Ultegra DI2 front right shifter not working....

[E65Ross]

On holiday and, first ride out (very wet, I may add!) and about 4 miles from home my rear mech wouldn't change gear. I stopped, but nothing.....went into my Garmin and changed shift mode to manual then back and it seemed to cure it....but then it happened again and now it's dead as a dodo. Checked on my Garmin and went to set up shifter buttons but it appears it's not recognising the front right shifter.

I didn't bring my di2 charger with me (only here for a week and was fully charged) so can't plug into a laptop so it's at a LBS who will hopefully look at it tomorrow. Any ideas what the cause could be?! Bike was brand new in January and never had a problem. I was wondering whether the rain may have effected it (but shouldn't do!) and perhaps, hopefully, just a cable worked loose when it was in transport or something.

If I don't get the bike back it's kinda going to ruin my holiday a bit, which I did stress to them.

Not happy

[Piginapoke]

Hope you get it sorted. It’s this type of problem that puts me off DI2!

[E65Ross]

Piginapoke said:

Hope you get it sorted. It’s this type of problem that puts me off DI2!

To be fair, I had this with cable on my last holiday..... Rear cable (6 months old) snapped. These things happen and di2 has been far better than cable so far. Bizarre issue today though.

[anonymous-user]

This might be helpful

Points to the possibility of the wire into the shifter being a likely cause

https://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1...

Hope you get it fixed quick, easy & cheap!

[leyorkie]

I’ve got Di2 on my MTB and had problems in the wet with shifting. Lots of WD40 into the shifter cured it.

[E65Ross]

Thanks for thst. Diggers crossed. I'll call the shop tomorrow morning around 11 to see if they've had chance to have a look. Fingers crossed!

[NorthDave]

I had it where the connector came out of the shifter. Easy fix for the bike shop - I hope yours is easy too!

[E65Ross]

NorthDave said:

I had it where the connector came out of the shifter. Easy fix for the bike shop - I hope yours is easy too!

Thank you. It seems this is the likely cause.

It was irritating coming down a 1+ mile 7% average hill and being limited to 6th gear at the back

Fortunately it was only a few miles from finishing so could have been worse! I had planned on a ride tomorrow but that looks unlikely now

[ALawson]

Has your Di2 got the lights on the junction box to check battery levels? Have you pulled out the Di2 cables and put them back in firmly? After a bent rear mech hanger I remove my rear mech now including the cable. It does need a firm push. Also you haven't dropped the bike on the right shifter have you, I damaged a switch which wasn't obvious at the time.

[E65Ross]

ALawson said:

Has your Di2 got the lights on the junction box to check battery levels? Have you pulled out the Di2 cables and put them back in firmly? After a bent rear mech hanger I remove my rear mech now including the cable. It does need a firm push. Also you haven't dropped the bike on the right shifter have you, I damaged a switch which wasn't obvious at the time.

Yes it has the lights on the junction box, although it's a small faff to get to as it's tucked away under the stem in a little slot (Canyon Aeroad), it's one of the reasons I bought the wireless unit so it can talk to my garmin so I can read the battery level accurately.... This is 1 reason I know it's the shifter not the rear mech. It's not shifting up or down, and the right hood button isn't working either (this is used to scroll through my garmin screens on a short press, or stop/start the timer on a long press/hold). Secondly, at one point the bike was in the big ring and 11th gear.... I shifted the to the inner ring and the rear mech automatically shifted into 7th to stop cross-chaining.

Hoping I find out and get the bike back today! I'll be sure to keep you all posted

I'm hoping it's not a randomly broken shifter!

[anonymous-user]

if it is broken, it would be a warranty job wouldn't it?

a bit of a bummer for the holiday though

[E65Ross]

Well....

Bike shop checked connections last night and put it on charge overnight (it wasn't a low battery though.... My garmin said 80% and the front mech worked fine) but they said it worked fine this morning. It has upset the indexing so they're sorting that now but it'll be ready to collect soon.

