Semi-Recumbent Recycled-Parts Cargo eBike: "CrazyBike2"

[sangesf]

Amperage loads drop as voltage drops using a "12v 55w halogen"..

On my last test(s)...
On a 12.8/13.2v battery, a 55w will draw ~4.2a
On a 9.6/9.9v battery, a 55w will draw ~3.0a
On a 3.2/3.3v cell a 55w will draw ~.7a

It's not exactly linear, I'm guessing because of resistance chances as the bulb emits more light / heat and since it has no kind of regulation on it to keep the resistance constant, the amp draw also changes by a variable amount.
(Just my layman's guess)

[amberwolf]

I expect the halogen to increase resistance as voltage drops because then current drops and then temperature drops. I just haven't tested it on this one, and I am not sure what else would cause the apparent increase in usage on the same trip.

Easier and more accurate to remove time from the equation and just measure load current at different voltage states. Quicker yet use an adjustable power supply.

True. But...I wonder if the internal resistance of the pack itself is going down as it's SOC gets lower, and maybe that allows more current flow? Doesn't seem like it would make sense, though. And I don't even think it could work like I'm thinking anyway, because the load resistance isnt' getting any lower (or shouldn't).


Anyway, today I used about 1.7Ah, and reached zero bars on the display. It's recharging now on the big Sorenson, at 16.5V 2.5A (out of a max of 16.8V 3A).

So total Ah out of the pack was 10Ah, over 6 ~5-mile commutes and one ~2-mile store trip (done on the same day as my work commute). We'll see if cycling it gives it more or less capacity over time. (my bet is less).

[amberwolf]

I forgot to note that today a fourth person besides me has now ridden CrazyBike2: one of my co-workers. I feel a little dumb because I had my camera with me but forgot that, and so didn't get any pics or video. It was uneventful, as he was just taking it for a quick check-out in the side parking lot, but he certainly had the EV grin!


He was impressed enough by it to ask afterwards that if he bought a trike (kinda like the ones at Walmart and such) how much would it cost to convert it to electric. I discussed some of the problems with such trikes (especially turning at speeds greater than 10-15MPH) with him for a few minutes, but we had to get to working so we'll have to go back and discuss it some more later, and figure out what kind of bike he would really like to ride, before we start talking what it would take to convert it.

But I think I've made another electric bike rider.

[texaspyro]

I forgot to note that today a fourth person besides me has now ridden CrazyBike2: one of my co-workers.

And they all lived through the experience! (or did they?) Will wonders never cease? Do CrazyBike riders get a certificate? Neck brace? Get taught the Secret Handshake? Paper bag with holes in it for their eyes to cover their head while riding so nobody will know that they are crazy enough to get on that darned contraption?

[amberwolf]

Well, Liveforphysics got on it and rode a short distance in the pits at the Death Race I broke my ankle at before bringing it back to me, saying that I was a braver man than he, and he woudln't ride it on the track. Of course, that was with the death-wobbly-fork, rather than it's normal stable configuration, but still....

Many people think it's interesting or cool or whatever, but very few will actually get on and ride it. So...maybe there ought to be some sort of award.

[amberwolf]

recharge of lighting pack:
13.102Ah
208.6Wh
2.95Ap
44.3Wp
13.84Vm
16.49V end of charge
15.99V under the headlight lowbeam load.

[texaspyro]

saying that I was a braver man than he, and he woudln't ride it on the track.

Phyzzieboy is a wise man... He'll ride the atomic powered plasma spewing dick cycle, but won't go near the CrazyBike... sorta says something...

[mdd0127]

Well, speaking from experience here, LFP built the dickcycle so he kind of knows it's quirks and what to expect. Same with me on mine. With both of my previous recumbent experiences, both being non electric, general confusion took over and I crashed them both within 50 feet. I'll jump a dirtbike at 60mph in the sand but can't imagine riding a chopper. It's all about what you're used to and having some idea what to expect. I am going to give Crazybike a try next time I'm down there for sure though. Who knows, I might just convert!

[Alan B]

I'm experimenting with a bikeE and getting used to a recumbent (pedal only so far). It is quite a different feeling, but it is comfortable and the view is great. I am looking forward to the motorization phase of this experiment.

[sangesf]

The thing is, the main drain by far is an incandescent (halogen) car headlight. Perhaps those also draw more current as voltage drops? I suppose I should check that.

