ebike kit does not work after install.

[mwhens]

I have installed my first ebike conversion kit.
It's an Crystalyte 408 front hub with 48v controller http://shop.crystalyte-europe.com/product.php?productid=16290&cat=272&page=1 and battery pack.
After installing everything except the padle assist sensor, I tried it out.
But the front hub is not spinning.
I have installed cycle analyst directly to the controller. And it lights up when the battery is pluged in.
It shows voltage correctly.
Also there is a verry tiny spark when plugging in the battery pack, I gues thats normal. (I used a 25A fuse, did not blow durring testing).
I have no idea what it can be.
Whats absolutly nessesary to test the controller/hub?
Throttle + hub power + hall sensor is enough?
No need for padle assist sensor to test?
I also have tried to rotate the padle assist sensor by hand and throttle, but that did not work.
I have tried two throttles, did not help.
I have unpluged everything except throttle, hub power and hall sensor, but did not work.
What can be wrong here? And how to proceed?

Any help is welcome!

 

[dogman dan]

I've had the same problem many times with a new out of the box motor kit. For me, every single time there was at least one connecting plug that had the contact pushed back out part way. One disconnected wire does the trick. So start by double and triple checking all plugs. Sounds like the battery plug is good, but those pesky hall connectors are often the culprit. Those are the 5 little wires to the hub. Since they are low voltage, they are more likely to fail to make contact.

 

[theRealFury]

Hello there,

sorry to hear your having problems with your Ebike kit. I might have sone bad news for you im afraid. if you bought the kit stright from Crystalyte Europe then you will probably have been supplied with a pedal assist only controller because as far as i can tell if you live in Europe then they send a pedal assist controller as standard.

First thing to do is plug in the pedal assist and give it a spin and see if you get any power to the wheel... If you do get power then you can either install pedal assist or contact Crystalyte Europe and ask then if they will swap controller to a throttle only one ( you will have to pay postage both ways im guessing).

Unfortunately this has happened to a few people that have purchased controllers from them.

If you still dont get any power to the motor then you may have a wiring connection issue to the motor but my money is on that the controller is pedal assist only.

 

[mwhens]

Tomorrow I am going to check all connectors.
Padle assist can be the problem, but I turned it manually and did not work, but I'am not sure how well the signal is when rotating it by hand, maybe it does not detect real paddeling by hand.

 

[Sunder]

Hello there,

sorry to hear your having problems with your Ebike kit. I might have sone bad news for you im afraid. if you bought the kit stright from Crystalyte Europe then you will probably have been supplied with a pedal assist only controller because as far as i can tell if you live in Europe then they send a pedal assist controller as standard.

Funny thing, is the first time I hooked mine up, it wouldn't work until I plugged in the pedal assist sensor. I later rewired it and forgot to plug it in and it kept working... Probably just a fluke. I probably bumped a plug while plugging it in.

My advice would be to get a jeweller's screw driver, and press every single pin in tightly (press from the back of the pin - the part that interfaces with the wire, not the front of the pin that interfaces with the socket). The one I have are all crimp and click plugs, and a bit of banging around during install, it's not impossible that some came out - a throttle wire came out in one of mine.

 

[John in CR]

When you're checking connections, look at the spades in the male connectors to make sure they are seated properly and that one doesn't push off to the side instead of inserting in the slot. I've had both issues on new rigs. Also, don't connect the CA until the ebike is running first, since an improperly calibrated CA can prevent running.

What about the power wire to turn the controller on? You can verify that the controller is powering up by checking that the throttle is getting 5V.

 

[mwhens]

I checked the cables, they al seem fine.
I now know the throttle, cruise and brake cut off is working correctle.
When I hive throttle, and press cruise, the light turns on on the cruis control.
when I brake, it turns off again.
So the controller gets the throttle for sure, thats not it.
I checked the hall sensor, there is only one way to plug that in, and it seems fine to.
But would the hub does not turn even for a sec without a hall sensor?
I think it may have something to do with the padle assist sensor.
I have tried to rotate it by hand, but I' am just not sure if that creates an good signal.
There is a PAS switch on the controller, but I' am not sure what that does, I gues it does not disable and enable PAS, but more like a PAS mode.
I can try to install the PAS, but not sure if that works.

 

[dogman dan]

Even though the plug can only go one way, the contact inside can sometimes back out and fail to make contact. A look from the outside often doesn't reveal the problem. Look closely, and make sure all the wires and thier contacts are pushed into the plastic block all the way. It's really common. I never had to deal with pas myself, but I've had the contacts back out of plugs many many times.

 

[mwhens]

I think I found the problem.
Crystalyte europe mailed me...
" I see you ordered PAS V7, the V7 does not work with your controller, you need the V5. You can open the controller and unplug a 2pin plug to disable the PAS"

I think thats it. I need to order a V5 or disable the PAS.

 

[mwhens]

Any good idea's on a small switch I can install in the controller to enable and disable the PAS for testing without having to open the controller every time?
I was thinking of a magnetic contact, but I' am not sure if that affects the PIC or sensor input because of the magnetic field.

 

[dogman dan]

Splice a small wire into the circuit, then lead it ouside the controller, then back in to complete the circuit. Then connect or disconnect to enable or not.

I'd just send the wrong pas back, and run a throttle myself.

 

[Racer_X]

Just want to add that this is not the first time this happens with crystalyte-europe.
I have a friend here in Sweden who got the HS3540 and ended up getting the wrong controller 2 times so now he is on his third that is the peddle first type 72v.
The ones that did not work for him where the pedelec style he got first, one 72v and the other 48v.
They never offered an apology or an excuse each time he was never offered a refund for the wrong controller just an option to buy another controller with free shipping.
Anyone ordering from crystalyte-europe be warned to double check your order before placing it.

 

[alsmith]

Just want to add that this is not the first time this happens with crystalyte-europe.
I have a friend here in Sweden who got the HS3540 and ended up getting the wrong controller 2 times so now he is on his third that is the peddle first type 72v.
The ones that did not work for him where the pedelec style he got first, one 72v and the other 48v.
They never offered an apology or an excuse each time he was never offered a refund for the wrong controller just an option to buy another controller with free shipping.
Anyone ordering from crystalyte-europe be warned to double check your order before placing it.

I also had an incorrect item from Crystalyte Europe.

I ordered a 5305 but got a 5303. It took a while for the differences in expected performance to actual performance to click but I eventually got the first concrete evidence using the ebikes.ca simulator- the the 5303 performance curves almost exactly matched my motor. It took many emails to get Crystalyte Europe to accept their error- it was finally confirmed to their acceptance when I got the winding resistances and they didn't match the 5304. They didn't have figures for a 5303 -or said they didn't- but did for the 5302- readings were mid-way between the 5302 and 5304.

They aren't helpful at volunteering information- you need to be persistent and ask for exactly what information you need.

My advice is the same as above (Check your order details carefully before ordering) but get also details confirmed by them before going ahead. Then carefully check what they do send. There is some reluctance to help after they have your money unless you are very specific and very persistent.

On a personal note I have eventually managed to secure a discount on the original order, but after the amount was agreed I still had to chase them to process the refund. At least they did it quickly when I chased them - just today.