Controller goes poof

[bgoates]

I have a Strong GTS ebike (crappy thing) 36 volt SLA geared hub brushed motor (don't know the manufacturer, made in France and here is French website http://www.velo-electrique.com/Pages/repprod7.htm. I'm trying to make the thing work to donate it to a high school for a project they have.

I have gone through two controllers. I'm sure I have the wiring correct. The first time I saw smoke was when I applied throttle.

So the second time I disconnected the throttle wire to see if the pedelic sensor would work and when I began peddling..poof !

I have one more controller to go and don't want to blow it. Any ideas ?

Thanks

 

[John in CR]

You may have a shorted wire somewhere. First get the wheel off the ground and try turning it...hard to turn would indicate a shorted motor wire. If it turns pretty freely, then short the 2 power wires together to make sure it then gets much harder to turn. If that works then try connecting a battery directly to the motor wires (with wheel off the ground of course, and a lower voltage so it doesn't jerk up to full speed). If all is well, then you know the problem isn't the motor, so it must be wiring, throttle, or controller mismatch. Brushed motors are pretty easy to troubleshoot, so start with the motor.

John

 

[gmouchawar]

Since it is brushed, why don't you test the motor without the controller. Connect the 2 wires directly to the battery. You wont hurt it in either polarity but the hub may only rotate in one polarity and freewheel in the other. Start with lower voltages just in case there is a short.
I would apply 6V, 12V, 18v ,24v, 36v if you have 6v and 12 V combination. Otherwise, start from 12 and work your way up.
Another thing to check is to make sure you don't have a shorted wire to the chassis by measuring from the chassis to either motor wires of the batter wires using an ohm meter.
Good luck

 

[theyerb]

Thus take the controller apart, locate the poofed capacitor, replace with new one, and you're most likely good to go. That's what I did when my controller popped. Worked like a charm.