Hi all,
After thinking and waiting for a long long time, I finally came across a deal I couldn't turn down: an Aerovironment "Charger" on craigslist for $50! It is in pretty poor condition (rust, etc.) and as of right now I have no idea whether the electronics work. After replacing the 10-year-old batteries I will see if I can get it going again. What I am worried about right now is that these bikes require some sort of PIN code to turn on. The guy who sold it to me had never actually used the bike and I have no idea what the PIN is. Does anyone know how to set, bypass, test, or break the PIN code system? Any other tips would be appreciated as well.
Thanks,
-Klaus
Now you know why it was so inexpensive.
The bike is described as "complex" electronicaly, but appears to be "obsolete". Seems like no current site or support for it.
CAREFULLY disconnect the battery and gently take apart the controller box. Show the whole "gut-exposed" mess to somebody with a lot of electronics trouble-shooting experience.
There might be a reset, a pin-memory backup battery, or a way to bypass the PIN interlock.
Maybe take some good, well lit, in-focus, high resolution, closeup pictures, post them somewhere, and post some links here.
Or, use it for an exercise bike!
Cheers, Gary
XM-5000Li, wired for cell voltage measuring and logging.
The Charger bike has a custom electronics board which is both battery charger and controller. It's been a couple years since I last looked at it, but the board looked to me very obtuse and I don't think there was any obvious reset or anything like garygid suggested.
I ended up replacing the controller with one made by 4QD (they're based in the UK). My Charger now has a throttle on the handlebar etc. The hardest part was to figure out how to change the bottom bracket to one that freewheels.
This has to do with the mechanics of the motor & how it drives the wheel. When the motor has power it's driving the wheel and at the same time the chain that goes to the pedals is also getting power. Meaning that spinning the motor causes the pedals to spin. That isn't very good for convenient riding. What I did was find an antique "front freewheeling system" bottom bracket originally made for a 1960's era Schwinn bicycle, it happened to fit the bottom bracket on the Charger and now when the motor has power the chain spins but the front chainring freewheels.
However with the original Charger design that's okay because the controller is set up to detect your pedaling and to add power only while the user is pedaling. The technical term for this is: pedelec
There is a dealer who is supporting the Charger bikes and he has many Charger bikes in stock. He is Sam Wonderly and his website is http://electroportal.com/
He has worked out a replacement controller & bottom bracket system which allows you to replace the drive system as I described. I didn't buy his system and in retrospect I wish I had because the route I took was full of problems.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
In case anyone else has the same problem, the correct answer is "1-1-1-1." Sam provided me with a pdf version of the manual.
-Klaus