UPONIT Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 (edited) 9 hours ago, BKW said: If this is the street tire ewheels is going to use, I am having a hard time deciding if it's best to go with the knobby or street tire. The one in the picture here has deep tread, and since I'm in Manhattan the only reason I'd want the knobby is for instances where I'd go off-road maybe in central park or squirrely patches on the street. However, this street tire looks like it can handle those anomalies fairly well I think... These tires are supposedly fairly cheap if I wanted to switch, but I'm having second thoughts about the knobby now... Get both. Seriously. It's about a 20 minute tire change after you do it once. Awkward first time, then a breeze. Instructions if you need/want: Spoiler [Get a cheap set of tire spoons and rim guards on Amazon, rim tape, and a couple C clamps. Remove right side pad. 4 bolts per side to get wheel/pedal assemblies off. 2 screws to unclamp and give slack in the motor wire. Change tire (YouTube scooter tire change). Reverse assemble. Inflate. Seat. Deflate to preferred psi. Go!] I say this because i would imagine in NY winter you'd want the knobby. Rest of year, street. They both have advantages. Neither tire is too expensive. Edited January 1, 2023 by UPONIT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeboots Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Hello folks, happy new year! I stupidly left my mten4 outside in the light rain for a few hours yesterday, when I brought it inside it turned itself on and started flashing the display lights and headlights. I got it to turn off and stay turned off, and this morning it seemed fine. Went to charge it and the charger light flashes red/green rapidly and the charging port starts to smoke immediately. Do I have a short in the charging port area caused by moisture? Should I just let it continue to dry? Any other ideas? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeuc Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 15 minutes ago, joeboots said: Hello folks, happy new year! I stupidly left my mten4 outside in the light rain for a few hours yesterday, when I brought it inside it turned itself on and started flashing the display lights and headlights. I got it to turn off and stay turned off, and this morning it seemed fine. Went to charge it and the charger light flashes red/green rapidly and the charging port starts to smoke immediately. Do I have a short in the charging port area caused by moisture? Should I just let it continue to dry? Any other ideas? Thanks! These wheels are NOT waterproof, and water will make its way in to the control board. I doubt the batteries would be affected, though, but can't be 100% certain. Since you have plugged it in and seen it smoke, I would no longer trust that wheel without a minimum of a board replacement. I would recommend reaching out to your retailer to see if they can sell you a replacement board. If something like that happens in the future I would recommend THOROUGHLY drying it out, which means several days of downtime and/or opening it up and using a blowdryer on it or something; even then I would be wary of it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeboots Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Damn! I was afraid of that. Oh well, new board ordered. Expensive lesson learned, hopefully... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul A Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Smoke? Possible short circuiting of batteries? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeuc Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 10 minutes ago, Paul A said: Smoke? Possible short circuiting of batteries? While possible I doubt that because of the description of it not happening until it was plugged in. It COULD theoretically be just a short in the charging port if there is visible water in there, but I would not play any games with this; smoke is not normal for an EUC and my fear would be water getting in to the compartment with the mainboard and pooling on the underside of the board; I seem to recall one of the teardowns showed how that would potentially work out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeboots Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 It def didn't happen until I plugged it in, whereupon it began smoking immediately and definitely from the charging port itself, or that general region. There's no visible water in the charging port (front or back) but my suspicion is that some got into the downstream wiring or something. I already replaced the board once when the first one was defective, so I'm not intimidated by the repair, just hope it fixes it! Also need to figure out how to waterproof this thing. I'll definitely never store it outside in the rain again but I need to able to ride it in the rain. (Which Ive done many times before without issue fwiw). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawpie Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 (edited) 2 minutes ago, joeboots said: I'll definitely never store it outside in the rain again but I need to able to ride it in the rain. a used plastic grocery bag or new trash bag works well... backpack cover if how it looks is a of concern. Bummer though. Edited January 1, 2023 by Tawpie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeboots Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Also! I ride in NYC and I'm glad for the knobbly tire. No experience with the street tire the knobbly rides great and the streets here suck so hard I'm always glad for the extra ruggedness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterwheel Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 I wonder what steps I should take to prepare my MTen4 for snow riding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeuc Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 IMHO this is not the wheel to get if you want to ride in the rain/snow. (I know there have been a few videos out there recently of people doing just that, but really this wheel just was NOT designed with that in mind and you are asking for water ingress. If you want to try to water proof it yourself, I wish you luck, but this does not look like an easy wheel to do that on) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeboots Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Well I figured I'd start taking it apart to see if I could figure anything out while I waited for the new board to arrive. Removed the current board, but even with everything out, I'm getting a HUGE spark every time I try to reconnect the charger port wire XT30. That's bad, right? Have I killed this thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeuc Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 2 minutes ago, joeboots said: Removed the current board, but even with everything out, I'm getting a HUGE spark every time I try to reconnect the charger port wire XT30. That's bad, right? Have I killed this thing? As in nothing is plugged in to the motherboard anymore? A spark means there is a short somewhere (unless it's just the normal spark you get on begode wheels because they have a hot charge port, but that would not apply with everything disconnected internally) I wouldn't think your batteries are even connected to anything with the motherboard taken out, so doesn't seem like it would be anything with them. If there is actively a short, you either have something that melted through plastic or you actively have water somewhere internally making a connection (like in the connector housing or something) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeboots Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 The board is fully removed, the spark appears to be coming from the backside of the charging port. Does this mean I have a short in my charging port? Can that be replaced? The charging port appears to be wired directly into the battery, bypassing the control board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul A Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Pictures magnified. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeuc Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 20 minutes ago, joeboots said: The charging port appears to be wired directly into the battery, bypassing the control board. Whatever the case is, I would highly recommend finding a way to disconnect the batteries until you figure this out 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeboots Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 As long as I leave the charging port disconnected, there's nothing connected to the battery. Thanks for all your help!!! I bought a charging port on aliexpress and asked to cancel my board replacement order. Let's see how this goes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeuc Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 1 minute ago, joeboots said: As long as I leave the charging port disconnected, there's nothing connected to the battery. The issue would be if the + and - wire of the battery may become shorted in the connector the same way the charger may be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UPONIT Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 3 hours ago, joeboots said: It def didn't happen until I plugged it in, whereupon it began smoking immediately and definitely from the charging port itself, or that general region. There's no visible water in the charging port (front or back) but my suspicion is that some got into the downstream wiring or something. I already replaced the board once when the first one was defective, so I'm not intimidated by the repair, just hope it fixes it! Also need to figure out how to waterproof this thing. I'll definitely never store it outside in the rain again but I need to able to ride it in the rain. (Which Ive done many times before without issue fwiw). You should stop plugging it in until you've replaced the charge port and the motherboard to be extra safe. Sorry if this is stating the obvious, but rain isn't pure water. Every drop forms around a nucleus of dust, micrometal, etc. So when all that rainwater evaporated inside your wheel, who knows what kind of weak trace was made between components? The design is pretty simple. From above, or a few degrees off perpendicular, rain should run off. Some careful siliconing around wind-driven ingress points? 3 hours ago, winterwheel said: I wonder what steps I should take to prepare my MTen4 for snow riding. Chooch talks about it in his VERY SNOW-FILLED video. The compartment that holds all the brains and power is a pretty simple box to seal up. Taking the wheel out of the frame is really simple if you want to examine the underside for possible ingress points. I reattached the pads with velcro instead of relying on the same adhesive over and over. Gap is larger, but practical isn't always pretty... 2 hours ago, rebeuc said: IMHO this is not the wheel to get if you want to ride in the rain/snow. (I know there have been a few videos out there recently of people doing just that, but really this wheel just was NOT designed with that in mind and you are asking for water ingress. If you want to try to water proof it yourself, I wish you luck, but this does not look like an easy wheel to do that on) I get what you are saying, especially since it is below the snow-level in some videos. Like a snow submarine chugging through the piles. But it's so easy to take apart and put back together, and the "brains" are in a simple metal box. Some judiciously applied silicone? I haven't studied it because it doesn't snow here, and the few times I've ridden it in the rain, none got into it. Living in MI, you're probably very used to dealing with snow (and salted roads)... 2 hours ago, joeboots said: Well I figured I'd start taking it apart to see if I could figure anything out while I waited for the new board to arrive. Removed the current board, but even with everything out, I'm getting a HUGE spark every time I try to reconnect the charger port wire XT30. That's bad, right? Have I killed this thing? YES. That's bad. Replace the board and the charge port, IMO. 1 hour ago, joeboots said: As long as I leave the charging port disconnected, there's nothing connected to the battery. Thanks for all your help!!! I bought a charging port on aliexpress and asked to cancel my board replacement order. Let's see how this goes... Why risk there being some undiscovered damage to the board and finding out mid-ride with a cutoff and face-plant? Your bones are worth more than the price of a new board. You learned the lesson. You are taking steps to waterproof for the future. Why not start fresh and safe? $0.02 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeboots Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 I'm convinced now that the board is fine. Even with the battery and board fully removed, the original flashing charger and smoking charge port issue is still there when I plug the charger into the fully disconnected charge port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punxatawneyjoe Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 Chooch's review, He really likes this wheel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawpie Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 1 hour ago, Punxatawneyjoe said: Chooch's review, He really likes this wheel. huh. I guess I'm not terribly surprised. 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul A Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Punxatawneyjoe said: Chooch's review, He really likes this wheel. Chooch's reviews seem to be always very favorable, enthusiastic. Might not be as disinterested as others. Edited January 2, 2023 by Paul A 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novazeus Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 my legs probably weigh more than chooch. that's probably a factor in his enjoyment of the mten4. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKW Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 (edited) 12 hours ago, joeboots said: Also! I ride in NYC and I'm glad for the knobbly tire. No experience with the street tire the knobbly rides great and the streets here suck so hard I'm always glad for the extra ruggedness. Well, this is good to hear! I am debating if I should get the knobby or street tire for my incoming mten4. Because I also realize the streets here suck, I was thinking the knobby would be best overall. Thanks for sharing. Likely I'll get both because alternatives seem fairly cheap online. You must ride in the bike lanes, correct? What has your experience been with the busy streets of NYC on the mten4? Edited January 2, 2023 by BKW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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