There's a clunk in my Monster after a minor fall

[Demian B]

I've had my 2400 Wh Monster since April 29, and in that time put on 409 miles. It has production code 170315029 and motor code 170205579HB. I've had a great time riding so far.  Most of It has been on paved roads and hard packed dirt/gravel.  I roll off curbs occasionally, but my style is smooth and fast.

I was disheartened, as Marty was, hearing of this second round of Gotway defects. I was just Saturday morning feeling thankful for my Monster's reliable performance.  Not having fallen yet and seeing Duf's recent video suggesting the Monster wasn't fit for trails, I confidently set out for another awesome ride (including a rough trail section).

The ride was great as always, but the trail proved too much for the Monster.  There were wood posts layed down perpindicular to the path to prevent erosion. Dropping over these logs and even hopping up over them was no problem, especially with the low tire pressure I was riding with.  I was creeping uphill towards an insurmountable obstacle, so I intended to dismount, but my left foot pedal hit a tall root and the wheel fell over on it's left side.  The wheel spun up as it layed on it's side and quickly cut out.

It didn't seem like a hard hit but at 70 lbs, I've tried not to let it fall over even in the house.  It's well padded so I there's no obvious physical damage.  I walked the wheel up to the street and continued riding.  Soon I noticed a very quick interruption of power and resistance when accelerating and braking, respectively.  Using DarknessBot, I tried to find a pattern.  It seems that at -20 amps accelerating and +20 amps braking, the wheel has a very short loss of power.

I was able to limp the wheel 7 miles home by riding very conservatively.  As long as I kept all acceleration and braking very light and smooth, the unnerving behavior would not occur.  Once I was home, I tried quickly moving the wheel back and forth by the handle and noticed that it's a definite clunking sound.  It doesn't happen immediately as it moves in a direction.  Really seems that it requires about 20 amps to fault.

I wish I could test it while I was maintaining say 15 mph and suddenly accelerated to see if the behavior occurs, but I don't like riding it as it is. I'll try to post a video, but was having difficulty even attaching a profile pic as it was too large.

Has anyone experienced this before?  I haven't talked to Jason yet.  I know he has his hands full right now.  I am anxious to get back on the wheel as summer is in full swing and it's so much fun.

Does anyone else spend a lot of time seated on the Monster?  It feels so much like a futuristic motorcycle!  

 

 

[Marty Backe]

11 hours ago, Demian B said:

I've had my 2400 Wh Monster since April 29, and in that time put on 409 miles. It has production code 170315029 and motor code 170205579HB. I've had a great time riding so far.  Most of It has been on paved roads and hard packed dirt/gravel.  I roll off curbs occasionally, but my style is smooth and fast.

I was disheartened, as Marty was, hearing of this second round of Gotway defects. I was just Saturday morning feeling thankful for my Monster's reliable performance.  Not having fallen yet and seeing Duf's recent video suggesting the Monster wasn't fit for trails, I confidently set out for another awesome ride (including a rough trail section).

The ride was great as always, but the trail proved too much for the Monster.  There were wood posts layed down perpindicular to the path to prevent erosion. Dropping over these logs and even hopping up over them was no problem, especially with the low tire pressure I was riding with.  I was creeping uphill towards an insurmountable obstacle, so I intended to dismount, but my left foot pedal hit a tall root and the wheel fell over on it's left side.  The wheel spun up as it layed on it's side and quickly cut out.

It didn't seem like a hard hit but at 70 lbs, I've tried not to let it fall over even in the house.  It's well padded so I there's no obvious physical damage.  I walked the wheel up to the street and continued riding.  Soon I noticed a very quick interruption of power and resistance when accelerating and braking, respectively.  Using DarknessBot, I tried to find a pattern.  It seems that at -20 amps accelerating and +20 amps braking, the wheel has a very short loss of power.

I was able to limp the wheel 7 miles home by riding very conservatively.  As long as I kept all acceleration and braking very light and smooth, the unnerving behavior would not occur.  Once I was home, I tried quickly moving the wheel back and forth by the handle and noticed that it's a definite clunking sound.  It doesn't happen immediately as it moves in a direction.  Really seems that it requires about 20 amps to fault.

I wish I could test it while I was maintaining say 15 mph and suddenly accelerated to see if the behavior occurs, but I don't like riding it as it is. I'll try to post a video, but was having difficulty even attaching a profile pic as it was too large.

Has anyone experienced this before?  I haven't talked to Jason yet.  I know he has his hands full right now.  I am anxious to get back on the wheel as summer is in full swing and it's so much fun.

Does anyone else spend a lot of time seated on the Monster?  It feels so much like a futuristic motorcycle!  

 

 

I would suggest that you open the control board side. Fortunately the Monster is very easy and fast to open - you don't have to remove the pedal. Since a physical jolt to the wheel caused this problem to start I would guess that something has happened internally that you may be able to spot with your eyes - I doubt that it's an electrical component failure. You can inspect all of the connectors, the axle bolt, etc.

As a Monster owner I am very interested in learning what's wrong with yours.

I do disagree with Duf regards the Monster and trail riding. As long as you're not tackling a lot of steep hills the Monster is a fantastic trail machine. It eats up roots and ruts for laughs all day long. Very comfy compared to a smaller diameter wheel.

Good luck.

[US69]

@Demian B

I would guess perhaps on of the big Brown capcitors has become loose or unconnected.....

If something like this happens you will have a noticable power loss. As the Monster/GW Board's have 2 of this capacitors it can be one is used when needed high powers....

 

But like said that's all guessing....with a bit experience of how it feels if a capacitor is loose.... As @Marty Backe said...open it up and take a look!

 

 

[Demian B]

Thanks guys. I thought of opening it up but didn't want to jeopardize the warranty. Is the control board side on the right (as you stand on it)?  

