Shimano Di* do and do not.

[Will2012]

Hi

I have Ui2 and the previous owner installed an internal rc car battery however soldered the pins (the ones that connect to the battery) on the Battery Mount. The BRM-1???

I removed the mount and wires and wired it directly in however it does not work and I assume that this is due to the Ui2 not recognizing the battery (from your post). Do I have to have the rc car battery wired to the battery mount or is there a trick so I can get rid of it?

Thanks

 

[Will2012]

I have a bike that someone put an rc car battery inside the frame. Ui2. He wired the battery to the pins on the Ui2 battery mount. Is it possible to remove this mount and wire it directly or will the system not recognize it?

Battery Modifications :

• Background
  When Di2 was first seen in the pro ranks it was pretty much used as Shimano intended, over time battery placement seemed to be a challenge with it regularly moving over various teams bike apparently seeking optimal placement. When specialized released the Venge areo bike battery placement seemed to become even more important as it impacted the aerodynamics of the bike. Team Highroad took the steps of placing the battery inside the seat post of the bike of Mark Cavendish, which is why the seat post battery conversion is commonly known as the Cav Conversion.
  http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/pro-bike-mark-cavendishs-htc-specialized-mclaren-venge-30158/

• Pro's
  With a seat post battery you get to hide that fugly standard battery, you also end up with a lighter system as the seat post battery does not have a heavy mounting system and the battery is not wrapped in plastic, you can also increase the battery capacity if you wish at this time and put in place in bike charging. Once you have done this mod you have a standard fugly shimano battery which you can sell along with the charger and mounting system.
• Con's
  If you run Di2, none do it now !!!! -- If you run Ui2 the CANbus interface which as previously stated allows networked devices to recognize one another makes this a little more challenging but not impossible. You require components to get the system to recognize the new battery as part of the system, Shimano do not sell these so you have to break apart working components to claim them as such if you are taking the DIY option you have nothing to sell to get some money back
  This is the same issue with custom shifters for Ui2 as such if your going to hack the system Di2 is a better starting point.

• Can you get plug and play seat post batteries.
  Calfee were responsible for the original Cav post battery and also did the bike of one of the top guys in Shimano US - They are not cheap but they do the very best conversions and the quality is second to none. Calfee also do retrofit for bikes not made for Di2 or Ui2
  http://www.calfeedesign.com/product/components/di2-internal-battery/
  
  Icaruslights do a nice sealed USB chargable battery for the seatpost.
  http://icaruslights.com/batteries/

• What are my other options.
  DIY basically is your last option, there are many options available from converting the original battery to an internal version, to using the battery cells from RC cars, to building your own battery packs... If you want more information relating to DIY and pointing in the right direction please feel free to message me. the options are to extensive to discuss in a general information thread like this

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

I have a bike that someone put an rc car battery inside the frame. Ui2. He wired the battery to the pins on the Ui2 battery mount. Is it possible to remove this mount and wire it directly or will the system not recognize it?

The reason this was done is that the Ui2 system has awareness of components in the system as such you can not simply splice the system and introduce what you want from it like you can with Di2 10 speed, the mount contains a circuit which the battery requires to make the system aware its there. You can break the required bits out of the mount however if you damage it you obviously need a new mount, so people take this action as there is less risk associated with damaging components enough that they do not work.
I'm curious to know how charging the battery has been implemented in this solution for you and what is the mah of the battery.

So to answer your question, yes it is possible to remove the mount but its not simply a case of taking it out of the system, do this and the system will not work. Battery conversions are available which do not require this mount.

Why do you wish to remove the mount, does it not fit in your seatpost or frame, or do you have some concern about the quality of the conversion?

 

[stevenshand]

Hi,

I'm looking for a solution to splitting a cable using some kind of connector. It's for an S&S coupled bike with internal Ui2 routing and I'd like to be able to break the bike apart and disconnect the cable that's running down the downtube. I may be able to position the JC41 box far enough up the downtube that I'd have access to it through the open end of the tube but probably not.

I'm assuming the Ui2 cables are co-axial cables (core and shield)? I can try just splitting the cable and using a standard male > female co-ax connector but I thought I'd ask to see if anyone had tried this sort of thing already.

