Cycle Analyst V3 preview and first beta release

teklektik said:
ebike11 said:
teklektik said:
Start the download in the Setup Utility - THEN power up the CA - the download will begin before the CA enters the main application.

Do you mean.....
I believe what has happened is that either (1) you flashed the wrong FW file that only loads the app and not does not initialize the EEPROM or (2) have flashed b20 correctly but downloaded an old settings file. When the CA starts up it is totally confused with the earlier EEPROM data on the later FW. The 'Disabled' message is just the mindless ranting of a very confused application - it doesn't mean anything.

So - you need to reflash using CA3-1b20_firmware.hex using the regular programming cable. The trick here is to start the flash before you turn on the CA. This will get it into download mode before it looks at the confusing EEPROM data. Then you will need to re-enter all your settings from scratch - which sucks - but we're working on that particular PITA...
Ok ill give it a shot.
So i dont use the firmware updating software rather the setup ulility program? After i open the setup utility, it has many settings already preloaded. Does this matter? Thx
 
Okay - I think you need to read the Grin CA web page and the installed documentation (where you installed the Setup Utility) to get this basic stuff squared away. If it's not clear, Grin Tech Support can help. I think we've moved from solving some special issues with undocumented resolutions to more mundane stuff that's really just the commonplace business of owning a CA. Not being harsh, but it's faster and easier to just try this stuff than to post about it. You are not going to brick the CA, so give it a read and have at it... :D
 
teklektik said:
Okay - I think you need to read the Grin CA web page and the installed documentation (where you installed the Setup Utility) to get this basic stuff squared away. If it's not clear, Grin Tech Support can help. I think we've moved from solving some special issues with undocumented resolutions to more mundane stuff that's really just the commonplace business of owning a CA. Not being harsh, but it's faster and easier to just try this stuff than to post about it. You are not going to brick the CA, so give it a read and have at it... :D

Ok thx...yes i was worried that i had bricked it
 
Hi everybody.

If this is wrong place to post this please point me in the correct direction.

Golden Motor Black Pie v5 (700c) front hub, 36V 14.5Ah battery
All settings for throttle, PAS and regen have been set to "close" in the internal controller.

CA V3.04 (V3.03 is latest release in Grin Tech website)

I far as I can see I have set up the hardware, wiring and the settings for CA as shown in the Unofficial Guide. I have checked this numerous times and have also had a friend take a look.

I have 2 main issues:
1. Throttle response - when taking off from being stopped all works as it should. When I am pedaling and the twist the throttle the CA reads negative watts (display #1) for 2-3 seconds, usually between -20 and -30, the bike is harder to pedal (load on motor) then starts to preforms as it should. When I release the throttle and coast then twist the throttle to assistl with no pedaling it again goes into negative watts.
I would like the throttle more responsive.
Throttle is set to Pass Thru, Min Input 1.00V Max Input 4.00V, live throttle input 0.87V, Fault Volt 4.5V.
PAS enabled or disabled does not make a difference.
At this stage I have not installed ebrakes.

2. PAS - when taking off from being stopped or when I start to pedal whilst moving the CA reads negative watts similar to above then very quickly goes to 400+ watts even when the Aux Pot is set to any wattage. This does not happen when the Aux Pot is set to zero, the PAS does not respond as it should.
PAS is from Grin Tech, 12 poles dual wires. Aux Pot reads 0 to 100% in live view, P and D arrows alternate between pointing up and down.

In both of the above the limit flags whilst stopped and moving are all lower case.

I have also set the Auto Cruise to 8 seconds. When cruise control is activated and I travel faster than the cruise speed negative watts shows on the CA display #1 and I can see values for regen % and Fwd Ah on display #6.

Any suggestions would be wonderful.

Thank you,
John
 
haulincolin said:
The speedometer output reading has stopped working on my Cycle Analyst, and I'm trying to track down how to fix it. This is actually a CA 2.4, but it's relatively new, so I suspect the board layout is similar to a CA3.

Recently I had an issue where the side plate rubbed the housing off of a phase wire and a hall sensor ground inside my hub. This blew up the hall sensor, which I replaced. Ever since then, my speedo has read 0, so I suspect this has something to do with it. I've checked everything all the way back to the pads on the CA board, and it is getting a signal at that point, so something is wrong past there.

