Battery to Controller and Other Connector Questions

[Filibogado]

Being a complete newbie doing my first build, I hope these simplistic questions do not turn folks off.

The controller that came with my front hub motor did not have written instructions or wiring diagrams. For most of the wires, I guess I will just have to go with connecting wires of the same color grouping, assuming the white rectangular male-to-female connectors are uniquely shaped and will fit and go in only one way. The problem is that the battery pack output consists of nothing but a black and red pair of wires with bare ends and no connectors. I suspect they will mate with the pair of black and red connectors with male and female tube or straw-like connectors coming out of the controller. I need to know if I can go to Radio Shack and buy the missing battery connectors. Can someone tell me what these connectors are called, and do you just slide them at the ends and crimp them?

The hub motor kit also contained a pair of brake levers with black electric cables coming out of them. I haven't the foggiest idea what these brake levers are used for. My mountain bike has integrated shift and brake levers and I would have no use for these extra levers. Any idea what theses extra brake levers are for?

Finally, the controller is a small one with a bouquet of short wires and connectors sticking out. Can I just use zip ties and hang it from the frame, and how do I conceal this messy-looking bundle of wires?

Thanks for any help.

 

[999zip999]

More info where did you get in ? Which model, How about some Pic's ? Where do you live ?

 

[ddk]

...The controller that came with my front hub motor did not have written instructions or wiring diagrams.

I've been told it's unrealistic for the kit providers to add instructions. I thinks that's pure BS

For most of the wires, I guess I will just have to go with connecting wires of the same color grouping, assuming the white rectangular male-to-female connectors are uniquely shaped and will fit and go in only one way.

they generally are unique to each function and fairly easy to figure out which one goes where

The problem is that the battery pack output consists of nothing but a black and red pair of wires with bare ends and no connectors. I suspect they will mate with the pair of black and red connectors with male and female tube or straw-like connectors coming out of the controller.

black to black and red to red is always a gud idea lol

I need to know if I can go to Radio Shack and buy the missing battery connectors. Can someone tell me what these connectors are called, and do you just slide them at the ends and crimp them?

at this point we will need pictures. It's highly unlikely RS will have exactly what you would need, but my local RS is stocking more R/C stuff so some of the smaller connectors are available (at premium RS prices, of course)

The hub motor kit also contained a pair of brake levers with black electric cables coming out of them. I haven't the foggiest idea what these brake levers are used for. My mountain bike has integrated shift and brake levers and I would have no use for these extra levers. Any idea what theses extra brake levers are for?

You don't have to use the brake levers supplied unless you're expecting to use regen and then you'll need to do something about sensing your brakes or add a momentary switch to replicate the brake lever's function. The brake switches shut down the motor when you apply the levers. which activate switches. The wires are how the switches connect to the controller. Leaving them disconnected does no harm.

Finally, the controller is a small one with a bouquet of short wires and connectors sticking out. Can I just use zip ties and hang it from the frame, and how do I conceal this messy-looking bundle of wires?

another good application for duct tape
no... strike that!
You can use whatever you like to bundle the wiring. I prefer to use velcro wire ties/strapping because it allow me to redo stuff whenever I feel like it (or add something else to the wiring mess)

 

[Filibogado]

Here are the pictures. If I cannot find the battery holder connectors at Radio Shack, I'm thinking of just splicing and soldering the wires together from the battery to the controller. The connectors look very primitive - just a male and female brass tube and shaft. If I need to disconnect them later, I just get a nail clipper and snip them off. Is this a viable solution? Thanks again.

 

[Punx0r]

It's good to have connector between the motor and controller. The controller always draws a little power, even when switched off, so it will run down the battery (potentially destroying it) if the bike isn't used for a while.

Also if anything bad happens and smoke/sparks appear on the bike it's good to be able to cut the power

 

[dogman dan]

Don't know where you are, but the battery to controller connectors are called bullet connectors. Specifically, they are of the automotive type so a car parts store is one likely place to find matching ones. Often they are used on connections for trailers and such.

They have many problems for ebike use, such as getting loose, or making a poor contact that heats up. So most of us cut crappy connectors like that off and install something better. The two favorites seem to be gold plated 4mm bullets that you find at RC hobby stores such as Hobby King. The other is called an anderson powerpole 45 amp connector. Powerwerks is a good place to get those in the US. Best place for you to get good connectors depends on where you are, what continent I mean.

DO NOT solder the battery to the controller. The controller needs to be unplugged at times, every time if you do not use an on off switch. For now, you can very likely find wire nuts in any hardware store, and make a temporary connection with them till you get good plugs.

The black wire to battery is the negative. The big red wire is the positive. The small red wire is for a switch. You attach a second wire to the red wire on the battery, then through a switch, then to the small red wire on the controller. This will power on and off your battery. You still want to unplug a battery if you won't be riding it in the next 24 hrs or so. But overnight, or when stopping along the way, the switch will do.

Ebrake levers are optional. You can leave them off. But have that on off switch easy to reach in an emergency. Or you can grab the battery wire, and unplug it if the bike is got something shorting out. That's another reason why the plugs, not solder. A fuse added between the battery and the controller on the red wire is a good idea, and the fuse itself can be the emergency off switch.

 

[motomech]

Being a complete newbie doing my first build, I hope these simplistic questions do not turn folks off.

The controller that came with my front hub motor did not have written instructions or wiring diagrams. For most of the wires, I guess I will just have to go with connecting wires of the same color grouping, assuming the white rectangular male-to-female connectors are uniquely shaped and will fit and go in only one way. The problem is that the battery pack output consists of nothing but a black and red pair of wires with bare ends and no connectors. I suspect they will mate with the pair of black and red connectors with male and female tube or straw-like connectors coming out of the controller. I need to know if I can go to Radio Shack and buy the missing battery connectors. Can someone tell me what these connectors are called, and do you just slide them at the ends and crimp them?

The hub motor kit also contained a pair of brake levers with black electric cables coming out of them. I haven't the foggiest idea what these brake levers are used for. My mountain bike has integrated shift and brake levers and I would have no use for these extra levers. Any idea what theses extra brake levers are for?

Finally, the controller is a small one with a bouquet of short wires and connectors sticking out. Can I just use zip ties and hang it from the frame, and how do I conceal this messy-looking bundle of wires?

Thanks for any help.

Take a look at my build thread linked below, it covers a lot of this stuff.
If you do go with all the kit connectors[and they are ok for your stock controller setting of 17 Amps], use care when installing the tiny pins into the white housings. They need to go one way and usualy they need to be pushed in further with a tiny screwdriver. Double check that they are locked in by pulling on them. double check the wire colors are matched at that time as well. I think the vast majority of the lesser expensives kit problems are because of the pin connectors.