erk1024 Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) My Nikola+ 100V 1845wh wheel was delivered to my work today. So I pumped up the tire, checked the battery charge, calibrated. Looked good, so I took it for a ride. The 3" tire does a pretty good job of soaking up the bumps. Not as good as the Monster, but good. It has effortless torque and good acceleration. I wasn't getting any speed or acceleration wobbles, although I did get some braking wobbles. It didn't seem to have any problem going 50kph. I like it! Seems like a good wheel. But at mile 5.7, it started beeping, started tilting back and didn't stop until I had to get off the wheel. I couldn't stop fast enough before I lost my balance, so I dumped it in a patch of grass. I checked the temperature, and it was at 65 degrees (celsius). I listened for the fan and couldn't hear it. Although this was outside and there was some noise. I let it cool off, and then limped back to my car at 20kph. So my first conclusion was: faulty fan, should be easy enough to fix. But when I turned it on and rolled it into the house, I could hear the fan. So ... hmmm... not sure now. @Marty Backe @mrelwood @meepmeepmayer Any advice? Edited November 3, 2019 by erk1024 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greentung Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 My Nik+ fan turns on almost right away and stays on until I turn off the wheel. As with any new GotWay wheel, open it up and make sure wires are properly tied down, harness secured, etc. I wouldn't trust the QA on GotWay wheels. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZMutant Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) Hi - Have you checked the Gotway app to see if there's a temperature warning programmed in? It could be that it hit a default temperature and tilted back. I bring this up because a strange thing happened to me today - I was getting tilt-backs at 10kph. Couldn't figure out why - so I rode back to my car in slow motion and found that while Darknessbot (my usual riding app) seemed fine, the Gotway App (which I only opened once) had somehow selected a tilt-back at 10kph. Very weird. I changed the tiltback speed in the GW App, closed it, reopened Darknessbot and everything was fine. I'm not on my wheel now so I can't peruse the setup menus, but you might want to see if something is there... Good luck! Edited October 23, 2019 by LZMutant Spelling error. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Marty Backe Posted October 23, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, erk1024 said: My Nikola+ 100V 1845wh wheel was delivered to my work today. So I pumped up the tire, checked the battery charge, calibrated. Looked good, so I took it for a ride. The 3" tire does a pretty good job of soaking up the bumps. Not as good as the Monster, but good. It has effortless torque and good acceleration. I wasn't getting any speed or acceleration wobbles, although I did get some braking wobbles. It didn't seem to have any problem going 50kph. I like it! Seems like a good wheel. But at mile 5.7, it started beeping, started tilting back and didn't stop until I had to get off the wheel. I couldn't stop fast enough before I lost my balance, so I dumped it in a patch of grass. I checked the temperature, and it was at 65 degrees (celsius). I listened for the fan and couldn't hear it. Although this was outside and there was some noise. I let it cool off, and then limped back to my car at 20kph. So my first conclusion was: faulty fan, should be easy enough to fix. But when I turned it on and rolled it into the house, I could hear the fan. So ... hmmm... not sure now. @Marty Backe @mrelwood @meepmeepmayer Any advice? The big downside to the Nikola is that Gotway changed the overheat temperature from 79-degrees (all previous wheels) to 65-degrees, which I think is pathetically low. You being in Florida, this is a problem. People are adding additional fans in the wheel to help with this, apparently Gotway has returned to exposing the heatsink to the inside of the wheel shell (exposed to outside air. If using WheelLog I would set a temperature alarm to ~62-degrees so that you have a warning that it's about to overheat. Edited October 23, 2019 by Marty Backe 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Congratulations on the new wheel! (please add it to your profile) For your problem, I have no other idea but to open it and see if anything looks wrong. Maybe the fan wire is pinched somewhere? Does the board look good? And observe the fan behavior to see if it always works when the trigger temperature is reached (maybe use a blow dryer on the board if that sounds like it makes sense). Maybe the fan didn't start in this instance and it is faulty and works only unreliably? I wouldn't know what other issue could cause overheating (fan bad, or - I believe this is really unlikely - something wrong with the board so the fan doesn't start when it should). Maybe it really is just the Florida heat? What was the outside temperature? Did the sun shine on the right side of the wheel where the board sits? What temperature does the wheel show if it just sits still for a while (but is on)? