. It doesn't actually turn off.

I'm curious. When you press the power button, what color are the lights in the back? All red? This happened to me once, but after a couple of minutes it turned on and I haven't had a problem since.

And no, the charger couldn't cause the problem that you're describing. I have no solutions for you though. Did you buy it from a dealer that can provide support if needed?

[jdsr4c]

Thanks for the reply, Marty. I bought it from ewheels.com and sent them a comment on their website.

It just lights up with white light, and it makes no sound.

I opened the right side up where the motherboard is and it seems like everything is connected. 

[Chriull]

1 minute ago, jdsr4c said:

Thanks for the reply, Marty. I bought it from ewheels.com and sent them a comment on their website.

Good choice? @Jason McNeil has the reputation of taking good care of his customers!

[Marty Backe]

41 minutes ago, jdsr4c said:

Thanks for the reply, Marty. I bought it from ewheels.com and sent them a comment on their website.

It just lights up with white light, and it makes no sound.

I opened the right side up where the motherboard is and it seems like everything is connected. 

Looks like you have a case of a random control board failure. I've never heard of this kind of a failure before. Just bad luck, like my KS14S control board failing after a charge. These things happen 

[jdsr4c]

1 hour ago, Chriull said:

Good choice? @Jason McNeil has the reputation of taking good care of his customers!

I sure hope so! I would hate to have a $1500 paperweight only after a couple weeks of riding.

59 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Looks like you have a case of a random control board failure. I've never heard of this kind of a failure before. Just bad luck, like my KS14S control board failing after a charge. These things happen 

Yeah I am no expert with EUC yet but that was my initial guess. Hopefully ewheels.com and/or Gotway will help me out so I can get back to riding. I am really enjoying this machine!

[Marty Backe]

2 hours ago, jdsr4c said:

I sure hope so! I would hate to have a $1500 paperweight only after a couple weeks of riding.

Yeah I am no expert with EUC yet but that was my initial guess. Hopefully ewheels.com and/or Gotway will help me out so I can get back to riding. I am really enjoying this machine!

Please let us know the final resolution. It helps the community to understand the various failure mechanisms of our wheels.

Good luck with a speedy resolution.

[mezzanine]

Wouldn't dream of buying a Gotway from anywhere but ewheels.  

[Shad0z]

1 hour ago, mezzanine said:

Wouldn't dream of buying a Gotway from anywhere but ewheels.  

i bought from aliexpress seller. he has good service he sent me a new control board very fast and paid shipping when mine failed

[mezzanine]

12 minutes ago, Shad0z said:

i bought from aliexpress seller. he has good service he sent me a new control board very fast and paid shipping when mine failed

Good to know.  I guess it's safer than I thought to order from Ali if you consider that most failures will occur within the warranty period.  

[Shad0z]

8 hours ago, mezzanine said:

Good to know.  I guess it's safer than I thought to order from Ali if you consider that most failures will occur within the warranty period.  

Its just important to choose a known seller. And then ask about warranty and what to do if the wheel fails. In this case i think my seller just said that i should contact him if i had issues

[jdsr4c]

On 5/18/2018 at 12:17 PM, Marty Backe said:

Please let us know the final resolution. It helps the community to understand the various failure mechanisms of our wheels.

Good luck with a speedy resolution.

Of course. I will continue to post the progress, if this forum allows me to at least. Apparently I only get a couple posts max per day?? Seems awfully counter-productive.

Anyways, Jason from ewheels.com is sending me a new control board. I will hopefully be able to install it by Monday.

[jdsr4c]

Does anyone have any tips or literature on replacing the control board? It doesn't seem too complex but I would take any advice.

[steve454]

1 hour ago, jdsr4c said:

Does anyone have any tips or literature on replacing the control board? It doesn't seem too complex but I would take any advice.

Here you go.  Basic technique should be the same even if board is different.  Most important is don't forget to clean and replace with new the heatsink paste.  Thanks go to @EUC GUY 

Notice the spark when plugging the yellow battery connectors back together.  A quick movement is said to be better.  

 

Edited May 19, 2018 by steve454

[Jerome]

46 minutes ago, jdsr4c said:

Does anyone have any tips or literature on replacing the control board? It doesn't seem too complex but I would take any advice.

This bring up the question of warranty for me. Does the warranty on EUC's in general mean replacement of parts or is it different for each wheel? Warranty for me means sending the unit back for repair/replacement. I definitely don't plan on replacing anything on a wheel, except possibly the battery one day. Probably a lot of wheel owners have a garage/workshop/workbench and necessary tools to replace boards, tighten internal bolts/screws, etc., but that is not my situation. Paying someone locally to replace parts/tighten things adds another dimension to what I would buy. What's the skinny?

[mezzanine]

2 minutes ago, Jerome said:

This bring up the question of warranty for me. Does the warranty on EUC's in general mean replacement of parts or is it different for each wheel? Warranty for me means sending the unit back for repair/replacement. I definitely don't plan on replacing anything on a wheel, except possibly the battery one day. Probably a lot of wheel owners have a garage/workshop/workbench and necessary tools to replace boards, tighten internal bolts/screws, etc., but that is not my situation. Paying someone locally to replace parts/tighten things adds another dimension to what I would buy. What's the skinny?

This is why I've steered clear of Gotway.  I wish I had the basic skills and tools to work on these wheels, but I don't.  I figure I'm probably a more typical user in that respect.  It's why I can get annoyed when folks recommend Gotways to newbs without mentioning their failure rate or taking into account their willingness or ability to do repair work.  

