2010 IZIP Metro

[krisharris]

I own a 2010 IZIP E3 METRO E BIKE which needs a battery controller. Does anyone know where I can purchase this from? They don't make this bike anymore so I have to look elsewhere. I love this bike so any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

 

[Chalo]

What do you mean by "battery controller"?

 

[krisharris]

What do you mean by "battery controller"?

Apparently it's the controller that lets the battery function. I sent my battery to a place in California and they said there was nothing wrong with the battery, that it's the battery controller that is not working and they couldn't tell me where to purchase one. So my bike is useless so far. (((

 

[Chalo]

So that's (probably) a "speed controller". That's distinguished from a "battery management system" which would be accurately described as a battery controller.

 

[amberwolf]

I think you should get them to provide you with the specific info about the part they found as a problem, including the exact terminology of what it is, pictures of it, part number, etc.

If they are actually a qualified battery testing and/or repair place, they will know what it is actually called. If they are just calling it a "battery controller" they may not know what they're doing, as that term wouldn't apply to any part on your bike.

I'd also recommend you ask them for the detailed test results and the procedure they used to get those results; knowing those will tell us whether they correctly tested the battery or not, so you can have a better idea of what needs repair.


In any case, there are almost certainly no new parts available anywhere for that bike, at 15 years old. Unless you find a used part that still works from the same model bike, any failed parts will likely have to be replaced with generic equivalents, so to recommend replacements we would need to know exactly what is being replaced, what it's specific functions and wiring are, and whether or not any other part of the system depends on the failed part (numerous OEM (prebuilt) ebikes use systems where all original parts are required for it to operate; replacing any part with non-original parts requires replacing all the rest of them too).

 

[krisharris]

Thanks so much for the great advice. You seem very knowledgeable! It sounds to me like I should just forget trying to repair this bike as it seems way too complicated for someone like me...ha I am going to email the company and ask them those questions though, as a start and go from there. Thank you VERY MUCH for responding to my questions. I so appreciate it!

 

[amberwolf]

Without knowing what is actuallly wrong and what is involved in correcting that, it's a bit early to give up on it.

It might help us help you diagnose it if you can tell us what problems you were having with the bike, and for how long, before you sent the battery off (and why you sent the battery itself vs some other part).


My personal guess with no testing or other information other than the age of the bike, is that at that age the battery cells are aged out, even if not worn out**** so replacing the cells would probably fix that issue. (I honestly can't imagine a 15-year-old battery of this type that doesn't have any problems; even my automotive-quality EIG-cell pack of similar vintage is most definitely showing it's age).

If that's impractical, then as long as the system on this bike doesn't require communication with the original BMS (it might) then you could buy a modern battery of the right voltage and mount it on the frame or a rack (or even carry it in a backpack).


****with really old cells, they may read a normal voltage with no load, then sag in voltage at varying rates under load, causing the BMS to detect overdischarge and then shut down the battery. Some BMS are designed with a safety feature so that when a cell voltage goes below a certain point, it "bricks" the battery by permanently turning the input and output off, so it cannot be charged or used, to prevent cell damage taht can lead to a fire. It's more likely to find this design in brand-name prebuilt bikes, as they are more likley to be held liable for fires traced to their devices, so making it harder to cause one with it is a good goal.

 

[glennb]

You ought to get away with any old controller.

The Izip was a standard 24V (lead acid) brushed controller, happy with 36V (10S Li-Ion). I use one on my lawnmower.

The only proprietary sort of part is the cadence converter gizmo - little blue dongle with a potentiometer embedded.

It's fed from red black and green wires. Unplug the dongle and you can connect a standard hall throttle to these wires.

(There's another wiring connection that's required without the dongle, to power up the controller. I can't remember the colours, but can revisit my mower to check for you if needed.)

My point being ... you could use any old "24V/36V" controller with three wire (typically but not necessarily green/black/red) throttle input ... assuming you have a functional cadence dongle.

 

[krisharris]

Well my husband and I were riding our e-bikes along a trail, after having gone 12 miles or so. Then we stopped for a break and when my husband went to turn it on again it wouldn't start. No warning of battery dying whatsoever. We shipped the battery to a place in California that had replacement batteries for an IZIP but they said when they tested it that it wasn't the batteries but the controller and they don't sell those and don't know anyone who does anymore. Do you know where I could buy a compatible controller perhaps?

 

[glennb]

Oops, sorry, barking up the wrong tree, thinking yours was one of the older lead acid brushed motor models.

I doubt the original PAS implementation carried through to the E3 model, which is a more modern bike. I have no experience with that model. It might well require a particular controller.

Where there's a will there's a way though.

You won't be the first person to be in this situation. What did online searches reveal? No discussion of retrofitting third party controllers into E3s?

 

[krisharris]

Oops, sorry, barking up the wrong tree, thinking yours was one of the older lead acid brushed motor models.

I doubt the original PAS implementation carried through to the E3 model, which is a more modern bike. I have no experience with that model. It might well require a particular controller.

Where there's a will there's a way though.

You won't be the first person to be in this situation. What did online searches reveal? No discussion of retrofitting third party controllers into E3s?

I haven't found anything yet related to the IZIP metro bike regarding battery controllers. If anyone knows of a good site please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[amberwolf]

You

I haven't found anything yet related to the IZIP metro bike regarding battery controllers. If anyone knows of a good site please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it!

You probably won't, since there isn't really anything on that bike that would use that term.

You'd need to find out from the people that gave you that term exactly what part they *actually* meant.

You should also find out from them what their actual exact test procedure and complete exact results were.

See previous posts in this thread for more info.

 

[Hillhater]

Have you looked here ..?

IZIP E3 Metro Men's Electric Bicycle Parts - ElectricScooterParts.com

Parts for IZIP E3 Metro men's electric bicycle. IZIP E3 Metro men's electric bike parts.

electricscooterparts.com

….but, as AW said, be sure exactly which components you really need to replace .

 

[krisharris]

You

You probably won't, since there isn't really anything on that bike that would use that term.

You'd need to find out from the people that gave you that term exactly what part they *actually* meant.

You should also find out from them what their actual exact test procedure and complete exact results were.

See previous posts in this thread for more info.

 

[krisharris]

Thanks for reminding me that there is no such thing as a battery controller which is why I will never get anywhere using that term. I appreciate it and I am going to call them and ask them the details. Thanks again so much!

 

[amberwolf]

Thanks for reminding me that there is no such thing as a battery controller which is why I will never get anywhere using that term.

If it helps:

There *are* charge controllers that are referred to as "battery controllers" but they're not typically used in ebikes, as most of them would be part of a solar power system, or a battery that has it's charger current-control circuitry built into the BMS or built into the battery as a separate board from the BMS.

While it is *possible* that an ebike could have this (haven't seen one yet), I doubt that yours does; it almost certainly uses a typical separate charger unit that does all the charge-controller stuff, and has a typical BMS inside the battery itself.

The normal part that's called a controller in most ebikes is just the motor controller; it doesn't control anything about the battery and is not normally part of the battery itself (so they wouldn't have that part to test if you only sent them the battery, and so couldn't know if it was a problem or not).

 

[krisharris]

Oops, sorry, barking up the wrong tree, thinking yours was one of the older lead acid brushed motor models.

I doubt the original PAS implementation carried through to the E3 model, which is a more modern bike. I have no experience with that model. It might well require a particular controller.

Where there's a will there's a way though.

You won't be the first person to be in this situation. What did online searches reveal? No discussion of retrofitting third party controllers into E3s?

I will ask that question. Thanks so much!