Sondors Ebike problem

2wGlider

1 mW
Joined
Jul 16, 2019
Messages
16
Hi!

Recently I was going out for a ride with my Sondors fat ebike but it wouldn´t work :cry:

The battery is fully charged and turns on all the lights (its a tube battery) but when I throttle nothing happens.
The thumb throttle lights up the battery voltage LEDs so... it should be good?

Is there a way I could test the controller with a multimeter? Perhaps disconnect he motor and try to get a reading while throttling?

I also have a second ebike, home made, it has a 48V 1000W hub motor running on a 14S battery.
Could I use this controller to test the geared motor?

Thanks in advance!
 

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What happened (*anything and everything*) between the time it last worked, and the time it didn't?

How long was it between those times?

(lots of people that come here for help leave out very important things that happened between working and not working...knowing those things can be essential to help you find the problem).
 
Dogman Dan says, and he's right, that 90% of the time there's a problem with a plug somewhere. Check all the plugs and all the wires where they enter the plugs. Look for looseness and corrosion.
 
Not much to say really, I rode it last month with no problems, climbed a few hills as usual and used half the battery.
Weather has been rainy and grey so I didn´t use it for a month and stored it as it was.

Recently I gave it a charge and it wouldn´t spin, just like that :? I don´t believe I push it enough to overheat anything... plus it was around 14ºC.

Connections seem good, I dont see any rust in the motor/controller plug. I soldered a XT60 comming from the battery to replace the cheap connector but it was fine before.
 
tomjasz said:
2wGlider said:
it was fine before.
But it isn't now. I'd be using my multimeter to check power and the connections.

I meant it was not the batt - controller connection.
That´s where I have doubts... The controller is getting power but I don´t know how to test the output going to the motor. Is it safe to throttle if I have no load?

Also, in the case the motor was burned out... could I know it by measuring the Ohms at the phase wires?
 
If your other bike has the same 9 pin motor connector that Sondors uses, you could probably plug its controller into the Sondors bike. Or you could plug its motor into the Sondors controller. Every motor I've seen that uses the 9 pin connector has been compatible with other motors. While there's no guarantee, I'd try it if it were my bikes.
 
First thing is unplug your brake sensor wires then test it... If there's a short in them, then the whole rest of the system will be acting normal and lighting up, but no motor.
It's one of those things that makes a bike go from working to not between one ride and the next.
 
I agree with Voltron. Got caught by that one myself once. It wasn't shorted wires as such but the switch on one of the brake levers had unscrewed a bit. They should read short circuit, or "on" when the lever is pulled & open circuit or "off" when released.
Let us here know how you go so others can benefit.
That's how ES works!

AussieRider
 
Thats one reason not to get a KT display for your ebike kit. More wires = more problems and when it comes to the majority of ebike stuff those connectors and wires are cheapest possible for maximum profit margins. Sometimes it might be best just to snip the connector off and hard wire every wire with no connector. I've done that with phase, throttle wires, I dont think I ever done that with battery wires though otherwise hard to juice up the battery. Thats also why its good to have spares, a spare throttle and a spare cheap sensorless controller, might as well also buy some quality connectors just in case. I like XT90's myself.
By the looks of Sondors, it never looked like a good quality ebike, just your bog standard bicycle shaped object with the cheapest of the cheap installed for the masses but Sondors made some good money from the sales. Also the secondary places that sold upgrade parts for Sondors made some good coinage, cant blame them for capitalizing on the market.
 
Never thought about the break switch I hope the problem is that simple!
Thank you all for the input, I try a few things and report back soon :)
 
UPDATE:
I did some tests with the bike and both break switches are working fine, unfortunately.
Then I hooked the phase wires to the multimeter, spun the wheel backwards and I got a reading. Does this mean the motor but is possible the signal wires aren´t?

Now to test the controller... should I just cut the main connection and hook it up to my 1000w hub motor? Or should I first check if the throttle is working right?
 
If you have to cut the cable, that's just too much work to repair it, and it won't be as good if you have to cut.

Does your Sondors use the waterproof connectors for throttle? Can't tell from your picture. I think it would be tough to probe the throttle signals inside the controller.
 
There are several faults that will cause the controller to stop. You checked the brake switches, so should be good there. Another one is the throttle signal voltage. If it's too high or too low, it can trigger a fault. Typical ebike throttles should go from around 1v to around 4v as you apply throttle. If you see over 4.3v or under 0.8v, you may have a throttle problem.
Another one is the motor hall signals. You can check these with a voltmeter while slowly turning the wheel by hand. Each one should toggle between near zero and near 5v as the wheel moves. If any one is not toggling, you have a problem.
 
docw009 said:
If you have to cut the cable, that's just too much work to repair it, and it won't be as good if you have to cut.
Does your Sondors use the waterproof connectors for throttle? Can't tell from your picture. I think it would be tough to probe the throttle signals inside the controller.
I´ve done it for my 1000W it is no big deal.
Yes it has a water proof connection for all connections.
I picked inside the controller and I couldn´t see how to even get the board out.

fechter said:
There are several faults that will cause the controller to stop. You checked the brake switches, so should be good there. Another one is the throttle signal voltage. If it's too high or too low, it can trigger a fault. Typical ebike throttles should go from around 1v to around 4v as you apply throttle. If you see over 4.3v or under 0.8v, you may have a throttle problem.
Another one is the motor hall signals. You can check these with a voltmeter while slowly turning the wheel by hand. Each one should toggle between near zero and near 5v as the wheel moves. If any one is not toggling, you have a problem.

