Help Identifying my fried controller
- Thread starter amug1
- Start date
docw009
1 MW
Controllers work with specific displays. If you have a display then you need to find a controller that is compatible.
Otherwise, buy a controller with a display as a combo, and make sure the controller has enough documentation on the wiring. You can probably buy any 25A or 30A controller that will fit in the same space and rewire it.
Otherwise, buy a controller with a display as a combo, and make sure the controller has enough documentation on the wiring. You can probably buy any 25A or 30A controller that will fit in the same space and rewire it.
docw009
1 MW
Kingmeter dislays often are paired with Lishui controllers, but their part numbers begin with LSW. If the maker of your ebike cannot sell you one, it's pretty tough to find an exact replacement. That's the best place to start though.
Seems like a KM529 display costs $89, and Lishui controllers are over $100, on aliexpress.com. Cost wise, you can buy a KT color display for under $50, and a KT 25A sine wave controller for 100 bucks. Tradeoff is almost every connection has to be re-spliced. That's tough unless you're familiar with controllers,
Seems like a KM529 display costs $89, and Lishui controllers are over $100, on aliexpress.com. Cost wise, you can buy a KT color display for under $50, and a KT 25A sine wave controller for 100 bucks. Tradeoff is almost every connection has to be re-spliced. That's tough unless you're familiar with controllers,
What’s wrong with the old controller? Sometimes it’s just a loose connection you can fix.
How exactly were you wiring the lights? NOrmally those get connected to the battery or a DC-DC, not the controller. So if that's the case, it' more likely your battery that has a problem (BMS, fuse,e tc) than the controller.amug1 said:Like a dummy….I installed a aftermarket headlight and brake light….and forgot power was still on and….bzzzz! DOH! Now neither work
I agree you should do a little troubleshooting before replacing the controller.
Do you have a voltmeter? It would be good to make some measurements to narrow down the problem.
You also might want to take apart the controller and look inside. Sometimes the problem is obvious. If the controller is toasted you don’t have much to risk by taking it apart.
Do you have a voltmeter? It would be good to make some measurements to narrow down the problem.
You also might want to take apart the controller and look inside. Sometimes the problem is obvious. If the controller is toasted you don’t have much to risk by taking it apart.
With the voltmeter you can start by measuring the main battery wires going to the controller and see if you get the expected voltage.
If that looks ok you can measure the throttle wires and look for 5v (put the negative meter probe on the battery negative).
If that looks ok you can measure the throttle wires and look for 5v (put the negative meter probe on the battery negative).
I had to cut the wires from the factory tail light connector and splice it to my new brighter tail light and before I soldered it....I tested the new light and.....Shorted it out which caused the taillight to not work properly (very dim)....same goes for the headlight. UGH so frustrating and the bike mfg want $120 for a replacement controller (just found out today they do have them).
I'm thinking maybe I should just upgrade the controller with a new Grin Tech Baserunner that is fully programmable now.
I'm thinking maybe I should just upgrade the controller with a new Grin Tech Baserunner that is fully programmable now.
amug1 said:
So is it that the lights aren't working, but the controller is, or the controller no longer powers the bike? I'd odd that the lights still work, but dimly. Are you sure the new lights are the same voltage as the old ones? I assume the old lights no longer work when plugged in.
You could disconnect the lights and see if the motor runs.
docw009
1 MW
I guess you could buy a new baserunner and if you succeed in connecting it up, you will have taught yourself how to fish in the ebiking world.
You really should take off the lights first and see if it still works And I think you're better off buying the replacement controller. Yours seems well made, and no reason to lose all the connectors.
You really should take off the lights first and see if it still works And I think you're better off buying the replacement controller. Yours seems well made, and no reason to lose all the connectors.
Are the lights controlled from the display buttons? Meaning, they turn on only when you tell them to?
If so, it's usually the display itself that has the electronics for controlling the lights, not the controller. They *could* be in the controller, but it's much more common to be in the display unit; we've seen this type of failure on more than one kind of display.
Or do they turn on whenever power to the bike is turned on? (when the system is working). In this event it's likely the controller itself has electronics (or just wiring, perhaps a tiny fuse) that provide power to the lights directly from the battery.
