Di2 stops working in the heat

[obachman]

Hi,
my Di2 seems to stop working (nothing goes, just as if the battery were dead) when it gets very hot on a mountain and in the sun. Once I start going down or things cool down, it starts working again. Any idea what is going on and how I could fix it ?

Thanks,
Olaf

[prendrefeu]

Battery operating temperature, perhaps?

[xena]

The issue is solar flares from the sun. They are directly attracted to the tiny quartz particles used inside the di2 shifting sensors. If you are especially in a open environment this will attract the suns flares. The Sky team for instance get round this problem because they have huge amounts of money and have the sensors insulated with a thin layer of gold. This is a common fault among Di2 users and there is a online petition on the greenpeace website that address's this issue and how the impact of climate change causes not just Polar bears to live in jungles but proper gear shifting.
I use mechanical.

[Camilo]

If you think it's the heat - get a small re-usable ice pack or freeze something of appropriate size and shape and fix it to the the battery. It probably won't take much cooling to make it work, and you probably don't want to over do it because batteries don't work when too cold (which has a similar remedy in the winter for battery operated stuff - chemical warm pack).

If this works, at least you'll know if the heat is the issue. IF heat is indeed the case, you'll at least know of an easy workaround. But (again, IF it's the case) it seems to me that the battery that doesn't work to at least 150degrees F is a major fault in the design.

To me it will be interesting to know if it's the battery or something else.

[mimason]

How hot and what altitude?

[sungod]

temperature dependent faults in electronics aren't unusual

as suggested above, try selective chilling of different parts until you find the guilty bit, and/or use a hair dryer/similar to raise the temperature (take care not to damage the finish or melt something...)

[kgt]

as suggested above, try selective chilling of different parts until you find the guilty bit, and/or use a hair dryer/similar to raise the temperature

lol
One of the reasons mechanical transmission will always be relevant.

[Zigmeister]

Good one Xena..haha. Part of the marginal gains theory/method of training/competiting.

Anyway, in FL, where it is 94F and high humidity, feels like 108-110F, brutal...haven't had any issues. I use the internal Di2 battery in my seat tube closer to the BB, or as far as it would go. Also, I put some thin bubble wrap material around it before stuffing it down there with a pull wire to yank it up if necessary. 2yrs almost and no issues.

Could be battery over heat, or maybe just a bad battery. Connectors are all good right? It could be a heat issue causing some flex in the micro/circuitry that can happen with any electronics causing "chip creek" I think they call it, or flexing of the circuits with heat cycles. Guess one way to find out, get another battery.

[sungod]

as suggested above, try selective chilling of different parts until you find the guilty bit, and/or use a hair dryer/similar to raise the temperature

lol
One of the reasons mechanical transmission will always be relevant.

the issue is, unless you build in fault tolerance, electronic systems tend to fail hard, with mechanical you can often ignore or even be unaware of degraded performance, and even a total failure may be partly mitigated with some ingenuity

really comes down to whether you are ok with 'not quite as good, it'll tend to get worse but is unlikely to fail as bad', or if you prefer 'better, but one day, probably far off, it may fail completely with no warning'

[superdx]

The issue is solar flares from the sun. They are directly attracted to the tiny quartz particles used inside the di2 shifting sensors. If you are especially in a open environment this will attract the suns flares. The Sky team for instance get round this problem because they have huge amounts of money and have the sensors insulated with a thin layer of gold. This is a common fault among Di2 users and there is a online petition on the greenpeace website that address's this issue and how the impact of climate change causes not just Polar bears to live in jungles but proper gear shifting.
I use mechanical.

/s?

I laughed regardless

[superdx]

Hi,
my Di2 seems to stop working (nothing goes, just as if the battery were dead) when it gets very hot on a mountain and in the sun. Once I start going down or things cool down, it starts working again. Any idea what is going on and how I could fix it ?

Thanks,
Olaf

Do you have a 2nd battery by any chance to see if it's just a bad unit?

I've been in 46C last week and while I barely could function, my bike was fine, though I swear my tires were melting.

[xena]

Sorry I could not resist , Hope you get your issue sorted

[11.4]

You have some kind of problem with one of your components -- it could be the battery or could be the A junction box or possible the rear or front derailleur. I'm picking on those because that's where the logic circuits are plus the battery itself. There are a bunch of jokesters on here. You shouldn't be having a problem due to heat, altitude, lack of gold plating, or anything else. Just a defective component somewhere.

[Calnago]

"Somewhere" being the operative word. Not meaning to pile on to the "I hate electric" bandwagon but this does illustrate a very valid issue with electrical componentry... When it goes wrong it can be both "dead in the water" and difficult to diagnose. But I agree with @11.4... There's a problem, somewhere.

[tk2306]

I have ridden various bikes with di2 over the years in up to 45 degrees and never had any issues like this. It seems more likely you have a faulty part somewhere in the system or something along those lines. Would be worth plugging it in to the computer software (most shimano shops should have this) and you might be able to solve the issue


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