Please Help - Troubleshoot My new Tesla

[Kevin DiBetta]

I recently bought a brand new Gotway Tesla from the factory in China.

I am new to EUC riding.

I weigh about 182 lbs

I can not get my Tesla to go faster than about 3 mph yes (Three)

The factory blames calibration. I have done the calibration procedure and tested the settings each time enough to know, I do not have a settings problem.

All I know is that there is no power behind the motor under load.

How can I troubleshoot this problem?

FYI 

Battery Reads grater than 90%

Sport Mode 

No Tiltback

No Alarms

I have 11km logged milage.  I have been practising (slowly)

As a beginner, I should be complaining about too much power.

Thank you in advance for any help or suggestions

 

[Marty Backe]

3 minutes ago, Kevin DiBetta said:

I recently bought a brand new Gotway Tesla from the factory in China.

I am new to EUC riding.

I weigh about 182 lbs

I can not get my Tesla to go faster than about 3 mph yes (Three)

The factory blames calibration. I have done the calibration procedure and tested the settings each time enough to know, I do not have a settings problem.

All I know is that there is no power behind the motor under load.

How can I troubleshoot this problem?

FYI 

Battery Reads grater than 90%

Sport Mode 

No Tiltback

No Alarms

I have 11km logged milage.  I have been practising (slowly)

As a beginner, I should be complaining about too much power.

Thank you in advance for any help or suggestions

 

What happens when you go faster than 3mph? What kind of phone are you using? What app are you using to change the settings?

Then maybe I can make a suggestion or two.

[Kevin DiBetta]

It doesn't go. Pedal to the metal (actually full forward lean) no faster than 3mph'

As I have said I should be complaining about too much power.

I use the gotway app on an an Apple I phone. 

Is there a particular platform and or version that is best?

Thanks again for your help

[esaj]

"It doesn't go" doesn't really describe what's happening... is the wheel tilting back? Loses power?

[Kevin DiBetta]

It will accelerate from 0 to about 3mph It will hold at 3mph on flat, level ground.

The wheel is not tilting back at the 3mph (it just feels like it has reached its top speed and will not accelerate further.)

It will not climb the smallest incline.  

The wheel is not sounding any alarms.

There are no strange noises

There are no strange smells.

The lights appear to behave normally.

When I use the app, the settings are being applied. 

I double check them constantly.

Thanks again

 

[esaj]

Could you try lifting the wheel and tilting it forward while checking with the app to see how fast it runs? Something's really wrong here if the wheel won't accelerate above 3mph.

[Marty Backe]

1 minute ago, Kevin DiBetta said:

It will accelerate from 0 to about 3mph It will hold at 3mph on flat, level ground.

The wheel is not tilting back at the 3mph (it just feels like it has reached its top speed and will not accelerate further.)

It will not climb the smallest incline.  

The wheel is not sounding any alarms.

There are no strange noises

There are no strange smells.

The lights appear to behave normally.

When I use the app, the settings are being applied. 

I double check them constantly.

Thanks again

 

Something doesn't sound right.

Wheels don't just stop going faster. It's actually impossible. Either the pedals will tilt-back, forcing you off the wheel, or the wheel will cutout and you fall on your face.

I'm almost thinking that it's you (this is OK, you're learning). Maybe you just haven't yet learned the dynamics of riding a wheel.

[Kevin DiBetta]

 

When I lift the wheel it appears to spin normally.

I try to go up a small incline it will stop moving forward.

With my hand on a fence or a rail, it will not go. 

I hear what you are saying about what is probably my novice skill set.

However, It should be relatively easy for me to have this Wheel get out of control on me, rather than complaining about it being weak.

Is there a way to objectively test this thing?

A Theory floated by a friend of mine.

I don't know what type of motor is in the wheel.  But I read somewhere that it was a 3phase DC motor.

If that is true. Could the motor, for some reason be operating on 1phase?

That might make it appear to work in a no-load condition, and fail under load.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

[esaj]

26 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Something doesn't sound right.

Wheels don't just stop going faster. It's actually impossible. Either the pedals will tilt-back, forcing you off the wheel, or the wheel will cutout and you fall on your face.

