bought my kit from batteryspace. went through 4 chargers in as many months. living in alaska and went from bike to trike as the the weather changed. when i got the trike setup i found the power would only last for about 3-5 seconds then read empty on the thumb throttle. but the tester says its charged. and the charger also. so what should i look at next?. and how??. thanks Bebob.
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Support V is for Voltage
No suprise about the chargers, WE seems to have had a big batch of defective ones last year. Fortunately the controllers seem to have been better. Do you ride around with the charger? I destroyed at least one that way, and had to resolder the output wires on another. If you get a bad connection on the output side, the green light goes on, just like it does if the battery is fully charged. I had an intermittent bad connection and kept riding off thinking I had a full charge when I didn't, till I looked inside the charger. So it's possible you have a similar problem, at the charger, the plug, or the charger wire connection to the pack.
The other, more likely possiblility, is in alaska in december, your sla batteries are just to cold to perform well. And they may be close to the end of thier lifespan anyway if you have ridden more than 100 cycles. They could be only lasting that long if you have done any less optimum use, such as riding to work, riding home and then charging instead of charging at work. Sla really wants that recharge right away. Even with good batteries, they will perform a lot less, like lots less range in the cold. Just like the car starter batteries do.
Reading your post again, did this problem start immediately after switching the motor to the trike? If that is the case, are you sure the battery pack is wired right? Maybe something wrong with the polarity on a battery? If you have a voltmeter, do you get something between 36-44 volts on the wires that go into the controller? Maybe just a bad connection to the controller? Bad connection between one of the battery connectors and the wires? The throttle may not be getting full voltage for some reason. Usually if something is up with the pack wires, you get no current at all though, so what you describe is kinda odd, something I haven't experienced.
Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global
One other possibility I just thought of, is a problem in the motor itself, particularly in the wires to the hub. You might check that by unplugging that connector on the fork and see if anything changes, and check the voltage there when the trottle is moved. Lastly there could be a controller problem, but you tend to know when that happens by the smell when they fry. Maybe look in there and see if anything looks scorched. I'm not the expert if the problem is in there, all I know is buy another if that is it.
Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global
dogman. i have a li-ion 36v system that i havenot altered in any way as yet. after three new chargers Batteryspace asked for my battery and charger and i sent it to them they sent my batt back with new charger. it worked on the trike for about three days. then it just dies?? i put the meter on it and it says 40+volts i know the batt has power. but is it the controller or the throttle? i did put the controler in a sealed plastic bag as we have much rain here on the peninsula could this be a part of the problem?? perhaps i should put controller in the house to dry out??
I have the same set-up and can attest to controller failures; twice! Not similar symptoms but ultimately, the only thing that worked from my batteryspace.com kit was the motor. My Shenzhen controller from ecrazyman has been flawless. I thought all brushed controllers were near bullet proof but not so. As an aside, the Crystalite thumb throttle is so much nicer than the WE..
Perhaps your batt voltage reads OK but the cells aren't truly balanced and one is weak?
thanks for that alnvilma. i suspect it was the cold and the bumpy bikepath=down controller.:( i will look into ecrazyman. think i will open it up anyway cant hurt to look?.
Maybe the battery has less than 40v under load? I have found that when the controller amp limit cuts out, it's like bam, off. But if the battery bms cuts off, it is just a bit softer, and I can feel the difference. The bms cutoff is softer because it takes a half second to drain the caps in the controller. Be nice if you had a spare controller to test with. Might be worth buying another for eventual use even if it does turn out to be a battery problem.
Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global
Thanks Dogman. i looked inside the controler and saw nothing to indicate some thing amiss. but let it sit inside for a day then put back on trike and-still the same dies after three or five seconds. but if i pickup the wheel and start slow then build to full throtle it keeps running!. anyway i will buy new controller for 48v or more and new throtle and new batts and go from there. i think it could be batt but cant lay out $ as yet to find out. wish someone else in town had same setup, but not. oh yeah when it dies if i unplug batt and plugin again it sparks to fill controler and works. then it dies. after all the trials i have been through with charger and all this i want GOOD equipment. ah live and learn. Bob.
That does make it sound more like a battery problem. A fried controller will never work, not likely to partially work.
Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global
Bob,
Instead of buying a complete new system try buying just batteries, then a new charger, then the controller, then a motor. This could save you some dollars if say the batteries work then you don't have to buy all the other parts.
I would guess your batteries are fine and I would be looking at the charger first.
Grandpa Chas S.
Grandpa Chas. thanks for your insight. I just rebuilt an old 24v hub for a friend. seems the thing must have been in salt water at some point. well i replaced all the bearings and had to drive out the brushes cleaned all the magnets of debris.cleaned brush guides. I think it will work but yet to test will let you know. i want to put this thing to 48v real soon. well soon as we get new controler. I will use his new batts to see if my batt is at fault. I hate to think that my $400 batt is bad in 4 months. li-ion from batteryspace. with all the problems with the charger. i just dont want to deal with them anymore. I want to find a good setup for working in this cold climate of alaska. I want to make a trike for seniors to use to get to the store. and i think the li-ion works in the cold. as far as i have used it. trikes are safer than walking on the ice. gotta think of those broken hips! so any help you got really goes a long way.. thanks Bob.