Why is my EUC hissing at me? (video)

[RooEUC]

I took my new Segway S1 for its second outdoor test ride today for about 10 minutes.  When I got home I lifted it up and it began hissing at me as soon as the handle cut power to the wheel.  It sounded like a hairdryer in a metal tunnel.  It appears to be normal that the S1 makes little metallic grinding/hissing sounds for a split second when the unit is powered on and being rocked back and forth slightly.  This is electrical in nature, not an actual physical grinding sound.  I still haven't found an answer to what this is.  But, today what I got was a very elongated version of this sound.  It was continuous until I set the wheel down and released the handle to re-enable power to the wheel.  I have 2 days left of the return period and I'm trying to figure out if my wheel is defective or not, before deciding on whether or not to keep it.  The video is terrible, I know, I was trying to capture the sound as quickly as possible, but you can clearly hear it.

Does anyone know what's going on here?  I would love to know what the sound is.  Again, this is not a sound made by the wheel turning and physically grinding on something and it's not air leaking from the tyre.  I feel there is some mystery around this wheel, like as to why it makes this weird sound, why it's normal for S1s to make the little grinding/scraping/hissing bursts at almost stationary speeds and why Segway were selling them at such a massive discount ($1000 down to $399 in Canada).    

[meepmeepmayer]

5 minutes ago, RooMiniPro said:

hairdryer in a metal tunnel  

Does it have a fan that might be malfunctioning (running at max or bad bearings or so)?

Anyways, I'd definitely file this under "defective" and return asap.

[RooEUC]

13 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Does it have a fan that might be malfunctioning (running at max or bad bearings or so)?

Anyways, I'd definitely file this under "defective" and return asap.

I wondered about a fan too, but I don't think it's that.  The thing is, if I return it, Amazon will only be able to offer a refund, not a replacement.  The price is back up to $999 now so buying another is out of the question.  That's why I'm trying to figure out if this is indeed a defective unit or if this is just a normal quirk.

[steve454]

7 minutes ago, RooMiniPro said:

I wondered about a fan too, but I don't think it's that.

I didn't think they had fans.  I just tried picking mine up and it made no noise like the hairdryer sound that I could hear in your video, only the chirping sounds every few seconds. 

I can't imagine what could be making that wooshing sound.  

[RooEUC]

5 minutes ago, steve454 said:

I didn't think they had fans.  I just tried picking mine up and it made no noise like the hairdryer sound that I could hear in your video, only the chirping sounds every few seconds. 

I can't imagine what could be making that wooshing sound.  

You know those little chirps some of us notice that sound like little metallic scrapes?  Imagine that but instead of lasting a split second it stayed on continuously.  That's what I got.  I think if we could find out what causes those little metallic chirps/scrapes in the first place I would have a better change of making sense of the elongated hissing version.  At first I thought it was my heating system because it sounded like air rushing through a metal duct.  It's so weird.  I will probably have to return it and say goodbye to owning an S1 before I even found out if I really liked it or not.

[steve454]

4 minutes ago, RooMiniPro said:

You know those little chirps some of us notice that sound like little metallic scrapes?  Imagine that but instead of lasting a split second it stayed on continuously.  That's what I got.  I think if we could find out what causes those little metallic chirps/scrapes in the first place I would have a better change of making sense of the elongated hissing version.  At first I thought it was my heating system because it sounded like air rushing through a metal duct.  It's so weird.  I will probably have to return it and say goodbye to owning an S1 before I even found out if I really liked it or not.

That's too bad,  I remember how the Gotway wheels would make some high pitched noise even leaning against the wall, don't remember what everyone thought the cause was.

[novazeus]

if u do send it back, if u can get this s2 for $600 in canada, i’d do that. that little extra power makes a big difference. or get a 14” kingsong but i don’t own one of those.

https://www.ebay.com/i/162666823540?chn=ps&ul_ref=http%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F1%2F711-117182-37290-0%2F2%3Fmpre%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.ebay.com%252Fi%252F162666823540%253Fchn%253Dps%26itemid%3D162666823540%26targetid%3D374077267347%26device%3Dt%26adtype%3Dpla%26googleloc%3D9012075%26poi%3D%26campaignid%3D961392944%26adgroupid%3D45960358937%26rlsatarget%3Dpla-374077267347%26abcId%3D1129816%26merchantid%3D115336119%26gclid%3DEAIaIQobChMIu7aYnLD72AIVjiWBCh1TYgKQEAkYAiABEgL5c_D_BwE%26srcrot%3D711-117182-37290-0%26rvr_id%3D1427055606513

