V12 brand new, says “please repair”

[Paul g]

Hi, guys! I just received my V12 today, but I have some issues with it. I never had or ride before an unicycle, so I'm quite puzzled by this. As soon as I connected the app the v12 started, without me unlocking it from the screen-I’ve seen people on YouTube doing it, so it must have been already unlocked from transportation mode. After that I put it on a stand and started several times the v12 just to see how it works, because obviously I have no idea, but being on the stand would start spinning until cutoff. Then realised I had to let it on the ground when on, so it doesn’t spin out of control, which I did next. So then I put the wheel on the ground, turn it on and I tried to play with speed settings, and lowered the max speed to 15km/h. After that it started shaking stronger (then in normal operating mode) and start pulling forward and would say: please repair! Of course, I would lift it in the air, cuz it seem to be ready to fly from my hands, and then would cut off. Is not normal to do that, isn’t it?

The number of times I started on the stand and when the wheel started spinning until cutoff was approximately 5 or 6 times. The battery was 96% full. Is it possible the multiple cutoffs, close in time to each other has caused damage to the board? I also realised that I pressed the spin kill button while the wheel started to spin out of control, because I would grab the wheel by the handle when that happened so it doesn’t fly from the stand. 
 As it is my first wheel I have no idea what it could be wrong. This wheel is quite powerful, I must admit it is a little bit scary. If you know more about this, I would appreciate your help. 

[Tawpie]

I would first try to do a horizontal calibration... and no, the free spin adventures should not have damaged anything. "Should not" is sort of operative... if something's wrong with the control board all bets are off.

After you do horizontal calibration, turning the wheel on (when the wheel is on the ground) and holding it so it's roughly straight up and down back-to-front and side-to-side it should keep itself level front-to-back. When you push gently forward on the handle it should go gently forward. Pull gently back on the handle and it should follow your hand. If it doesn't do this, and you've retried calibration again (make sure it's straight front-to-back AND side-to-side), it's time to contact your reseller. It should never shake at all, maybe the ever so slight tremble that you can barely feel, but nothing that would be called "shaking".

I would think the V12 has a lift sensor that will disengage the motor when you lift it by the handle but don't know for certain.

Assuming calibration fixes it, be sure to check the tire pressure before you start your learning adventure. And have fun learning, good luck, be stubborn. Look where you want to go, don't look down.

Edited December 22, 2021 by Tawpie

[Paul g]

Thank you, Tawpie for your response. I did what you said and it worked for a short period of time. I even managed to take it to the park nearby and had a feel of it. After trying it out for a while it gave me the same “please repair” verbal message. This time I noticed that near the right-upper corner of the speed on display it appeared an exclamation mark. I pressed it and it said “ There is something wrong, please pay attention”. Ignore and Check. I pressed Check and it showed: “Fault! The battery failed, you may need to replace the battery. Please contact your point of purchase or email to us: service@imscv.com”.  I will email them right now.

[Tawpie]

Darn it. Bad luck. Be sure to contact your direct reseller as well, InMotion service's reputation is kind of hit and miss... your reseller may (or may not) be more responsive!

They'll get it sorted though!

[Paul g]

Thanks man. I appreciate.

[syirrus]

I feel for you man. I'm sorry that happened. I don't even have an EUC and would be a little bummed if that happened. I hope you don't end up having to return it, but better to be safe than not. 

[Paul g]

3 hours ago, syirrus said:

I feel for you man. I'm sorry that happened. I don't even have an EUC and would be a little bummed if that happened. I hope you don't end up having to return it, but better to be safe than not. 

Thanks! It is quite disappointing and sad. 
I waited since June, when I’ve made my first V12 order. Then waited until September and the Aliexpress app was telling me the wheel has arrived, but had actually not receive anything. I told them I want my money back.

Then made the order again, this time with Wheel Riders Store. They where good at delivering the product in time, but the big disappointment came when I found the wheel doesn’t function. I bought an InMotion exactly because it had the opposite image that Gotway made for itself. It supposed to be water resistant, well built quality, good safety margin power, safe battery. It disappointed, man! All the stories about V12 worrie me even more. So sad, so sad! And when we thought the things start to get in the right direction with the EUCs. 

