# Shimano E8000 eco mode issue?



## Zinfan (Jun 6, 2006)

Hey anyone running the E8000, I've run into an issue with my motor and was wondering if anyone else has seen this. What is happening is that when in Eco mode my assist will not fully come online, the gauge will only show a level of assist across the bottom of the gauge and won't display assist into the right hand side of the display (the part where the gauge ramps up). I can also tell that assist is not increasing as it should even with the speed well below 20 mph. The motor works just fine in Trail and Boost modes, it is only Eco where this happens. I've used the app to look at the drive unit and it has the latest firmware (4.4.5), batteries are fully charged so I'm a bit lost. Bike is currently at the LBS so they can hook it up to their diagnostic equipment but since the display isn't throwing any error codes I'm not convinced they will find anything during their checks. One thing I wonder about is if Shimano during the last firmware update changed Eco mode so that it doesn't provide that last bit of assistance so anyone else seeing something similar?


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## Ryder (Aug 20, 2004)

Eco limits the output of the motor so you will not get a full bar no matter how you pedal, mine is exactly the same.


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## Zinfan (Jun 6, 2006)

Ryder said:


> Eco limits the output of the motor so you will not get a full bar no matter how you pedal, mine is exactly the same.


Hmm I don't remember is working that way. Good to know yours reacts the same but I am certain I used to get full assist on the gauge in eco mode.


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

I’ll check mine, next time I’m out. I don’t remember tbo what mine did. I currently have gout in my knee so might be a bit..


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## Ryder (Aug 20, 2004)

Zinfan,

Has there been a firmware update that has changed the way the display works perhaps?


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## Zinfan (Jun 6, 2006)

Ryder said:


> Zinfan,
> 
> Has there been a firmware update that has changed the way the display works perhaps?


That could very well be, I did update my firmware recently. And like Gutch I didn't really pay attention to the display before so I could just be crazy. I am using the latest firmware as stated above. I rode 34 miles today and the display was the same as before but the motor and bike are working fine so I don't think it is a real problem just either perception by me or a change as you say about how it displays assist.


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## Zinfan (Jun 6, 2006)

Gutch said:


> I'll check mine, next time I'm out. I don't remember tbo what mine did. I currently have gout in my knee so might be a bit..


Get well soon!


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Thx, it’s feeling a lot better now. Thank you Prednisone.


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## Zinfan (Jun 6, 2006)

Ok bringing this back up after today's ride. I'm starting to wonder if maybe my torque sensors are wonky?? First off I know not to put pressure on the pedals when turning on the bike and I don't even sit astride the bike either so it isn't that. Today the bike felt sluggish compared to yesterday's ride and even though the trails were different I could feel something wasn't the same, more effort for the same gearing/incline. At the top of the hill I checked the bike settings with the phone app and all was normal (powered the bike off and on as well) but it still seemed that I wasn't getting full assist from the bike (temp's in the mid-80's to 90 so not that hot) and then on the fire road back to the car the bike suddenly stopped providing assist at all even with the bike in trail or boost mode and both those modes were showing full assist gauge but believe me I was pedaling a 50lbs mountain bike up a fire road with no help from the motor at all. I stopped, power cycled the bike and everything came back to working status and I finished the ride back to the car. 

There is something happening with my bike and my problem is going to be trying to convince Shimano or Focus of that fact, it can be a subtle feel when the bike isn't quite right but having ridden it 700 miles I know when it feels normal or not. I'm thinking this is what happened when I first posted about the issue in eco mode. The part where the bike just stopped providing assist in any mode has only happened the one time so I don't know if they would be able to get it to do that again in testing. I'll check in with the bike shop tomorrow and write Focus and Shimano to see if they have any hints or known fixes.

To be clear, the bike motor has never been tampered with, no attempts to bypass speed limits or mod the motor in anyway.


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Dude, bummer. Checked mine tonight and eco mode was full bars spinning. Idk what’s up, but something is indeed goofy.


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## ninjichor (Jul 12, 2018)

Read a post where an emtb owner said that Eco mode feels like a 50W boost, which they say is more than enough to offset the drag and weight of the ebike, compared to a normal bike. Sounds like they weren't getting full assist. A full bar on the assist gauge does sound inconsistent with reports... I'd question the "Eco" name of the mode if you're experiencing the latter, rather than the former.


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## motocatfish (Mar 12, 2016)

Zinfan said:


> ...
> I stopped, power cycled the bike and everything came back to working status and I finished the ride back to the car.
> 
> There is something happening with my bike and my problem is going to be trying to convince Shimano or Focus of that fact, it can be a subtle feel when the bike isn't quite
> ...


Sounds intermittent, like a loose electrical connector or wire crimp.

If you are comfortable getting to & checking (unplug, inspect wires, & replug) every electrical connector on the bike, go for it. Otherwise get the bike to the dealer & ask that be done.

Does the phone app give you access to logged error codes?

Good luck,

Catfish ...


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## Zinfan (Jun 6, 2006)

motocatfish said:


> Sounds intermittent, like a loose electrical connector or wire crimp.
> 
> If you are comfortable getting to & checking (unplug, inspect wires, & replug) every electrical connector on the bike, go for it. Otherwise get the bike to the dealer & ask that be done.
> 
> ...


I think at this point I'm not going to delve into it myself since I have no idea what might be the issue and don't want to give any chance that they might claim I've done something to cause the issues. I am heading to the bike shop in an hour so they can have a look at it. I will see if they are willing to check the connections and such not, I like my LBS and they are very helpful but I didn't buy the bike there so I will see how much they are interested in doing warranty work if it comes to that otherwise the Focus dealer is 90 miles away so I may have to take it there.

I've never seen an error code shown in the app but I don't think it does that anyways, the bike shop had it hooked up to their diagnostics equipment recently (less than two weeks ago) and didn't see anything amiss.


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Scratch my upper post. My eco does not go up the bar graph. Just straight across. I thought I saw it earlier, but I was wrong. Sorry.


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## Zinfan (Jun 6, 2006)

Gutch said:


> Scratch my upper post. My eco does not go up the bar graph. Just straight across. I thought I saw it earlier, but I was wrong. Sorry.


No worries, that is good to know and one thing I don't have to be concerned about.


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