Ebike down.

lotrwiz · Oct 6, 2013

I bought an 8fun front hub motor kit a while ago, today, a big problem, nothing happens!

My battery is FINE.

My throttle/ not sure
my controller/ not sure
my motor/ not sure

Last night, a red flashing light appeared inside the controller, so I'm inclined to believe that that's screwed.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. All the wires are connected of course, thanks a lot!

EDIT: Today the red light in the controller is blinking furiously, i think it's that.

pdf · Oct 6, 2013

You mention you bought the kit a while ago. Have you used the kit before when it worked or is this the first time you have tried it?

dogman dan · Oct 6, 2013

A starting point could be to look for voltage on the throttle wires plug. See if you have 5v there. Then see if working the throttle modulates that on the third wire.

d8veh · Oct 7, 2013

How do you know that your battery is fine? Which battery is it, the rack one or bottle one?

lotrwiz · Oct 7, 2013

've been usin the kit with no problems, and I've got the water bottle battery. I know its fine as I've measured the current coming from it

dogman dan · Oct 7, 2013

Ask a vague question get a vague answer. We can't very well say what the flashing red light means till you tell us what controller you have. Then somebody with the same one might know what that means.

For me, with 3-6 ebikes in my garage at all times, the best money I ever spent was a motor/controller/ throttle tester.

lotrwiz · Oct 7, 2013

dogman said:
Ask a vague question get a vague answer. We can't very well say what the flashing red light means till you tell us what controller you have. Then somebody with the same one might know what that means.

For me, with 3-6 ebikes in my garage at all times, the best money I ever spent was a motor/controller/ throttle tester.

I know, didn't really know what else to ask. I don't know what controler it is, I've sent off the controller to the company for testing and a replacement so yeah.

dogman dan · Oct 7, 2013

That would eliminate sending us a picture of it then. One showing the insides. We have other geniuses here that can look at one and tell you all about it. Me, if it tests bad, I buy another. Usually the problem is I plugged one in backwards, again. :roll:

Sometimes the cheaply manufactured components in controllers and chargers just fail. Hopefully you will get a replacement free.

John in CR · Oct 7, 2013

If the controller is blinking, the number of flashes or pattern will tell you what's wrong if you know the code. My guess would be that it's something other than the controller, since if it was blown, then no LEDs at all seems more likely.

Invest in an ebike tester like Dogman said. Identifying the problem is over half the job and testers make that a piece of cake.

d8veh · Oct 8, 2013

We can't help you because you can't do the necessary tests. It's normal for controllers to flash, Flashing evenly on and off means OK. Any other pattern is a fault code.

alsmith · Oct 8, 2013

You can't really discount the battery being faulty just because it has been working properly until this problem. So did the other things.
First check should be your battery voltage, it's probably the easiest thing to do a quick check on. If it turns out it's low then check the charger. Missing something out in the checks because of an assumption can cause hours of wasted effort, including sending parts back to suppliers.

lotrwiz · Oct 9, 2013

alsmith said:
You can't really discount the battery being faulty just because it has been working properly until this problem. So did the other things.
First check should be your battery voltage, it's probably the easiest thing to do a quick check on. If it turns out it's low then check the charger. Missing something out in the checks because of an assumption can cause hours of wasted effort, including sending parts back to suppliers.

Sorry, I didn't mean to give off the impression that I presumed. I checked the battery already.

d8veh · Oct 9, 2013

lotrwiz said:
alsmith said:

You can't really discount the battery being faulty just because it has been working properly until this problem. So did the other things.
First check should be your battery voltage, it's probably the easiest thing to do a quick check on. If it turns out it's low then check the charger. Missing something out in the checks because of an assumption can cause hours of wasted effort, including sending parts back to suppliers.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I didn't mean to give off the impression that I presumed. I checked the battery already.

How, and what were the results?

dogman dan · Oct 9, 2013

Best scenario, when the controller gets returned after checking out ok, when he plugs it all back in the bad contact at one of the plugs that was the problem does not repeat itself.

Its very very very very very often just a loose plug making a poor contact. Generally the contacts push back out of the housing. So look at the plugs that go to the throttle, and the motor. See if those contacts are not sliding around in the housing.

Steady flash is often the code for all is ok with a controller.

lotrwiz · Oct 9, 2013

dogman said:
Best scenario, when the controller gets returned after checking out ok, when he plugs it all back in the bad contact at one of the plugs that was the problem does not repeat itself.

Its very very very very very often just a loose plug making a poor contact. Generally the contacts push back out of the housing. So look at the plugs that go to the throttle, and the motor. See if those contacts are not sliding around in the housing.

Steady flash is often the code for all is ok with a controller.

I did that, many times. I've had a lot of experience with old brushed scooters and mobility scooters, so I'm not a noob here.

It was at first a steady flash, then it escalated to a manic flash, like a strobe.

lotrwiz · Oct 9, 2013

d8veh said:
lotrwiz said:

alsmith said:

You can't really discount the battery being faulty just because it has been working properly until this problem. So did the other things.
First check should be your battery voltage, it's probably the easiest thing to do a quick check on. If it turns out it's low then check the charger. Missing something out in the checks because of an assumption can cause hours of wasted effort, including sending parts back to suppliers.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I didn't mean to give off the impression that I presumed. I checked the battery already.

Click to expand...

How, and what were the results?

With a voltmeter, and it came out at about 35.4v which is about right for my 36v battery.

alsmith · Oct 9, 2013

lotrwiz said:
With a voltmeter, and it came out at about 35.4v which is about right for my 36v battery.

So it's not charged. What chemistry is the battery? We can tell you what a fully charged battery can be expected- should be expected to be.

d8veh · Oct 10, 2013

lotrwiz said:
With a voltmeter, and it came out at about 35.4v which is about right for my 36v battery.

That's totally not OK. It should be about 41.5v.

The errors that the controller gives are patterns of flashes in a sequence, like two or three flashes then a delay before repeating. The number of flashes is the error code. Are you sure that the frequency of flashing increased?

lotrwiz · Oct 16, 2013

Right guys, thanks for all your help, I sent the controller off, they tested it the next day, and sent a new one back the same day as it was faulty as I thought, and then I received it the next day. Really impressed with their service.

alsmith · Oct 16, 2013

That's good. Don't forget tp let us know if that sorts your problems when fitted.

Ebike down.

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1 PW

1 GW

100 W

1 PW

100 W

1 PW

100 TW

1 GW

100 kW

100 W

1 GW

1 PW

100 W

100 W

100 kW

1 GW

100 W

100 kW

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