odd gear noises

[Drewi216]

when my i2 is in RBM and i am moving it, it makes odd rattling (sp?) noises. It also does thes when one of the wheels goes from forward to reverse, or when i am moving less than one mph in one direction, does any one elses segway do this?

[BillK]

I think that your question is: When I am not standing on the Seg (an I2) and I am moving it under power, I get a "rattling" sound.

If that is your question then it is behaving normally and you are getting "stick shake". The Seg is telling you that it does not like traveling as fast as you are moving it without someone standing on it. Your only option is to move it much slower so that you do not trigger this response in the Seg.

The speed at which this occurs is too low for MY standards as well as it makes it very difficult to move it with the power on in public without making it look like you are mistreating the machine.

If I have misunderstood your question, I apologize and will stay in lurk mode.
Bill

[Drewi216]

you forgiven lol, its not the sitck shake warning, this is more subtle, its more along the lines of a gnashing rattling noise, i know that the RBM speed limit is very low, but i am talking about barely moving the machine

[Drewi216]

let me elaborate on this, im not going from top speed to reverse, i am saying from a dead stop, slightly moving forward and backwards generates the same noise, it sounds like the gears have to much play inbetween there teeth and i can hear them catching on each other, but the way the gears in the segway are made contradict this fact (the swiss "watch" gears that slide on each other), and the other I2's that i have seen do not do this

[JIO]

When I had odd gearbox noises, this was my solution....

http://forums.segwaychat.com/showthread.php?t=16022

http://forums.segwaychat.com/showthread.php?t=16402

[bentbiker]

When I had odd gearbox noises, this was my solution....

http://forums.segwaychat.com/showthread.php?t=16022

http://forums.segwaychat.com/showthread.php?t=16402
Jio, the old pictures have evidently been moved, resulting in dead links. Could you load them onto SC and post again?

Did you ever have to actually install the replacement parts from INC, or did the cleaning and rotation of the old elastomeric coupling continue to work well? Does the coupling lift off easily?

[sholloway]

It is very typical for a new owner to get the machine home and then call me saying they are hearing "the rattles". In other posts you may read about rattling that is "loud" and "embarrassing" and that is certainly trouble. If you're hearing subtle rattles while standing almost still I think this is completely normal and most all machines do it. When you were testing the machine you were probably excited and not paying any attention at all to the sounds or maybe there was a radio on or street noise. Most new owners in my experience have noticed what you're noticing and it is completely fine.

[hellphish]

The rattle you are hearing is called gear lash, or backlash. You can learn more here. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backlash_%28engineering%29)

The gist of it is that there is a gap between the gear teeth and when the motors rapidly change the direction of torque, the gap is closed causing a little click or rattle.

[Drewi216]

would this also be true for moving only in one direction? i know the segway rapidly apllies and removes power to the motors, would that be the cause,,... turn up the volume (this is the first time i have embeded a video, forgive me if this doesnt turn out right) <object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XIPWz_VxpJU"> </param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XIPWz_VxpJU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"> </embed> </object>

[Drewi216]

srry bout that, here is a link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIPWz_VxpJU

[CovRob]

Yuk! Now that doesn't sound right...reminds me of when I pick up a small stone when gliding and it runs round for a moment trapped between the tyre & the fender. Is there anything wedged in that space?

[hellphish]

It sounds completely normal to me, save for the poor audio quality in the video.

would this also be true for moving only in one direction? i know the segway rapidly apllies and removes power to the motors, would that be the cause?

Yes, it is true even if you are moving in one direction. Similar to if you were to walk forward on foot, your ankles would be rapidly making adjustments to your feet to keep yourself up.

[Drewi216]

no, there is nothing wedged in between the tire and the fender. Poor audio quality?!? that noise is my segway not my camera, the vibration produced by the rattling noise is enough to cause my fenders to resonate, i am sorry, but i cannot call that normal. ( I am sorry if i am coming across as arrogant, and single minded)

[KSagal]

I have ridden many machines, and they all have their own sound... Unfortunately, I am at work and cannot listen to any recording...

Normal gear slap will be most pronounced in shifts of direction, but with so much else happening, that may not be the easiest time to hear it...

Next most pronounced, would be while gliding in one direction, while leaning forward and then straight, forward and then straight... Kind of like what you would feel if you pumped the accelerator in your car the way you might pump the brake pedal...

Normal gear slap will be easiest to hear if you are 'on' forward, then 'off' forward, then 'on' ... you get my message. This is not because there is more slap, but because there is less everything else...

If you truely had a problem, it should manifest itself more aggressively as you glide more aggressively. If the gears are not meshing properly, that will only be worse at high speeds... Harder to hear, but more important, and surely able to be felt.

You very well may have a problem, I am just trying to give a bit of context to this issue...

I would do my best to pay very particular attention to another machine, and compare them side by side. While each machine has a different sound, broken surely acts and sounds different than not broken...

Good luck with this...

