Back from the dead and Izip Question

[wineboyrider]

Ooh, do you have any pictures of how you wired it? My biggest concern is keeping the controller in play to use the original throttle with PAS modes. Mine is the 48v version, however so not sure it's exactly the same. Looks like this https://images.app.goo.gl/qnwK4aDbxysh7qgg8

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=107021
Obviously I have some cleaning up of wires to do, but the tool batteries work fine in my tools and my ebike. When I get time I'll clean up the look, but basically I hooked up the battery packs in parallel.

 

[Balmorhea]

I can't even tell him where the main terminals are it's so buried in tape. One of the cells is noticeably hot right now.

Bad sign.

For what its worth, you can read raw pack voltage by probing between the battery(+) tab on the output connector and the battery(-) terminal on the BMS board. You can get individual cell voltages by unplugging the ribbon cable connector and carefully probing the contacts.

 

[wineboyrider]

Find the original terminals into the controller? Test the original battery terminal location and let er rip. Worst case scenario: You need a new battery and a new controller... LOL

 

[stiffi]

UPDATE

I took the old pack to the county recycling center. Don't need those potential headaches. I found the controller WAS indeed in the little tiny black box connected to the end of the rear rack. The original pack has terminals built in that connect to the controller when inserted.

SO...I found some cheap SLAs locally on craigslist. Just to do a test to see if the controller and motor even worked.

Wired up 12 in series to make a 48volt pack.
Made a harness to connect to the black and red leads inside the old pack plastic housing that used to be connected to the lithium pack and ran the wires out the charging port
Then I pushed the old plastic housing back into the rear rack, all the way into the controller. So now, I have just the empty original currie plastic case connected to the controller with 2 leads coming out the side.
I wired up the pack and held the two wires to the leads coming out of the plastic housing. The bike powered up and the display seemed to work! I then had my daughter twist the throttle and the bike moved!

So, I'm back in business! Now I just need some new supplies to wire up this pack and the old plastic housing more permanently. This was all just a quick and dirty test to see if the electronics and motor still even worked. I'll probably use this SLA pack for a few weeks just to put the bike through it's paces, but things look promising.

 

[wineboyrider]

It's a 48v controller? If it's a 36v controller in there be careful not to overvolt it. I did this by running 36v on my original currie controller long ago.

 

[stiffi]

According to all the research I've done it's 48v yes

 

[stiffi]

WEEEE This thing is fun! My reusing the controller experiment worked like a charm. Once I hooked up the battery to the leads inside the old battery box everything works great except the battery range indicator, which I didn't expect to work.

Just took the bike for a ride (both actually) and they are really nice! The left hand control center controls the PAS level, 1-4 and has cruise control and a throttle only mode. Then the twist throttle can be used in any of the PAS modes for extra boost or by itself.

The LCD display even still works. Displays odometer, speed and all the PAS stuff mentioned above.

The bike goes 20 MPH on the flats in throttle only mode.

Again, this was all just on an SLA pack too. Can't wait to try with some lithium!

 

[stiffi]

Update:

First long ride. It's 97 degrees here so that may be a factor. Took a ride to Lowes. 4.5 miles one way. Bike was great on a mix of hills and flats. Used some PAS on levels 1-3. On the way back at mile 7 got "low battery warning". Good to know that function still works.

Bike would still assist at 1 and 2 but stop after about 200 yards and flash "low battery" again.

Luckily I had only one small climb then it was all downhill. This thing is HEAVY without any assist.

After getting to the top of a big hill I coasted up to 30 mph periodically hitting the brakes. This thing must have regen because at the bottom of the hill I had battery to spare. Throttled only the last 500 yards.

Total trip 9 miles. Not great. Need to move to lithium fast.

 

[wineboyrider]

Yeah SLA sucks! Was your original battery lithium?

 

[stiffi]

Sort of. The original battery was lithium, but I bought the bike knowing it was dead so I never rode it with that battery. Then as you heard when I opened it up it appears it was on the verge of exploding!

 

[stiffi]

Last update for a while.

I purchased a 48v 14ah Lithium Ion battery pack for the bikes. Since it was bigger, I placed it on a hanging tube bag from the center bar of the Men's bike. This means the Step Through I also bought is no longer an option. I am still using the case from the original battery because it connects nicely to the controller that is connected to the rear rack. I just tore out the old battery and re-used the wiring. It now connects to the battery in the frame bag by a 2 foot lead.

So, I took the bike out for a ride to try to see how long the battery would last. There was some lead that connected to the old BMS that allowed the display to show range. That doesn't work with my mod, so I have to guess a bit.

I took the bike in a loop around my neighborhood up some pretty serious hills that I used to have to walk a regular bike up even as a 30 year old (I'm now 46). I had to pedal and lower gears but I could still keep moving the entire way. I did some throttle only for about a mile, and did some pedal assist most of the way. On those big hills I was full throttle.

All in all a pretty decent test. I did 12.5 mile total and the battery was still going! I know from my SLA pack that the display will show "low battery" even with this modded setup when the voltage drops too low for higher speeds. That never happened. I'm guessing I could push 15 miles on this pack with ease.

Overall, I'm very impressed with this bike. It rides well, and the electronics are well thought out. Also it helps that it was over $2000 new and I bought 2 of them for $500! I've put about $150 into it now. Still working on selling the 2nd bike. For now I'm just going to ride!