The only other things on the lighting pack are an automotive LED brake-light bar with a simple resistive voltage drop/current limiter and series LEDs, and the turn signal lamps which are "12VAC" LED MR16 units--I'm sure they have switching regulators in them, too, but they are not on enough to account for very much current draw (almost certainly not the amount I am seeing).

To be absolutely sure of the phenomenon I think I am seeing, I would have to do timed tests with each of those loads at the house, at various stages on the discharge curve, and see if it still takes mroe Ah for the same duration at lower voltages.

Btw... What exactly is the issue you're having with the "lighting" battery?

[amberwolf]

No real "issue" per-se, just that it seems like as the battery gets lower in voltage/SOC, the lighting uses more Ah for the same trip. Doesn't seem to make sense, but I am not certain that this is even happening, it may just be a mis-measurement.

I forgot to bring the watt meter with me to keep track of lighting pack usage on my commute today, so I am now recharging the pack again, so I can retest this whole thing from scratch.

Phyzzieboy is a wise man... He'll ride the atomic powered plasma spewing dick cycle, but won't go near the CrazyBike... sorta says something...

Yes, but I'm not totally sure *what*, yet.

He did have a point at that time, but I still wanna see him ride it in it's normal stable configuration.

Well, speaking from experience here, LFP built the dickcycle so he kind of knows it's quirks and what to expect. Same with me on mine. With both of my previous recumbent experiences, both being non electric, general confusion took over and I crashed them both within 50 feet. I'll jump a dirtbike at 60mph in the sand but can't imagine riding a chopper. It's all about what you're used to and having some idea what to expect. I am going to give Crazybike a try next time I'm down there for sure though. Who knows, I might just convert!

You might. But my guess is not.

I am rather the opposite; I'd rather not even GO 60mph, much less in unstable terrain.

I'm experimenting with a bikeE and getting used to a recumbent (pedal only so far). It is quite a different feeling, but it is comfortable and the view is great. I am looking forward to the motorization phase of this experiment.

It certainly changes things, because that instability you get at low speed (especially when you wobble side to side as you try to start pedalling from a stop) will not exist, as you can use your feet on the ground to stay stable untl you get to speed if you like.

[Alan B]

Yes, using the motor to get to "stable speed" is a major advantage of a powered recumbent.

I received my BMC gearmotor in a 20" wheel, so the motor mounting phase begins very soon...

Looking forward to it.

[sangesf]

Had a chance to check the lighting pack yet?
FWIW, I tested the amp draw of my blinker lights (no clue what the wattage is), but found it to be only .3a when constant on (no blinking) off of a 13.2v battery..
Now the amp draw from the (mechanical) blinker relay is another story...
Haven't had a chance to check that yet... But I doubt it's all that much... If it's really large, I'll let ya know, IF you're using the same type of relay for your blinkers, don't know if THOSE draw any concernable amount when current drops.. Although I DO know that when voltage gets below 11v they stop working.. (Tested that out with some SLAs)

[amberwolf]

No testing yet.

I have only a digital blinkers; I manually flick the switch on and off with my thumb. The old honda scooter blinker from the mid-80s died for the last time a while back, and I have yet to build myself an electronic one.

The old electromechanical relay itself was in series with the lights and signal switch, so it only drew power when they were activated. They were still incandescent bulbs at that time, before I switched to the LED MR16s that Texaspyro sent me (that happen to barely fit in the housings). The relay drew no separate current from anything, so there was only the current flowing thru the bulbs (1 rear and 1 front) also flowing thru the relay, whenever it was activated. It wasn't a thermal type, but an R/C + relay coil.

I never really drew up a schematic for it, but I *think* the blinker worked by the light passing current thru capacitor until it charged up and then that engaged the relay, which shorted out the cap via the resistor and discharged it until the relay dropped out, opening the circuit again. Then repeat the cycle as long as power was applied. But I am not even sure that would owrk, so I could be very wrong.

Either way, the turn signal draw right now is pretty insignificant, especially compared to the car headlight. Same with the LED brake light bar. Taillight is not powered by the 12V system, as it still uses a CFL powered by the traction pack and a laptop AC adapter booster in series with the pack.

