First time builder - vpower.hk

[Jason27]

Keep an eye on the parts. Kits like your I dont trust.

[DUCATI125]

What parts should i keep an eye on ? Have you had some issue's with kits from china ? don c.

[DUCATI125]

hello jana, whats happening with you build ? don c.

[jana]

Hi

I just ordered 2 6cell 8AH lipo packs from HK
What turned me off and delayed my project were the rim and spokes. Rim is single walled and spokes were exremely loose.

I will now deliver the wheel to a good reputation wheel builder. He has quoted a price to get me a new double-walled rim and a good build.
Bad news is the price is about the same as I paid for the kit from vpower.hk

Now i hope to have it running by cristmas.

[jana]

Hooked it up to some batteries today. Voltage was 50V.
I turned on key. All capacity leds but the left one is kit. On the trotle I think there were to leds on. (Power and Low?) Controller has a red led that flashes slowly.

Motor didnt respond to throttle. I meassured no AC-voltage.

Tips for fault finding? i have checked that everything is connected.

JanA

[sangesf]

Hooked it up to some batteries today. Voltage was 50V.
I turned on key. All capacity leds but the left one is kit. On the trotle I think there were to leds on. (Power and Low?) Controller has a red led that flashes slowly.

Motor didnt respond to throttle. I meassured no AC-voltage.

Tips for fault finding? i have checked that everything is connected.

JanA

Blinking light in the controller means something is not connected properly..
Such as the Throttle or Phase Wires or Hall Sensor Wires..

P.S. You're not gonna find any AC voltage.. You'll find DC..

The throttle has 4 wires.. Power (+5v), Ground, Variable Voltage (.8v-4.xv) and Main Line ("48v") Voltage (for "capacity" LEDs)..

To test the throttle wires, disconnect the Phase and Hall Connectors and test each pair on the throttle.. Red from meter to red on connector and Black from meter to black on connector... Should read 5v or so.. If not, then there's a problem with the contoller. If there is, then leave black on connector and test the Variable line (it's the wire connected next to the red and black wires) and as you turn the throttle you should see the voltage change from around .8v to about 4.2v.. If you see 48v then you're on the main power/"capacity" line.. If you see no voltage (or voltage doesnt vary) then there's a problem with the throttle.

If that all works/tests out, then there's probably a problem with either the phase or hall wires or connectors.. Test the throttle / controller first as noted above and report back what you find...
We'll go from there...


Frank

[jana]

Thanks a lot. I will check this soon and report back.

[sangesf]

Okie, dokie, pokie.

+1

[jana]

Wheel works ok now!
Really impressed by how smooth it is.
Before I measured any voltages I took a good visual inspection.
The black wire to the throttle was almost completely broken.
I took away the connector and soldred the wires instead.

The red led still blinks, but I think faster than before.

Now that I know the wheel and electronics works I will continue the process of getting the wheel rebuilt.

Thanks a lot for your help and interest!

[jana]

I noticed there is no torque plates included in the kit.
Do I need it?
Where can i purchase this?

[newb]

I noticed there is no torque plates included in the kit.
Do I need it?
Where can i purchase this?

yes, here are a couple places in europe i know of, sorry dont know of any in norway.


iv bought some from this guy a while back, super fast delivery. they are aluminum and 3 or 4 mm thick, though didnt know that at the time but they are holding up well.

http://www.ebike-solutions.de/epages/62 ... aedms-alle


this site is an ES member "Bazaki" in nl and appear to sell the amped bike or similar torque arms. the nice thing about these is that you can get a custom angle so no guess work involved.

http://www.fietsunie.nl/webshop/elektri ... -arm-.html


us & canada

http://www.ampedbikes.com/accy.html

http://ebikes.ca/store/store_connectors.php

[sangesf]

Wheel works ok now!
Really impressed by how smooth it is.
Before I measured any voltages I took a good visual inspection.
The black wire to the throttle was almost completely broken.
I took away the connector and soldred the wires instead.

The red led still blinks, but I think faster than before..

Thanks a lot for your help and interest!

You might have a hall sensor (wire or connector) problem and if your controller can run sensorless, then that's why there may be a blinking light and still be able to be run..

P.S. The blinking is probably following a pattern, like 5 quick flashes and then a real brief stop and then 5 flashes again... Do you notice if the motor is a little "jerky" on start? If so, It might be running sensorless and hence the red flashing still..
(What's written on the controller? Maybe a model # or something that can be referenced and then look up what the flashing means.. I think there's a thread around here somewhere that has "flash codes" for one or more controllers.)

Lemme know.

[jana]

Hi

The controller has a note that sais:
"Brushless DC Motor Controllers
Model: SYK-48-100W
Voltage:48V
Output Power: 1000W
Voltage: 1. 1-4. 2V
Made in China
"
It is not jerky at all - very smooth.

[dnmun]

steady blink may indicate the normal state.

if it has a series of blinks, then pauses with no blinks and then repeats the same number of blinks again, then it may indicate a failed state. count the number of blinks.

sounds like your blinking is the steady type.