[Marty Backe]

2 minutes ago, Demian B said:

Thanks guys. I thought of opening it up but didn't want to jeopardize the warranty. Is the control board side on the right (as you stand on it)?  

I always tell people that warranties (from a solid dealer) are good for parts that fail, but not much else. There are no EUC dealers like car dealers, where you can take your wheel in to get worked on. A person has to be willing to open their wheel and do work themselves. Fortunately they really aren't overly complicated.

Here's a short video where I open my Monster, if you want to get a feel for what's involved: 

 

[Demian B]

Thanks, Marty. Looks like the right side is the single battery/control board side. I'll open it up after work. I'm interested to see if anything differs from yours internally. 

[Duf]

4 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

I would suggest that you open the control board side. Fortunately the Monster is very easy and fast to open - you don't have to remove the pedal. Since a physical jolt to the wheel caused this problem to start I would guess that something has happened internally that you may be able to spot with your eyes - I doubt that it's an electrical component failure. You can inspect all of the connectors, the axle bolt, etc.

As a Monster owner I am very interested in learning what's wrong with yours.

I do disagree with Duf regards the Monster and trail riding. As long as you're not tackling a lot of steep hills the Monster is a fantastic trail machine. It eats up roots and ruts for laughs all day long. Very comfy compared to a smaller diameter wheel.

Good luck.

I don't know that I ever said the Monster was bad for trail riding as I have never taken it on a trail like the alligator swamp path.  However based on riding it on the road and seeing the effort required to get torque applied quickly I think I would much prefer my Msuper in that scenario.  Plus the immense weight of the Monster means once it hits a certain tipping angle it is going to go down hard and can't be as easily snagged as smaller wheels. 

You may recall that one video Marty shot on his Monster when his buddy had to sort of squat on the wheel and grab the handle to force it to lean forward enough to get going.  That is just a by product of the big wheel dimension.  To me, trail riding is better suited to smaller wheels with more torque but until I dare take the Monster into the swamp I can't tell you for sure.

[Demian B]

I have no experience on a smaller wheel, but I can't wait to get an MSuper or ACM someday. For now, I'm still learning the Monster's limitations. I would say I'm a Gotway fanboy until they really let me down (?☹️). The fun I've had on the Monster has been immeasurable. I agree Duf, to get this large wheel to take a steep incline requires a grab of the handle and a faithful lean forward.  I'm alright with that, given all of it's grand touring attributes. I will say that controlling the Monster whether going up a steep incline or braking hard is much easier and natural if seated. I have a bleacher cushion cut in half that easily slides into position before sitting and pulls out quick to stand for red lights or stop signs. Its only an inch thick, but much better than sitting on the handle, though I have that protection-padded already and it's sufficient on it's own for short periods. The low center of gravity while seated makes for a completely different experience, especially if you lean forward with your arms tucked.  A side benefit could be that in the event of a crash, as others have said, a fall will more likely be of the road rash variety than a hard impact with the ground. Unless of course, you meet with a fixed object.  I've imagined several times what a race with seated EUCers would be like (Pod racing ?). Anyway, better get back to taking off this panel and see what's wrong with my wheel. 

[Demian B]

Right side of my Monster looks fine with the exception of a "Gotway Msuper3/3s Coded:2017030333" sticker on the aluminum plate housing the board (?!). Nothing obviously wrong to my eyes and in comparison to Marty's Monster.  It seems like the updated motor wiring treatment is partial though. There's more heat protection sleeves but still doesn't look crimped (looks same as Marty's).  Does someone know where I can find that video where Gotway shows the improved method of connecting the motor wires?  Also, I remember reading about a safer way to disconnect the batteries and reconnect them to limit arcing. Anyone with advice?

[Demian B]

I have to read the voltage on the individual packs to determine if one of them has failed.  Still have to open the other side panel to look around and gain access to those batteries. 

[Marty Backe]

23 minutes ago, Demian B said:

Right side of my Monster looks fine with the exception of a "Gotway Msuper3/3s Coded:2017030333" sticker on the aluminum plate housing the board (?!). Nothing obviously wrong to my eyes and in comparison to Marty's Monster.  It seems like the updated motor wiring treatment is partial though. There's more heat protection sleeves but still doesn't look crimped (looks same as Marty's).  Does someone know where I can find that video where Gotway shows the improved method of connecting the motor wires?  Also, I remember reading about a safer way to disconnect the batteries and reconnect them to limit arcing. Anyone with advice?

You mean this one?

 

[Demian B]

14 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

You mean this one?

 

That's the one!  Don't those look like the hard plastic connectors you had in your Monster?  It's crimped on but I would have liked to see how they jointed to the board wires. Probably a crimped mate that just clicks together. Do you know how best to disconnect batteries safely?

[Marty Backe]

1 minute ago, Demian B said:

That's the one!  Don't those look like the hard plastic connectors you had in your Monster?  It's crimped on but I would have liked to see how they jointed to the board wires. Probably a crimped mate that just clicks together. Do you know how best to disconnect batteries safely?

The plastic shells are the same, but those are coverings. I don't know if that says anything about the connector itself.

When my ACM failed a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't turn it off, I just pulled the connectors apart. Is there a known issue with disconnecting batteries? There's really no other alternative that I can think of but to just separate the connectors.

[Marty Backe]

6 minutes ago, Demian B said:

That's the one!  Don't those look like the hard plastic connectors you had in your Monster?  It's crimped on but I would have liked to see how they jointed to the board wires. Probably a crimped mate that just clicks together. Do you know how best to disconnect batteries safely?

Also, Ian (Speedyfeet) recently did a complete tear down video of the Monster. Maybe take a look at that.