Well this should be on the electronics subforum as well but anyways.
I do not consider myself am expert but, damn! this things really break down pretty often, there are too many variables that need attention, it’s not possible, at least for me, to have a daily commuter board that you can charge and ride for 6 months with no service at all.
Being said that I service my esk8 at least once every two weeks, sometimes every week.
These are the most common issues I’ve ran into:
Broken nut inserts (at least 2 broken every week). Since then I’ve upgraded from M4 to M5, they seem to be holding much better now
The motor mount bolts kept backing out, no matter how hard I tighted them, i used red loctite but they keep backing out, you need to use the correct amount otherwise it would be impossible to unscrew them in the future or they will back out.
The enclosure bolts keep on backing out, use Loctite to prevent this and tight them every week or every ride under bad roads. Use bigger screws until they keep being tight
Every time you have a disconnection or signal loss you need to remove the enclosure for inspection, no matter what, just do it, buy it really gets annoying after a lot of inspections.
The antispark switch button dies, this happened to almost all switches I’ve used, I suggest you buy a bigger 19mm button from eBay.
Board couldn’t be turned off, mosfets on antispark switches were shorted, it happened to me 5 times with different brand of switches. Buy a stock of 10 mosfets from mouser.Com. There seems to be no solution on the market of a switch that does not fail. If you want to avoid all this just replace the switch with a loop key. Personally I don’t like them, is not an elegant solution.
Battery does not charge up to 100%, this usually means cell drifting, you need to open the enclosure and measure each pack check for broken nickel strips or bad soldering jobs. I fixed the drifting and broken nickel strips by using silicone wires between packs, they won’t ever disconnect or break. I’d the packs drift them manually balance them using the BMS balance plug and a lab power supply or a car bulb light to discharge the packs with higher SOC.
Battery capacity tester dies too many times, after I have up on them i tried the last hope and used potty silicone behind the display to keep the vibrations outside if the electronics, it has worked so far and I stopped changing meters.
Belts kept on skipping, I used to adjust them every week, they worn out pretty fast too. Since then I use 15mm belts, no more 9 or 12mm and it has helped a lot, no offer pulleys for me, seems that I don’t need them.
Motors keep on failing, I’ve used all kind of motors but vibrations and bad roads just kill motors there’s no way an outrunner motor could hold forever. I’ve opened motors so many times because of different factors, being rattling the first inconvenience, fit this ice found removing the axle from the can and bolting it back with red loctite and the holding screws have ended with the continuous disassembling/assembling nightmares and rattling
Bad connections on the sensor wires, I have fixed sensor wires more than any other wire, because they are very fragile. The solution was to replace the jst 6pin plugs with male and female micro USB plugs, very easy to plug/unplug.
Rattling on bearings, just use Zealous bearings and forget about them for a year.
Speed wobbles, upgrade your bushings and pivot cups from day one, use some riptides or anything over 88A and stop adjusting your trucks everyday
The dreaded DRV error, once this starts to happen you j if st need to go back to BLDC or replace your DRV. Get 6 DRV chips from mouser.
This was going to be shorter but I wrote too much, I’m sorry guys.
Please, share your most common issues those that happen all the time and how you plan to fix it.
Maaaaan I have no idea what you’re doing or if it’s bad roads but that is a laundry list and a half
I’ve had no truck issues with the regular TB trucks, however I got riptides for the 218mm ones that I have now. Or anything on this list, except for one VESC randomly dying.
Belts, bolts, etc all good haha GT2B and Nylock nuts
Thank you for taking the time to list all the issues, I’ve experienced most if not all at some point.
I can’t recall everything or how i fixed it if I fixed it but I’ll go through some here.
The battery displays most use really aren’t meant for the abuse we put em through and die, somebody should make a nice clear potted one, problem solved
The anti-spark switches also aren’t meant for the abuse, I only use loopkeys
Motor screws, that was an annoying one, hex cap bolts solved it for me, can torque to the point of tool breaking, no loctite
Haven’t had issues with motors failing or sensor wire issues, once it works, it works, for me atleast
Wobbles, definitely proper bushing and pivot to solve
I debated inserts back and forth for weeks with myself and couldn’t convince myself to trust them lol, nut and bolt and I’m worry free
Same here, I am a solid believer in the simplicity of the loop key, I have no idea how some people manage to kill them, but they’re definitely better than antispark switches
For a power switch I use a $5 toggle switch I bought at Lowe’s. Been using it for over a year at 12s and 100 Amps from Lipos with no problem. Absolutely bulletproof.
