Di2 Newbie question - remove battery when not in use?

JackPozzi

Picked up a new bike with Ultegra Di2 last weekend, and this morning was my first opportunity to take it out for a spin, but I went for a gear change and nothing happened, turns out the battery was flat.

When I picked it up, it was all working and the light on the control box was flashing green so at least 50% charged as I understand it and it has just been stored in my bike room for the last week but has drained to the point where nothing worked.

Just wondering if the system draws current when not in use and so the battery should be removed between rides in future?

Rodrego Hernandez

If it drains that fast there is likely a problem. As a rule, I charge mine at the very most twice a year.

dodgy

I'm not clear what you mean, are you saying you put the bike away and when you did the display was flashing green? Then you stored it for a while and the battery was dead?

izza

As comparison, I store mine in the shed with battery in situ and never had it run down on me.

JackPozzi

dodgy wrote:

I'm not clear what you mean, are you saying you put the bike away and when you did the display was flashing green? Then you stored it for a while and the battery was dead?

Yes, bought the bike last week and the light was flashing green when we tried it in the shop. Brought it home where the bike has been hanging up, then when I tried to use it yesterday it was flashing red, ie flat

I'm totally new to di2 so wasn't sure if leaving the battery in place might cause it to discharge but from what has been said, most people don't remove it between uses. I've given it a full charge now, just hoping it stays charged...

JackPozzi

Update

Sunday PM - Battery charged fully, tested on bike then removed
Monday PM - Inserted battery, solid green light, left battery in with bike hanging up
Tuesday PM - Tested, flashing red light.

Looks like it's going back to the shop, hopefully just a dud battery, but guess there could be fault in the system somewhere causing power drain?

majormantra

Unfortunately yes. And it can be a real pain figuring out which component is at fault.

DHA987S

Sometimes a software issue can cause battery drain. If they run the diagnostics and make sure all components are up to date then see if that resolves it. Alternatively the rear mech is not correctly setup (hi or low settings) and it is trying to shift whilst the bike is sat still, you can hear the motor pulse when it does this.

JackPozzi

Sorry to drag this back up, but still having an issue I think...

Bike has been back to the shop, they haven't got the diagnostic package yet so couldn't run that. They replaced the battery holder, plugged a fresh battery in and left it for a few days then checked the battery level which was solid green so seemed to be ok so they called me in to pick up the bike again. I've not had a chance to ride it for a couple of weeks so it's been hung up, then yesterday I took it out for 3 hours which was fine. However, I've just got home from an aborted ride as the front mech stopped shifting, I checked the level indictor while riding and it was flashing red although luckily the rech shifting worked long enough to get me home.

So my assumption is that changing the battery holder seems to have helped prolong battery life but it would seem there's still a fault somewehere, must be at least one other faulty component?

Bar Shaker

I think you should ask your LBS if they are happy for you to take it to somewhere else for a diagnostic check, at their expense, or would they prefer to continue changing all of the components until it is working as it should.

If they don't like either of those options, they may prefer to replace the bike for you.

JackPozzi

Would prefer not to have to go to those measures, I regard the guys at my LBS as friends rather than just people who services I use, so don't want to start causing aggro. It's just an unfortunate thing that obviously with di2 being relatively new they haven't had much experience of problems that may occur as yet so it's going to take a bit of time for them to learn how to deal with issues, and unfortunately I'm the one who's giving them a chance to learn!

Happily the mechanic is extremely good at his job so I've no doubt it will get sorted eventually, was mainly asking on here to see if anyone has experienced similar issues which might help to get to pinpoint the problem...

clogg

Hi I have experience of working on these groupsets and also have the diagnostic kit but i'm in Ireland so prob not that much use to you.
From what you have described it seems like the battery is losing charge either through a faulty connection or there is still a load on one of the mechs due to limit screws or faulty setup. This is causing a constant drain on the battery . A charge should last months.
Go round all the connections to ensure they are properly seated then try removing one mech at a time from the system for a couple of days each to eliminate them from the cause of the problem . Working properly there should be no drain on a fully charged battery, if you find that with (say only the front mech connected) the battery indicator is showing drain against none for only the rear mech then you have found the problem.

Bar Shaker

Jack, I fully understand that but you are two bags lighter, with a bike you can't use!

Di2 may be new to them but actually isn't new, it's been about for a good few years now. If they are selling Di2 bikes, they really should invest in the SM-PCE1 diagnostic unit. I think it unfair to treat you as their 'Di2 learning curve'.

If you do want to absolve them, then the advice on unplugging one of the mechs is good. Just make sure you use the Shimano wire removal tool that you got with the bike.

JackPozzi

Thanks for the advice all, hopefully sorted now. Just been in the shop and they're building me a replacement bike up which will touch wood not have any problems!