Car headlight uses 2.something amps, almost 3A IIRC, unless I turn on the high beam, which takes almost 6A. I always run that light, day or night (as well as the taillight).





@Alan: i am pretty sure you'll really like it, especially if you already like the BikeE.

[sangesf]

In regards to the hi/lo lamp/bulb/housing.. Remind menwhat kind and how you have it attached?
P.S. My light switch has two "modes".. At this time my front halogen is on both, but if I can get a decent low/hi beam and it works well....

[amberwolf]

I just welded a little piece of square tubing to the bottom of the steel headlight adjustment housing, since I took the whole unit including plug and wiring off the old 85 Ford LTD before I was forced to get rid of it by the city.

Then i drilled a hole thru the tubing, horizontally, and bolted it to an old bike headlight mount that I'd clamped around the front steering stem.
viewtopic.php?p=462420#p462420

The switch is just a 4PDT center-off toggle that's mounted in a bit of metal plate and ziptied to the handlebars, with some plastic under it to keep it from shorting. It's wired with power to the center row (all contacts together so they share the load on all four), low to the top row and high beam to the bottom row, with a big fat stud diode from some old linear PSU wired from high (anode) to low (cathode) so it can't turn on the high beam when low is selected, but turning on high beam flows both thru the switch to high beam and thru the diode to low beam. The other end of the headlight harness just goes to ground at it's common terminal.
viewtopic.php?p=469111#p469111

[amberwolf]

Had to hauld two trailer loads full of dog food today; this is where having the big cargo bike would've been handy. First load was 183.5lbs, second was 168lbs. Weight-wise I think the trailer and CrazyBike2's pods could've hauled all of it in one load, but it wouldn't have physically fit without being stacked too high and causing stability problems. So I just did two loads and only used the trailer, leaving the pods empty.

Traffic was insane on the way there for the first load, and pretty bad on the way back home with it; I guess they're gearing up for some kind of circus at the south end of Metrocenter so the whole area is crazy with traffic. Just getting onto/across westbound Dunlap was a 15-minute wait, because of traffic coming from the freeway and what was already on Dunlap, with people waiting to get into Metrocenter and those gawking at whatever was happening up there, instead of going when the light changed each time.

But the bike with the unlaoded trailer rode really well. I lashed the trailer to the bike with a steel dog tie-out cable, too, in case it's tube clamp failed or worked loose, so I couldn't lose the trailer no matter what:

DSC06059.JPG (47.03 KiB) Viewed 734 times

DSC06057.JPG (49.16 KiB) Viewed 734 times

I've found that as long as I don't load outside the original framework, the trailer is pretty stable even with over 200lbs on it.(sorry I can't get focus to be consistent; I'm not sure if it's me or the camera, but focus seems to be a crapshoot these days--I take 10 pics and 2 of them might be in focus).

DSC06049.JPG (22.44 KiB) Viewed 733 times

Someone walking by when I was stopped at one point said "that's quite a train you've got there", and he's right.

DSC06051.JPG (40.19 KiB) Viewed 734 times

Cuz really, long bike is LONG:

DSC06053.JPG (21.48 KiB) Viewed 734 times

Some pics with no ambient lighting except a streetlight a couple hundred feet away, just the bike's own lighting. First the same side view:

DSC06054.JPG (11.33 KiB) Viewed 734 times

Then the right side:

DSC06055.JPG (13 KiB) Viewed 734 times

Then from behind:

DSC06056.JPG (10.09 KiB) Viewed 734 times

It's pretty bright and easily visible, even with no lights on the trailer itself (just reflectors) becaue of th taillight lighting up the trailer. .


The trip used a little more Wh/mile than normal, but by much, just 33Wh/mile vs the typical 27-29Wh/mile I've been getting. But it was at a much slower speed, as I stayed down around 18MPH cruising with the empty trailer, and down below 15MPH, closer to 12MPH most of the time, for the loaded trailer. Only went faster when I needed to get across or thru traffic, as it still pulls to one side a little more than the other, so it tends to wobble a bit at faster speeds, worse with higher loads on it regardless of tire pressure. It's due to the off-center mounting, I guess.


