I have a 250 watt hub motor... I haven't ridden it for a few weeks. I have been working on DIY Ebikes instead. So today I had a feeling I should test it. I checked that the battery was charged and off I went. It would not run at all. I came back and checked the power at the controller. 25.6 volts plenty of power for a 24volt system... The led on the throttle read low voltage. I am not sure what the problem is. Do any of you have an idea. Also if you know a fix I would sure be grateful. thanks charlie...
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Support V is for Voltage
I have been replaying that test ride in my mind for the last couple of hours. I did have the motor work when I was rolling down hill when I first left the house. I have read that a pedal first will start only after it gets up to speed.
What would happen if the halls sensor went out on the hub motor. Would it run as a pedal first controller. Is that how it worked at first but not when I tried to pedal start it on the hill.
That would not explain the low battery light with a full battery though I guess.
With a full battery reading at the battery, and low reading at the throttle, the first thing to look at would be obvious, the connections and or switches or fuses between battery and controller. Second would be to double check the battery connectors and charge level in case you think it's good but actually it's not. After that, the problem might be inside the controller, or connectors to throttle, where I am not the expert at all.
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36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global
I checked the battery ten times. I even pulled the connector to the controller and checked it there over 25volts everywhere. What I did not check since I have to take the cover off the controller to check is the throttle connection. I have a feeling that it is the low voltage cutoff part of the controller gone bad. Still I want to check the throttle connection tomorrow. Thanks that's a good idea. If there are any other suggestions please pass them along.
I can build a PAT (pedal assist trailer) for fifty bucks. This is the most expensive bike, gas or electric, that I have ever had. I really am upset it has less than a hundred miles on it.
It would be good to know the voltage reading at the motor with the throttle at minimum and at maximum.
Checking the throttle is a good idea. It sees the most wear and is the most likely connection to get jostled. Also, what kind of setup is this?
"we must be the change we wish to see in the world"
To be honest I don't have a clue what it is. I bought it on ebay and a few months ago and it's gone now from my email and from my ebay purchases. I know the seller was somewhere on the west coast.
I'm going to sit down tomorrow and pull the cover off the controller and see if I can find anything. If I have to replace the controller I want to go with a pedal first 24volt maybe even a 36volt the motor is 250watts at 24 I guess that would make it 350 at 36v. Do you have any idea where I can get a brushless pedal first controller without spending more than the kit cost.
Can I check the voltage at the controller at the motor connection to get the voltage. That would be the easiest place to check I think.
If it is a brushless motor then yu have many areas of problems. They can all be checked out but you need an understanding how a brushless motor works. It has three windings that are powered in sequence. When the power is supplied is by a sensor array made usually from three hall cells that detect a passing magnet. This being said if it did work and now it doesn't start with the simplest. Using a meter check the wiring and resistance of the speed control, they usually go form 0- 5,000 or 10,000 ohms. The check the motor wiring, often the leadwires will have been broken or pulled out. Can be fixed depending on your skills. If you can get to the the three motor wires, and can seperate them from the controller, you can put 12 volts across each one and see if the motor turns and stops , it should be very hard to turn with the 12 volts applied. It will also get hot as it will draw many amps under this condition so do not do this for a long time. The hall sensors are more tricky to test you really need a oscilloscope but a meter can be used . If you can turn the motor with power applied measure the voltage at each of the leadwires from the sensor, they should change as you rotate it . If this sounds too much trouble you can get it looked at but the cost is probably more than a new one!! I hate to see god parts tossed away but economics have mad eit less expensive to use new than to repairm old..very sad .
building the future... one crappy Lipo at a time!!
Yeah, a blown controller is a definite possibility. But I still smell a rat in the throttle or it's plug connector, since you seem to have full voltage at the battery, and the throttle says it's low. But it could be something died in the controller. Just a bit unusual for the the throttle to light up at all with anything toasted in there.
As for trying a new controller. I really like the Wilderness Energy one. I don't know if it will work well at 24v though. It's made for 36-48v so it would work fine if you wanted to add one more battery. It's a 22 amp pedal first, but it will actually start itself. So it sort of combines the convenience of start immediate with the reliability of a controller that doesn't have any need to use the halls. All you need to do is roll the wheel an inch forward as you apply throttle to go smoothly. Some pedal first controllers need more speed before you throttle up.
I'd try a replacement throttle first though, since they are cheap. I like the supplier highteckbikes.com
As you may know, there are lots of inexpensive controllers on ebay, but sorting out the halls wires for a different one may be tricky since they may be different colors. A picture may help us recognise what you have, and sort out where to get the exact same controller.
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36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global
Okay I tested the throttle connector inside the controller. I disconnected the throttle and read the controller side of the connector. here are the results...
RED input
green 4volts
black 4.1 volts
yellow 15.4 volts. (Should this be 24+ volts)
Okay I am a complete idiot as far as brushless motor technology is concerned so bear with me for this question.
Is there a controller that is simply run the engine pedal first. No throttle nothing but put power on it runs the engine period nothing fancy.
I use a simple on off switch on my PAT (Pedal Assist TRailer) So is there anything made that I can put a switch in the battery circuit to the controller. Flip on the power with the motor turning and it runs. Flip off the power and it goes into freewheel. Flip the power back on and it speeds up. I see something like it in model controllers on ebay so is there anything like that on a larger scale.
By the way I tested the power out to the motor circuits... One leg has zero volts then when I throttle up it has 12 volts... The other leg to the motor has zero and then when i power up it still has zero. I'm guessing that's what the problem is. Since I know it isnt the motor (90%sure) I think I'll just sell this thing on ebay and move on to build another PAT as a back up for the one I have. I'll even add a controller to it maybe to keep from blowing all these fuses.