Help!!! wiring my new Ping

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Arno J. Wulfert
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Help!!! wiring my new Ping

Need Help… I just received my Ping 48V20AH Lifepo4 Battery for my brushless BL36… Now it’s time to wire this puppy up… And I want to be extra cautious (too much at stake)… So I’ve got some soldering and wiring to do… I bought a connector that is identical to the stock connector for the BL-36 setup that plugs to the stock 50A controller. I will use it for the battery output. Wiring the charger bothers me most. The connector that comes with the charger is a bit bulky… I might want to hook up something else (Your thoughts…). Below is a portion of the User Guide from Ping to wire the charger and battery output… He sent me the 2A charger (I guess that’s OK, would rather have the 5A). I’m concerned that I get the positive to the positive and the negative to the negative. I have a volt meter. If I plug in the charger and put the positive volt meter prong on the wrong side will it give me a reading? If I don’t get a reading, it will be easy to figure out which side is which with the volt meter? I don’t know enough about electrics. That’s why I’m sending this… There is a picture of the battery and charger with the wiring below Ping’s instructions. I also have an in-line 30Amp fuse I will wire in on the positive output side to the controller. Looks like I have to splice in a positive wire off the big red wire to use for the charger hook up…

You guys that know what you are doing, please advise….

Thanks to all that can help out..

Matt Wulfert (AJW)

Ping’s instructions:

Specification of Charger (2A or 5A)
 Input Voltage: AC100-240Volts
 Output Voltage: DC61Volts (±2%)
 Output Current: 2Amps (±3%) or 5Amps (±3%)
 Polarity of the Connector (face to the connector):

1. Positive
2. Null0
3. Negative
Caution: Please make sure the polarity of the charger connector is corresponding to your battery box or battery pack, positive to charging positive, negative to charging negative. Any mistakes might destroy the battery pack.

Wiring of Battery Output
 RED Wire (Marked): Positive (Charging/Discharging)
 BLUE Wire (Marked, thinner than the other two): Negative (Charging)
 BLACK Wire (Marked): Negative (Discharging)
 RED + thin BLUE: Charging
 RED + BLACK: Discharging (Power Output)
Caution: Please be very careful when connecting these wires to your battery box or electric vehicle. If you don’t understand how to connect, please send mail to pingping227 [at] hotmail.com. Any mistakes in this progress might destroy the battery pack.

100_0599.jpg

gregben
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Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping

I have a volt meter. If I plug in the charger and put the positive volt meter prong on the wrong side will it give me a reading? If I don’t get a reading, it will be easy to figure out which side is which with the volt meter? I don’t know enough about electrics.

It should never harm a DVM/DMM (Digital Volt Meter/Digital Multimeter) to hook it up backwards.

If you have an analog meter with a moving coil it won't hurt it either as long as you put it
on a sufficiently high range, but the meter will "pin" to the left of zero, and not give a useful reading
until you reverse the test leads.

The following assumes you have a DVM/DMM:

1. Make sure the red test lead goes to the red (positive) terminal on the meter. If the meter has more than one red terminal,
you want the voltage input (not current).

2. Make sure the black test lead is plugged into the black (negative) terminal on the
meter.

3. Being very careful not to short the two meter leads together when probing the circuit under test, probe the two
pins on the circuit under test (CUT). It does not matter which test lead goes to what pin.

4. Look at the reading on the meter. If it is a positive number (no negative sign) then the red lead is hooked to the positive terminal
of the CUT. If you get a negative reading (negative sign appears to left of digits) you have the leads
reversed. It simply means the red lead is hooked to the negative terminal of the CUT. At this point you can reverse the
test leads and you should get the same reading, but without the negative sign.

5. Once you get a positive (no negative sign) reading on the meter, the red test lead is hooked to the positive terminal
and the black test lead is hooked to the negative terminal of the CUT.

engr_scotty
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Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping

Need Help… I just received my Ping 48V20AH Lifepo4 Battery for my brushless BL36… Now it’s time to wire this puppy up… And I want to be extra cautious (too much at stake)… So I’ve got some soldering and wiring to do… I bought a connector that is identical to the stock connector for the BL-36 setup that plugs to the stock 50A controller. I will use it for the battery output. Wiring the charger bothers me most. The connector that comes with the charger is a bit bulky… I might want to hook up something else (Your thoughts…). Below is a portion of the User Guide from Ping to wire the charger and battery output… He sent me the 2A charger (I guess that’s OK, would rather have the 5A). I’m concerned that I get the positive to the positive and the negative to the negative. I have a volt meter. If I plug in the charger and put the positive volt meter prong on the wrong side will it give me a reading? If I don’t get a reading, it will be easy to figure out which side is which with the volt meter? I don’t know enough about electrics. That’s why I’m sending this… There is a picture of the battery and charger with the wiring below Ping’s instructions. I also have an in-line 30Amp fuse I will wire in on the positive output side to the controller. Looks like I have to splice in a positive wire off the big red wire to use for the charger hook up…