[RooEUC]

32 minutes ago, novazeus said:

if u do send it back, if u can get this s2 for $600 in canada, i’d do that. that little extra power makes a big difference. or get a 14” kingsong but i don’t own one of those.

https://www.ebay.com/i/162666823540?chn=ps&ul_ref=http%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F1%2F711-117182-37290-0%2F2%3Fmpre%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.ebay.com%252Fi%252F162666823540%253Fchn%253Dps%26itemid%3D162666823540%26targetid%3D374077267347%26device%3Dt%26adtype%3Dpla%26googleloc%3D9012075%26poi%3D%26campaignid%3D961392944%26adgroupid%3D45960358937%26rlsatarget%3Dpla-374077267347%26abcId%3D1129816%26merchantid%3D115336119%26gclid%3DEAIaIQobChMIu7aYnLD72AIVjiWBCh1TYgKQEAkYAiABEgL5c_D_BwE%26srcrot%3D711-117182-37290-0%26rvr_id%3D1427055606513

According to the ad it has the same battery size and motor wattage as my S1 but it goes 15mph. That’s 24kph and I don’t think that’s true. 

[steve454]

44 minutes ago, RooMiniPro said:

According to the ad it has the same battery size and motor wattage as my S1 but it goes 15mph. That’s 24kph and I don’t think that’s true. 

I think the only difference in the S1 and S2 is the firmware is set for higher speed on the non-US S2.  @novazeus posted a screenshot a couple days ago showing that he got up to I think 14.9 mph on his S2.

 

[novazeus]

s2 has different charger. i own both and straight out of the box, the s2 is definitely faster ie i don’t hit tilt back as often. s1 is a great little wheel with it’s locled down speed of 12.5 and manageable but for a beginner, not worrying about going a little too fast is easier, i think. i agree, the s1 could probably be hacked somehow to 15mph, but with the reliability of these electric wheels already in question, i’d just get an s2. the extra voltage just makes it more comfy. 

[RooEUC]

3 minutes ago, novazeus said:

s2 has different charger. i own both and straight out of the box, the s2 is definitely faster ie i don’t hit tilt back as often. s1 is a great little wheel with it’s locled down speed of 12.5 and manageable but for a beginner, not worrying about going a little too fast is easier, i think. i agree, the s1 could probably be hacked somehow to 15mph, but with the reliability of these electric wheels already in question, i’d just get an s2. the extra voltage just makes it more comfy. 

I have a higher voltage charger but I haven’t tried it with my S1 yet. I know it would give me more range but I think the firmware will still limit my speed to 20kph.  If I could get the S2 firmware onto the S1 this would be my dream machine.

 

Why does Segway give North Americans the crappy top speeds and crappy range when the hardware is identacal to our European friends’ machines? The MiniPro was the same: limited to 80% charge only. 

[steve454]

6 minutes ago, novazeus said:

s2 has different charger. i own both and straight out of the box, the s2 is definitely faster ie i don’t hit tilt back as often. s1 is a great little wheel with it’s locled down speed of 12.5 and manageable but for a beginner, not worrying about going a little too fast is easier, i think. i agree, the s1 could probably be hacked somehow to 15mph, but with the reliability of these electric wheels already in question, i’d just get an s2. the extra voltage just makes it more comfy. 

That's right, I forgot the S2 charges up to a higher voltage also.

[steve454]

1 minute ago, RooMiniPro said:

I have a higher voltage charger but I haven’t tried it with my S1 yet. I know it would give me more range but I think the firmware will still limit my speed to 20kph.  If I could get the S2 firmware onto the S1 this would be my dream machine.

 

Why does Segway give North Americans the crappy top speeds and crappy range when the hardware is identacal to our European friends’ machines? The MiniPro was the same: limited to 80% charge only. 

I think I remember someone said it had to do with getting UL rating or some other safety rating for the US market.  Less chance of stressing the batteries and causing fires or something.

