1000w lipo SuperScooter -- it let out all the magic smoke

[Philosopher]

Hi All. About two years ago I got a 1000w 48v Lithium "Super Turbo Scooter". I LOVE it! And drive it around quite a bit, usually getting top speeds around 26ish mph (with the hill climbing sprocket) and about an 11 mile range - going full speed on several big hills. Link: http://www.superscootersales.com/product/super-turbo-1000-lithium/
Honestly, I drove this thing hard, often jumping and going off road, just loving the wheels off of it.

About a month ago the motor apparently fried, letting out all the magic smoke. I am not sure how to test exactly what happened, but the when I called 'SUPER CYCLES and SCOOTERS' the guy said the it is most likely that the controller went out, then the motor, but I honestly don't know enough about this stuff to know the difference. I did try to jump the electric motor directly to the battery, and it did not work.... just more smoke. I was careful to get polarity correct.

I would like to take advantage of this to upgrade some stuff, namely the motor and controller to a brushless one.
I believer the battery is still good ( hopefully), and I don't even know where to find a replacement motor. SUPER CYCLES and SCOOTERS refused to sell me one, but that is probably best because I assume they have a huge mark up on their stuff anyway -- it looks like they simply import the $200 alibaba ones from China and add their own stickers, then resell for $1000..... In fact it might be the best option for me to just buy a replacement, but from China this time. I really don't know.

So where do I start to look for parts?
Also, for whatever its worth, I am pretty good at machining stuff, and am perfectly capable to make frame adjustments, etc, if I need to make the new motor fit..... I am a very good motorcycle mechanic, and good at automotive electrical problems. However, I am a noob at this battery-powered scooter stuff. I want to learn, but am not really even sure where to start.
Please be gentle!

Thanks for your help!
-Phil

 

[torqueboards]

I'm not an expert on scooters. Might be able to get a motor and controller on eBay.

If you went brushless route would be nice to put a 80mm motor on there with a chain drive and a 12S ESC or similar. At least that's what I would want.

Post some pictures if you ever do go through with it. Would like to see the conversion

 

[made_in_the_alps_legacy]

you might be interrested by what I did on mine (see in my sig) :
it's not that difficult and not that expensive to upgrade to brushless using a RC plane/heli set up,
and in your case, it makes even more sens since you seem to have a 48V battery ( "~12S")
the main challenge is to rework a servo tester to connect it to a throttle.

 

[Hummina Shadeeba]

if it's a brushless motor, which it probably is, connecting the battery directly to the motor wont work and will burn the motor, and probably not good for the battery either.

 

[silviasol]

It does have a brushed motor based on what is shown in that link. If you rode the hell out of it like you said I would say the brushes are toast. Can you open the motor? It shouldn't be too hard to do. Then at the bottom will be the brushes, if there is noticable damage then that is what is the issue. Not sure if that could have shorted out the controller but it should have some kind of shut off protection if it detects the brushes coming in contact with eachother.

 

[mortifiedMORTY]

Sounds like an awesome ride even though it stopped on you. Honestly I would take a look at this website http://www.kellycontroller.com/ They carry a lot more heavy duty electronics for larger EV's. I'm not sure that RC components would be a good idea for this case.

 

[friendly1uk]

It does have a brushed motor based on what is shown in that link. If you rode the hell out of it like you said I would say the brushes are toast. Can you open the motor? It shouldn't be too hard to do. Then at the bottom will be the brushes, if there is noticable damage then that is what is the issue. Not sure if that could have shorted out the controller but it should have some kind of shut off protection if it detects the brushes coming in contact with eachother.

I see brushes as a service item, with life expectancy comparable to a light bulb. Smoking them damages the commutator though. The whole armature might have to come out to skim the contact surfaces on a lathe.

 

[Dauntless]

http://www.powersportsmax.com/product_info.php/cPath/38/products_id/17634 Looks a lot like The Razor XTR.

Your link says it's a brushed motor. If you just want to go with the same thing. . . . http://www.monsterscooterparts.com/48v-1000w-motor-controller-throttle-kit.html

Or maybe you'd like to go more powerful with a brushless motor - at the same price. http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRUSHLESS-MID-AXIAL-MOTOR-48V-1500W-CONTROLLER-E-SCOOTER-E-BIKE-QUAD-BIKE-CAR-/201060585451?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ed0250feb

 

[Sergey]

Just read this thread. I see more than a week passed since last message. Any updates on this case?

It's strange they don't offer spare parts. They should provide some warranty at least and I guess they have spare parts too which they use to replace failed components. If only they truly provide warranty...