I'm almost thinking that it's you (this is OK, you're learning). Maybe you just haven't yet learned the dynamics of riding a wheel.

I'm also suspecting this is down to a new rider rather than the wheel, but of course it's impossible to say for sure without being able to test the wheel.

9 minutes ago, Kevin DiBetta said:

 

When I lift the wheel it appears to spin normally.

I try to go up a small incline it will stop moving forward.

Are you leaning forwards, basically your "center of gravity" must be in front of the motor axle to cause the pedals to tilt forwards, the wheel will detect this (pretty much immediately, if it's on "hard"-mode, you won't even notice the pedals tilting)? Some people have a problem with "trusting" the wheel at start, and while they partially lean forwards, they still keep the pedals level and the wheel won't accelerate.

 

Quote

With my hand on a fence or a rail, it will not go. 

I hear what you are saying about what is probably my novice skill set.

Try to hold on to a railing and push the pedals down with weight on your toes / front of your feet (what's it called in English, ball of your feets?), the wheel should move forwards... well, ok, getting any higher speed might be difficult if you don't move with the wheel... Got anyone more experienced around you who could try the wheel? That would be an easy way to check whether it works as it should

 

Quote

However, It should be relatively easy for me to have this Wheel get out of control on me, rather than complaining about it being weak.

Is there a way to objectively test this thing?

Without having someone who's got experience with the wheels or something like a dynamometer (which costs a ton), I can't think of anything really... 

 

Quote

A Theory floated by a friend of mine.

I don't know what type of motor is in the wheel.  But I read somewhere that it was a 3phase DC motor.

If that is true. Could the motor, for some reason be operating on 1phase?

That might make it appear to work in a no-load condition, and fail under load.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

No, the wheel wouldn't work at all if only one or two phases were firing, if it can rotate the motor, all the phases are working.

 

[Marty Backe]

2 minutes ago, Kevin DiBetta said:

 

When I lift the wheel it appears to spin normally.

I try to go up a small incline it will stop moving forward.

With my hand on a fence or a rail, it will not go. 

I hear what you are saying about what is probably my novice skill set.

However, It should be relatively easy for me to have this Wheel get out of control on me, rather than complaining about it being weak.

Is there a way to objectively test this thing?

A Theory floated by a friend of mine.

I don't know what type of motor is in the wheel.  But I read somewhere that it was a 3phase DC motor.

If that is true. Could the motor, for some reason be operating on 1phase?

That might make it appear to work in a no-load condition, and fail under load.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

I've been at this game for awhile now and I can't recall ever hearing of a failure mode like this in the motor. There's always a first though.

Please have some kind of protection on for this objective test.

Are you actually able to ride the wheel or are you holding onto a fence during all of this "wheel won't go faster" attempts?

If you are holding onto a wall, etc., then that explains the "won't go faster" description.

Once you free yourself from the wall you will very quickly discover that the wheel can go very fast. Let us know what happens when you ride it away from any supports.

Good luck

[esaj]

@Kevin DiBetta: You could try asking in the NYC riding group:  

 

I'm sure someone there would be happy to try your wheel to see that it works, and give you tips on learning.

[meepmeepmayer]

If you lift the wheel with your hands and tilt it slightly forwards, the following should happen: it spins up rapidly, buckles a little (that's the tiltback finding no effect) and then switch off. Emergency warning beeps during that. That's one objective test you can do (lift test).

(Just to be clear, tiltback means the wheel leans backwards, meaning the pedals lean backwards, this is meant to get you to slow down)

It really sounds like maybe you're doing something wrong. It is impossible for a wheel to just not go above some speed while you tilt it in the driving direction. Either you stopped tilting it, or it doesn't have enough power to balance you and rotate forward and you fall forwards/have to run off. One of these two things has to happen. Which one is it?

[Kevin DiBetta]

I have completed that exercise already.

I can not get the thing to go fast enough to keep me upright.

I can ride it down a hill and remain upright (Free from holding on to anything.)

But after that 3mph (on a downhill) it just feels like the wheel is spinning without assistance from the motor.