I'm sure you've already opened up your controller and verified that the caps will handle the new voltage (~60V for a charged 48V Life...)...Now proceed:

Here is a link to another Ping connection thread: http://visforvoltage.org/forum/5020-ping-lifepo-4-questions

Basically, yes, use a voltmeter -- any voltmeter-- to establish what's positive and what's negative on your charger. The controller is pretty simple: Red is positive, Black is negative. That's where the large leads from the Ping will be connected.

For the charger, you'll have to splice a smaller red wire onto the existing "Positive" red wire. The blue "Charge Negative" goes directly to the Neg side of the mating charger connector. See if this helps:

Ping_connections.jpg

Just be really careful and do a lot of sanity checks, etc and you should be fine. A 30-40A fuse inline with your Positive-to-the-Controller line is not a bad idea (purchase at any automotive or boating supply shop).

Enjoy your new Ping! I luv mine :)

Arno J. Wulfert
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Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping

Thanks you guys... Feeling alot more confident in hooking the Ping up.... Scotty, I have not opened my controller. I know its a 50 amp controller and hope it will support the ping... What about the caps... When I looked at a picture of the inside of the controller (somewhere on line?) there was too much going on inside to know what I'm looking at... Do you have something that clearly points out what I am looking for inside the controller? I'm thinking to just take my chances but hate to blow the $140. it will cost at BernsonEV to replace it if it blows...

Cheers,
Matt

Arno J. Wulfert

engr_scotty
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Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping

Thanks you guys... Feeling alot more confident in hooking the Ping up.... Scotty, I have not opened my controller. I'm thinking to just take my chances but hate to blow the $140. it will cost at BernsonEV to replace it if it blows...

Cheers,
Matt

Matt,
I have an older controller and it was just 3 screws to open it up. I suggest you do this, but it may work just fine. There are a lot of opinions out there...Just carefully open it and look at the caps. You may need a magnifying glass too. The big can caps should be rated at at least 63V for any kind of margin. Let us know what you see in there...

The other option is just hooking it up and hoping it works. It may also work for a while, and then blow. I think it's smarter to chk first.

I went thru the same thing on my very old BL-36 pedal first I bought used. Some said "go for it." Others said it would blow. My caps were rated at 50V, and I looked up their data sheet and found they had a surge rating of 63v. I opted on the safe side and bought a pedal first controller from Justin at ebikes.ca. I think the smartest thing to do is just pop it open and look at the caps...they are the big can caps...you can't miss 'em!

Arno J. Wulfert
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Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping

Hey Scotty and Guys,

How happy am I!!!! Got the wiring to the Ping done. Put a volt meter on the connections and all seems good. I'm using an exact match connection to the controller and am using a simular smaller version (bought at the local Auto Zone) to connect the battery to the charger. Have installed a 30Amp in-line fuse connector to the Positive side of the the battery to controller (recommended by several guys at V is for VC) just in case something blows on the ride, etc... below is a picture of the first charge up with the wiring exposed. I used shrink wrap on most of the connections under the tape. I think eventually I'll cut off the stock connector on the charger and just run the Auto Zone directly to the charger. Didn't want to do that yet in case something is weak on the charger while under warranty... Scotty, "you are the man" and I appreciate all your help on this blog and the others you have helped me with... As far as opening the controller and checking the caps, I think I'm going to chance it. Even if it said 50 amps on the caps I wouldn't know enough to check them for the 63 volts high end. If it blows, watch for my blog asking you to help me select a new controller and wire it up... Hope we never see that blog!!!! Check out the wiring, picture below. The in-line fuse has the yellow wires and the smaller connector for the charger is the red/white... I'll be back after some rides (but they are saying rain here for the next couple of days)...

Cheers to all who read and help an E brother out...

Matt100_0602.jpg

Arno J. Wulfert

dogman
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Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping

Good luck. by the time I saw this one the others had you covered. Ecrazyman on ebay seems to be the source for controllers. He has ones that can handle more volts. good prices too.

