james1234

Hi, any feedback welcome. LBS told me to go through shimano manuals but can't find solution.

New 2023 road bike has Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8150 12 Speed.

Charged rear mech on bike delivery May 2023. Ridden bike 9 times, approx 221 miles registered only to date (mainly 22 mile flat/fast outings). On 10th ride front mech stops and then as get home rear mech stops. Rear mech flashes red so fully charge rear mech (takes ~2 hours). My questions please:

1. My understanding is charge should last ~1,000 mile plus (depends on amount shifting etc). Bike is stored inside at room temperature and never ridden in rain. Should I be concerned at ~221 miles only on first ever charge?

2. Will batt naturally run flat over time (3 months) even if not used?

3. On delivery, I held the rear mech button longer than 0.5 secs (by mistake) and realised it had gone bluetooth mode. I have never connected to bluetooth and if I place iphone near rear mech it does not detect a device. Assumption therefore is bluetooth on rear mech is not turned on but how do you actually turn bluetooth OFF on rear mech? if it is still on (but phone doesn't detect device) could this be draining the battery?

Many thanks for any feedback, James.

Barry2 

Selecting Bluetooth mode and not connecting is ok. No problem there.

Connecting Bluetooth and not disconnecting correctly, now there’s a problem.
e-tube must be disconnected correctly or battery drain will result.

Although, I would expect an incorrectly disconnected e-tube to flatten the battery in under 3 months.

Are you using a USB adaptor above 1.0A to charge the bike?

Barry

edit: Bluetooth will just timeout if you don’t connect, there is no OFF switch.

Barry2 

Oh….. and welcome to bike forums.

mpetry912 

yes, +1 on this. Use a good USB power source, not something that came with an old Nokia phone.

and if the battery sits for 3 months, recommend you tickle it with the charger before you ride to avoid disappointment

/markp

FBinNY 

Sorry, but this is a mechanic's forum.

You need an electrician.
.
.
.
.
Couldn't resist, though if I could've helped, I would have.

james1234

Thanks for reply Barry2. So I conclude it is not the bluetooth and thanks for confirming no turn off option.

The USB is that supplied with 2017 iphone SE it states 0.15A on rear - might that not be sufficient enough?

Barry2 

james1234 ,
You either deleted your post or the forum hiccupped.
I'm subscribed to the thread and received the post content by email.
EDIT: now your post has appeared above this one.... weird. But at least now the forum is working correctly.

0.15A refers to the input side of a USB adaptor.

You require that the 5V output exceed the 1.0A minimum.
Your 2017 iPhone charging brick is NOT likely to charge your bike correctly.
I have a similar iPhone charger and it fails to charge my 11sp Di2, I never bothered to try it on my 12sp Di2.

Please go find a better USB charger. HERE is a $6 cheapie that does 5V 2.4A

Barry

jgwilliams

In fact, it would be a good idea to download E-Tube Project to your smart phone and connect to your derailleur, as this will tell you the battery level. There are various other changes you can make as well. For example, I changed the full-synchro settings on mine so as to try and make the transitions smoother.

Barry2 

james1234 ,
If you follow this suggestion, BE SURE to use the "disconnect" function in the E-Tube software when finished.
Else you will be the cause of the exact issue you are trying to correct. And it's likely you won't get a week out of your battery.

8-)

Barry

Iride01 

No experience with the 12 speed Di2, but for my 11 speed Di2 I've found that you need to use a AC adapter/charger that puts out more than the minimum that Shimano specs. While they say a 1.0 amp charger is minimum, I think because they use a really long cable from their BCR2 to the bike and I use a somewhat standard but long usb cable from the AC adapter that there is a lot of current loss that makes it necessary for something that puts out more amperage such as at least a 5volt 1.5 amp output AC adapter/charger.

I just use the Turbo charger that my phone came with. The BCR2 is going to manage the current going into the battery, so no need to worry about too much current.... within reason.


Find out what devices will display the battery levels. For certain eTube project will. Though don't go mucking around with stuff unless you really know what your are doing. But just looking to see what the battery level is won't hurt. The phone app version has had some issues in the past for 11 speed Di2. I still use the older version on my PC. Garmin and I think other gps devices like Wahoo will show you battery levels too. So make sure you got a full charge. And maybe note the battery levels when you stop the ride and then check them before your next ride to see how much they have drained if any.

Barry2 

There is no need to worry about too much current at all.

5V 1.5A
5V 2.6A
5V 10A

None of these will cause issues with charging the battery.
The amp (A) rating reflects the current available should the connected device (in this case a Di2 charger) require it.

All the best

Barry

Ogsarg

I had a problem with a Di2 battery (11sp Ultegra) discharging and it turned out to be the charger. The one I was using was rated for enough current and worked for close to 2 years before I started having the discharge issues. In my case, I could get about 25-30 miles from home and then it would go into limp home mode.

Initially, I thought I was not making good connection at the charge port on the bar end but ultimately it was the charger. Swapped in another charger and haven't had an issue since.

Lombard

I get about 250 miles before I am down to 50% - blue light flashing. That is when I charge.

It all depends on how much you shift.

Barry2 

james1234 ,
Were you able to fix your charging issue?

Barry