[sangesf]

Yes, on that specific controller a steady single red blink on / off pattern is normal operation...
(i.e. Standby - Motor not in use)

FWIW, I have two of those controllers.. One 36v, the other 48v... FYI, the 36v model has been working perfectly on 48v (Lifepo4) as it only draws 17a no matter what voltage you use - obviously the LVC on the controller is still set for 36v, but if your battery has a BMS Level cutoff, it will be fine.)

[jana]

Thanks for all the new info.

Anyone have any idea of how many volts this controller can take safely?

[sangesf]

Thanks for all the new info.

Anyone have any idea of how many volts this controller can take safely?

If my 36v one will take 48v, I see no reason why your 48v can't take 60v.. But I wouldnt go any higher than that.

[jana]

Hi all.

Still waiting for my wheel to be built.
Today I made some schematic for charging the batteries.
The idea is i swap 2 plugs when i go from running the bike to charging the bike.
This way it should be very hard to accidently make a short or overcharge.
Thinking og using 8 Andersons (assembled) for power, 50 pin D-sub for balancing leads.
Your comments are welcome.

[sangesf]

Hi all.

Still waiting for my wheel to be built.
Today I made some schematic for charging the batteries.
The idea is i swap 2 plugs when i go from running the bike to charging the bike.
This way it should be very hard to accidently make a short or overcharge.
Thinking og using 8 Andersons (assembled) for power, 50 pin D-sub for balancing leads.
Your comments are welcome.

Looks ok to me..
But I don't use LiPo, so I'm prolly not the best person to accept that from..

Just make sure the charging/discharging plugs (balance leads don't matter), are rated for the amperage you'll be pulling..

Also, I noticed no fuses in that diagram..
P.S. On every 12v, 36v and 48v line I have, I put a fuse inline.
On my test bed bike, I have all of these... (with fuse rating in parentheses).

1.) 12v line for accessories.
(12v-30a fuse on positive side going to main accessories line).

2.) (same 12v battery)/12v line, inline, with a "33v" battery, setup on a switch to go from 36v to "48v".
(12v-30a fuse on positive side going to switch).

3.) 24v battery (2 SLAs) in series with the (same) 12v battery/line.
(32v-30a fuse on positive side going to controller - [controller draws less than 30a - technically 20.9a max])

4.) "33v" battery (11s LiFePo4) on aforementioned switch (see #2 above).
(32v-30a fuse on positive side going to controller - [controller draws less than 20a - technically 17.6a max])

P.P.S. After my first 2 years of using/building e-bikes and blowing countless controllers, chargers, batteries, etc... I've learned to fuse ANYTHING that can short out!

[jana]

Thanks.

Fuses are noted.
I guess i also need some way to precharge the capacitors, but I don't have any great ideas at the moment..

[amberwolf]

Several good methods documented in various places on the forums; a search for "precharge" will find at least some of them.

[jana]

Finally my wheel was finished yesterday. It was crazy expensive but with a Mavic 721 rim and custom spokes it is supposed to be bullet proof. The stock rim and spokes are very low quality.
I put everything together really quick just to get a test ride. I will have to tidy it up, make everything waterproof et cetera.

Result was good. I had a 10 mile trip with my 3 year old daughter in the bicycle trailer.
Power was good, but because of snow and safety concerns I was only going like 15 mph most of the time. Pretty sure top speed with 12 cells LIPO is at least 25 mph.
Grip with the spiked tires was also excellent.

The weather:


The bike after the ride (1997 Kona Kula):


Now charging - hoping for a solo-trip tonight

[jana]

I had a great ride on snowy roads last night. Bike is awesome!
Had some trouble with the throttle getting stuck, but otherwise performance is very good.
After about an hour long ride I had used a little more than half of the capacity – 4200 mAh.
I did pedal quite hard and speed was around 20 mph most of the time. Trip was maybe 20 km?

This evening I made some covers for the batteries – had some pipe left over from installing an air condition unit that was a perfect fit for the batteries.



I also used this pipe to make a battery mount on the bike. I connected it to bottle-holder bolts, using some metal plates to make it stronger. Used some strips also. It seems very robust.










Still lots to do with it:
-waterproof / tidying up cables
-fixing / painting battery mount
-torque arms
-4 more cells  (must find out if controller can handle it) – already have the battery

[jana]

Opened one end of the controller today and found this:
Fets: 75V ( I think I count 18 of these)
Capacitors: 63V 470 uF (4 of these)

Could I swap the caps with 100V ones like these?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/470uF-100V-105C ... 3cba981222

See if i get this right: Now the max voltage is 63V --> 63 / 4.2 --> max 15 cells Lipo
Will 16 cells definetly kill it?


If I swap the caps the Fets will be limiting: 75V--> 75/4.2 --> 17.8 --> max 17 cells Lipo

Appreciate your input on this

[sangesf]

Considering I know nothing about FETs and CAPs, I'd like to find out too..
18Fet controller tho? It must be HUGE!