[mrelwood]

Oh man, it really sucks to have your first visit to the world of EUCs start like this! Luckily though, what you haven’t read about much are the success stories, the ones where everything went and keeps going well. They aren’t as numerous at the forum sharing their joyful moments, they’re out there, riding. Sad truth is that lemons exist. But don’t give up just yet, it could be something you can solve yourself as well.

 First a few explanations:

 When the wheel is powered on, it will try to balance by rotating the tire forward or backwards, whichever is needed. If it doesn’t help, the wheel quickly ramps up the revs until it does, all the way up to the motor’s max speed. If the tire is off the ground, the balance needn’t be more than a hair crooked, and the maximum is reached very fast.

 Enter lift spin kill button. But to save people from accidentally requiring new dentals while riding, it does nothing when the tire is already spinning. So if the wheel is in the air and spinning, there’s nothing else to can do but to wait it out and not let anything touch the tire, as it spins at around 100km/h.

 Then “pulling forward”. It’s called a “tilt-back”. It’s purpose is to force the rider to slow down and sometimes even prevent riding altogether. It will only go up to a certain point. If you feel it, whether riding or trolleying, don’t panic. Just relax and let it tilt, and slow you down if you’re riding. Tilt-back is engaged by a low battery, overvoltage, overheat, overspeed, overpower, or a failure within the wheel.

 Then the battery. There are several systems managing the battery, one of them being the charger. Since it sounded like you hadn’t charged it yet, it is possible that it just needs to get the juices flowing for it all to fix itself. Possibly, but not definitively.

 What I’d do next is power on the wheel, set it leaning on its integrated stand (using the spin kill button), connect the app, and do the following:

- Tap the cogwheel in the top right corner to enter settings.

- Tap “Diagnose”, and note what the app says next, and if any sections failed the check.

- Tap “Upload log” and wait for it to finish.

- Go back to the main settings page, and tap “About vehicle”.

- Take a screenshot, (preferably blur the serial number,) and show the screenshot to us.

- Tap “Battery pack detailed info”, and post a screenshot or type them here.

- Scroll all the way down in the main settings page, and tap “Vehicle calibration”.

- While the wheel is on its integrated stand on a smooth flat floor, tap “Turning and Forwarding adjustment”.

- Let the wheel on its side, make sure the tire is not near any walls or objects, and tap “Self-adjustment on motor”. Read the warning, and tap “Confirm”.

Then just wait for us to comment on the screenshots you showed us!

(No harm in contacting the seller already if you don’t want to wait.)

Edited December 24, 2021 by mrelwood

[Paul g]

Thank you, I appreciate your help. I’ve already got in contact with InMotion, and they advised me to do the diagnose and I also uploaded the log. The battery shows as faulty. Just several hours ago I sent them my serial number so they can access the data from the logs. I’m an electrician and I know a thing or two about electronics, but I do not want to open the wheel until I get the clearing from InMotion- according to Aliexpress terms I can send the wheel back in 15 days if something is not OK with it. If it is something that I can repair and they ask me to try, I will do it. Now it’s a patience game. I’ll wait for their say.

[mrelwood]

Good to hear that you are in contact, and that you are on top of the return period as well! Let us know how it turns out.

[syirrus]

On 12/24/2021 at 10:46 PM, Paul g said:

Thanks! It is quite disappointing and sad. 
I waited since June, when I’ve made my first V12 order. Then waited until September and the Aliexpress app was telling me the wheel has arrived, but had actually not receive anything. I told them I want my money back.

Then made the order again, this time with Wheel Riders Store. They where good at delivering the product in time, but the big disappointment came when I found the wheel doesn’t function. I bought an InMotion exactly because it had the opposite image that Gotway made for itself. It supposed to be water resistant, well built quality, good safety margin power, safe battery. It disappointed, man! All the stories about V12 worrie me even more. So sad, so sad! And when we thought the things start to get in the right direction with the EUCs. 

Man, I have been looking to perhaps go with this wheel as my first wheel. I was thinking exactly what you have been thinking. IPX rating, better built, etc. Howsoever, it seems like people are having issues with this puppies.  I know it might sound crazy, but I'm thinking of getting a Sherman. I know that it will be heavy but the problems have been worked out and it has the range and bugs worked out of it. 

