What have I blown ?

[alan c]

I have a recumbent trike with a 9c 12 fet controller 24s 2p 16ah zippy lipo. Every thing has been good for 1000 klm. About 1 and a half months ago I got booked for driving an unregesterd vehical so I pulled the controller off in case they wanted to test my bike ,everything was ok when i took it off. Today I hooked it up again and everythings not ok . I just need an idea on where I should start looking before I pull everything apart. With the back wheel off the ground I hit the throttle, nuthin I move the wheel a little by hand thottle works? I put the wheel back on the ground move the bike forward a bit hit the thottle and the motor sort of growls very little power and moves forward very growly and jerky. Phase and hall wires all hooked up as before . Ive checked connections several times not sure where to look next ?Halls, motor, controller, throttle? Any help would be much appreciated thanks

 

[Samd]

Hey Alan, didn't know you got booked! I could lend you a generic 12get and throttle to swap out if that helps? I have a colleague that travels to Bacchus daily.

What's the story with the booking?

 

[Jeremy Harris]

Sounds like a bad Hall, or a bad Hall connection. Have a look at the Hall connectors carefully, as there is a known problem with some where the pins back out of the housing.

Failing that, check the Halls (there are some good threads here on how to do that).

 

[dogman dan]

Definitely sounds like a hall or connection to them. I've had halls fail after a hot bike was parked. Runs fine to the garage, but next ride, nada.

 

[ohzee]

If you do not have one should invest in one of the ebike testers.. in a few minutes you could track down the root cause
before starting to swap things out.

 

[alan c]

Hey thanks guys for the replies. I think Ill invest in a tester. Samd thanks for the offer but Ive got a couple of controllers and throttle ect. With the booking I got pulled up one night at about 70kph going down an overpass. I passed a fire truck , I was in the bike lane and was pulled over by 2 female cops 1 was ok 1 couldnt wait to book me. Anyway I got a fine for $704 for driving an unregestered vehical. I spoke to the guy I bought the bike off a member on this forum ( just happens to be a lawyer) and he advised to have it heard in court, so I filled in the back of the fine sent it back. Got a letter back saying I would recieve a summons. About a week ago I got a letter from Melton police saying they have withdrawn the fine and not persuing the matter due to the fine being issued in error. yeah

 

[alan c]

I found the problem an anderson plug on 1 of the phase wires. The plastic housing was slightly melted and had gone over the contact a little must have been a bit loose at some stage Thanks everone

 

[ohzee]

Nice alan glad you found it.. id still say get one of those testers.. sux when you really need one to wait for it.

I think you can find em for mid 20's .. wow just found one on ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/24V-36V-48V-60V-E-bike-Brushless-Motor-Controler-Tester-/280849837588?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4163f46e14

21 bux shipped.

 

[alan c]

Ohzee thanks for that I just bought it , dont know how it will go at 100v but well see :lol:

 

[John in CR]

If it got hot enough to melt the plastic, then you have an issue to fix. Either it didn't have a good connection, so the high resistance connection got hot, or the phase wires just aren't thick enough. Go for a ride and do some stops and starts after riding for a while to get things warmed up. Then feel your phase and battery wires and connectors from end to end checking for heat.

John

 

[dogman dan]

I know it's amps not voltage, but even so 24s indicates to me a pretty hot bike.

45 amp andersons might be adequate when all is well, but all MUST be well or they cook off. ( same for any type connector, but andersons sometimes back out of those housings) Might be time to upgrade those phase connections, the wire itself is fine if it doesn't get too warm. 12 g might still be plenty. The connector is the vulnerable thing, but thicker wire is never a bad thing in most cases. Time for 5mm or larger bullets?

 

[alan c]

Hi I think as Dogman said the anderson just backed out a bit. It was only 1 wire the other 2 were fine. I thought about upgrading the phase wires but they seem ok they are fairly short only about 2 1/2 inches outside the axle straight to the controller. They definatly get warm but not too bad . I wish I could keep the motor as cool as the phase wires . I am running it at 40 amps on the ca but I dont know what the phase current is