To ensure that the problem was not with me and my ability to lean properly. I have tried calibrating with the pedals having slight back-slant

I have completed this exercise while in each of the three Modes Sport, Moderate, Leisure

This should mean that I am forced to lean forward, thus making it easier for the wheel to get away from me.

I am a skier. 

But, It could be me. 

 

 

[meepmeepmayer]

For clarification, EUCs (self-balancing vehicles) work like this: they try to counteract any forwards/backwards tilt by going faster and faster into the tilting direction until the wheel is level again. That's it.

If you tilt it, it goes faster and faster until it can't any longer, then it rotates into the driving direction (there's a tilt forward from the rider leaning, and the wheel can't reduce the tilt, so it eventually rotates instead) and the rider is naturally thrown off.

So you're either always balanced by the wheel, or you fall off it. If you don't fall off it, it means you just don't tilt it, so it doesn't go faster.

So please answer the question, if you go 3mph and lean more, do you fall off, or not?

No shame in getting confused as a new rider. Hoping for you it really is just a crazy misunderstanding and no hardware problem. Either way, the tip with meeting other NYC riders is good, it's much easier to learn by just riding along holding to another rider, than doing it alone, so they can help you greatly.

[Kevin DiBetta]

 

No, I do not fall off. Please see details below.

the Wheel will not go. ( like no power in the battery on some other motorized device.)

No sudden cut off, no alarms, just too weak to continue.

 

I know I sound like a crazy frustrated novice.

      The behavior of this wheel seems wrong.

I bought this thing because it is very powerfull.

I don't expect to just jump on and go. 

     I am not ashamed of my novice status.  

I have observed a third behavior.

I hear what you are saying.

      But the behavior you describe is not what is happening.

I get a lack of power until the wheel will not go no matter how much leaning I do.
 

 

 

I did this experiment 

At the base of a small incline 10:1 from a dead stop. (Run:rise)

Holing on to something or not holding on to something there is not enough power to move me forward.

I leaned drastically forward to overcome this,

Result: no change in power to the wheel. to climb this small incline.

 

On that same incline (now in the downward direction)

I can get going faster than 3mph (threshold of free-standing speed) going downhill.

But the motor feels like it is not keeping up with the wheel. (operating on inertia rather than motor power)

Then even with continued forward leaning (stepping on the accelerator.) no additional power delivered.

Also

There are two uses of the term Tiltback in context to the wheel.

1. The control function which actually Tilts the Wheel Back, in order to slow you down ( as the result of the Tiltback Setting in the App)

2. The amount of tilt, off of level (backwards) that the foot platforms are set up to,  in calibration mode.

I was trying to tell you that I even tried adjusting the amount of tilt at calibration so that I am forced to lean forward.

I conducted the experiment  in combination with all the mode settings. Sport, Moderate, Leasure.

Resulting in no change of behavior.

 

 

Thanks for your help.

I appreciate your advice.

 

 

I will try to get in touch with the NYC Club Thanks for the info.

I will try to get a competent rider to test it. 

 

This is a vexing problem. I am an avid skier. Transition to this device should be relatively easy.

I acknowledge my lack of experience with the EUC

But as I have said

       My problem should be how do I slow down/control this beast.

      Not how do I wake it up?

 

If I later find out that it is me I will let you know.

Thanks again

 

[steve454]

3 hours ago, Kevin DiBetta said:

I recently bought a brand new Gotway Tesla from the factory in China.

I am new to EUC riding.

I weigh about 182 lbs

I can not get my Tesla to go faster than about 3 mph yes (Three)

The factory blames calibration. I have done the calibration procedure and tested the settings each time enough to know, I do not have a settings problem.

All I know is that there is no power behind the motor under load.

How can I troubleshoot this problem?

FYI 

Battery Reads grater than 90%

Sport Mode 

No Tiltback

No Alarms

I have 11km logged milage.  I have been practising (slowly)

As a beginner, I should be complaining about too much power.

Thank you in advance for any help or suggestions

 

You said you are a new rider.  Are you sure it is a Tesla?  Can you post a picture?  

[mrelwood]

If the wheel stays upright, it is working, and it has more power to deliver. No way around that.