[mrelwood]

 

2 hours ago, syirrus said:

I'm thinking of getting a Sherman. I know that it will be heavy but the problems have been worked out and it has the range and bugs worked out of it. 

I haven’t been following any Sherman news, but that’s not the impression I’ve gotten about it’s issues. I’m sure our great wordsmith @ShanesPlanet can say something about its general quality as well. Not that I think it’s any worse than the unfortunately low EUC average, it just hasn’t seemed to be any more than that.

[.....]

6 hours ago, syirrus said:

 I know that it will be heavy but the problems have been worked out and it has the range and bugs worked out of it. 

@mrelwoodnailed it. Id say its not quite up to par as my 18xl, but eons better than the s18. Same story, mediocre QC, so you don't want to make assumptions other than its a dice roll. I still don't think the Sherman makes a good first wheel. Heavy as a tank, expensive as hell. For newbies that think they need a sherman, I think its either  'bigger and more expensive MUST be better". Or they don't quite grasp that an euc is NOT in fact a motorcycle or car with one wheel. I'm surprised marketing hasn't conned everyone into thinking the Sherman isnt as good anymore, because theres something newer. Lots of fun and miles can be had at 30mph and less.

Edited December 26, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[Paul g]

5 hours ago, syirrus said:

Man, I have been looking to perhaps go with this wheel as my first wheel. I was thinking exactly what you have been thinking. IPX rating, better built, etc. Howsoever, it seems like people are having issues with this puppies.  I know it might sound crazy, but I'm thinking of getting a Sherman. I know that it will be heavy but the problems have been worked out and it has the range and bugs worked out of it. 

I agree with ShanesPlanet, Sherman is not great as a first wheel. Can also check this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0ybGD23NmY . Even the V12 is a heavy wheel for a beginner, but I took the challenge. If you decide for Sherman than I wish you good luck and patience, it will be quite difficult. 

 

[Paul g]

Update:

The InMotion engineer said to check something on my faulty V12, but the fault didn’t want to show up.

This doesn’t mean it is OK. I took it for a spin to see if the fault shows up again as it did before. This time I put it on 100% sensitivity and in Off-Road mode, and I managed to ride it straight away. I first had it set on Commuting and pedal sensitivity 50%- not a good idea, I could not figure out why it doesn’t start rolling- good to know for beginners!!! I even managed to make several tight turns on it on the width of a two way road, but I’m by no means an expert. It feels fiddly. I miss some power pads. I bet the control will be way better. But yeah, could not managed to make it show the fault again. I rode it like 25km, at least that’s what it showed on the screen. I went from 91% battery to 75%. I also dropped the wheel on a kerb while I was trying to make a 90 degrees turn on the road. It went ballistic. I had a little bit of speed and it tumbled like two times. The front plastic split a little near the light. That is where it hit. My feet got tired after a while and I planned to go home, I was loosing control. I was expecting it, the smooth muscles that are used for fine control needed rest. The ClarkPads will arrive on 31 of December. Not quick enough! I will make some from EVA foam.

It feels so good! I’m a cyborg! 

[Nostris]

On 12/26/2021 at 3:13 PM, syirrus said:

Man, I have been looking to perhaps go with this wheel as my first wheel. I was thinking exactly what you have been thinking. IPX rating, better built, etc. Howsoever, it seems like people are having issues with this puppies.  I know it might sound crazy, but I'm thinking of getting a Sherman. I know that it will be heavy but the problems have been worked out and it has the range and bugs worked out of it. 

I have to say that people who go out and buy a V12 or a Sherman as their first wheel are just making a rod for their own backs. These really are not in any way a starter / learner wheel.  Learning to ride is not an instant thing…it take most people several days to get to the point of mounting / dismounting, stopping and turning… it takes quite a few kilometres to get to the point of being able to safely ride in public spaces…..and it takes several thousand kilometres ( and several falls) to become a competent rider…It really isn’t as easy as it seems on YouTube!   During the learning phase, you will definitely tumble, definitely hurt yourself and definitely damage your wheel. Trying to learn on a big, heavy and powerful wheel will be hard work with plenty of scope to get into a whole heap of sh1t.  Go and get a starter wheel first, a V8, or a small KS, that doesn’t really matter if you trash it..  I still have my V8f and still use it, it’s great to have a lighter weight wheel to keep in the back of the car for when you need some rapid urban transport.