Sounds like it could be water ingress?! In which case.... Any suggestions on going forward in the future.... I should be able to ride it in the rain! Maybe just some Bilt Hamber Ferrosol (a better version of WD40) around the connectors?

Just a bit worried that I'll go on a ride tomorrow and it'll happen again!

Thanks.

[ALawson]

I have used my (old 11sp Ultegra Di2) in all weathers including biblical storms never had a problem.

It doesn't like ice, but that is because if got bounced of the road! Fingers crossed you haven't got a defective battery, mate of mine had in a new bike. Mine is 3 years old and still going strong, I recall Gruffy had a sudden battery drain on the first day of his TCR (even though it was fully charged).

[E65Ross]

ALawson said:

I have used my (old 11sp Ultegra Di2) in all weathers including biblical storms never had a problem.

It doesn't like ice, but that is because if got bounced of the road! Fingers crossed you haven't got a defective battery, mate of mine had in a new bike. Mine is 3 years old and still going strong, I recall Gruffy had a sudden battery drain on the first day of his TCR (even though it was fully charged).

I'm thinking it was perhaps a dodgy cable connection or ingress. I don't think it's a battery issue because all of the other components were working absolutely fine, it was just that right shifter. I won't know what the cause is because one chap ensured the connectors were in and shoved it on charge and didn't test it (done yesterday) and the one who looked at it today said it was working OK this morning.....so could be loose connection or it dried out.....

Bit weird but I've just tried a load of gear changes and it works absolutely fine. It wasn't QUITE indexed properly so put it into adjustment mode, 2 clicks of the shifter (down the cassette) and it's fine.

Not sure what to think really. Have lost my confidence in it a little, but I'm sure that'll go once I get a few rides done.....more so in the wet to be honest!

What do you reckon? Should I do anything to weather-proof it more? I appreciate I really shouldn't need to though, and it has been ridden in the wet before, although probably not as bad as yesterday.

[Jetblackonetenth]

we use corrosion X to protect electrics from wet in RC cars

http://www.corrosionx.com/corrosionx.html

[E65Ross]

Not sure if it's worth doing..... Or whether I should even be doing it in the 1st place? Water should not be getting into the system, so I'm hoping it was a loose cable but I wasn't told by the shop it was, just someone checked the connections, put it on charge and it worked in the morning.....

What do you guys think? Book it in with LBS at home to double check it for waterproofness?

[anonymous-user]

I would see how it behaves on the rest of the holiday before deciding on any further visits to a bike shop

[E65Ross]

38.5 miles today through a lot of wet roads.... No major rain to speak of but the bike is utterly filthy. I had to jump off at one point as it wouldn't stick in 1st gear (clearly the shop didn't test it....) and had to wind out the low limit screw by 1/4 turn and for the remaining 30 miles the di2 was absolutely faultless.

It's quite hilly here, found a great climb.... 930ft in 2.86 miles

Hopefully the next ride I'll not have to do any adjusting. I think it's fine now.

Now.... Need to clean it!

[ALawson]

I assume your rear mech hanger is still straight? In my experience Di2 once set up never needs to be fettled, its the hanger that is normally responsible for poor shifting, or a badly worn chain.

[E65Ross]

The chap said it looked a little off so he straightened it. Guess he didn't set the limit screw properly afterwards.

I do have a spare hanger at home from when I bought the bike but for the last 30 miles of the ride it was utterly faultless and shifting like it normally does.

Definitely not a worn chain.

It appears that after the mishap the whole di2 system reset, and originally it was set to 52/36 and 11-28 yet I'm running 11-30 so it needed a bit of fettling initially but for the past 9 months it's been fine until that right shifter not working.

Will see it goes tomorrow! I'd be tempted to book it in with my LBS and get them to give it a good once over, check the indexing, check the hanger, check all the connections etc.

What you reckon?

Edited by E65Ross on Tuesday 16th October 16:51