Two tips I think should get you going:

1. Position the back of your shoe level to the back of the pedal. Your toes will now hang outside the front of the pedals.

2. Instead of ”leaning”, keep your hips straight and move your knees closer to the ground in front of you.

[RockyTop]

I just got my wheel out and tried to duplicate this situation.  Believe  it or not I was successful.  If you stand on the wheel and lean at the waste like you are about to pick up a penny you will move forward at about 3mph and stop on a hill. 

OK.  here is how you can fix it.  Without the wheel walk over to a wall.  Face the wall with your toes one foot or 30 centimeters away from the wall.  Now keep your body straight from the ankles to your head. Do not bend at the waste!  Very slowly lean forward by bending only at the ankles until your fore head touches the wall.  You will feel lots of pressure on your toes.  Now, If you lean like that on your wheel you will take off like a bat out of hell.  Be careful!

[Chriull]

5 hours ago, RockyTop said:

I just got my wheel out and tried to duplicate this situation.  Believe  it or not I was successful.  If you stand on the wheel and lean at the waste like you are about to pick up a penny you will move forward at about 3mph and stop on a hill. 

OK.  here is how you can fix it.  Without the wheel walk over to a wall.  Face the wall with your toes one foot or 30 centimeters away from the wall.  Now keep your body straight from the ankles to your head. Do not bend at the waste!  Very slowly lean forward by bending only at the ankles until your fore head touches the wall.  You will feel lots of pressure on your toes.  Now, If you lean like that on your wheel you will take off like a bat out of hell.  Be careful!

Yes - the wheel only reacts if ones center of gravity changes! By bending the waist and moving it back the center of gravity stays quite unchanged. Like in your example of picking up a penny - if the center of gravity would move forward by this, one would fall...

That's even more important for braking! I've seen quite some beginners trying to brake on segways and EUCs by just moving their rear back and bending their upper torso forward (like going to sit down)  so they did not change their cog and continued driving and their eyes got wider and wider...

Edit: If you'd like i can recommend @Hirsute's 

videos. In this topic is also descriped how to get english (or whatever language on prefers) subtitles!

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Michael Jackson lean.  

 

[meepmeepmayer]

@houseofjob Dying to know what the issue was! My bet is hilarious rider error. Guy shouldn't feel bad about it, guess such a thing can happen with a new concept, but it's still funny. Any results in already? (Same thread as this one: clicky)

@RockyTop Great you actually did test this!

[houseofjob]

1 minute ago, meepmeepmayer said:

@houseofjob Dying to know what the issue was! My bet is hilarious rider error. Guy shouldn't feel bad about it, guess such a thing can happen with a new concept, but it's still funny. Any results in already? (Same thread as this one: clicky)

Disclaimer: we've all been newbie EUC owners with tons of information about our wheel, but not a whole lot of information on how to ride / learn said wheel.... I know I've been in that boat.

@meepmeepmayer All I'll say is, Kevin will be fine (nice guy BTW!), he just has many hours ahead of him of learning how to EUC~ ?

[RockyTop]

This is still just theory.   I have not tested the guys Tesla.  I just got my wheel out to see how it could be possible to stand on a wheel lean forward and not take off.  It was very surprising to me that I could easily stand on a wheel , bend over and pick something up off the floor without  taking off.  And when my speed turned out to be about 3 mph I realized that this just had to be the situation dicribed above.  Keep in mind the guy is a skier.  So I stood in a skiers pose.  You would not normally put pressure on you toes.

[RockyTop]

2 hours ago, houseofjob said:

 

@meepmeepmayer All I'll say is, Kevin will be fine (nice guy BTW!), he just has many hours ahead of him of learning how to EUC~ ?

So you got him going?   Or is 3 mph the top speed on a GotWay Tesla?   If you want a good laugh you could watch the videos of me learning to ride.      No!.... Wait!,  I burned those. ?

[houseofjob]

28 minutes ago, RockyTop said:

So you got him going?   Or is 3 mph the top speed on a GotWay Tesla?   If you want a good laugh you could watch the videos of me learning to ride.      No!.... Wait!,  I burned those. ?

He's all good, just needs the learning time, that's all! not trying to step on people's pride & ego here