Why does my ebike battery cut out? Here we will run through 4 easy steps to find out why this is happening and what you can do to resolve.

Why Does My ebike Battery Cut Out?

The most common reason your ebike will be cutting out is down to either the battery connections, poor battery health, the motor, connectors or an issue with the controller, but Let’s run through these 4 possible causes to find out where the problem may be:

1. Ebike cutting out due to battery problems

Have you noticed the battery depleting charge more quickly on recent rides? how well the battery holds its charge is a key indicator of the overall health of the battery and its cells. Decent ebike batteries should last up to 1000 charges if looked after properly (you can read more about how to look after your battery here) and last anywhere between 3 or 5 years before seeing loss of range.

Your ebike cutting out could be down to the contacts being dirty where the battery plugs into the bike so check these and clean with a toothbrush or similar. Do the same with the contacts on the actual bike frame also.

Have you dropped the battery? Although they look like quite solid objects, dropping an ebike battery can cause significant internal damage of the cells and connections which could be causing your ebike to cut out during rides.

How Do I Reset My eBike Battery?

I know there are several resources out there that claim to walk you though how to start messing around with the internal BMS ( Battery management system) , taking the battery apart replacing wires etc, but I would not advise you embark on this if you do not know what you are doing.

Yes batteries are expensive, probably the most expensive components of any electric bike, but if you are sure the battery is shot and the bike is out of warranty, its best just to buy a new one than risk damaging the motor or yourself in my view.

2. Ebike cutting out due to motor problems

Have you noticed any strange noises coming from your ebike motor recently? if your motor has been making strange noises different or louder than usual then this may be where the issue lies. Sometimes its worth seeing if you can smell any burning coming from the motor after you have ridden the bike which could be another indication something is wrong with the motor internally.

If you have a hub based motor ( usually located in the rear wheel) then these are much more difficult to diagnose and repair yourself as the motor is sealed in the hub and would usually require a specialist or the manufacturer to investigate. Again, I wouldn’t advise trying to take apart unless you know what you are doing. The good news is hub motors are cheaper to replace than mid drive ones but I would advise taking to a shop to confirm if this is required first.

Why does my ebike battery cut out? Electric bikes with a mid-drive motor ( located at the crank) are more accessible to take apart and investigate if there are any loose wires or burnt out components (usually just a few screws holding the casing on).

These motors tend to be more expensive than hub motors however the upside is that parts may be easier to replace rather than having to buy a new motor, but this of course depends on how bad the fault is and which component is faulty. Unless you can see anything visible that does not look right I would take down to your local ebike shop to take a look.

3. Ebike cutting out due to connectors

Checking the connections for all visible wiring on your ebike seems like an obvious thing to check when trying to diagnose why your ebike may be cutting out, but its not always easy to spot without taking apart some casings where this is possible.

Check all connections/ plugs to the motor, battery and the controller as a process of elimination, if any of them look loose or are dirty then this could be the root cause of the bike cutting out. Could be as simple as one of the connectors has been unplugged.

Have you also checked the magnet and sensor on the wheel? If either of these are dirty it may be as simple as giving both the magnet and the sensor a clean just to be sure.

4. Ebike cutting out due to the controller problems

The controller is like the brain on an electric bike which basically transfers and regulates energy from battery directly to the motor, so if there are problems with the controller this would make sense why your ebike may be cutting out as it also manages the pedal assist and throttle functions.

Unfortunately seeing any visible faults in the main unit with the naked eye is difficult due to the internal wiring architecture being quite complex, but you can check the wires and connectors that come out of the unit.

Check to see if any of them are loose/ faulty which could be a simple soldering job. otherwise, if nothing is visible my advice would be to replace as they are usually fairly cheap.

If replacing, It is very important to make sure you replace with the correct controller recommended by the manufacturer otherwise you may end up with too much output (power) or not enough being transferred from the battery to the motor resulting in killing your battery and motor which are the most expensive components on the bike.