I got this e bike from a friend and when i got it the batteries were all swollen and busted and disfigured basicly fubar. I decided to finally spend the money on new batteries so i went and picked some up, wired it just like the old ones were. The only thing i was a little unsure about was the connector for the battery back had broke during the batteries swelling up and i had to canabalize one from a broken pc power supply i had sitting around. I found a wiring diagram for the xb 500 on google and wired it according to that. When i plugged it into the bike i saw a spark come from the rear left side of the bike....im thinking maybe the diagram was wrong and i fried something.....any advice?
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I forgot to ad the key was off...thx =)
Yikes! Sorry, bro. I have an XB-600, so I'm not sure if the wiring is the same, but on mine there's a 20 amp fuse on that side of the bike (in a clear plastic case). That's the only thing I can think of that would create a spark bright enough to be seen. Most other things are sealed or blade-type fuses. If something made that much of a spark there should be evidence. Take the seat pan off the bike (usually 4 screws) and inspect the wires coming off the controller. Look for arcing and check the fuses. Sorry my advice is generic, since I'm not sure if the 500 and 600 match up, but clearly something isn't wired correctly.
Was there any electrical smell with the *spark*? And did you unhook the new battery pack?
Also, (after you unhook the battery pack) put the key into the bike and turn it to the on position. This will discharge the capacitors. Usually the needle gauge will make a tiny jerk -- which is the discharge, THEN start investigating the wires.
Other than that, it's hard to know what to say without more info. Good luck. (but save those batteries until you figure out the wiring problem, don't hook them back up).
No smell and i unhooked it immeadiately....i turned the key a few times and nothing...ive read in a few places that these things spark sometimes when u hook up the battey pack after they have been sitting for awhile but i turned the key with the batt pluged in and nothing however i never put it on the charger but i would think new batteriez would have some kind of charge on them to at least light up the speedo...i unplugged it right after and am going to remove the seat pan later today.....worst case...if i did somehow reverse the polarity of the pack to the bike what would fry???? OH BEFORE I FORGET NO BURNING SMELL!!
Yes, new batteries will have some charge in them.
It isn't clear whether you inspected the area the spark was in. If you remove the plastic in that area and look underneath do you see any scorching, any destroyed parts, like a blown fuse?
The sparking when connecting batteries up the first time has to do with putting a charge into capacitors in the charger. I can't imagine that would be such a bright spark.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
I have not put a charger to it yet so i either have it wired backwards or it developed a short from sitting in my back yarx for a few monthes... I will pull the plastic when i get home to see what fried and will update this post once i open the bike up tonight.....thanks for the response' guys!
I pulled the seat pan and all of the visable wireing looks good. The cable that plugs into the battery pack seems to rrun forwards which means im going to have to pull more fairings off. Where is the 30 amp fuse and controller located? I think thats where i have to check next and i guess if i chase the power cord down ill find it? I will continue pulling the plastics off tomorrow i lost light today...
So i pulled most of the plastics off found the fuses in the front of the bike and the 30amp was blown. I double checked the wireing diagram and i wired it right.... The only thing that seems suspect to me is that i dont think i protected my solder conections well enough and maybe they grounded out somewhere. does anyone have a picture of the battery pack connector that shows how it is supposed to be wired? Hopefully the fuse blowing protected all of the electronic components. Thanks again for the help guys.
Well, wiring like it was doesn't mean it's right. We had a case just this week where a customer "repaired" the bike after the charger port had "fallen" off. Well since nothing is marked he just decided to hook something up to somewhere, I guess. So don't assume that the way it was is the way it should be. Can't Extreme simply email a schematic? They should supply it, you shouldn't have to flounder around on the net hoping someome has mapped it for you. I guess my rather sarcastic question/point is: Why does anybody buy anything from this company given their seemingly total lack of customer support. I know yours was second hand, but why would you buy something that has this kind of reputation?
JTH/Amp Brothers Electric Cycles/MI
I got mine for free :)! I did have to pay for the batteries though... I ended up taking a good look at how the charging plug was wired under the front of the seat and realized it was backwards from how i wired my battery pack. I pulled the pack out reversed the wires and now everything is working as it should. THANK GOD I DIDNT FRY ANYTHING!!!!! I tested everything and lights throttle and all of it are working perfect. How long should i charge it and will the LED on the charger turn green when it is full? Thanks again.
How long should you charge it, how long will it take for the light to turn green?
It varies, but...
The LED on the charger *should* turn green on its own -- however -- if this is the stock charger that came with the bike (from X-Treme) then be careful. They are known to have charging-stage issues. Which means it will not stop and continue to pump amps into the battery pack until it damages the batteries (swelling, gas escaping, over heating, sulfur smell, et.). This usually happens when the battery pack is unbalanced. A voltage meter test on each individual battery will tell you the real story. But if that's all good and you're depending on only the charger then be careful. Try this:
Physically check the temperature of the batteries. Make sure they are not hot to the touch, or even very warm. If it has been several hours (4+) and the light is still red then unplug the charger from the bike. The light on the charger should go to *green*. Wait about 20-30 seconds and plug the charger back to the bike. If it immediately goes back to red again then the batteries still need charging. If it stays green after plugging it back up then the bike is okay and the charger has a problem.
Sometimes the light stays green for a few minutes and then kicks back to red for more charging (the float charge) But a bad charger may not know the difference and try and cook your batteries. So be careful not to leave it on all day or all night -- until you replace the charger with a better brand.
First: congratulations on getting the scoot going! (You do know that you'll need 48V headlight bulbs, don't you?)
You should also be monitoring the charge voltage with a digital voltmeter. I would also recommend monitoring amp draw of the charger with a Kill-a-Watt household power meter or an installed Cycle Analyst meter (you will love it). Once peak voltage is reached, the charger should start tapering off its charge current while keeping the voltage steady at the maximum point.
As I've said before on other threads, it is worth the trouble to rewire the pack as series / parallel. Then you can charge the pack in balance with a good 12V charger.
Mark