Hi,
My Vitesse Signal bike battery is not like before. Range is almost half now after few years use.
I read about re-celling (replace all cells), but I want to ask:
Is there any service that only fix bad cells? not full battery replace?
Also confuse if repair is good idea or just buy new battery.
Any advice will help, thanks.
yeah same thing happen with mine after like 5 years.
range dropped slowly then suddenly very bad. i also search for repair but didnt find good option near me.
tbh repairing is not always worth bro.
i just replaced mine and problem solved. cost was little high but result way better.
this is similar batteryi got after install it feel almost new bike again.
there was one shop in my area before doing ebike battery fixing but they closed.
i asked another guy he said they dont change few cells only, they do full pack mostly.
anyone tried external battery add?
like putting second battery on frame? i saw some youtube but not sure safe or not.
if your pack is samsung 35e type then its normal.
those cells not very strong for high current after some time. performance drop comes faster.
Any ideas on cheap recell jobs, looking at about £150 all in hopefully.
I went quite deep into this topic few months back because I really wanted to save my battery instead of replacing it.
Watched many videos and read forums, and what I understood is that identifying weak cells is not very straightforward. You need to test each cell voltage under load, not just resting voltage. Many people think just checking voltage is enough but its not.
Also when you open the pack, sometimes cells are glued or tightly packed which makes it even more difficult to work safely.
In the end I felt like even if I manage to replace some cells, I may not get balanced performance again. So I dropped the idea. Not saying its impossible, but definitely not easy for normal users.
My experience was almost same as others here.
Battery worked fine for long time, I think around 5 to 6 years, then slowly range started decreasing. At first I ignored it thinking maybe weather or riding style, but later it became very noticeable.
One ride I remember clearly, I couldn’t even complete my usual route without battery dying early. That’s when I realized it’s not just minor issue.
After that I stopped depending on it for long rides because it was not reliable anymore.
Before making final decision, I would still suggest checking few basic things just to be sure.
For example:
In my case, I noticed when I ride on full assist all the time, battery drains much faster obviously.
These things will not fix an old battery, but they can help you understand if the problem is only battery or combination of factors.
One thing I learned late is that charger condition also matters a lot.
My old charger was working but it used to heat up and sometimes charging would stop randomly. I didn’t pay attention at first, but later someone told me that inconsistent charging can slowly damage battery health.
So I replaced it with a better one and charging became stable. This is the one switched to.
It won’t magically fix a dead battery, but for maintaining a good one, it definitely helps in long run.
Just to understand your case better, how much range are you getting now compared to when it was new?
Like if it dropped from say 40km to 20km, that’s kind of expected after years. But if it dropped very suddenly, then maybe something else also going on.
Also does it shut down suddenly or just drains faster?
From what I have seen, repair makes sense only in limited situations.
If battery is relatively new (maybe 2-3 years) and only few cells are damaged, then repair can work.
But once battery is older, like 4-5+ years, most of the cells are already degraded. So even if you fix some, others will fail soon after.
That’s why many technicians recommend replacement instead of partial repair.
If you decide to replace, I would suggest not going for same spec blindly.
Many people just buy same capacity battery, but upgrading slightly higher Ah can make a big difference. You get more range and also less stress per charge cycle.
Of course you need to make sure it is compatible with your controller and mounting, but if it fits, it’s a good long term improvement.
I regret not upgrading capacity when I first replaced mine.
At the end, it mostly comes down to how old your battery is and how much you want to invest.
In my case, I wasted some time researching repair options and finally still ended up buying a new battery. Looking back, I should have done that earlier.
New batteries are more stable, give consistent output, and you don’t have to worry about sudden drops.
Not saying just buy directly, but compare specs and reviews, it will help you decide better.