Hub Motor Making New Noise - Aniioki A8 Dual Motor

[boba7523]

Hi All,

I have the Aniioki A8 Dual Motor with about 400 miles on it. This motor has metal planetary gears instead of nylon. I know noises from the hub motor is normal, but today, the front motor started making 2 new noises.

• The first noise sounds like a slight chirp that only happens at around 28-30 mph and then disappears (~9, 14, 31 second mark)
• The second noise sounds like a "ohm" sound whenever I let off the throttle and only happens at mid to higher speed also (~11, 16, 36, 40 second) mark. Otherwise, the motor sounds normal.

I've uploaded a YouTube video of the sound. When I touched the motor through the plastic case, it was barely warm. Below is the specification.

Maybe this is normal, but I just wanted to inquire others here just in case so I can catch problems early. Appreciate your help!

 

[Toptnhunter]

That does not sound happy. Since it suddenly developed, I would assume it is not normal and the sounds are associated. Does it sound metal to metal or an electrical hum?

 

[biknut]

I wouldn't worry about it as long as it runs ok. My new BGX 1500w geared hub motor makes worse noises than yours, and it runs like a bat out of hell. Maybe after it gets more miles it will quiet down a little. Metal gears are noisy, that's why plastic ones were invented in the first place.

 

[Annieolnie]

I had a midrive that started making a slightly lesser noise then that, but similar. Oddly, it started at about 400 miles. When I opened it up, it turned out the factory hadn't greased the gears at all. I would open it up and see how well it is greased.

 

[boba7523]

Thanks guys. I actually cleaned and replaced the factory white lithium grease with Lucas Oil 10301 Xtra Heavy-Duty Grease which is rated at NLGI-2 at 100 miles. Not sure if this is the right oil because it's for high speed bearing but not electric motor... It was definitely nowhere near as thick as the white lithium grease.

Do you guys think that grease works for metal planetary gears?

I just bought the Mobil SCH 100 which is also NLGI-2. I'm thinking I should replace with this...... Thoughts?

 

[Annieolnie]

I've used "Lucas Red n' Tacky"because it's what I have for clutch bearings. I can tell you that the Lucas is thicker than any lithium grease I have. If the grease you are using is even thinner than that, then this might be your problem.

 

[boba7523]

I've used "Lucas Red n' Tacky"because it's what I have for clutch bearings. I can tell you that the Lucas is thicker than any lithium grease I have. If the grease you are using is even thinner than that, then this might be your problem.

If there was an issue with grease, wouldn't it affect all RPM range? Either way, I'm going to replace it with Mobil SCH 100 just to be safe and report back if noise disappears.

 

[Annieolnie]

While your in there have a look around. Good luck.

 

[Hozer]

2 things . .

#1. I would pull apart the motor. Check to see if any of the magnets have come loose or may have some debris in the motor it self.
#2. I would check your controller that go to your hub motor. Check to see if the controller is getting very hot. If so looks like it maybe the controller.

Note:
The reason I stated both number above is on my bike my front hub motor was making a loud noise. I too thought it was the front hub motor only to find out it was my front motor controller! See pic!

FRONT-Controller hosted at ImgBB

Image FRONT-Controller hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

Hope That Helps

 

[Rawly Old]

Hi All,

I have the Aniioki A8 Dual Motor with about 400 miles on it. This motor has metal planetary gears instead of nylon. I know noises from the hub motor is normal, but today, the front motor started making 2 new noises.

• The first noise sounds like a slight chirp that only happens at around 28-30 mph and then disappears (~9, 14, 31 second mark)
• The second noise sounds like a "ohm" sound whenever I let off the throttle and only happens at mid to higher speed also (~11, 16, 36, 40 second) mark. Otherwise, the motor sounds normal.

I've uploaded a YouTube video of the sound. When I touched the motor through the plastic case, it was barely warm. Below is the specification.

Maybe this is normal, but I just wanted to inquire others here just in case so I can catch problems early. Appreciate your help!

View attachment 16120

I'm very leery of dual motors. I can't see how they stay in sync & it's just
something else to go wrong.

 

[Hozer]

I'm very leery of dual motors. I can't see how they stay in sync & it's just
something else to go wrong.

It's real simple. Here is how my Keteles K800 Dual 2000 Watt Ebike works. The rear hub motor is always on. Now on the Front Motor I have a switch that I can turn on and turn off the front motor. Example: If I am going up a very steep hill or road I just turn on the front hub motor and off I go. It's kinda feel like when you put the pedal to the metal. Maybe not that much but you can feel the boost! LOL

 

[Rawly Old]

I wouldn't worry about it as long as it runs ok. My new BGX 1500w geared hub motor makes worse noises than yours, and it runs like a bat out of hell. Maybe after it gets more miles it will quiet down a little. Metal gears are noisy, that's why plastic ones were invented in the first place.