Anyway:
55m 31s trip time
10.98miles
21.2mph max
11.8mph avg

33.9Wh/mile
6.859Ah / 6.988
377Wh
63.52Amax

58.3Vstart
53.2Vrest
50Vmin

1.8% Regen
0.1259Ah Regen
-7.25A peak Regen


Also, earlier, another coworker took a ride on the bike and most definitely had the EV grin. It only took him about 30 seconds to get the hang of balancing it and steering it, though he stayed pretty slow while steering which actually makes it harder on this bike.

[amberwolf]

Longer than usual work commute next two days (probably about 24-25 miles round trip) so am adding a backup pack for this:
viewtopic.php?p=535912#p535912

[amberwolf]

Finished up the pack:
viewtopic.php?p=536242#p536242
and mounted it with pallet straps:

DSC06105.JPG (57.19 KiB) Viewed 685 times

It is pretty secure; a little foam under the front edge to keep it from sliding and scraping while I was tightening the straps, with the straps running in the slots for the handle so they can't slide around, then out to the triangles on the bottom of the frame. I'd like to make them tighter, but I can't pull hard enough without causing the strap to slip. Takes one hand to hold the strap clip in place, and the other to pull.

DSC06106.JPG (49.33 KiB) Viewed 685 times

Only test so far is a wheelspin test, am eating lunch right now then will take it for a spin.

[amberwolf]

Ride went fine, but the RC LiPo has more voltage sag than the main pack. So it doesn't accelerate as hard from a stop as with the main one.

It's only half the capacity of the main pack, too, so maybe it would be better in 3P or 4P, so I will try that later once I get more packs repaired and tested.

Anyway, I only went around the block, so here's the numbers:

1m 49s trip time
0.438miles
20.9mph max
14.4mph avg

38.9Wh/mile
0.316Ah
17.693Wh
49.91Amax

58.1Vstart
57.5Vrest
54.3Vmin

4.0% Regen
0.0123Ah Regen
-A peak Regen

The CA odo also rolled over to exactly 2400 miles as I finished. I forget now what the total is, but I think that's well over 3500 miles now total on the frame, though many things have changed on the bike during that time.

I recharged it using the bulk charger used for the other pack, which is the same desired terminal voltage.

Then last night I went off to work, which including all the roundabout ways I had to get around freeways and non-thru roads was a bit more than 13 miles, and took a bit less than an hour. Most of it I was able to stay at 19-20MPH, but there were quite a few stops/starts, and a couple places I had to go down to around 15MPH or less because of road conditions I couldn't see from the google maps satellite pics I used to review the route with beforehand. Some of those areas are in terrible shape, where even the patches over the potholes had partly or mostly disintegrated.

Thankfully there was almost no traffic at any point, so I didnt have to ride in the sometimes-unnavigable righthand edge of the road, and was able to mostly just take the lane. Other than the road conditions, it was pretty uneventful.

I changed my mind about battery use, and decided to use the ammo-can RC LiPo pack as far as it would take me, down to what should be 80% or so max discharge. At the ~1C rate I was typically using (~450W cruising, voltage sag down to anywhere from 56V at teh start to 50V at the end, during cruise; worse when accelerating), that would be about 49V or so, for 3.5V/cell, if I figured things right.

It ended up only taking about 69% of capacity to get there, though. So at a guess I could get ~15 miles range out of this pack, maybe a bit more, down to 80%, for a pack steady-state LVC of 49V. Due to voltage sag, the actual LVC can't be at that point, because it dropped to 48.8V even at the 69% SOC, during startup conditions. At a guess it'd have to be 44-45V actual pack LVC, or 3.2V-ish cell-level LVC.

I had some other thoughts, but was interrupted by doggies, and now I don't remember what they were.

So now trip data, outbound, using the 14s2p RC LiPo pack:
49m 50s trip time
13.33miles
23.5mph max
16.0mph avg

27.4Wh/mile
6.931Ah / 7.0444Ah
372.56Wh
62.42Amax

58.1Vstart
52.2Vrest
48.8Vmin

2.1% Regen
0.1508Ah Regen
-9.61A peak Regen



Homebound trip, using the main pack. Trip took longer because I missed a couple of turns that looked a lot different at dawn than they had at night, and had to go around some things, and backtrack a bit once. Was still pretty empty on the roads, though the road conditions were a bit better southbound than they had been northbound, and I could see better to avoid damaged parts of the roads, too, so I was able to maintain better speed.