Ok cool, I´ll start with the motor then. So I check every color with the black wire? is black common ground for the hall signals and throttle? just to be sure

Assuming the thottle is good, will I read a voltage even if there is no load on the controller?
 
Testing the throttle is easy if the controller is putting out the 5v is should to the plug.
If you can't get at any exposed metal terminals while it's plugged in, you can just poke sharp pins like a sewing needle thru the wire insulation, and read off of those, then put a dab of sealing goo on when done. One pair of wires should show 5v, then one of that pair and the other wire should sweep between close to zero and close to 5v when you move the throttle.

Just a separate fyi, I try to keep a cheap sensor less controller around, with it's own known working throttle, and every cut off plug from every broken motor I've ever had to use as adaptors, just as a quick way to hook up to the phase wires as a sensor bypass test.
 
2wGlider said:
Ok cool, I´ll start with the motor then. So I check every color with the black wire? is black common ground for the hall signals and throttle? just to be sure

Assuming the thottle is good, will I read a voltage even if there is no load on the controller?

Yes, the battery negative is the reference for the measurements. The throttle should give a reading even if the motor is disconnected.

There may be other sensors that can inhibit output, but I am not familiar with the Sondors setup.
 
fechter said:
There are several faults that will cause the controller to stop. You checked the brake switches, so should be good there. Another one is the throttle signal voltage. If it's too high or too low, it can trigger a fault. Typical ebike throttles should go from around 1v to around 4v as you apply throttle. If you see over 4.3v or under 0.8v, you may have a throttle problem.
Another one is the motor hall signals. You can check these with a voltmeter while slowly turning the wheel by hand. Each one should toggle between near zero and near 5v as the wheel moves. If any one is not toggling, you have a problem.

fechter said:
Yes, the battery negative is the reference for the measurements. The throttle should give a reading even if the motor is disconnected.

Voltron said:
Testing the throttle is easy if the controller is putting out the 5v is should to the plug.
If you can't get at any exposed metal terminals while it's plugged in, you can just poke sharp pins like a sewing needle thru the wire insulation, and read off of those, then put a dab of sealing goo on when done. One pair of wires should show 5v, then one of that pair and the other wire should sweep between close to zero and close to 5v when you move the throttle.

Sorry for late reply, I've had so much work plus the weather was awful to work outside:(

Ive tested the throttle using needles as Voltron suggested (thanks for the tip), and Black/White/Red + Yellow Blue and Green gives me the battery voltage of 41V, but Black + White/Red keep at 0V when throttling. I measured on both sides of the plug to be sure.

I don't know if I measured the right way with the motor but I disconnected the plug then I measured by alternating the signal pins with each other while turning the wheel. I tried DC and AC and always 0V. I only get a reading with the phase wires.

Should I try using my other throttle?
 
2wGlider said:
Ive tested the throttle using needles as Voltron suggested (thanks for the tip), and Black/White/Red + Yellow Blue and Green gives me the battery voltage of 41V, but Black + White/Red keep at 0V when throttling. I measured on both sides of the plug to be sure.

If there are *no* 5v-range voltages at the throttle, it means that the controller isn't sending the throttle 5v. That can be a bad connection or broken wire anywhere between the point measured at and the solder connection inside the controller on that wire.

If you were getting 5v at the motor halls, etc, then the controller's 5v supply isn't dead. (if you didn't get 5v there either, the controller might be toast, or it might not be being powered on).
 
amberwolf said:
2wGlider said:
Ive tested the throttle using needles as Voltron suggested (thanks for the tip), and Black/White/Red + Yellow Blue and Green gives me the battery voltage of 41V, but Black + White/Red keep at 0V when throttling. I measured on both sides of the plug to be sure.

If there are *no* 5v-range voltages at the throttle, it means that the controller isn't sending the throttle 5v. That can be a bad connection or broken wire anywhere between the point measured at and the solder connection inside the controller on that wire.

If you were getting 5v at the motor halls, etc, then the controller's 5v supply isn't dead. (if you didn't get 5v there either, the controller might be toast, or it might not be being powered on).

yeah its not reading anything :?
Before I try to take apart the controller, should I try using a different throttle? Could the problem be in the throttle it self?
 
I would try unplugging the throttle and measure the pins coming from the controller. You should see something around 5v on one.

I’m not familiar with the Sondors. How do you turn it on? Does anything light up?
 
2wGlider said:
yeah its not reading anything :?
Before I try to take apart the controller, should I try using a different throttle? Could the problem be in the throttle it self?
Just unplug it and check for the voltages on the controller side of the connnector. If there's nothing, it's nto the throttle.

At that point, start checking whatever switches there are to turn the bike on.
 
amberwolf said:
Just unplug it and check for the voltages on the controller side of the connnector. If there's nothing, it's nto the throttle.

At that point, start checking whatever switches there are to turn the bike on.

Ok, but if I disconnect the throttle connector I can´t turn on the controller unless I short the wires that go to the throttle switch. I´ll try that.

fechter said:
I would try unplugging the throttle and measure the pins coming from the controller. You should see something around 5v on one.

I’m not familiar with the Sondors. How do you turn it on? Does anything light up?

I´ll try that and report. This bike has a battery switch on one side of the box and a controller switch on the throttle it self.
 
2wGlider said:
Ok, but if I disconnect the throttle connector I can´t turn on the controller unless I short the wires that go to the throttle switch. I´ll try that.

Then the most likely problem is that switch, itself.
 
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