Agreed, they get broken in & quiet down. Clean & re-grease at 2000, it'll be better than new. Not ruling out other possibilities though.

 

[boba7523]

Thanks for the suggestion, biknut. Will check controller wires just in case. It's a single controller powering both motors.

After my previous comment on regreasing, it didn't make either noise go away. I didn't pull apart the planetary gears to check the magnets though. I'll do that at my next service (planning to regrease every 500 miles) so it would be in the next month.

Regarding controller, it is housed inside the frame with just one small opening via the rubber gasket in the front. This is my bike.

When I rode in ~80F weather, the controller itself felt very warm (I could rest my finger on it for a good 3 seconds before it starts to burn). I didn't have a thermometer to measure the temperature though. But maybe it's a good idea for me to bring one with me and check mid-ride just in case before I start modifying the frame to allow more air into the controller.....

 

[m@Robertson]

IIRC metal planetary gears just are louder than nylon, and what I'm hearing sounds pretty normal. This is one of the ones with the nylon sandwiched between metal, right? They're just noisy. I WOULD open it up just to make sure there are no surprises inside. I just popped open a brand new Bafang motor I am building a wheel for and found very little grease, so I added some.

I can't see how they stay in sync

That is called 'contention' and is a common misconception. In practice it is a problem that does not exist. Think for a sec: Every front-motor ebike is awd too. Its just your legs that are the motor in the back. No issue with synching there. Much of the reason for this is wheels that have geared hub motors freewheel forward. Same with your generic rear bicycle hub. So if one wheel is getting more power than the other, the one with less power just doesn't work as hard. 10 seconds riding an awd and you'll forget about that whole idea.

Also look at these 2wd bikes. Two entirely different wheel sizes and even different types of motor. Synching these wheels is never going to happen. Like I said, common misconception.

& it's just something else to go wrong.

No mistake... building an AWD bike is twice as complicated, and when you are done, you still just have one bike. But distributed traction on a bike is a thing of beauty. Especially when you have synch'd PAS. The bike just does everything effortlessly, including going places impossible for a bike to navigate with just one powered wheel, no matter how much power you pump into that single wheel.

But aside from complexity to build its rock-solid dependable, assuming you use quality parts.

Dual Motor AWD Electric Bikes (the good and bad)

I like to build top-quality-component ebikes from the frame up. Quite a few of them are dual motor or AWD or 2WD or whatever you want to call them. Why would you build an AWD ebike?

talesontwowheels.com

 

[boba7523]

The manufacturer put white lithium grease (very thick and sticky) on my planetary gears which is metal with nylon in the middle.
I switched to Mobil SCH100 and after opening the motor up after 500 miles, it is nowhere as thick/sticky.
Any potential future issues here?

 

[Rawly Old]

Did the same at 2000 mi. ran better than new.

 

[m@Robertson]

The manufacturer put white lithium grease (very thick and sticky) on my planetary gears which is metal with nylon in the middle.
I switched to Mobil SCH100 and after opening the motor up after 500 miles, it is nowhere as thick/sticky.
Any potential future issues here?

Arguments over which grease is best on the internet are like sheep men vs. cattle men 150 years ago. Or a discussion of Ford vs. Chevy at a monster truck rally.

• Mobil SHC100 on paper is the world's greatest lube, in part because of its lithium base. But its expensive. The poindexter/amateur scientists on internet fora hold this one up on high and look down their noses at everything else.
• Mobil28 is sort of the most widely accepted in-the-know grease on mid drives. I used it for many years and a few years ago tried it out on my Bafang hub motor gears. They ran more quietly and Mobil28 seemed to stay 'present' longer. The boffin crowd will point to Mobil28 being clay-based and how this is horrible. But so many have been using it for so many years with zero problems I conclude this is just a
• I got turned on to Mobil Synthetic Grease when I saw it was the grease Biktrix uses. It is lithium based and its really cheap compared to my big tube of Mobil28, which was still half full and misplaced somewhere in my garage. M28 required several days for delivery, while Mobil Synthetic was 1-day shipping, too. Mobil Synthetic is a bit less thick than Mobil28. Works great in my BBSHD and seems to be doing well in the one hub motor I put it (sparingly) into.
• A fair number of people use Lucas Red'n'Tacky. I think of it as a redneck Mobil28.

In actual function, I have found that nylon planetary gears that are only moistened by grease appear no worse for wear. So to finally answer your question @boba7523 , probably no potential future issues but stay aware of how its progressing. Open the motor up every 6 months to a year and reassess.