[RooEUC]

19 minutes ago, steve454 said:

I think I remember someone said it had to do with getting UL rating or some other safety rating for the US market.  Less chance of stressing the batteries and causing fires or something.

It’s such a pity. They make these great products and then retard their performance by 20% just for N. Americans.

[steve454]

3 hours ago, RooMiniPro said:

You know those little chirps some of us notice that sound like little metallic scrapes?  Imagine that but instead of lasting a split second it stayed on continuously.  That's what I got.  I think if we could find out what causes those little metallic chirps/scrapes in the first place I would have a better change of making sense of the elongated hissing version.  At first I thought it was my heating system because it sounded like air rushing through a metal duct.  It's so weird.  I will probably have to return it and say goodbye to owning an S1 before I even found out if I really liked it or not.

One thing you could try just for fun is to perform the calibrate handle setting in the vehicle settings menu.  Mine was working fine, the wheel always cuts off the motor and restarts when set down, but I did it anyway.  Lots of beeping and shaking while doing it, you have to lock the wheel and follow the prompts.  Didn't notice any change.

One thing I noticed a couple days ago is that the power button sometimes won't come all the way back up when pressed, like it's sticking sometimes.  I hope it does't get stuck in the down position some day.

[Knifa]

There are no fans inside for anyone wondering (took my S2 apart over the weekend to replace two dead MOSFETs).

I get this sound as well but only when rocking it back and forth slowly. Does it stop if you give it a good push?

Here are some shots of the board if anyone can make a guess at where the sound could be coming from, if it's something other than the motor itself.

 

[Esash]

 

[RooEUC]

7 hours ago, Scouts Honor said:

 

Haha

[Demargon]

Look between the motor and the shell, there can be a small rock, stick, seed or leaf inside causing this noise. When my euc makes that sound I go a little backwards for a quick fix. If doesn't work then I look into and remove whatever is causing it

I can't see the pictures of @Knifa

[RooEUC]

7 hours ago, Knifa said:

There are no fans inside for anyone wondering (took my S2 apart over the weekend to replace two dead MOSFETs).

I get this sound as well but only when rocking it back and forth slowly. Does it stop if you give it a good push?

Here are some shots of the board if anyone can make a guess at where the sound could be coming from, if it's something other than the motor itself.

 

The images are blank on my PC and my phone.  Yeah I was pretty sure there was no fan inside.  I was hoping some of the more EUC-experienced people here would know what the noise is.  They all seem to do it to some extend.  My super elongated noise was just a fluke.  I haven't been able to replicate it yet, but then it's snowing again so I can't ride it.

[RooEUC]

5 minutes ago, Demargon said:

Look between the motor and the shell, there can be a small rock, stick, seed or leaf inside causing this noise. When my euc makes that sound I go a little backwards for a quick fix. If doesn't work then I look into and remove whatever is causing it

I can't see the pictures of @Knifa

I said a couple of times that this is not a physical motion sound like the wheel grinding.  The wheel was not moving in my video.  It's some sort of electrical thing. 

[Demargon]

Sorry, I didn't understand that point. Then the problem is above my knowledge

[RooEUC]

25 minutes ago, Demargon said:

Sorry, I didn't understand that point. Then the problem is above my knowledge

No worries.

[RooEUC]

@Knifa What happened when the mosfets failed?  Were you riding at the time?  I would love to know more about this.

[Knifa]

Alternate Imgur link for the images.

1 hour ago, RooMiniPro said:

@Knifa What happened when the mosfets failed?  Were you riding at the time?  I would love to know more about this.

I misjudged the cerb at a deep puddle, bonked right into it and fell off, with the unit falling sideways right into the water. Worked fine for maybe 5-10 minutes until it started juddering and making weird beeping sounds.

I walked it home from there and let it dry for a couple of hours. Turned it on and it seemed fine. Turned it off and there was a big crack from where the power switch is, wouldn't turn back on again. The LED on the batteries turned red which I think means short-circuit protection mode.

Took it all apart and discovered one phase of MOSFETs were shorted source to drain, despite looking visually fine. Removed them and the board started to boot again. The MOSFETs have the model number STP51810, which are rated for 100V 110A.

Got some similarly rated ones (STP110N10F7) and replaced them on the board. Works good as new.  Only thing that's fully dead is the blue light on the power switch, and also it seems to make a new ticking sound.