Another issue with Luna Cycle. Need controller recommendations.

GMRedline

1 mW
Joined
Apr 12, 2016
Messages
17
I had a controller fail on a Luna 1000w ebike kit.

https://lunacycle.com/ebike-kit-1000-watt-waterproof-connectors-hub-motor-conversion/

Does anyone have a good replacement for the controller that comes in this kit? We email Luna support and they told us they can't sell us a replacment controller because it their busy season. Try back in fall... We only have a few short months of riding weather here in WI.

geared_hub_and_ebike_kit-7__49085.1473037422.jpg


Thanks!
 
GMRedline said:
Does anyone have a good replacement for the controller that comes in this kit?
Knowing absolutely nothing about your controller, you might try the Phaserunner if you can find one locally from another ebiker. (They take a while to get from ebikes.ca.) They are unusually programmable, and you can do things like autodetect sensor phasing and motor constants/pole arrangements. And they support sensorless operation if there are no Hall sensors (or you can't get them to work.)
 
From the Luna advertisment..." If anything every breaks you can easily unplug it and replace it without messy soldering or wire splicing." Oh well.

Those connectors are great but only found on certain controllers. If you know for sure that your existing controller is dead, and you cannot get anything til Fall, a last resort is to buy a conventional model with its rats nest of wires/connectors and splice in the connectors from the dead controller. Takes some electrical detective work as well as some familiarity with ebike components.

Or you could contact this guy, buy his controller and see if he will also sell you the brakes, LCD, throttle and main cable that fit.The motor connector is, I believe, somewhat of a standard and will probably fit.

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Okfeet-48V-30A-big-waterproof-8-pin-sinewave-controller-for-brushless-hub-motor-electric-bicycle-conversion/3521021_32888804302.html?spm=2114.12010615/itm2home-3.8148356.65.63212c46qfBC2F
 
Radpower bikes use controllers that look a lot like the one you show in the pic. Don't know if they're plug-compatible with what youv'e got, but you can contact them and see.

They probably won't flip you off like Luna did. ;)

(I really can't understand a company that blows off existing customers that actually want to spend more money! :roll: )
 
Thanks for the advice everyone.

To make matters worse, I've purchased 2 and helped sell 3 of those specific ebike kits through recommendations. I hope the people I've recommended don't run into the same issues I'm having.
 
docw009 said:
From the Luna advertisment..." If anything every breaks you can easily unplug it and replace it without messy soldering or wire splicing." Oh well.

Those connectors are great but only found on certain controllers. If you know for sure that your existing controller is dead, and you cannot get anything til Fall, a last resort is to buy a conventional model with its rats nest of wires/connectors and splice in the connectors from the dead controller. Takes some electrical detective work as well as some familiarity with ebike components.

Or you could contact this guy, buy his controller and see if he will also sell you the brakes, LCD, throttle and main cable that fit.The motor connector is, I believe, somewhat of a standard and will probably fit.

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Okfeet-48V-30A-big-waterproof-8-pin-sinewave-controller-for-brushless-hub-motor-electric-bicycle-conversion/3521021_32888804302.html?spm=2114.12010615/itm2home-3.8148356.65.63212c46qfBC2F

I swapped the none working controller A from Bike A to Bike B and it didn't work on Bike B. I swapped a working controller B from Bike B and installed it on Bike A and it worked. I've swapped throttles, displays, and wiring harnesses individually. Everything associated with controller A didn't work. I'm pretty sure it's the controller but I'm willing to try anything else.

I can rewire red to red and yellow to yellow. But I doubt Luna is going to give me the wiring diagram for their controller so I can match another controller to their plugs. IDK?
 
That controller i believe is the same that ebikekit.com sells. 124.00$ on their website. Good luck in your journey.
 
It's not too hard to figure out the wiring so you could use a different controller. There are many, many controllers that will work with that motor.

Since you know one controller is bad, you don't have much to lose by taking it apart. Often times you can find a problem just by looking closely at the board and the wiring. There are some simple tests you can do with a voltmeter to narrow down the problem. Some problems are easy to fix, some are not.

If it is truly unrepairable, you could harvest the connectors off the bad one to splice in a different model so you could keep the throttle and brake lines. The display is not likely to be compatible with another model.
 
GMRedline said:
I swapped the none working controller A from Bike A to Bike B and it didn't work on Bike B. I swapped a working controller B from Bike B and installed it on Bike A and it worked. I've swapped throttles, displays, and wiring harnesses individually. Everything associated with controller A didn't work.
If your communication with Luna was anything like the text above? I understand why Luna people don't want to spend time emailing or talking. Try this. Would like to purchase one controller for Ebike Kit 1000 watt Waterproof Connectors Hub Motor Conversion [include all options in original sale]. If all else fails? Create a new identity. madeupname@gmail.com and start over. Are you a boy? Try typing like a girl and use a girls name @gmail.com?
 
We should help this guy out. I cant tell what those connectors are, so we should ask the guy to post pictures of his controller, see what connectors are what. Where does the display connect to, battery connect to etc. Also I like the idea of opening it up and taking a visual look first.

First step would be to snip the connectors off halfway and peel back the insulation off each conductor/wire. Hopefully each conductor is a different color. If not, then perhaps the first step should be to take a razor and slowly cut the insulation off that holds all the different wires and see what color they are. Different colors good, same colors then just means you have to label each wire conductor. Find three large wires then thats your phase wires. Find 5 small wires bundled all together then thats your sensor wires. I got a feeling though, that if the display wires are mixed in with the sensor wires. But if the display connects to its own port say on the controller then we have a better chance.

Get back to us on that. It really shouldnt be that hard to figure out.
 
I took a closer look at the pictures of the website you linked too.

A good chance - Battery connectors would be that gold male plug which includes most likely the gnd right next to it, so two conductors in one cable going into controller.

9 pin connector as seen in my attached picture - Sensor Wires take 5, Throttle take 3 (or would it take 2 taking the +5V off the +5V sensor wire????) then the Brake cutoff could be one wire with both brake levers connected to one wire going into connector?????)

Other connector just below battery - Is an unknown factor. Maybe thats dedicated to display.

Where are the larger wires for the phase wires?
Perhaps we can assume that controller is SENSORLESS, so only require 3 large phase wires, say 12G, then throttle 3 wires. Maybe that design used 2 pins for each phase, say two 14G or two 16G per phase is how Luna designed it. Either way that is funky a.f.


View attachment 2
Clipboard04.jpg
 
I've done this before. Had to splice a Luna controller with Sondors plugs into a non-Sondors bike.

The 9 pin connector is most likely the same. My Bafang hubmotor and the Q100/Q128 motors use a common connector It's a leap of faith though. There are some pins to check if one is anal.

OP probably has a main cable that looks like this.
.

The likely layout is throttle (3 wires), display (5 wires) and brakes (2 wires), but since each unit has a ground, the cable probably only has 8 wires. It's possible to identify all 8 wires. Then you cut off the old connector and splice it.

Bonus is that the new controller will have a pedal assist sensor (PAS) input.
 
Back
Top