Now...most of these lighting connectors can only supply a tiny current at a low voltage, a few watts at best total. Connecting a light (with power on *or* off) that takes more current than that can supply can easily destroy the electronics that control that output; it's just a tiny little transistor. (which you can replace if you are willing to open things up to look for it on the board and able to do surface-mount-part-repairs, if that's all that's wrong, assuming we can figure out what specific part to use to replace it with. The catch is that opening it up risks making the system no longer work to drive the motor/etc.).
It might be better (cheaper, almost certainly, and probably easier) to just install a small DC-DC converter with it's own switch for your lights. This would connect to your battery and provide power for the lights. You do need to know the specifications for the lights themselves; if you're not sure what those are, then if you provide links to their purchase pages, they may have this info we can find.
Also, when you say a "short" caused the problem, which specific wires on the controller did you short together? (a short is directly connecting two or more wires that are not supposed to be connected. If that's not what happened, it's not a short, so a specific exact description of the sequence of events would be helpful).
I see that you have plugged in a different (new) light and then "both" stopped working after a "bzzzz" (was there an actual sound?), but then you say it *is* working except for the lights; it's a little confusing (presumably by "both" you mean "both lights", but it could also mean "both controller (or system) and lights"). Normally it wouldn't matter if power was on or not when connecting a light, it should not cause a failure if the light is not faulty and not exceeding what the system can provide to it.
I realize that often it's hard to know what details to provide, but anything at all, even things you might think insignificant, may tell us what caused a problem and help us provide you a solution, so providing as complete a list of details about the entire sequence of events and the specific results at each stage, along with details of / links to the specific equipment involved, usually helps resolve a problem faster with a more useful (and cheaper) resolution.
If so, it's usually the display itself that has the electronics for controlling the lights, not the controller. They *could* be in the controller, but it's much more common to be in the display unit; we've seen this type of failure on more than one kind of display.
Or do they turn on whenever power to the bike is turned on? (when the system is working). In this event it's likely the controller itself has electronics (or just wiring, perhaps a tiny fuse) that provide power to the lights directly from the battery.
Now...most of these lighting connectors can only supply a tiny current at a low voltage, a few watts at best total. Connecting a light (with power on *or* off) that takes more current than that can supply can easily destroy the electronics that control that output; it's just a tiny little transistor. (which you can replace if you are willing to open things up to look for it on the board and able to do surface-mount-part-repairs, if that's all that's wrong, assuming we can figure out what specific part to use to replace it with. The catch is that opening it up risks making the system no longer work to drive the motor/etc.).
It might be better (cheaper, almost certainly, and probably easier) to just install a small DC-DC converter with it's own switch for your lights. This would connect to your battery and provide power for the lights. You do need to know the specifications for the lights themselves; if you're not sure what those are, then if you provide links to their purchase pages, they may have this info we can find.
Also, when you say a "short" caused the problem, which specific wires on the controller did you short together? (a short is directly connecting two or more wires that are not supposed to be connected. If that's not what happened, it's not a short, so a specific exact description of the sequence of events would be helpful).
I see that you have plugged in a different (new) light and then "both" stopped working after a "bzzzz" (was there an actual sound?), but then you say it *is* working except for the lights; it's a little confusing (presumably by "both" you mean "both lights", but it could also mean "both controller (or system) and lights"). Normally it wouldn't matter if power was on or not when connecting a light, it should not cause a failure if the light is not faulty and not exceeding what the system can provide to it.
I realize that often it's hard to know what details to provide, but anything at all, even things you might think insignificant, may tell us what caused a problem and help us provide you a solution, so providing as complete a list of details about the entire sequence of events and the specific results at each stage, along with details of / links to the specific equipment involved, usually helps resolve a problem faster with a more useful (and cheaper) resolution.
Do you know what voltage the lights run off?
Well, I doubt the tail light really can run on 680v. Must be a typo. But it does look like the headlight runs right off pack voltage, so the only thing that burned up inside the controller would have been a transistor switch. It may be possible to locate and replace it, but a lot easier to just find a switch you can mount on the handlebars and keep all the lighting external to the controller.