Also I seem to have a constant problem with the bolts on my (torqueboards) mounts backing out, even with locktite. I find I’m adjusting those every 2 weeks at minimum. Any advice on that?
Someone please define abuse of antispark switch. I much rather have my switches rather than a loop key. I though the benefit of loop key is just the lower cost.
How does a antisprk switch get “abused” and while we are at it the LCD meters. Are we talking about vibration?
Where I need to use low profile bolts for clearance and torquing will cause stripping I use Loctite 290, it’s applied after the bolt is fastened from the open end.
Threadlocking adhesive - medium/ high strength. Ideal for locking preassembled fasteners.
LOCTITE® 290 is a liquid medium/high-strength threadlocker designed for the locking and sealing of threaded fasteners.
Because of its low viscosity and capillary action, the product wicks between engaged threads and eliminates the need for disassembly prior to application.
The product cures when confined in the absence of air between close-fitting metal surfaces and prevents loosening and leakage due to shock and vibration. The product can also fill porosities in welds, castings and powdered metal parts.
Your benefits
Ideal for locking preassembled fasteners, e.g. instrumentation fasteners, electrical connectors and set screws
Works on metal only
Proven to be tolerant of minor contamination due to industrial oils, e.g. motor oils, corrosion prevention oils and cutting fluids
Requires heat for disassembly
the vedder switch uses a small pcb and mosfets to handle all of the current switching your entire board demands. these switches have burned out time and again. a loop key is just a wire, less chance of things going wrong or getting burned out.
what type of hangar clamp are you using? if it’s the D clamp where one bolt tensions the entire clamp (ie tb mounts), I’ve had those go loose on me all the time.
switched to using two piece clamps (ie enertion, et al.) and they’ve yet to have come loose.
clevis pins ftw
not a single drop out with the 2.4ghz mini. I use psycho’s abs enclosures and make sure the receiver is as far away from main power leads.
I have seen something on aliexpress its like a cross thing made out of hard idk the Word for ( water gardening pipe) and you put it between the motor and the motor mount and it helps with vibrations.
Never seen anyone use it why?
Found something similar not right size but yeah you know what I’m talking about now, this is made out of silicone so there are different materials used
Great Topic @Eboosted
I only ride recreationally and not every day and I avoid riding on rough roads so I have very little maintenance.
I do use compressed air to blow off the road dust regularly.
Yeah, riding on good roads will definitely keep you out from maintenance, I don’t think any esk8 today could hold an abuse of 20-25 miles a day with little to no maintenance.
That’s why I think any esk8 company building complete boards will have a hard time with warranties and a bad reputation over time, no matter what these things will break on the hands of anyone with low/none technical knowledge.
For me the board should be built and not fall apart. But maintenance…
Bearings I wash and lube every 2 weeks on a Friday when I work from home, this ends up being about 10-14 charges as I ride every day so in the range of 150-250miles my bearings get refreshed
wheel lock nuts, get replaced every time I take the wheels off. I bought a box on Amazon for cheap. I’ve had wheels roll off and past me. So locknut’s get replaced every time(maybe get 2-3 real tightenings on them)
Wheels harder duros get scraped with a razor, softer duros get superglued glued in any cracks or pitting
Belts replaced once every month or two months depending on wear.
Battery inspected once every two months to ensure connections, and balancing
Whole board…wiped down as often as needed to keep it from trailing road grime through my kitchen…
Grip tape…I use a grip tape cleaner. I was replacing my grip every couple months as I move my feet alot and grind in dirt… But since my grip is always clean now it lasts much longer.
The anti-spark switches also aren’t meant for the abuse, I only use loopkeys
Motor screws, that was an annoying one, hex cap bolts solved it for me, can torque to the point of tool breaking, no loctite
Haven’t had issues with motors failing or sensor wire issues, once it works, it works, for me atleast
Wobbles, definitely proper bushing and pivot to solve