I've searched this thread as best I can for speedometer-related issues and haven't found anything useful. I'm comfortable checking individual circuit board components if I need to, but without a detailed schematic, I don't know where that signal goes after it leaves the SPD pad.

I just had the same thing happen, the speed sensor stopped working. I'm worried that my hall sensors are about to go too.

Any updates?
 
alec said:
... the speed sensor stopped working....
Any updates?
I you have a viable alternating hi/lo signal on the Speed input and are getting no speed reading, I afraid you may have shot phase voltage into the CA and smoked something.

There's only a diode (D2) between the SPD input and the processor. The diode is to make the input current-sinking. You might give it a test. If it's bad, you can replace it or actually just jumper it if your speed signal is in the 0-5V range. If it's good and your speed signal is getting to the other side of the pad, then the processor input is probably toast and time for a call to Grin Tech Support.

Here's where to look:

CA_Pad+Trace_Layout_D2.jpg
 
teklektik said:
alec said:
... the speed sensor stopped working....
Any updates?
I you have a viable alternating hi/lo signal on the Speed input and are getting no speed reading, I afraid you may have shot phase voltage into the CA and smoked something.

There's only a diode (D2) between the SPD input and the processor. The diode is to make the input current-sinking. You might give it a test. If it's bad, you can replace it or actually just jumper it if your speed signal is in the 0-5V range. If it's good and your speed signal is getting to the other side of the pad, then the processor input is probably toast and time for a call to Grin Tech Support.

Here's where to look:

CA_Pad+Trace_Layout_D2.jpg

Excellent info and side note – whenever I find high quality technical content on this forum, 80% of the time it’s you whom posted it. Thankful to have you around.

I did some more testing and am worried it may be worse than I originally thought. I’m such an idiot for shorting my CA3’s DC jack. The CA3 is operating as per usual, but my motor and controller are not. Slight loss of torque (my bike went from neck breaking to just normal fast, hah), motor “locked up” after accelerating heavily from standstill (it was the first time it’s done this, about 1 second of stuttering with no power before kicking in slowly) and of course the loss of speed readout as you know.

I put my multimeter on my hall wires –
G - 0.06 to 2.5v + depending on wheel movement
Y - 5v to 2.5v - depending on wheel movement
B - 0-0.08v

I can’t get a readout at all for the blue wire. Is my hall sensor toast? Would that explain the symptoms? I also don’t see any visible damage on any wires including the phases. It’s a Cromotor V3 and Greentime 120A 1440 controller.

Appreciate all and any help. I may make a separate thread on this issue, but it’s semi-related to my CA3 (albeit by my own stupidity) since the DC jack’s output short managed to cause all this.
 
Thanks for the kind words - glad you find the posts helpful :D

The values you report for the halls suggest all three are toast. But - this may instead be a matter of test technique. If you search ES or go to the ebikes.ca site under 'Learn'/'Troubleshooting' you will find some help on proper procedures. Otherwise:

Testing the motor halls typically needs a pull-up resistor to 5V since the hall just sinks current and has no means to actually supply current/voltage to the output pin. The usual trick is to just probe the back of the hall connector (while it's plugged in) and allow the controller to supply the pull-up as per normal. However, in this case, you have a CA, controller, and motor that all got hit by phase lightning and so you may need to test the parts individually to localize the issue.

You could start by doing the probing trick, if this works okay, then you're done with the hall question. If things don't look so good, you will need to move on to supplying power to the hall connector, attaching a pull-up (say something like 2K-10K - whatever you have around) and testing the motor halls standalone.

  • It's hard to overestimate the value of those cheapie ebike testers that you can get for $10 on eBay. I always recommend getting one of these up front and mounting up the same connectors that you use on your build - it allows you to test halls, phase, controller, and throttle all in just a few minutes (and you know something will eventually go wrong, so...). But, at this point that's a 'futures' project for you...

At the end of the day, the CA SPD input is usually just connected directly to oone of the motor hall connections so if Something Bad happens to the hall voltage the CA is going to see it, too.

