Baserunner controller inside a downtube mount: heat generation and other issues?

zacksc

100 W
Joined
Jan 26, 2019
Messages
152
Location
California, Bay Area, USA
I have a Baserunner (aka Phaserunner) controller mounted inside a Hailong 01 downtube mount. I am using that with 36 volt battery to power a Bafang G311 motor. Since I have moved the Baserunner controller inside the battery mount, I find that the controller stops working briefly fairly frequently. The circumstance in which it tends to stop working is different from what I would have expected. It happens when I am on smooth level ground and my speed increases despite using very little throttle. It has never happened when I am pushing the bike up a steep ramp at low speed using a lot of throttle. I would have thought the ramp situation was the least efficient circumstance and where the baserunner would be most likely to shut down, but that has not been the case. On the ramp my throttle voltage is high, about 3.5 to 4 volts. The current draw from the battery is also pretty high. On the level ground, where the baserunner does tend to shut, down my throttle voltage is at only about 1.8 volts (and the dc current draw from the battery is quite low). (I use a voltage divider throttle with an 11 pin detente potentiometer, so I have a pretty good idea of my throttle voltage at all times.) So I am puzzled by that and I am wondering if it is just switching speed that is important for the controller or if there is some issue other than heat generation? Or generally what is going on/ why does the Baserunner shut down?
Typically, unplugging the pigtail on the 8-pin molded connector, which turns the baserunner off, and then plugging it back in, resolves the problem. Any help understanding the baserunner and why it might stop working occasionally when mounted inside a battery mount is much appreciated.
 
What are the temperatures when it shuts down, vs when it does not?

If the temperatures are higher when it does not shutodwn, then the problem is not heat. Once we know if it is or is not heat, we can work from there to test for what it might be caused by.

(AFAICR, the *runner series has a thermal rollback to just reduce power during overheating, so it shouldn't just shutdown).
 
For my Baserunner, at least, it has LED lights it blinks in a pattern to tell you why it shutdown. You can also connect it to the Phaserunner suite on a computer and check the fault codes.

Doesn't sound like thermal shutdown, but if it was, you could remove the controller from the battery and zip tie it out on a tube in open air.

Last time I had an error like yours it was loose connectors and battery. Redid all my wiring to have fewer connectors, wrapped them all in heat shrink to hold them together, and used Bungie cords to hold my battery down on the battery slot tighter to fix.
 
amberwolf said:
(AFAICR, the *runner series has a thermal rollback to just reduce power during overheating, so it shouldn't just shutdown).
Thanks Amberwolf. Based on your comment and the one after I am starting to think that it may not be due to temperature after all. That was my first guess since the controller is in a confined space, so I wondered if it might not cool as well as a baserunner out on the frame. I have used baserunners on the frame before and never had a problem with shut off...
 
lnanek said:
For my Baserunner, at least, it has LED lights it blinks in a pattern to tell you why it shutdown. You can also connect it to the Phaserunner suite on a computer and check the fault codes.

Doesn't sound like thermal shutdown, but if it was, you could remove the controller from the battery and zip tie it out on a tube in open air.

Last time I had an error like yours it was loose connectors and battery. Redid all my wiring to have fewer connectors, wrapped them all in heat shrink to hold them together, and used Bungie cords to hold my battery down on the battery slot tighter to fix.

Well, it could be loose connectors. That seems reasonable and might be the most likely thing. It is a pretty tight set-up. The controller was wired into the Hailong base at Grin when both were purchased new a couple years ago. Then the Hailong battery slides onto the 4 blade connector. So I am not sure which of those is most likely to be a problem when the bike jostles on bumpy terrain. I don't really want to take apart the base and look too much at what Grin did. I think it is pretty crowded in there. But maybe I should?

Would jostling of the 4 blade ever cause problems? interruption of power? Should I try dielectric grease on that or something?
 
Back
Top