Seized Motor - Belize Justwin Cool E-Rider

So i just purchased a Belize Justwin Cool E-Rider electric trike from someone on craigslist.

http://belizebike.com/english/coolerider.html

It was dirt cheap $150 bucks so i decided to take a change on it even though i was told it had occasional motor issues.


So i was riding the trike and the motor started to lock up… if you see the photo above, it's the left side of the motor (not the side with the 6 speed cassette) that starts making really bad noises and somewhat locking… so i kept riding and it eventually locked up completely. I then just kind of played with turning the wheels in my garage and it began to rotate freely again, without any noise. However, when i took it out for another spin, it lasted like 3 miles till the same thing happened.

What do you guys think i should do?

I live in Reno NV and i don't think that there are any ebike specialists around.
I called a Las Vegas bike shop and the guy said that he would have to take a look at the whole bike so that he could test the whole electrical system in person.
Belize Bikes, located in Canada, says that they can look at the motor and possibly repair it if i send it to them.
Looking at an old post on this forum, a customer says that they had problems with the sprag clutch on this bike?

Can i just buy a similar replacement motor that would work with the same controller and battery?

Any suggestions as to what the best route would be?

Thank you!

ddk from this board is the expert on Justwin Cool rider. He adds other motors, like a hub in the front wheel, to help the original motor. He hopefully will chime in. He too has had the original motor fail a few times.
otherDoc
They are beautiful trikes and the rear suspension is quite useful in saving one's back. If that trike had been around when I bought my wife's Sun USX I would have purchased it instead.

double post

"What do you guys think i should do?"

take the motor out and open it up so we can see inside to give advice on how to fix it.

Try this out. Lots of information on Cool Etrike.

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=44619

otherDoc

maybe we can see what causes it to lock up when he opens it up. maybe it has some kinda ball bearing type mechanism to engage the clutch and the balls are out of place or the clutch thingy is dented or damaged and he could buy a new part for it.

Thanks for the responses.
Took me a bit, taking off the cassette was a nightmare!

But i was able to finally get inside the motor.

Basically, the sprags were all loose. They came off from around the clutch, like they are supposed to be, and we floating around and getting in-between the gears!

Some of the sprags were cut in half.

The sprag clutch/gear with missing sprags(below):

The gears where the sprags were found (below):

The sprags (below):


I cleaned out all the pieces of sprags. This must of been the problem.

What do you guys think i should do next?

Can i just buy new sprag pieces?

What would happen if i were to just put back some of the sprags that were in tact?

Also, why would the sprags all just come loose like that?


Thanks for your help!

looks mechanically incapable of handling the torque. the tabs on the edges of the limiting slot look like they broke off. somebody here knows. i wonder if they sell an upgraded assembly for replacement.

Where is the limiting slot? What does that do?

It might be worth a call to these guys, the importers.

http://www.belizebike.com/english/purchase.html

They may be able to do an exchange, although ddk has had a good deal of trouble with his motor.
otherDoc

Those slots are around the outside of the ring gear (the big one at the end of the case). There are still one or two of the Sprague parts in position. Most gear motors use 3-6 larger parts or a roller clutch with larger flat pucks and a spring. They rarely fail.

Thanks docnjoj, i just sent Belize an email. Will see what they tell me.

What's interesting is that when i purchased the bike, the lady told me it had motor issues and that she would occasionally have to take it to a mechanic to have it fixed. But it would always stop working again.

So once i got it home i was basically riding to see what happens and trouble shoot it. So initially the bike was running perfectly fine, with the motor assist and everything. I don't think i was the one who broke the limiting slot, and i think the sprags were loose when i purchased it. I think that when it started locking up, it was basically a sprag that got really wedged in the gears. But after playing around with the motor, by just turning it, i got it working again.

So would it be possible that the motor would run and work if i just put it back together? (since all the free bits of metal are gone?)
IF NOT then what would happen if i just welded that big ring gear to the case (and it never freewheeled)?

Someone here (Russell, I think) epoxied his (JBWeld) like you suggest and it worked OK. Different gear motor but same principle. Lose the freewheel but the motor works all the time. Probably for the better. That trike is great and the only problem that is serious is the motor.
otherDoc

Check out how a standard "proper" clutch for E-motors is made. This allows much stronger and longer lasting clutches than a weak Sprague.
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=59369

otherDoc

Interesting link,yes that type of motor build seems so much more durable.

Regarding my motor, Belize Bikes is telling me that they will send me the 8 sprags and a spring (this is what holds the sprags in place) for $80 + $15 shipping = $95! Jesus!

I was thinking about just welding the ring-gear/clutch so that it doesn't freewheel, and on this kind of bike i think that would basically just not allow me to go in reverse ever. But i would also save some money and would have the piece of mind that the motor wasn't going to randomly break cause it's naturally a POS even with all the parts in tact.

hmm...

No daamage to the gears?

Dan

I inspected all the gears and everything seems to look and function ok.

I've put the motor back together (without the sprags) and ran it with the throttle. Everything seems to run and sound ok, of course with with the exception that it doesn't move the bike since it's not welded or repaired yet.

I decided to purchase the sprags and spring from Manny @ Belize Bikes.

The price was outrageous: $80 + $15 shipping, but i didn't want to deal with finding a new motor that fits and works with the rest of the electrical system correctly.
Also, I figured my resale value would be higher (if i ever sell it) if i didn't well the motor, and it had the original parts.

The spring that came in the mail was so loose it was hilarious. There is no way the sprags would stay on for more that 3 seconds with the spring like that.

So i cut about 2 inches off the spring and shortened it. It was much more snug, but not too tight.

Took the bike for a test ride yesterday and all seems fine. For some reason, the bike has always had a lot of drag when going backwards (just pushing it) and it wants to move the geared cassette and pedals backwards(even though it would probably be nicely freewheeling) but i can figure out why. Oh well.

Actually I did a bit more poking around and found that Sprague clutches are better and more expensive than the roller ball ones. Perhaps this one will be a charm. I still think that trike is a great design.
otherDoc

why the hell do they have to charge so much for the simplest parts? it is almost like they are selling the motor for cheap and making the profit on selling these little repair kits which are so flimsy they will fail with no effort. tell them we expect them to refund half your money and send you a second set of parts for free. give them the link to this thread and let them know they are gonna have to do better if they expect the GOOGLE hits to come out better than this.

you should feel some pride in taking on the task, not a simple undertaking for even skilled mechanics so you deserve a hi 5.

dnmun, i hear what you are saying. I probably shouldn't have paid that much, but i did get a smoking deal on the trike, knowing that i'd have to put some money into fixing it.

Manny from Belize told me the following when he provided me with pricing for the parts:

"We’re quickly running out of parts for this motor and we don’t know when or even if the manufacturer will have the parts available any time soon so the 8 sprags and the spring will cost USD80.00 plus 15.00 shipping by DHL Express."

Telling me that the parts are scarce and that the motors get repair requests a lot. How sad.

I should of haggled with him but i did not.