OzCableguy
10 µW
Greetings everyone. I recently bought a 48v BBSHD kit online for a fat bike, along with a cradle that would allow me to use my existing 48v Dolphin batteries from some hub motor kits I already own. Now, it all came together and works fine, except that the DPC18 display that the kit came with is showing the batteries at 65-68% when they are fully charged. If I put the batteries back on the hub motor bikes with C965 displays, they show 100%. Now, this may be a minor inconvenience except that the battery is showing as flat and cutting out at 49%. If I put it back on the C965 equipped bikes, I still have half a tank and they ride fine. So I'm only getting half the range I should be on the BBSHD.
My assumption is that the controller has the 52v firmware version instead of the 48v version. The seller agrees but isn't 100% sure. Their solution is to send the motor or just the controller back to them at my expense so they can check it. (They are in Melbourne and I am in Brisbane). If no fault is found, they will charge me for the return shipping. If it is faulty, they will refund my shipping cost. Then there is also my time and effort in uninstalling and reinstalling the motor, and not having it in my possession for however long this all takes.
They will not or cannot send the 48v firmware version to me so I can do it myself, and warn me that I will void warranty if I download one from elsewhere and DIY anyway. That might not be such a big deal, provided there is little to no risk of bricking my controller, since I need to change the programming which will void warranty anyway. (I did not realise that the throttle does not override the PAS levels, and doesn't work at all in level 0 with the stock programming. I also don't like how the lower PAS levels cut out at such low speeds and/or higher cadence.)
What is the best solution? Could there be something else causing this issue?
1. Is there a risk of bricking my controller if I follow the instructions at Updating Bafang Firmware and use their version? Does anyone know if those versions allow programming changes? I have heard of some that don't, and they become unresponsive if you try, and then you have to reinstall the firmware to get it operational again. If this happens, I will probably try Daniel Nilsson's open source version, unless there is another version somewhere I should try?
2. Instead of flashing the firmware, if I drop the low voltage protection using the Bafang programming tool, will that give me full battery range even if the display is still wrong? If so, what is the lowest I should go?
3. The Eggrider allows calibrating the battery voltage display. Is this worth the expense or will I still need to change the firmware anyway?
Edit: I just got a response from California ebike. They report that the risk should be limited to something like power cutting out or similar unanticipated events, and that after updating the firmware I will still be able to update the programming like normal. I will try this option first. If anything goes wrong or it doesn't fix the battery range issue, then I'll flash Daniel's open source version. I see it allows specifying the battery voltage.
My assumption is that the controller has the 52v firmware version instead of the 48v version. The seller agrees but isn't 100% sure. Their solution is to send the motor or just the controller back to them at my expense so they can check it. (They are in Melbourne and I am in Brisbane). If no fault is found, they will charge me for the return shipping. If it is faulty, they will refund my shipping cost. Then there is also my time and effort in uninstalling and reinstalling the motor, and not having it in my possession for however long this all takes.
They will not or cannot send the 48v firmware version to me so I can do it myself, and warn me that I will void warranty if I download one from elsewhere and DIY anyway. That might not be such a big deal, provided there is little to no risk of bricking my controller, since I need to change the programming which will void warranty anyway. (I did not realise that the throttle does not override the PAS levels, and doesn't work at all in level 0 with the stock programming. I also don't like how the lower PAS levels cut out at such low speeds and/or higher cadence.)
What is the best solution? Could there be something else causing this issue?
1. Is there a risk of bricking my controller if I follow the instructions at Updating Bafang Firmware and use their version? Does anyone know if those versions allow programming changes? I have heard of some that don't, and they become unresponsive if you try, and then you have to reinstall the firmware to get it operational again. If this happens, I will probably try Daniel Nilsson's open source version, unless there is another version somewhere I should try?
2. Instead of flashing the firmware, if I drop the low voltage protection using the Bafang programming tool, will that give me full battery range even if the display is still wrong? If so, what is the lowest I should go?
3. The Eggrider allows calibrating the battery voltage display. Is this worth the expense or will I still need to change the firmware anyway?
Edit: I just got a response from California ebike. They report that the risk should be limited to something like power cutting out or similar unanticipated events, and that after updating the firmware I will still be able to update the programming like normal. I will try this option first. If anything goes wrong or it doesn't fix the battery range issue, then I'll flash Daniel's open source version. I see it allows specifying the battery voltage.
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