You can test the CA3 by going to the SPDOMETER setup preview screen and watching the 'P' with the little arrow. Turning the wheel slowly should make the arrow flip up and down. If you get nothing, you can try disconnecting the yellow wire and intermittently touching it to Gnd. This should make the arrow dance. No dancing = unhappy CA.
 
teklektik said:
Thanks for the kind words - glad you find the posts helpful :D

The values you report for the halls suggest all three are toast. But - this may instead be a matter of test technique. If you search ES or go to the ebikes.ca site under 'Learn'/'Troubleshooting' you will find some help on proper procedures. Otherwise:

Testing the motor halls typically needs a pull-up resistor to 5V since the hall just sinks current and has no means to actually supply current/voltage to the output pin. The usual trick is to just probe the back of the hall connector (while it's plugged in) and allow the controller to supply the pull-up as per normal. However, in this case, you have a CA, controller, and motor that all got hit by phase lightning and so you may need to test the parts individually to localize the issue.

You could start by doing the probing trick, if this works okay, then you're done with the hall question. If things don't look so good, you will need to move on to supplying power to the hall connector, attaching a pull-up (say something like 2K-10K - whatever you have around) and testing the motor halls standalone.

  • It's hard to overestimate the value of those cheapie ebike testers that you can get for $10 on eBay. I always recommend getting one of these up front and mounting up the same connectors that you use on your build - it allows you to test halls, phase, controller, and throttle all in just a few minutes (and you know something will eventually go wrong, so...). But, at this point that's a 'futures' project for you...

At the end of the day, the CA SPD input is usually just connected directly to oone of the motor hall connections so if Something Bad happens to the hall voltage the CA is going to see it, too.

You can test the CA3 by going to the SPDOMETER setup preview screen and watching the 'P' with the little arrow. Turning the wheel slowly should make the arrow flip up and down. If you get nothing, you can try disconnecting the yellow wire and intermittently touching it to Gnd. This should make the arrow dance. No dancing = unhappy CA.

Thanks for your response. The numbers I provided were actually a result of the probing method.

I spun the wheel and jumped the yellow to black and observed no change in the arrow. The only noticeable reaction was a slight backlight dim (perhaps 5% brightness change).

Is my CA and hall toast? Oh man...
 
alec said:
I put my multimeter on my hall wires –
G - 0.06 to 2.5v + depending on wheel movement
Y - 5v to 2.5v - depending on wheel movement
B - 0-0.08v
alec said:
The numbers I provided were actually a result of the probing method.

I spun the wheel and jumped the yellow to black and observed no change in the arrow. The only noticeable reaction was a slight backlight dim (perhaps 5% brightness change).
Ja - those are bad numbers for having the pull-ups in place and the lack of response from the CA seems to indicate the SPD input is fried. 5V electronics is just a little finicky about getting hit with battery voltage...

I would check the halls when disconnected from the controller using a pull-up just to make sure this is not a controller issue (unlikely), but it's looking like you are about to learn all about hall replacement. You should email Grin and see what they have to say and can offer for CA options.
 
teklektik said:
alec said:
I put my multimeter on my hall wires –
G - 0.06 to 2.5v + depending on wheel movement
Y - 5v to 2.5v - depending on wheel movement
B - 0-0.08v
alec said:
The numbers I provided were actually a result of the probing method.

I spun the wheel and jumped the yellow to black and observed no change in the arrow. The only noticeable reaction was a slight backlight dim (perhaps 5% brightness change).
Ja - those are bad numbers for having the pull-ups in place and the lack of response from the CA seems to indicate the SPD input is fried. 5V electronics is just a little finicky about getting hit with battery voltage...

I would check the halls when disconnected from the controller using a pull-up just to make sure this is not a controller issue (unlikely), but it's looking like you are about to learn all about hall replacement. You should email Grin and see what they have to say and can offer for CA options.

Just switched my halls to the secondaries and noted ~5v-ish on all three halls. The speedo is still null, however. Time to send the CA into Grin, eh?
 
Good news on the halls!

If you have the skills, you might test diode D2 and either replace it or just jumper it with a solder blob without trying to remove it. If you don't have the skills, this isn't a good place to learn since a foul up may take options with Grin off the table - an email to them would be the best bet.
 
teklektik said:
Good news on the halls!

If you have the skills, you might test diode D2 and either replace it or just jumper it with a solder blob without trying to remove it. If you don't have the skills, this isn't a good place to learn since a foul up may take options with Grin off the table - an email to them would be the best bet.

I’m going to rest D2 today and see if it sticks at 5v while jumping the 5-pin gnd/yellow. I have a sneaking suspicion it will. Thanks for your help!
 