[sholloway]

of course I can't be sure from just that video but that sounds more like the "embarrassing" sounds I was talking about. The one we had that did it would be quiet for about 5 minutes and then start making a rather loud "grinding" noise that sounds kinda like your video. When I spoke with Segway that said something was certainly wrong and if I remember correctly it was still "safe" to ride it briefly but the noise would simply get worse and worse and would need to be repaired. I assume this will get worse but if it is loud enough to hear from more than 10 feet away or so with any sort of room noise I would say that is not normal. Check with your nearest dealer.

[segsurfer]

My i2 seems to have an interesting sound to it as well. I use interesting rather than ominous because it sounds more trivial than anything else, I'm thinking that my fender might be rubbing, as I might've picked up something in the fender during my travels . I dunno. Still have like 11 months of warranty left so I'm not really worried.
-segsurfer

[polo_pro]

You could always swap tires from side to side if you thought there was a stone caught in the wheel (or something was rubbing on the fender). It'd also give you a chance to look at everything closely.

I have a set of aftermarket knobbies, and there's less than a mm of room between them and the fenders. If you really want to hear strange sounds come from your segway, push one of my fenders down a little. My fellow polo players laugh because when Eeyore occasionally will start braying non-stop, and they can hear me approaching from behind!

We've joked about this sound like the theme from Jaws....

[Drewi216]

i will try switching the wheels from side to side and see what happens, but i have stock tires on the rim, so i couldnt see something getting hung up in there

[hellphish]

I'll just go ahead and mention again that this sounds completely normal to me.

[BringOnI2]

That's the exact sound my i180 makes at the same extra slow speed, more noticeable in power assist mode, and disappears when I increase the speed.
It's done that from day one, and hasn't worsened at all in the two years I've had it.

[bodyelectric]

i have six i2's - they all make this noise when moved slowly - it is completely normal....

cheers
rabbit

[Drewi216]

my segway dealer listened to the noise, she called the mother ship, and they are sending a repair kit.

[Glideslope]

Ok, a little gear lash is normal, but this sound ain't right. Sounds like one or more cogs are stripped to me. If you are standing on a Seg and slowly move back and forth you should hear the gear "sloping" in between each tooth. If you have listened to the stick shake and isolate one "click" then that is what mine sounds like (and others I have ridden). Yours sounds like serious gear slippage or pieces that have broken off and are now grinding in the gear box. Suggest you go to the dealer and ride several rental units in the store and listen to the sound they make. As was said before, each Seg has its own sound. I have noted that the sound when running runs the gamut from whine to low pitched grown, but never the stripped gear sound in your video. Hope this helps.

[polo_pro]

Ok, a little gear lash is normal, but this sound ain't right. Sounds like one or more cogs are stripped to me. If you are standing on a Seg and slowly move back and forth you should hear the gear "sloping" in between each tooth. If you have listened to the stick shake and isolate one "click" then that is what mine sounds like (and others I have ridden). Yours sounds like serious gear slippage or pieces that have broken off and are now grinding in the gear box. Suggest you go to the dealer and ride several rental units in the store and listen to the sound they make. As was said before, each Seg has its own sound. I have noted that the sound when running runs the gamut from whine to low pitched grown, but never the stripped gear sound in your video. Hope this helps.

I agree...this is a fair bit louder than it should be. I wonder if this would be apparent if some other sound was in the video. Something that everyone would recognize as a standard loudness, like a telephone ringing.

By the way, my instinct tell me to have you pull the offending gearbox off and look at the coupler. You just have to pull a few screws off and check around for shredded white plastic.

[wwhopper]

You can have two I-2's or 2 I-180's and they will all make sounds different from the other one.

It is best to have a Segway Dealer Service proffessional look at (or in this case listen to) the sound to determine if it needs attention.

[JIO]

I don't have the pictures of the coupler with me as I'm in Hawaii on vacation. INC sent me the new couplers and I have them saved. I took apart the gearbox, cleaned out all the plastic shavings, and re-installed everything. The noise went away. It seems that simple rotation of the gears to a different position, does it.

It is quite easy to take it all apart. It did take some banging with a rubber mallet to separate the case and also to pound it back down in place. You will need a torx socket to remove the screws holding the case together as they are on quite tight.

[Drewi216]

They are sending my dealer a repair kit, she didnt go into detail of its contents though

[Jendrik]

...this sound a bit strange for me, too... none of our machines make such a noise... perhaps you could post a longer video so we can re-check it...

[Drewi216]

ok, i will post a longer video soon

[Pawsboy]

I've found the topic of gear noise interesting. I've "listened" to my i2 get increasingly louder after the 500 mile mark. Now at 1100 it's at and embarassing level. I'm fairly certain it's the gears involved with the regenerative braking. In other words going down a hill it's very pronounced, but when accelerating...nothing. And it does seem worse if not isolated to the left wheel. And as someone else said, it sounds like the plastic fender is amplifying it.

But I should be telling this to my dealer and not you fine folks.....

[serrow]

Drew, where's that video? I hit a wall recently and cant remember if i had noises like this before? or just now.