TaoTao ATE-501

RoadRanger

1 µW
Joined
Oct 23, 2008
Messages
4
Didn't know if mopeds belonged in this subforum or the ebike one?

Anyways I've had one for about a month and was hoping to discuss mods and fixes.

Mine has 4 batteries (48V) but I've read that there is space for a 5th to bring the top speed up from 25 MPG to 30 MPH which is the moped speed limit in my state (Connecticut). I have a 5th battery ($33) coming in this week and a 60V charger due in week or two (or so :( ) from China ($15 vs $60 from the US). I'll probably lose regen braking :( but we'll see...

Actually the present top speed is fine but I would like to get a bit more range and the extra battery will give me 25% more if I keep the speed down to 25. When the batteries die in a year or three (?) I'll either upgrade to the 22AH ones from the present 18AH ones or go with a lithium pack.

OTOH hill climbing and acceleration from a stop are kind of wimpy (but better than expected) so I might "butter" the current shunt to increase torque a bit. I also have a 800w 60v controller on order for $24 but might try to mod the stock one as I've read it can be a PITA to get the motor wires right on a controller swap. the stock controller is 500w 48V.

#1 improvement so far is to keep the tires aired up to max to minimize rolling resistance - makes a HUGE difference. Riding two-up with my kid is about 270 lbs so I have the rear shocks cranked up to max too. Chinese tubes tend to leak - my front was OK but the rear badly needed air after a week. So I got a $7 8 oz bottle of Slime for tubes at Walmart and put 4 oz into each yesterday. When I removed the air I carefully squeezed in (to break the seal to the rim) and rotated the tires w/tube until the stems were straight before adding the Slime and re-inflating.

The stock voltmeter seems OK but I'll have to mod/calibrate it for the 60V. The stock speedometer reads WAY high (as others on the web have also noted) and I might mod/calibrate that too - but it seems to show throttle position more than actual speed anyways?
 
I use a "KILL-A-WATT" meter to monitor charging. I've seen almost 900 watt-hours used in a charge cycle - I don't know how that relates to how drained the batteries were but the theoretical capacity of the battery pack is 864 watt-hours. SLA batteries shouldn't be drained more that 50% if you want to get the best life out of them and should always be charged as soon as possible after use. I've come within two bars of the red zone on a hill when coming home - I don't know how that relates to charge state? The stock controller will cut out at a certain voltage to protect the batteries but I don't know if that is closer to 50% or 0% left - I suspect the latter and suspect that's where the red zone is.
 
Installed the 5th battery temporarily in the under-seat compartment and it wouldn't move :( . I did measure the voltage and it was 65 volts so I know I wired it correctly. Poor "gas gauge" SLAMMED past full LOL. The 12V stuff still worked. I put things back to "normal" and it still works so I suspect there is some sort of overvoltage protection in the stock controller? I do have a 60V capable controller coming in as I mentioned that also is 800w vs 500w so should have a bit more torque too. I'm somewhat considering just hacking the current shunt in the stock controller and leaving the scooter at 48V - top speed isn't really that bad for around town and the present range is OK, especially if I can charge at the destination. A bit quicker off-the-line is my main want - I can up the batteries from 18AH to 22AH when I replace then in a year or three for more range :) .
 
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