Hi all,

I am playing around with the Bafang MaxDrive PAS/Torque sensor and could determine which of the 6 wires are the PAS and DIR signal wires.

When I connect them to the appropiate pads of the CA3, only the DIR arrow moves (up and down) when I pedal. Now, when I swap the PAS and DIR wires, the same thing happens.
Both the sensors AND the CA3 are OK. There is a difference between PAS and DIR hardware on board level though.

Any idea how that can be made to work?
 
electricwheels.de said:
When I connect them to the appropriate pads of the CA3, only the DIR arrow moves (up and down) when I pedal. Now, when I swap the PAS and DIR wires, the same thing happens.
Both the sensors AND the CA3 are OK. There is a difference between PAS and DIR hardware on board level though.

Any idea how that can be made to work?
The DIR input has a 100K pull-up to +5V while the RPM input has none (either external or on-chip). I'm guessing from your description that the Bafang sensor is bringing out a direct hall output that appears as an open collector output stage. This means it can only drag the output to 0V but cannot itself raise the output to 5V -- that becomes the job of the connected device.

This is the same problem as when testing motor halls with a DMM - doesn't indicate even though the hall is working.

So - tie a pull-up resistor from the RPM connection to +5V (*not* the +10V on the CA TRQ connector). You can jump the RPM pin on the CA PCB to one of the available +5V pads for Throttle or Aux IN. Anything in the 4.7K to 100K range should work, but I personally like to see a lower impedance in noisy environments and would go with something toward the lower end of that range - maybe 22K as a commonly available part. That value will draw only a fraction of an ma and so will not adversely affect your available CA regulator current capacity for accessories.

EDIT1- if you are looking for a no-PCB-mod solution, post back - you could use a resistor and a zener to get a +5V pull-up effect from the +10V on the TRQ connector and the parts could be put on the back of the JST under some shrink for a plug'n'play product appearance.

EDIT2 - rechecking the code shows that the above is in error - the uproc port used for RPM sensing does enable a weak on-chip pull-up resistor so an external pull-up should not be necessary - same setup as the Speed input. That said, your CA RPM behavior is then a mystery....
 
@teklektik
Hi how are you again? The links below are my recent purchases that I added a CA to.
In your experience, are there any specific settings on the CA that I should adjust regarding motor sputtering? Im trying to eliminate as many things as i can to try and solve my issue. The motor sputters sporadically. Sometimes ill be able to get the motor to run normally at full throttle but other times not. There seems to be no pattern. The sputtering comes and goes at all speeds.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/72V-2000W-18-mosfet-motor-brushless-sinusoidal-wave-controller-for-electric-bike-hub-motor-controller-G/32607605837.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.JQN1vj


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Standard-135mm-dropout-M16-Screw-MXUS-V3-3000W-brushless-no-gear-hub-motor-for-rear-electric/32761513299.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.JQN1vj

With a 72v pack, thanks a lot

Btw..i was able to flash to the newest firmware. The Disabled screen has disappeared and the CA is back to normal. Thx again
 
ebike11 said:
The links below are my recent purchases that I added a CA to.
In your experience, are there any specific settings on the CA that I should adjust regarding motor sputtering? Im trying to eliminate as many things as i can to try and solve my issue. The motor sputters sporadically. Sometimes ill be able to get the motor to run normally at full throttle but other times not. There seems to be no pattern. The sputtering comes and goes at all speeds.
No clue, but the intermittent nature might suggest a loose connection or bad solder joint on the controller PCB that is being subjected to vibration or thermal expansion of the PCB after the controller runs hard for a bit. If it happened only on hard acceleration it might be the CA, but that isn't the symptom and so this doesn't sound like a CA firmware issue.

As always - disconnect the CA and see if the problem goes away - you need to start by localizing the cause (if possible)...
 
teklektik said:
ebike11 said:
The links below are my recent purchases that I added a CA to.
In your experience, are there any specific settings on the CA that I should adjust regarding motor sputtering? Im trying to eliminate as many things as i can to try and solve my issue. The motor sputters sporadically. Sometimes ill be able to get the motor to run normally at full throttle but other times not. There seems to be no pattern. The sputtering comes and goes at all speeds.
No clue, but the intermittent nature might suggest a loose connection or bad solder joint on the controller PCB that is being subjected to vibration or thermal expansion of the PCB after the controller runs hard for a bit. If it happened only on hard acceleration it might be the CA, but that isn't the symptom and so this doesn't sound like a CA firmware issue.

