My Kalkhoff ebike was jumping and banging in an alarming way as you pedalled it, so I decided to strip down the motor to find the cause. It turned out to be the ratchet pawls on the main drive shaft. Here is how I diagnosed and fixed it.
Great video, I replaced my original 2015 Impulse 2 motor after 12K miles with a new 2019 upgrade version. After 13K it started playing up. Practised on old one first then opened up 2019 model. The pawls have been changed from 2 to 4 pawls and a plastic cover fitted over the drive gear to keep grease off the pawls. The old motor had sticky pawls like yous so cleaned then and used thin oil to lube them so now have a spare motor
Thanks for this helpful comment - sounds like the problems I had are common with the early Kalkhoffs and they have got wise to them and modified the design accordingly.
Hi Chris, i really enjoyed this video, how you explain everything calmly. I have probably same issue with my kalkhoff ebike, it started to rattle and kind of skip the drive, just going to see if i will be able to do it on my own. I've just read that the issue with ratchets can also be fixed/tuned by using springs made of 1mm wire instead of stock 0.8mm. Had moments to look for some service to check it, but satisfaction of DIY is what i need. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Great stuff. I've got a defective impulse motor too. Your video got me checking the pawls but mine is different. However it made me notice something I hadn't seen before which is good. Too early to say but your video may have helped so thanks!
@@chrisstebbing1892 So it turns out I don't have any pawls in my motor! What I have is an impulse 2.0 from 2013 with the backpedal brake. It looks very different to yours inside and as I say no pawls at all. I'm still working on it but what I'm finding is that there's very little info available on how these things work and how to test sensors etc. Here in Ireland, I've been unable to find anybody that knows anything! So now I'm translating mainly german videos and websites! Pretty crazy given a new motor is about 600 euro. I could buy a cheap second hand car for that and get all the parts, manuals and everything else I'd need to rebuild it from scratch!
Hey guys i got a bike given to me with this motor ill presume theres something wrong but cant properly test it as dont have display or battery. Nor any info on wiring diagram. If anyone knows please share
Hey Chris! My god, you are a savour! Just started looking into my Impulse 2.0 motor, since it has some “clicking” sound, when motor caps at max speed, and when pedalling. If you got time, maybe you can give your opinion on it? Got a video file of the sound, also, the motor is currently open, laying on my table, very interesting stuff.
Hi Oliver - thanks for being in touch. Glad sharing my experiences was helpful. Could you post some pictures and the video file on RU-vid? There might be others out there too who can help diagnose the fault?
@@Oliver_Arbjerg Hi Oliver - that is certainly quite a noticeable noise. Question - if you pedal along with the electric assist switched off, does it make the same noise or not? That might help track down whether the problem is with the motor or the pedal crankshaft. Sounds like you get several clicks per revolution of the pedals (and nothing in reverse), so most likely a motor problem?
@@chrisstebbing1892 It only clicks when electric assistance, so it has something to do with the motor. I may open it again in the weekend, to see if that can tell anything :)
@@Oliver_Arbjerg Have a look at the teeth on the gear wheel on the end of the motor shaft. If one was chipped or if there was something stuck in one tooth that would give the repeating click sound several times for each turn of the pedals like you have. Alternatively, the motor bearing could be worn out. 😢
Hi Chris, is this the impulse 2.0 motor? I have a clicking sound when i use my with the engine on and i pedal. Thought of doing the same procedure u did here might help. What is the model of the lager?
Batteries for these are expensive and hard to find. You can search www.eBay.co.uk for a new or second hand one. Another way to do it is to get an old battery of the right type but which no longer holds charge and send it away to be -re-celled' by someone like Insat bga-reworking.co.uk/ . This makes a great new battery (often better than the original), but again it is expensive. Hope you can find one! Best Wishes. Chris