55m 27s trip time
15.33miles
24.1mph max
16.5mph avg

24.1Wh/mile
6.796Ah / 6.9205Ah
374.47Wh
65.24Amax

58.3Vstart
53.3Vrest
49.6Vmin

1.8% Regen
0.1228Ah Regen
-9.696A peak Regen


Interestingly, even though I accelerated harder with stiffer voltage during accel, took longer, rode further and faster, I used less Ah and only a tiny bit more Wh (because the voltage didn't sag as much).

It might be the number of stops/starts, but they seemed similar. Didn't count them, though, so I don't know. Might be wind or slope, but I didn't notice much in the way of wind either way, besides that caused by riding.


EDTI: OH, now I remembered what I was thinking of earlier. The taillight wasn't working when I got home, but it had been when I left work. So somewhere in the 15 miles it stopped, but I dunno when. What I found after tracing the wiring was that the cord from the laptop adapter that's used to boost the pack voltage by 19V was cut thru, probably by the chain, as the zip tie had disintegrated that held the cord in a bundle to the frame.

It had very obviously shorted during the cut-thru, as both ends were blackened and melted, and I figured the adapter was toast...but after splicing and powering on, it still works just fine. I guess whoever made the crappy Averatec laptops didn't also make their AC adapters!

So taillight was at least an easy fix. At least the failure happened in daylight, rather than at night, but at night I would have at least noticed it (as it is bright enough to light up stuff beside and to the rear of the bike for some distance; easy to tell if it's on or not just looking in the mirrors).

[amberwolf]

I didn't bike to work for yesterday's trip; I was exhausted and a friend offered a ride, so I took him up on it. Glad I did because I don't htink I would have made it all teh way home wihtout either stopping for at least one nap, or probably dozing off while riding.

Which would be bad.

Also--I got paid mileage for riding the bike in; only ten bucks but it's essentially like getting paid half-time just for riding.


As it was, I still was so tired after finishing up the overnight shift on the remodel this morning, that I fixed food and then fell asleep holding it without ever geting to eat any. In the few hours I was home, I only got a couple hours of sleep (in short naps) before having to go back in to work at my regular store this afternoon; the food just went into the fridge because I was too tired to think of bringing it with me to eat before starting work (or after). I felt lke I was in a daze, but on the ride to work (a normal short commute thankfully) managed to not do anythign dumb or get run over. If there had been more traffic I might've had problems keeping track of it, but it wasn't bad; a little less than usual, actually.

I got home and fed the dogs and let them out, sat down and started to check ES, realized I was really hungry, and promptly dozed off. Woke up again a couple of times and repeated the cycle; this tiem I actually got the food started reheating (while I type this up and replied to another few posts beforehand), and am hoping to actually get to eat some of it before I doze off again. All the dogs are really really bored with me; I am just too wiped out to go out and play with them though. At least they have each other to play with.

On a good note, I apparently impressed the people in charge of the remodel enough that they asked me to help with another remodel coming up next month, on the east side of the valley. It would be good because it would net me almost twice the hours that my usual shifts would (since these days I'm back to 25-ish hours a week), and I definitely need the money.

It's about the same distance as the one I just did, though there are fewer possible routes because North Mountain is in the way; one route goes up Cave Creek Road, which goes up between two of the mountains (big hills, really), and that's a lot of elevation change over a fair distance. Problem results not from the elevation change itself, but from the length of time I'd be going uphill. I think I would wind up heating the motor a lot, and definitely using a lot of battery. If for any reason I could not recharge at the destination (charger failure, etc). I would probably not be able to make it home without way more pedalling than I would be capable of, especially after the amount and kind of work I did at this other remodel.

I'd be able to coast down the hill on the way home, probably, with little or no motor or pedalling, so that would help. I don't think I could regen down it and still keep sufficient speed, though, so I would still have only whatever the remaining charge was in the packs after the trip out there.

There are another couple of routes, but neither is all that safe using the main roads--Greenway and Bell. Both are 45MPH+ roads, and people actually drive more like freeway speeds on them thru the stretches I need to be on. Greenway is a little better in that there is a wide sidewalk/bikepath I could ride on, but not at 20MPH, so I would be riding for a lot longer time. Not normaly an issue, but on my way *to* work I like to get there early just in case of problems, so have to head out early, and also have to still leave extra time, so a 1.5 hour allotment for travel time (expected to be actually half that) would double to heading out 3 hours before Ihave to be there, and possibly just sitting around able to do basically nothing useful for quite a long time once I get there, if I'm really really early (potentially 1.5 hours early if everything goes right).

