Velo guide: What to do if your e-bike battery dies

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I have a four year old e-bike with a Bosch propulsion system where the battery recently stopped working. Do I need to buy a new, expensive battery or are there alternative, cheaper options?
R. Cavalho, Etziken SO

E-bikes are constantly becoming more complex. Therefore, if the manufacturer still offers batteries, original parts should be used. Depending on the brand, size and model, replacement batteries can easily cost between 400 and 700 francs, but they guarantee optimum performance and safety. Manipulated batteries have already caught fire while being charged. However, if a manufacturer no longer offers replacement batteries and therefore the entire e-bike must be destroyed, battery repairmen are the solution.

Do BMS and software work in harmony?

The problem with non-genuine e-bike batteries is the Battery Management System, or BMS for short. This is a small computer located on the battery that is responsible for charging and discharging the battery cells and communicates with the e-bike system. Unfortunately, as is often the case with non-genuine batteries, if the BMS cannot properly adapt to the e-bike software, the performance will also not be correct or malfunctions may occur; for example, the charge status indicator is no longer accurate.

For this reason, there are specialized companies that only replace the cells and leave the BMS as original. Before shipping a battery, it is important to check in advance whether the battery is suitable for cell replacement.

This article was created with the support of Velosuisse.

Source: Blick