xm3k dead, need help
Hi folks,
I'm a newbie with xm3k as my first escoot.
Received xm3k on July 7, other than cosmetic problems: broken panels, missing handcup,
ripped seat cover, the xm3k seemed ok.
after initial inspection and tighten some nuts/bolts, executed John H. recommendation of charging/ride 1-2 miles;
charge and ride. Worked great.
on the fourth and longer ride, 5 miles with some hills, the scoot had problem climing some hills, though the battery
meter was still in the green zone; which is not unexpected.
on the last hill, tried with speed switch set to "1", it has been on "0" all this time. The xm3 seems to have more pep
but stopped after about 300 yards. Controller was very warm and the motor was too hot to leave my hands for more than a
few seconds. I tried to restart, nothing happened except for a lurching sound from the motor. I thought may be there is a
thermal shut off.
push scoot home, put on charger and center stand. The scoot is still dead, with the lurching/locking sound in the motor when
turned on. The rear wheel actually moved/lurched slightly then dead. The manual mentioned on page 2, item 2) about some auto
cut off to avoid over heat and to press red button to restart. Nothing different happened.
checked throttle and hall sensors voltage as illustrated at www.revevllc.com/troubleshoot.php
All voltages are present as documented.
The controller is very suspicious, as the slight lurch at turning on is either forward or backward rotation depending on the position of the wheel.
Any suggestion what to do should next ? I will contact xtreme in parallel.
Thanks in advance,
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Comments
Re: xm3k dead, need help
I have very similar symptoms a while back with my E-Moto and after tons of troubleshooting it turned out to be a blown controller...actually it was a controller with a blown something inside that went on to blow a bunch of things. But identical motor behavior...
Vinnie
Broomfield, CO
Re: xm3k dead, need help
ScooterTech responded on his forum: http://www.voltsrider.net/vr/forum_posts.asp?TID=86&SID=e846bfb7fbb9823z142487b44ea38f41
When you say that you tested the Hall sensors did you see the voltage go from high to low several times or did you just see low and high once? It appears that the Hall sensors will work for one cycle after being "rebooted" (thanks for the info Tracy).
John H. Founder of Current Motor Company - opinions on this site belong to me; not to my employer
Remember: " 'lectric for local. diesel for distance" - JTH, Amp Bros || "No Gas.
Re: xm3k dead, need help
This morning I checked the HAL sensors again per ScooterTech and JH suggestions, here is the result:
switching on while spinning rear wheel did not apply enough detectable stopping on wheel, hit throttle once, check HALS
All HAL sensors still showed volt variation after multiple revolution. None was "locked" at 5v constant. One thing was different is that the lurch/engaging sound doesn't occur while spinning wheel and switching on, but the sound comes on upon hitting the throttle.
So may it is the controller ?
By the way, it was surprising to feel so much drag on the rear disc brake. I had to separate the brake pads in order to get the wheel to spin.
thanks
Re: xm3k dead, need help
I'm not sure of the relation, if any, but my E-Moto exhibited that brake issue as well. Based on my limited experiences, and despite the lengthy statement of certainty from usatracy-turned-ScooterTech that it is a bad Hall Sensor, I stick to my hypothesis that a component is blown/malfunctioning within the controller. I would call X-Treme and get a replacement.
Vinnie
Broomfield, CO
Re: xm3k dead, need help
update,
got a call from Xtreme to send back the motor & controller; but I thought to check the switch first as suggested by ScooterTech. It took a while to figure out how to remove the front plastic cover to get to the back of the ignition switch.
There are 4 or 5 wires coming out of the switch, but the mating is only 2 wires. I checked continuity ok, and short it out with a wire. The lurching persisted. I also checked the Hall sensor molex connectors, no bend pins. It did occur to me about the potential bad connection, so when I performed the Hall sensors check, I stuck the voltmeter leads on the controller's side of the molex connector.
Re: xm3k dead, need help
Keep us posted on how this turns out. Having gone through all the same tests when trying to diagnose my version of this problem I started to question the validity of all the tests I was performing at the advice of several different folks on the forum. What I have ultimately found, is that the true test lies not in the multimeter and trying to rationalize the readings, but rather to replace parts when possible, albeit an difficult or expensive endeavor at times. I am of the opinion that if X-Treme replaces the parts, take advantage of that while the opportunity is there.
I once had a throttle that gave all the right readings, per the multimeter and other testing instructions, but still had a poor motor response problem. I spent many hours taking readings and doing many other little tests. Ultimately, I asked the distributor to send me a replacement throttle so I could 100% eliminate it as the culprit and, low and behold, problem instantly solved.
Of course this doesn't mean anything other than no one person, no one test, no one method is 100% when diagnosing problems.
So yeah, keep us posted on the results here. The more we can document start to finish, the better!
Cheers!
Vinnie
Broomfield, CO
Re: xm3k dead, need help
i finally get sometimes to remove the motor and controller. ScooterTech was right about how fragile the Hall sensor wirings are, going into the motor axis.
I can see how the insulation will eventually rub off and short to the sharp edge on the axis. At least a sleeve of some sort is needed there.
here's a picture of the motor & controller, they are pretty heavy, around 40-lbs, I wonder if Xtreme will pay the shipping.
xm3k_motor_controller.jpg (45.79 KB)
if i keep this up, i may have to relinquish my "newb" status.