I can also take half-mile streets and side streets for the unsafe stretches, but speed can be forced down due to road condtions there, and detours are common, with either streets that don't go thru at all or that go way around "enclosed neighborhoods" that only have one way in or out.

Anyway, I have to trace out some routes with satellite imagery to see what's really up (since the maps like google maps arent' always accurate for non-main roads), and find out if there actually are usable easy routes. I also don't know if I will be approved for doing the remodel instead of my regular work shifts (it's either-or; can't do both), so this whole pondering session may prove totally useless.


Hmpf. If AZ didn't limit ebikes to 20MPH, I wouldn't have any problems--I'd just ride fast enough to keep up with traffic in the places I had to...and have a bigger battery.

And now I am off to re-reheat my food, becuase I just realized how long I have taken typing this up and rambling.

[Alan B]

Driving tired is pretty much equivalent to driving drunk. Be careful. It is not worth it if it results in an accident.

[amberwolf]

Yeah, that's the biggest reason why I got the ride from the friend instead of riding myself, that second day.

[amberwolf]

Today I decided to try fitting a couple of "spare" controllers, neither of which I've actually used yet. Turns out both have some issues, though I expected that with the second one.

DSC06124.JPG (65.4 KiB) Viewed 639 times

No problems each time I went back to the repaired 12FET generic "ecrazyman", so the motor, connectors, and wires are all ok.

The first is a Methods' 100V 100A 18FET "infineon", one of the (I think) XC846-chip types, from before they were programmable, IIRC. (it has the header but software available to us doesn't talk to this one, AFAIK. Haven't actually tried yet). It has a switch on it for low or high voltage use (it is where I borrowed the idea for the one on my Lyen 6FET that is on DGA).

DSC06120.JPG (40.12 KiB) Viewed 639 times

I'd repaired this quite some time ago, to use for the 2010 Undead Race, but I had problems after playing around with it on the Fusin and DayGlo Avenger, trying to find the Fusin's phase/hall color combo for it. I had blown another FET or more (cant' remember now), and then fixed it in time for the UR. Didn't end up using it as instead I think I used the 12FET generic one I'd replaced the melted shunt and blown caps on from Ianmcnally, but I had worked out the hall/phase combo for the 9C for it...which did not work when I hooked it up; all I got was grindiness, even off-ground.

So, I played with variations and tried the simpler method of finding the right combo, but that method didn't work. I drew up a full 36-spot grid for all possible combos,

DSC06123.JPG (43.4 KiB) Viewed 639 times

and went thru them, and found several rough-running forwards and reverses, and a couple of almost-normal ones for each direction. But even those were MUCH noisier than normal, even once at speed. Off-ground they would at least spin, and drew only about 1.6A once at speed, even at full speed (~40MPH off-ground). But it wouldn't even start the wheel moving when on-ground even without me on the bike. Just grindiness.

So something is still wrong with the controller. Dunno what yet; will have to start scoping it out to see what the waveforms look like, and see if they tell me which FETs are still bad or whatever.

Also, I found some oddities:
--Regen braking does not work in forward motion. I shorted BK to GND with a jumper, and verified it's connection with a meter when it didn't appear to work. Brake signal input does stop the controller, but it does not actively brake the wheel (whcih does work on the 12FET EC). There is no throttle regen, either.
--Regen DOES work in reverse. I added a switch to let me enable reverse (so I can back the bike up, finally!) from X3 to GND (note there is no DX3, just X3). During testing of braking, it actively braked the wheel when X3 was grounded.
--neither X1 nor X2 do anything noticeable in off-ground testing. Most likely the controller is not programmed for anything to be different in throttle control with them.

I did go ahead and put the 3-speed switch on the bike...on the little nub of tube I have in front of the steering pivot. Right now it is wired with X3 reverse as top position, and middle as "default" speed, and bottom as X2. The actual switch is the one that came with the first Fusin kit from Dogman; I broke the throttle assembly off of it a long time ago, but the switch is still good. If I can't use it with this controller, I can hook it up to the 12FET EC or something instead.