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 1 hour ago, meepmeepmayer said: Congratulations on the new wheel! (please add it to your profile) For your problem, I have no other idea but to open it and see if anything looks wrong. Maybe the fan wire is pinched somewhere? Does the board look good? And observe the fan behavior to see if it always works when the trigger temperature is reached (maybe use a blow dryer on the board if that sounds like it makes sense). Maybe the fan didn't start in this instance and it is faulty and works only unreliably? I wouldn't know what other issue could cause overheating (fan bad, or - I believe this is really unlikely - something wrong with the board so the fan doesn't start when it should). Maybe it really is just the Florida heat? What was the outside temperature? Did the sun shine on the right side of the wheel where the board sits? What temperature does the wheel show if it just sits still for a while (but is on)? I somehow glanced over the fact that @erk1024 reported that he didn't hear the fan. The fan on one of my Nikola control boards was DOA. Hopefully that's the case with you too. Do as Meep says and open the right side and use a hair dryer to confirm that the fan does not turn on at 65-degrees as reported by the App. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 A follow-up. The wheel overheats at 65-degrees. The fan should turn on much sooner. Probably by 40-degrees, plus or minus. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erk1024 Posted October 23, 2019 Author Share Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said: For your problem, I have no other idea but to open it and see if anything looks wrong. Thanks for the replies! I was riding after work, just as the sun was going down, and the wheel had been inside the office and exposed to A/C. The external temperature was 86F degrees when I was riding. Last night I opened up the case, and gently warmed up the board to 38C degrees with a hair dryer (saw that in your video Marty), and the fan DID kick on. It wasn't loud at all, but it's a variable speed fan, and 38 degrees is low? When the problem happened, I leaned down and listened for the fan and didn't hear it. So either the fan wasn't running, or running at a low speed. The fan speed should have been pegged at 65C degrees. One thing about the shell is that I messed up the center sticker and plastic trying to get to the screw under there (as shown in disassembly videos). The new sticker is rubberized with a hard plastic backing, so it was tough to get off--only to find that there was NO SCREW THERE. So at least on my shell, there was no need to remove the sticker. Let me put it back together and give it a test ride. I'll watch the temperature and listen for the fan. @Marty Backe You said that Gotway is exposing the boards through the shell? Do you think that's in the next shipment of wheels? I guess I should check mine. Edited October 23, 2019 by erk1024 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred8569 Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 If this wheel OH @65°C, what about the MSX 1845Wh ? Has someone tried or heard about it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erk1024 Posted October 23, 2019 Author Share Posted October 23, 2019 1 hour ago, fred8569 said: If this wheel OH @65°C, what about the MSX 1845Wh ? Has someone tried or heard about it ? Changing to 65 degrees might have been an overreaction when they had those initial problems with the Nikola. Jason is going to discuss this with Gotway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick McCutcheon Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 (edited) On 10/23/2019 at 1:18 PM, erk1024 said: Changing to 65 degrees might have been an overreaction when they had those initial problems with the Nikola. Jason is going to discuss this with Gotway. Hopefully the next iteration of the control board ups the overheat temperature again. On a recent uphill ride, my Nik+ overheated while the MSX and 18XL had no problems at all. This wheel also seems to lack torque/braking power for its size and voltage! I almost prefer the ride feel of the MSX to the Nikola, and the MSX somehow feels a sliiiight bit more responsive. Maybe I just need to change my tire pressure ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I know how much of a difference this can make, especially on thicker wheels. Late edit: I lowered my tire pressure to 35, I think this is the ideal pressure for me. I’ve adapted a lot more to the ride characteristics of the wheel Edited October 27, 2019 by Nick McCutcheon 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houseofjob Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 22 hours ago, LZMutant said: I bring this up because a strange thing happened to me today - I was getting tilt-backs at 10kph. Couldn't figure out why - so I rode back to my car in slow motion and found that while Darknessbot (my usual riding app) seemed fine, the Gotway App (which I only opened once) had somehow selected a tilt-back at 10kph. Very weird. I changed the tiltback speed in the GW App, closed it, reopened Darknessbot and everything was fine. Check that your Bluetooth module is fully secured down with silicone. I've heard of riders having issues on Gotways when the BT comes loose; settings get reset somehow. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erk1024 Posted October 24, 2019 Author Share Posted October 24, 2019 TL;DR Conclusion: I need a new fan. I took the Nikola+ for a ride and got it up to 40 degrees C. I could hear the fan (barely). I rode it at 50kph and the temperature climbed all the way up to 63 degrees C. I stopped and listened with my head right next to the shell. I could hear the fan spinning, but still pretty quiet. Just like the previous ride, this happened right around the 6 mile mark. I rode it a little bit more to push it over 65 degrees, and it tilted back until I was forced to get off. I let it cool off a bit and rode it home at 20kph, watching the temperature. It was around 63 degrees all the way home. For comparison, I took out the Monster V3 and rode it at the same speed on the same route. After 12 miles, I was only able to get it up to 47 degrees C. When I got home, the Monster's fan was much louder than the Nikola+ fan. I could hear it easily without putting my head next to the shell. The Nikola tire is at 50psi, I was riding on flat ground at 20kph, and it couldn't bring down the board temperature from 63 degrees?! That just makes no sense. In Marty's Nikola video, the fan is loud. So ... a defective fan is a pretty good guess. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrelwood Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 Sounds like a defective fan, or defective circuitry on the mainboard that drives the fan. Unfortunately the latter would require a new complete mainboard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erk1024 Posted October 24, 2019 Author Share Posted October 24, 2019 1 hour ago, mrelwood said: or defective circuitry on the mainboard that drives the fan. I thought about that as well. Or I could have some special new firmware that lowers the fan speed. Marty said one of his Nikola control boards had a fan that was DOA. Seems like quality control on those fans is not so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Baez Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 I experienced the exact same thing with my standard nikola. The fan just went out like a shitty light bulb. Took a few last desperate breaths of air before finally giving out. I ended up with a solution you could probably find in my post history. But at this point im going to wait a bit before buying more wheel hardware. hopefully they fix their manufacturing issues. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZMutant Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 21 hours ago, houseofjob said: Check that your Bluetooth module is fully secured down with silicone. I've heard of riders having issues on Gotways when the BT comes loose; settings get reset somehow. Thanks houseofjob - will do so. Appreciate the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvoKnvl Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 Saw another fan failure mentions on the Gotway FB group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/GotWay/permalink/2631469516911354/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Kim Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 (edited) my fan took a dump it seems. normally it kicks on pretty often, and i was getting 2 beeps / 2 seconds, but the wheel temp was 41c at its hottest. wheel functions perfectly otherwise, i ordered a new fan from ebay and will see if that fixes the problem. i’ll check the terminals with a multimeter on the main board for the fan as well to confirm that’s not the issue. It’s about 60 degrees in nyc, so ambient temperature should not be an issue. I have about 740 miles on the nikola before the fan gave out Edited October 25, 2019 by Ben Kim 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erk1024 Posted October 25, 2019 Author Share Posted October 25, 2019 Jason from eWheels is sending out a replacement control board and fan! With those installed, I should be good to go! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Kim Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 21 minutes ago, erk1024 said: Jason from eWheels is sending out a replacement control board and fan! With those installed, I should be good to go! i don’t think there’s any problem with the board, just the fan. it’s all good though, save it for a rainy day. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Kim Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 update: My wheel is magically not beeping anymore. now i need to heat the pcb up and see if i can make the fan turn on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 17 hours ago, erk1024 said: Jason from eWheels is sending out a replacement control board and fan! With those installed, I should be good to go! The good thing about ewheels being swamped with emails and support: they'll just do a quick an dirty solution. Free board 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neurokinetik Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 Ya know, I'd be fine with the fan running at 100% speed at all times just to better avoid the issue and to make it more obvious when it isn't working. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Kim Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 So, my constant beeping was actually an issue with darknessbot beta. It continuously reconnecting to the wheel, and beeps won’t stop til i shut the app off via app switcher. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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