Wahoo Elemnt Bolt v2 slow charging? Cause and solution!

[ColinJ]

I bought an Elemnt Bolt v2 from @Milzy and have generally been very pleased with it. One thing that seemed very odd though was how long it was taking to charge. It was taking 8-10 hours to put 40-50% into its small battery using a charger which could charge the much larger battery in my phone 10 times faster. Something was clearly wrong...

I discovered the cause of the problem last night, and the solution to it. I was then able to charge by 80% in under 2 hours. I am not sure exactly how long that took because I forgot to keep an eye on it!

The device has a USB-C socket so the obvious thing to do is to plug a USB-C to USB-C cable into a USB-C charger. That apparently can be the source of problems because the Bolt's charging circuitry is not fully USB-C compliant. Some USB-C cables and/or chargers will not work at all and some will not work properly. The answer is to charge from a USB-A charging socket using a USB-A to USB-C cable.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Solution - buy a Garmin

 

[geocycle]

Thanks for that Colin, I’ve always used a standard USB to USB-C cable with my Bolt 2 and it’s always been super quick. Its useful to know that different cable formats can make a big difference.

 

[Milzy]

Solution - buy a Garmin

I did. A 1040 and the battery lasts for many hours. Can charge every few weeks.

 

[ColinJ]

I did. A 1040 and the battery lasts for many hours. Can charge every few weeks.

The fully charged Bolt lasts longer than any one ride that I am likely to do in the future, and probably 2+weeks of my normal riding, though I do usually recharge it once it is below 50% after a ride.

 

[PaulSB]

I bought an Elemnt Bolt v2 from @Milzy and have generally been very pleased with it. One thing that seemed very odd though was how long it was taking to charge. It was taking 8-10 hours to put 40-50% into its small battery using a charger which could charge the much larger battery in my phone 10 times faster. Something was clearly wrong...

I discovered the cause of the problem last night, and the solution to it. I was then able to charge by 80% in under 2 hours. I am not sure exactly how long that took because I forgot to keep an eye on it!

The device has a USB-C socket so the obvious thing to do is to plug a USB-C to USB-C cable into a USB-C charger. That apparently can be the source of problems because the Bolt's charging circuitry is not fully USB-C compliant. Some USB-C cables and/or chargers will not work at all and some will not work properly. The answer is to charge from a USB-A charging socket using a USB-A to USB-C cable.

This has been standard, and still, is for most devices for some time. From what I've seen it's only phones that benefit from USB-C cables and chargers combined. With phones the difference between that and USB-A is significant.

 

[ColinJ]

This has been standard, and still, is for most devices for some time. From what I've seen it's only phones that benefit from USB-C cables and chargers combined. With phones the difference between that and USB-A is significant.

I just read articles on Wikipedia about USB-C standards. They are much more complicated than I thought they would be!

Anyway... Now I know how to charge the device quickly. I pinched the lead from my wireless phone charger to confirm that a USB-A to USB-C was needed. I don't want to have to do that repeatedly so I will buy another lead tomorrow.

 

[Webbo2]

I have a Bolt v2 and having had to buy USB c plug thing from Tescos so I could charge the matching heart rate monitor. I always charge the bolt through that. Seems to do it very quickly. Although I suspect it won’t anymore once I post this.😱

 

[Domus]

My Roam v1 would not charge last year on the Fridays tour. Bought a new cable and all was well again.

 

[ColinJ]

My Roam v1 would not charge last year on the Fridays tour. Bought a new cable and all was well again.

My cable and charger are definitely ok because I charged my tablet with them this afternoon. The Bolt doesn't like the combination and just trickle charges.

 

[steveindenmark]

I have the Garmin 1030, the Karoo 2 and 3 Wahoo Bolts V2 because they were very cheap. For ease of use and reliability, I would take the Wahoo Bolts every time.

Your charging problem will be one of 3 things.

1. The lead you are using
2. The charging port
3. The Bolts battery

My guess would be the charging port.

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

If you really want fantastic battery life then you need the COROS Dura. It’s gone three months on a single charge so far.

 

[ColinJ]

I have the Garmin 1030, the Karoo 2 and 3 Wahoo Bolts V2 because they were very cheap. For ease of use and reliability, I would take the Wahoo Bolts every time.

Your charging problem will be one of 3 things.

1. The lead you are using
2. The charging port
3. The Bolts battery

My guess would be the charging port.

It looks like my Bolt is one from an early production run. Wahoo say that later ones did not suffer from the problem ...

 

[steveindenmark]

It looks like my Bolt is one from an early production run. Wahoo say that later ones did not suffer from the problem ...

View attachment 770053

I am not sure when mine are from. But I have had that problem. Changing the lead or power port solved it.

 

[ColinJ]

If you really want fantastic battery life then you need the COROS Dura. It’s gone three months on a single charge so far.

Solar powered... IN SCOTLAND!!!!






Yes, I know that the sun does occasionally shine up there... I had a fantastic week in the Oban area in the autumn last year, but my local cousin told me that it had rained nearly every day of the year upto that week.

Anyway, I don’t need fantastic battery life - 15+ hours is fine for me! I just needed to be able to charge my GPS device in an hour or so rather than a day or so, and now I can.