DSC06118.JPG (58.44 KiB) Viewed 639 times

Unfortunately unless I can enable forward regen, I will not be able to use this controller on this bike, because I MUST have regen braking to help me slow down--the front rim brakes are completley insufficient to do it (and even with regen it is still insufficient sometimes--it takes far too long to stop).

But at least I have learned by accident that X3 is the same as DX3, and should enable reverse on the 12FET EC, too (it also doesn't have a DX3 pad).



Next I tried a Crystalyte "48V" unit 12FET or 15FET (is as big as an 18, but PCB doesn't run full length)

DSC06121.JPG (46.66 KiB) Viewed 639 times

from Karma, which already had a known issue that it required starting the wheel moving forward before it would begin running. I have not finished troubleshooting, but so far only tested one combo--the very first combo I tried worked audibly better than any of the combos for the 18FET, but not as well as the 12FET EC.

DSC06114.JPG (32.3 KiB) Viewed 639 times

DSC06117.JPG (64.43 KiB) Viewed 639 times

On-ground testing started to move but ground to a stop instantly. This might be a false positive or it might be that I will need to take it out on the road to test it, throttling up and pedalling hard at the same time. If I have to pedal hard with no assist to startup, I can't use this controller on this bike--my knees won't take that for long.

Regen either does not work or is not enabled on this controller, or perhaps it does not have that function avaialble. Haven't explored it yet. Brakes just turn off the motor power.

The end cap has two switches on it, neither of which were wired to anything (there are nubs cut off on one switch, and various nubs on pads inside, probably from a CA-DP connector that isn't on there anymore). The second switch with no nubs might have once been soldered to the red wire that is spliced together in a loop now, which appears to be this controller's equivalent of the "ignition" wire.

DSC06119.JPG (43.27 KiB) Viewed 639 times

I'll play with this more later; I had to stop to feed the dogs and myself.

I did find this LED spotlamp that Texaspyro sent to be very useful while doing the wiring combos. I just put it into a clip-on desk lamp, and clipped that to the bike frame to point it at the controller area:

DSC06125.JPG (50.08 KiB) Viewed 639 times

[amberwolf]

Haven't been able to get back to the controller stuff yet.

Today was VERY windy and gusty both on the way to work and coming home. I don't know what official reports are, but coming home around two hours ago was bad enough that it took up to 720W to maintain 12MPH, at times! It was close to 1300W to maintain 20MPH and I was wondering if I'd overheat the motor. It is ventilated, and I stopped to check--while pretty warm on the windings it was not hot, so I guess the wind blowing around was helping cool it.

A few times I could not even maintain 20MPH and the best I could do was 18-ish, at nearly 2KW and so I had to slow down to mitigate risk of overheating motor or controller. Only lasted at most 10-20 seconds each time but it felt like forever.

There were severe enough crosswinds to blow me into the sidewalk's curb at one point, scraping the rightside cargo pod, and another time to blow me into the lane to the left of me by over a foot before I could wrestle it back to the middle of the right lane. No traffic this time of night, so no problem, but if it had been that bad when I was on my way to work at midday, I might well have stopped for a while to see if it got better!

Occasionally the wind would push from behind, and I'd suddenly feel and hear the motor not pulling any current, yet still feel myself accelerating.

Pretty sure that instantaneous readings were correct, as when it was not gusting or I was in wind-shadow of buildings/trees/etc., readings were much more normal.

I think something must've gotten corrupt in the CA readings this trip, though, so I don't take all the data seriously--some of it is obviously wrong. Shows over 100A peak (never ever been over 60-ish before), and even regen A peak was extremely high.

At first I thought I must've forgotten to reset it after charging (since I do that htru the CA in reverse) but then it would show at least doulbe the miles (from yesterday's commute), and at least a couple of Ah of regen, from recharging. It doesnt' show either, and the uber-high MPH average reading is totally bizarre, so it's some other wierdness. I'll be resetting again after charging is done tonight (probably is now, actually) and then we'll see if the problem persists tomorrow, or if it's a one-off glitch.


25m 32s trip time
4.891miles
20.3mph max
47.8mph avg

49.1Wh/mile
2.87Ah
497.1Wh
103.5Amax

58.3Vstart
56.3Vrest
49.2Vmin

18.3% Regen
0.0051Ah Regen
-37.2A peak Regen