That said, early indications suggest that the issues that have made Gotways unreliable in the past have been improved.  I would now consider buying one if Jason indicates in the future that these changes have significantly reduced failure rates.  

[jdsr4c]

1 hour ago, mezzanine said:

This is why I've steered clear of Gotway.  I wish I had the basic skills and tools to work on these wheels, but I don't.  I figure I'm probably a more typical user in that respect.  It's why I can get annoyed when folks recommend Gotways to newbs without mentioning their failure rate or taking into account their willingness or ability to do repair work.  

That said, early indications suggest that the issues that have made Gotways unreliable in the past have been improved.  I would now consider buying one if Jason indicates in the future that these changes have significantly reduced failure rates.  

It wouldn't be so bad if there was more literature on breakdown and part replacement. A detailed manual would give owners a little more confidence when it comes to self servicing because it really doesn't seem like anything too advanced, nor does it seem like many tools are needed. That all being said, at these price points a little more reliability would be nice, but as long as I can get replacement parts free under warranty, I won't complain. I just hope breakdowns like this will be few and far between because this thing is a blast to ride!

Thanks @steve454 !

[jdsr4c]

Looks like I found the culprit. The blue rectangular piece singed a hole straight through the red cable, which was pressed up against it.

Edited May 20, 2018 by jdsr4c

[mezzanine]

Great work on the photo and diagnosis!  Super valuable contribution to the community.  

[jdsr4c]

3 minutes ago, mezzanine said:

Great work on the photo and diagnosis!  Super valuable contribution to the community.  

Thanks! Now I just need to figure out how to prevent this from happening again. I suppose some strong tape could do the trick by holding the cables far away from the blue part. That, and/or a heatshield sleeve for the cable.

Can anyone elaborate on what the blue part is exactly?

[Marty Backe]

5 hours ago, mezzanine said:

This is why I've steered clear of Gotway.  I wish I had the basic skills and tools to work on these wheels, but I don't.  I figure I'm probably a more typical user in that respect.  It's why I can get annoyed when folks recommend Gotways to newbs without mentioning their failure rate or taking into account their willingness or ability to do repair work.  

That said, early indications suggest that the issues that have made Gotways unreliable in the past have been improved.  I would now consider buying one if Jason indicates in the future that these changes have significantly reduced failure rates.  

And what will you do if your KingSong wheel fails? My KS14S failed and I was shipped a new control board. Note, my KS14S is not made by Gotway. Should I not recommend KingSong wheels. I know there are some members (not you) that experienced one Gotway failure and then became Gotway haters because of it. I don't hate KingSong, just to be clear.

We are all early adopters. There are no corner EUC shops like for cars or bicycles. I'm afraid if a person wants to partake in the joys of EUC riding they need to be prepared for some self-maintenance. Fortunately, much of it can be done with a screw driver.

Edited May 20, 2018 by Marty Backe

[ED209]

On 5/18/2018 at 11:11 PM, mezzanine said:

Wouldn't dream of buying a Gotway from anywhere but ewheels.  

Speedyfeet Is UK based and his wheels usually come with 2 years warranty. Ian from Speedyfeet is very responsive also should you have any problems.

[mezzanine]

38 minutes ago, Edddeus said:

Speedyfeet Is UK based and his wheels usually come with 2 years warranty. Ian from Speedyfeet is very responsive also should you have any problems.

Yeah, I was operating under a misconception about after sales service and warranty coverage.  I'd thought that the folks that purchased through Ali would get dinged for the cost of replacement parts.  Honestly, I'm kinda wondering about the value of going through the official distributors given my new understanding.  

[ED209]

I know the feeling, Ali Express prices do look attractive in comparison to Speedyfeet, but if something goes wrong, they would encourage you to diagnose and fix the problem yourself, rather than sending the whole wheel back to them.

I think Speedyfeet offers real value. Prices for the V10 and KS18L seem reasonable with the added bonus of warranty. My next wheel will definitely be purchased over here for peace of mind.

 

Edited May 20, 2018 by Edddeus
Added extra

[jdsr4c]

4 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

And what will you do if your KingSong wheel fails? My KS14S failed and I was shipped a new control board. Note, my KS14S is not made by Gotway. Should I not recommend KingSong wheels. I know there are some members (not you) that experienced one Gotway failure and then became Gotway haters because of it. I don't hate KingSong, just to be clear.

We are all early adopters. There are no corner EUC shops like for cars or bicycles. I'm afraid if a person wants to partake in the joys of EUC riding they need to be prepared for some self-maintenance. Fortunately, much of it can be done with a screw driver.

The key phrase here is definitely "early adopters". 

I'm a 30 year old IT professional from St. Louis. I think I understood what I was getting into when I randomly purchased a $1500 'wheel'. I don't know a single person who has an EUC, nor have I ever seen one in person until I bought this ACMv2. We are essentially pioneers of this transportation technology. I'm just happy I can get replacement parts free of charge under warranty. I am also happy that I can now post more than a couple posts a day on this forum, because it was pretty discouraging trying to troubleshoot this foreign machine with zero literature and a limited amount of posts on one of the only resources available.

I plan on learning as much as I can about this thing and fixing/modding it as necessary. That's just my nature, and that is part of why I felt comfortable enough buying it.