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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amberwolf said:
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.

fechter said:
If you don't see any signs of life on the throttle pins, I'd look at tracing out the power on both switches. Try to see where stops.

Just checked the throttle switch, lights up the LEDs everytime. Also shorted the corresponding wires and LEDs light up.

The main battery switch works, otherwise the other one would not work.
It has to be either the variable resistor in the throttle, or the coontroller is fried or has a lose wire.

I'll try using my other throttle and report. We'll get there eventually :bolt:
 
I'd guess there is a wire that goes from the throttle switch back to the controller. You should be able to find that wire on the controller end and see that it gets power when the switch is turned on.
 
markz said:
It's not like Sondors is known for installing quality components on their e-bicycles.

I've been amazed by the willingness of Sondors owners to dump hundreds of dollars of upgrades into their bikes. Suddenly they weren't as good a deal as represented.
 
2wGlider said:
Just checked the throttle switch, lights up the LEDs everytime. Also shorted the corresponding wires and LEDs light up.
The LEDs may be lighting up...but does the controller get power from that switch?

If it doesn't, then it won't provide 5v to the throttle (which is your present problem).


It has to be either the variable resistor in the throttle, or the coontroller is fried or has a lose wire.
There is almost certainly no variable resistor in there, it is almost always an analog hall sensor.

However, regardless of what it is, the problem is that the controller is not sending it 5v (or else you would measure that when measuring the inputs to the throttle). Without the 5v (or other power supply), neither type of throttle will work.

The root problem with the throttle itself is that lack of power to run the throttle.

What causes that is *usually* that the controller is not actually powered on (the keyswitch/ignition/doorlock/etc wire is not connected to battery voltage). Or a broken wire betweent he controller and the throttle.
 
fechter said:
I'd guess there is a wire that goes from the throttle switch back to the controller. You should be able to find that wire on the controller end and see that it gets power when the switch is turned on.

If the switch is just one wire that goes out and back in the controller, how do I measure if its getting power? btw, when the switch is turned off, the two wires measure 41V, when they are closed they read 0V. seems strange to me but might be normal.

amberwolf said:
The LEDs may be lighting up...but does the controller get power from that switch?

If it doesn't, then it won't provide 5v to the throttle (which is your present problem).

There is almost certainly no variable resistor in there, it is almost always an analog hall sensor.

However, regardless of what it is, the problem is that the controller is not sending it 5v (or else you would measure that when measuring the inputs to the throttle). Without the 5v (or other power supply), neither type of throttle will work.

The root problem with the throttle itself is that lack of power to run the throttle.

What causes that is *usually* that the controller is not actually powered on (the keyswitch/ignition/doorlock/etc wire is not connected to battery voltage). Or a broken wire betweent he controller and the throttle.

Hmm ok it would be a waste of time, I see it clearly now, thanks.
 
Can't tell what you've tried since you don't appear to be approaching this methodically. Maybe you did this, but plug everything back in, push the switch that usually turns on the bike, then check all of the throttle wire voltages to ground, using the pin/needle trick. Report back if you find a 5V signal on any of them.
 
2wGlider said:
If the switch is just one wire that goes out and back in the controller, how do I measure if its getting power? btw, when the switch is turned off, the two wires measure 41V, when they are closed they read 0V. seems strange to me but might be normal.
That's normal if you are measuring *across the switch*. When the switch is "on" it shorts the switch leads, so it has to read 0V if the switch is working.

To measure any voltage, you need to always use your black meter lead on the battery negative. If you don't, you may not be measuring the actual voltage present somewhere, just the difference in voltage between the two points you have the meter leads connected to. So whenever we're asking for voltage measurements, I would strongly recommend always using your black meter lead at the battery negative itself.

Now, the question is: Is the 41v from the switch wire making it back to the controller itself? Not just to the connector pin there, but to the controller. You may have to open up the controller to verify this.

And, if so, is there then any 5v coming from the controller? At the wire, or at least the connector, going to the throttle? At the connector going to the motor halls (if it is not sensorless)?

If you don't have 41v going back to the controller, inside the controller, then it wont' turn on because that keyswitch/ignition/doorlock/powerbutton wire (KSI) is what provides power to the LVPS (low voltage power supply) inside the ocntroller that then makes the 12v and 5v for everything (including the controller's brain, throttle, motor halls, etc).

If you do have 41v all the way back into the controller, but it still doesnt' have any 5v output, it may be the controller's 5v regulator, or the 12v one that supplies that one with power, that has failed, or become disconnected (broken solder joint, etc).
 
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