Broken engine 500w, or controller

[eats]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum, and was hoping to start my first post in the build before after picture thread.
But i haven't made a proper casing to hide the controller yet, just mounted it on rear rack, so no pictures yet.

On my way to work today the CA turned off and i lost all throttle response. When i stopped to check the connection and reconnected the battery, the ca came back on. But still, i have no throttle response.
Engine was cold and the controller lukewarm, im running a 18s16ah zippy battery, with controller set at original settings, except with 30a limit and 60a phase.

Are there any usual suspects, and what can i test with regular tools and a multimeter? I don't think i burned the engine, as i was running slow and pedaling hard, its freezing here so i have to pedal a bit to keep warm, and the road is way too slippery for any speed.

The bike is a bikebrothers sonic with 700c wheels(like a trek with front shocks), and the engine a 10T mac from cell-man, with a half twist 3 button throttle.

 

[neptronix]

Welcome to the forums.
Motors don't usually just quit all the sudden with no warning, as if they cut out.

Sounds like a loose wire to me, check the hall wire cabling & the throttle cabling to see if anything is loose. I had a yellow wire pop out of my hall sensor connector on the controller side on my brand new 12fet.

~60v/30a is not enough power to destroy one of the MAC motors. That's just getting started

 

[Spicerack]

~60v/30a is not enough power to destroy one of the MAC motors. That's just getting started

Ummm..... it might be given the right (wrong) conditions. The problem is that you don't know it's burning up until it's too late. The outside can be cool and the inside boiling hot. When my motor burnt and killed the controller, it started cutting out on takeoff then stopped working altogether.

An ebike motor/controller tester would be a good start- if you don't have access to one, start doing tests on your phases and halls first which would indicate a burnt motor.

Obviously do all the other obvious checks first- loose connector, battery bms (if fitted) going to lvc, melted power/battery connectors or high resistance joins etc. The fact that the CA turned off indicates something more in the power supply end of things. Start at the battery, bypass the CA etc and let us know how you go. I'd agree that it doesn't sound like a burnt motor- why would it turn the CA off? Maybe if the motor burnt and killed your controller- but only if you have a direct plugin CA.

Do some searches for recent testing procedures and have a look at my repair thread in my sig.

 

[eats]

That sounds grim, hope its a loose wire, if I'm going to have to order halls or controllers every other week.
Guess I need to consider building a reserve bike.

I'm at work so i haven't checked anything yet, but i was drawing max 1000w at the moment and had been standing still for a couple of minutes, waiting while 2 cars tried to pass each other on a icy 1 lane road. It is also -4C outside.

The ca is directly connected, and now it comes on. When it stopped responding it shut of until i reconnected the battery. Makes me suspect the controller or maybe ca.

 

[neptronix]

Ummm..... it might be given the right (wrong) conditions. The problem is that you don't know it's burning up until it's too late. The outside can be cool and the inside boiling hot. When my motor burnt and killed the controller, it started cutting out on takeoff then stopped working altogether.

1800w is pretty weak though, you've gotta admit. That's a hill climber wind, so it's pretty resilient in some of the worst situations.

You were running about 3300w on yours, i'm sure it was screaming on the inside. 2300-2600w is the farthest i've pushed mine and it does get warm-hot after 30 min.

BTW i've pushed a 9FET nearly to death and i know about the controller symptom you're talking about, 36A constant on 9 4110's = bad news. As the controller would get hot, it'd start cutting out on startup, and i'd have to pedal it to about 5-10mph before hitting the throttle to get it going.

When i say hot, i mean verging on burning your hand hot :lol:

 

[eats]

After i brought it back from work it wouldnt light at all, i measured 3, or maybe it was 0,3 ohm between the halls, found no shorts or bad connections. Then i found this guide for repairing throttle halls https://sites.google.com/site/shelbyelectro/controllers-and-electronics/general-electrical/throttle-repair
When i didnt even measure 5v over + and ground let or anything at all, i opened the controller. It looks like the cap in corner has been leaking abit, and some components close to it was burned.
Maybe it couldnt take the cold weather, or maybe it was a dud waiting to go bad.

Tried to get a picture of it, easty to see the burned components but hard to see the liquid against the black cap and yellow board. It shows as discoloration on top of the cap. It looks semi transparent/yellowish.

 

[cell_man]

No offence, but is it not reasonable to contact the supplier to discuss any issues before posting on a public forum. I have responded to your email and will get a procedure written up and forwarded to you ASAP.

 

[eats]

I apologize for not contacting you first. I have bought stuff from china before and my experience ha been that its easier too find information yourself or at least a lot faster. I changed the subject, i see now that it was unnecessarily negatively loaded.

 

[neptronix]

Paul's not your typical China seller . let us know what you find out with a resolution.

 

[cell_man]

No probs Jonas, posting negative comments without contacting me first is 1 of my pet hates, but no harm done.

Anyway, the problem seems to be controller related, although it is a bit strange, it appears like it could have been a build error of sorts rather than a failure due to over current or something like that. Should have something resolved soon.