Just in case you hadn't allready read this, The ping will balance better, especially at first, if you leave it plugged into the charger for a long time. So for the first week or so, leave it plugged in all the time you aren't riding. Apparently, even after the green light goes on, and no longer goes back to red and back to green, balancing is still happening while the green light is on. When the light is green the charger is still trickle charging, and leaving it plugged in won't hurt the cells. Go ahead and ride when you want, just leave it charging a lot at first to break in the pack. After the first ten cycles or so, others tell me to leave it charging for a long period once a week or so to fully balance it.

Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global

Arno J. Wulfert
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Points: 94
Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping

Thanks Dogman,

You are always "in the game".. I will leave it plugged in... Unplugged it before I left for work this morning (raining/in the truck).. I'll plug it back in when I get home... The charger was working according to Ping's instructions (on/off, on/off, on/off...) so it looks like all is well with the charger... Can't wait to take that firs ride... Rain again tomorrow... ARG!!!

I'll be back to you guys to help me pick out the right replacement if the controller blows... Changed my mind, going to try and look inside it tonight and see what the caps say, If I can figure it out...)

Cheers to All,
Matt

Arno J. Wulfert

Arno J. Wulfert
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Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping

Hey Dogman,

I went to Ecrazyman on Ebay and he has "buy it now" prices very cheap... Could you look at what he has and advise me which one to buy? If you could describe it with the price he is asking, I'm thinking I may go ahead and buy it (soooooooo cheap!!!) Then I may be back begging for help to connect it to the wilderness BL-36 if the wires don't match!!!!

Cheers,
Matt

Arno J. Wulfert

dogman
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Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping

Now we are getting over my head technically, but I'll take a look at em. I'd say ask Link, but now I see on his thread on the sphere that he is thinking about going to the We 50 amp brushless controller himself! Now I'm really confused. In any case over at the endless sphere there is a long thread about connecting these controllers, known there as schezen controllers, in the ebikes tech section.

Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global

dogman
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Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping

I only see one 48v brushless controller on ecrasyman's store right now. 48v 600 watt. However, here is where I'm clueless. The new BL36 is a sensorless motor, no hall sensors, so it may be that this controller wouldn't work since it is made for motors that have hall sensors. I really don't have a clue about that. I'm not an electronics whiz at all, just a guy who trys to translate some of this into english, or pass on what I read elsewhere. If your WE controller does fry, maybe Justin at ebikesca could fix you up with something, but not at ecrazyman prices. Hopefully the newer bl36 controller will be able to take the volts. If it has run ok on 36v for awhile it at least was a good one and you will know that it wasn't just a bad controller if it fries.

Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global

Arno J. Wulfert
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Points: 94
Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping

Hey Dogman, Scotty, All,

I'm Good to Go... YAAA HOOO!!! In fact, I just went... Just got back from the first run with the new Ping. I pulled the cover on my stock 50 Amp controller before the test run and found the larger cylinders inside the controller read 63 Volts on the side... From what I gather, I think that means the controller is going to work and not blow up....

How happy am I.... The ride was great. Road around the neighborhood for about 4-5 miles, dodging rush hour traffic with a break in today's ran and a little sun before I left... The streets were mostly dry... This ping puppy roles... I did find on the larger hills the bike still wants some pedal to keep up any speed but there is a noticeable difference from the stock 36 volt SLA set up...

Got some pictures right before dark and am posting a new message with the pics. Check them out...

You guys and all on this site that feed info back and forth are great..

Cheers,
Matt

Arno J. Wulfert

engr_scotty
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Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping

Hey Dogman, Scotty, All,

I'm Good to Go... YAAA HOOO!!! In fact, I just went... Just got back from the first run with the new Ping. I pulled the cover on my stock 50 Amp controller before the test run and found the larger cylinders inside the controller read 63 Volts on the side... From what I gather, I think that means the controller is going to work and not blow up....

Cheers,
Matt

Congrats Matt! I'm really glad you opened up the controller. Best safe rather than smoke! 63V caps should give you about 3V margin on a full charge. The FETs are probably spec'd at 55V, but that is a bottom sigma, so they are more realistically rated 65V before any fear of breakdown, so you are good (probably) for the long haul. Be aware that you *are* running lower margin than at 36V, so stress may take it's toll... but for now, have a blast!

Yes get some pics. How fast does it go on the flats? Yeah, I suspect that a bit of pedaling is in order up hills..hey, it's not a 5-series Clyte after all!...enjoy!

dogman
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Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping

Excellent! Every time I climb my big hill I think, why didn't I get the 48v.

Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global

allanoue
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Re: Help!!! wiring my new Ping
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