Steven

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Ultegra Ui2 wiring features one ground wire and one wire for supply and communication. People who have put extensive effort into understanding Ui2 also say as the wiring is extended the signal strength deteriorates and effects the system performance and reliability
I personally have had no success worthy of note in building custom looms for Ui2 but would think that your best bet would be buying another loom and using this wiring and the correct connector plugs to achieve what you desire.... I'm not making any promises that this will work, it's just a educated guess.
But I don't think coax connectors would work too well

 

[stevenshand]

Ultegra Ui2 wiring features one ground wire and one wire for supply and communication. People who have put extensive effort into understanding Ui2 also say as the wiring is extended the signal strength deteriorates and effects the system performance and reliability
I personally have had no success worthy of note in building custom looms for Ui2 but would think that your best bet would be buying another loom and using this wiring and the correct connector plugs to achieve what you desire.... I'm not making any promises that this will work, it's just a educated guess.
But I don't think coax connectors would work too well

Thanks for this. I don't mind buying more wiring components but I don't think there's anything available that does what I want. I basically want a standard e-tube cable but instead of a plug on each end, I'd like a plug on one end and a socket on the other.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

If you buy a loom you would have available male and female connectors what do you mean by a socket?
This is an example loom but its dura-ace. The connection to the right is male and the connection to the left female. If you pulled out your junction box you would see a number of different connections

 

[stevenshand]

If you buy a loom you would have available male and female connectors what do you mean by a socket?
This is an example loom but its dura-ace. The connection to the right is male and the connection to the left female. If you pulled out your junction box you would see a number of different connections

View attachment 22614

Ok, socket/plug is male/female but I don't believe there's a cable in the Ui2 loom that has female end is there?

Obviously, there's female ends in the junction box (JC41) and the front control unit as well as on the battery, and frone and rear mechs unless I've missed something, I don't see any female connector on any cables.

Not sure about DA.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

I believe that the battery mount is male and the connector on the junction box for it is female (going by memory here) might be with unplugging them and checking. If you brought another loom kit you could use these and extend

The construction of the wiring used for Ui2 ultimately makes modification more complicated, I can't help but think it may be worth considering selling the ultegra and moving to 10 speed Dura-Ace Di2 if the budget permits this which will permit you to splice and dice the loom safely at will. The wiring diagram for 10 speed Di2 features earlier in this thread.
If by any chance the Ui2 signal wire and ground touch your likely to lose components which is why I would suggest using the original wires and plugs where necessary, but it does seem a larger proportion of Ui2 kit goes up in smoke during modification than Di2 in the enthusiast community

 

[redcard]

Can anyone give an idea how much it would cost to upgrade mechanical Ultegra 10 speed to Ui2 electronic? Parts only - not quite sure what i would need to buy, I guess it would be everything bar the chainset / cassette?

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Your bang on the money, you would need to replace everything bar the chainset/cassette.
If you do your homework your actually in a very good position. Second hand Ultegra sells very well and if you shop around and use the exchange rates and do not in a rush you can get some very good prices on Ultegra Di2 components from the US and Europe. (Germany/France in particular)

 

[redcard]

So we're talking maybe £800-£900 to upgrade at current prices?

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

I would think your looking more towards £700-£800 and then you have to detract from that what you expect to get for your mechanical components should you decide to sell them.

 

[Iceman Aus]

i have thrown the place markers in, as I have quite a bit of info to provide and this will take me a little time ​

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I will also attempt to assist with any questions people have along the way, if anyone else wants to chime in with the answers please do​

Hi I have the Di2 ten speed fitted with external cabling. Battery used to last for over a year, it was great. Got wet a few months back, dried the bike/system off and it still worked fine. Lately the battery has been draining over a few days. I heard that the system is supposed to go into sleep mode? I tried disconnecting the rear derailleur and not riding the bike and the battery seems to last longer. I have cleaned the contacts with contact cleaner and checked the wiring for kinks or pinches. all good. I have tried another battery thinking the battery could be faulty. Same thing.Any suggestions? Thanks for any constructive help/suggestions.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

When you state you have Di2 Im assuming its Dura-Ace (Rather than Ultegra which I refer to as Ui2 for the purpose of this thread) the connectors for Dura-Ace Di2 10 speed are not waterproof as such susceptible to the elements with external wiring more so. If a connector is not pushed in correctly, the wiring damaged or damp or dirty you can get battery drain.. I would advise unplugging every connector in the system one by one and clean, dry and refit. (Inspect the wires as well, to ensure they have not been snagged or damaged) if this resolves your issue I would advise buying some heat shrink tubing from a model shop to make the connectors more resistant to water.
If this does not address your issue I would unplug one component at a time (while the bike is not in use), and see if the battery retains its charge as this will determine which component if any has issues.
Generally the symptoms you describe are cause by a poor connection in the system somewhere or a short.
Ultimately the fastest way to identify the problem is to hook it up to the diagnostic kit.