Magic Pie battery fail, no response from GM, what to do?

[Rune]

Hi everybody,

I'm sorry to be writing this, but I have an issue with the battery that comes with the MagicPie (the big 48v), which I bought off the GM website. After 1½ months use the plastic battery handle part simply came apart while lifting it, ripping two wires for the charging outlet apart in the process. Not being a man of great wealth, I've been wanting this to last a long time and have therefore handled it carefully, so I know this is a product flaw.
I've tried to email GM and got a mail back saying a quality manager would handle the issue and get back to me. However, it's been almost 3 weeks now and I'm getting the feeling the money I invested in this product is gone..

I tried twice to courteously notify them that the quality manager does not respond, got an answer on the first but none on the second. I see no reason to start sending more mails, so I'm wondering if anyone else has any similar experiences or ideas on what to do? I have no idea how to fix this, tried briefly to see if broken handle would fit which created a huge spark.. so I'm not touching this thing anymore.

I'm really sad this thing broke down so fast, I was very excited about the product and about recommending it to friends, but I don't feel I can do so in the current state of communication.


All help appreciated, thanks,
Rune

[Electrobent]

This sounds about right.  China has not yet had its Drucker and Demming like Japan got in the 1960's. 

They have ZERO customer service.

You can pitch a fit here and they may pay attention.

I know I won't buy anything directly from GM China ever again.

The Canadian outfit seems the most responsive.

[GM Canada]

Hi Rune,

Can you provide any pictures of your issue?

Gary

[MonkeyMagic]

Don't let those broken wires short, the charge wires are live from the BMS. Probably would pay to open the charge side of the battery and seal/re-solder the socket connection

[Rune]

Hi Gary, here's a picture of the battery.

Regards, Rune

[Cornelius]

Do I see a slight whitening on the plastic right above your middle finger? It could mean that it has been hit/dropped hard there; probably during freight (or maybe under packaging?), and thus developed a crack where it now finally have broken?... Just a thought. Extreme cold could also make this type of plastic brittle I guess...

btw; Does the battery still work? have you connected it to your bike and tried it?
From what you're writing, I'm guessing you're not inclined to fix/solder the broken charging wires yourself, but it would be interesting to have that done to see if charging is still possible; if so, as long as your 'sparky experience' didn't do anything to the bms board; all you would need are a new end-cap.

[Rune]

Hi Cornelius, I just took a close inspection - there is a small indentation in the middle but it appears to be nothing more than a mark from the plastic molding process. I'm not an expert on plastic but my guess is that the screws has somehow created tension, either from over-tightening or if the the engineering was slight off, which was released when it cracked.

Could you maybe assist me with a couple of questions on electricity (I don't know much about it..)?

I'm wondering:
Would it be safe to try and re-solder the yellow and green wires to their appropriate counterparts on the handle? Are they simply positive and negative currents?
Where is the green wire suppose to go? There is no green wire inside the handle..
How powerful is the battery? Can I get hurt at worst or just get a "snap"? It's the 48v/12AH version.

I've attached a couple of close-up pictures.

Thanks in advance,
Rune

[Cornelius]

Yes, they're just + and - from the charging plug.
I do not remember precisely, but I think the yellow goes in the center of the plug in the handle, and the green should be fastened underneath the nut that holds the plug...

Ah, yes; at least it is in my battery, but yours should be the same. (big pic. of my battery/inside cover: http://mwlmf.net/gallery/ElBike/100_3032?full=1 )

Everything up to 50V are considered 'safe' to touch with bare hands. At 48V with moist fingers youl'd be feeling a tickle at worst. But DO be careful not to short those two wires; these batteries are capable to deliver many hundreds, if not thousands of watts, in the form of heat and magic smoke if shorted...

Edit:
You can see from your pics that the green wire should have an eyelet which fastens it under the nut; your eyelet are broken and should be replaced to ensure a solid fix... That nut are a bit tricky to unscrew/fasten...

[svkraake]

Sorry to say but I have the same problem with regards to response from GM.
Have sent below email several times but absolute no response:
I received my elbike kit almost a year ago.
Unfortunately I was not able to build my bike before a couple of weeks ago.
When I was building my bike I saw that there were some cracks in the battery and I guess that they were caused when you sent them to Norway. You had to send the battery 3 times before it was finally sent out of China. I have the correspondence with Tom.
The battery is working, but I would like to have some spare parts so I can fix the battery completely.
After I have used the bikes for about a couple of weeks the horn starts beeping and does not stop before I turn off the battery. When I turn on the battery again it's starts beeping again.
Do you have any idea what's wrong?  Another thing is that all three lights on the battery indicator are on when the battery is turned on. Is that correct or should it just be the green light and then orange and then in the end the red light that should be on?

Best regards
Sveinung Kråkenes

Sandnes Norway

[DirtyGinge]

WWW.BMSBAttery.com sell a case very like the GM case, I hope this is the same, maybe good place to replace parts

http://www.bmsbattery.com/aluminium-alloy/307-aluminium-battery-case-for-ebike-carrier.html

[Cornelius]

About the horn; does the bike still works as normal? If so, i'd check the cables, more precisely the horn button and connector. (Try to disconnect the connector for the horn...)

I'm guessing the cracks in the battery are in the black endpieces? they should be fixed, because these batteries does not handle much moisture inside before the bms starts making trouble... (they are not much watertight without cracks either... )
(Biltema have something called 'plastsveis', which you can use to fix cracks in plastic. ) Also, Dirtygringe's link looks promising.

[DirtyGinge]

I ordered a 10AH charger from them recently, I must say, it does seem well built

They will take 3-4 weeks to deliver,....make sure you order just what you want, make sure its in stock, otherwise your order may take much longer

[svkraake]

The cracks are at the end where the handle is.
I just removed the horn and everything looks to work well, so far.

Will have a look at this plastsveis before I order as mentioned by Dirtygringe (that will cost abt $80 freight incl)
It's a bit frustrating that you receive a battery that is broken and there is no chance that you can get a replacement.
looks like no guarantee given when you buy something from GM.

But thanks for the replies sofar

[Schygge]

Hi everyone !
I have tried to mail Gm about my Usb cable/Controller problem but no reply.
I drive my bike now, but on 24 volts instead of the 36 I have paid for.
GM China don't give a s--t about you after you have paid.
About the battery indicator question :
All 3 leds are lightened when the battery is full
I charge mine when only 2 (half led) is lit because its rapidly going down to empty and no power
after that, comparing the runtime from 3 to 2

[GM Canada]

Hi Gary, here's a picture of the battery.

Regards, Rune

What country are you in? I could probably send you a replacement piece off of a spent battery I have here. As long as its not to much to ship it.

Send me an Email to garysalo@goldenmotor.ca

Gary