As always - disconnect the CA and see if the problem goes away - you need to start by localizing the cause (if possible)...

No i dont think its a firmware issue...just i thought maybe i set some settings too low or incorrectly making the motor sputter
 
This is just a simple trick that seemed worth posting in this thread....

In another thread a member had a problem with a throttle with an uncomfortably long throw. This not an uncommon complaint with Magura throttles and goes to a matter of personal situation and preference. The V3 throttle configuration can be pressed into service to address this.

The upper and lower Throttle IN voltage thresholds are primarily intended to match the CA 0-100% throttle interpretation to the true voltages of the operator throttle to eliminate ZERO and WOT dead zones. But - if you wish to reduce the throttle throw, you can simply reduce the full throttle voltage threshold (ThrI->FullTrsh) to some lower value so the effective CA throttle will hit 100% at the lower voltage. For example, if your throttle has a 1.0V to 4.0V range, reducing (ThrI->FullTrsh) = 3.0V will make the operator throttle appear to be at WOT with only 66% of the normal throw (3V-1V)/(4V-1V) = 2/3.

You may wish to add a new physical stop to the mechanism for tactile feedback at WOT, but in any case the 'new' configured characteristics are such that rotation beyond the reduced limit will add nothing to the already 100% throttle level. You might drill 1/16" hole through the housing and insert a section of finishing nail as a new stop, insert a screw, fit a new plastic stop, etc. If you do introduce a physical stop, just revisit the normal ThrIN setup procedure in the Guide to get the best setting without a 'new' top dead zone.

So - not exactly a rocket science hack, but maybe a bit non-obvious and useful if you have a CA3 and are a little uncomfortable with your present control.
 
Hi Guys
Just spent the day redoing my electrical and adding a CA3 V3.04 to my bike having a few issues and want to reset to factory settings but it seems the menu is a fair bit different than any videos ive watched or manuals i have read.
There used to be an ebrake menu and also a reset on the last settings page in menu? these seem to have gone.? I have searched the forum but not getting any hits on V3.04 updates or anything.
I need to reset as I have adjusted a setting and for the life of me can not find it again to set it back.

could someone please explain where the reset is now?
 
Galvo said:
...want to reset to factory settings but it seems the menu is a fair bit different than any videos ive watched or manuals i have read.
There used to be an ebrake menu and also a reset on the last settings page in menu? these seem to have gone.?
...
could someone please explain where the reset is now?
Sure.
Those videos are for the newer 3.1 beta firmware. The features you are looking for didn't exist back in the 3.0x production release that you have loaded. The 3.0x stuff realized 100% of the basic feature set, but the 3.1 versions have focused on features to enhance ease of use, display, PAS, ebrake, and Aux Input. You'll need a programming cable to flash the new firmware, but you can get that directly from Amazon which saves the often scary shipping costs from Grin in Canada.

So - go to the Grin CAV3 web page and download the newest Setup Utility (1.4x) which will come with the newest 3.1b20 firmware. 3.1b20 is really the same as the old 3.1b16 but repackaged to run under the new SU1.4x software. New FW releases are announced here, so if you subscribe to this thread, you will get notifications when new stuff comes along. Do this soon (hint hint :D ).
 
Hey Tek -- I see you guys are now following the 'Elon Musk teaser' strategy to announce new stuff! Does this mean Grin is also installing 'easter eggs' in the CA firmware for our amusement? (or have they been there all along...)

Just when I finished updating 3 CA's to *20, I'll be behind again-- I knew it was too good to be true.

Thanks for your efforts!
 
Hey thanks teklektik
But at the same time buggar
I hate flashing firmware always seem to have major issues and I'm technologically challenged.
Just bought this as well thought it would be latest firmware.
Ok I'll see what I can achieve.
Thanks for the heads up
 
Well, you actually do have the latest production firmware. The beta stuff is 'under development' and not something that you would want to install unless you are willing to accept the risk of bugs, etc. It is provided for field testing to folks willing to run immature firmware in exchange for getting the latest stuff.

It's a bit unfortunate the beta versioning wasn't clear to you - Grin would certainly have loaded the latest beta stuff if you had asked...

Regarding flashing firmware - I suppose there might be things that could be done to a new Setup Utility to make firmware upgrades a bunch easier... (wink wink :D ).
 
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