eBike not working again, sigh possible fuse/motor issue.

[apmaman]

Well after almost selling my ebike in a fit of rage I got it working again, perfectly and I completely forgot about how much of a pain in the arse it has been over the last few weeks, until today...

Managed to get a week out of it without anything breaking then, the motor fails just as I get home. Literally on the drive way I loose power.

I tried the throttle and nothing when the bike was raised, so I checked the battery button which showed all three LED's, so the battery is full. Swore a few times then took the controller out to have a look but the wiring is all OK.

Tried the throttle again, still nothing. Checked the battery again but the lights would not show up. Alarm bells of "its frocked now" were starting to ring. Took the fuse out and its blown. Ok fair enough, but that doens't explain why the lights were coming on before hand, and not now. Which makes me think its a motor problem.

I hope not, I've spent £550 on the bike, and the repairs on it before hand. I dont want to fork out for another motor which will no doubt be £150/200. This was suppose to save me money, not use more! I'd still be better off using the car even with ridiculous fuel prices we have now. Anyway...

Its a F30A 250V fuse, where do I get these in the UK? It's pretty small so I doubt the local supermarkets will stock it. Where's good online?

This eBiking is doing my nuts in, why is all the bad luck hitting me! ARgghhh!!! During Exam time at college too which isn't helpful.

 

[skeetab5780]

so from what i read, all you did was blow a fuse...

no big deal go to your local hardware store and pick one up. (if your not sure where your local electrical supply store is)
they should both have them fairly cheap 5 packs under 10 bucks

for all we know the fuse could have blown, and then a little piece of the fuse filament made contact with your fuse housing and had enough power to lite up your LED gauge. but id replace the fuse before getting worked up

 

[theRealFury]

Hey Apmaman,

Sounds like your having a little trouble there, well if the fuse has definately blown you should be able to pick a replacement up at somewhere like B & Q or Maplins if you have one local. It depends on what type of fuse it is... if its a blade fuse then maybe something like http://www.maplin.co.uk/blade-type-fuses-10140 Or if its a cartridge fuse then mabe something like http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?isSearch=true&fh_search=30a+fuse. Dont give up on the e-bike stuff mate, it really is the muts nuts when you iron out the kinks and learn all the little things that allow you ro make it run without problems, trust me

 

[apmaman]

Dont get me wrong, when it works its brilliant! Its just it seems to go wrong as soon as I get what was broken before fixed!

I had a look at maplins & B&Q but they dont do anything like what came out of the battery, the fuse has F30A250V engraved on it and the only things I've found are on ebay and will take an age to deliver from China.

 

[theRealFury]

any chance of a photo of the original fuse? might help us to locate a replacement for you thats not shipped from China

 

[skeetab5780]

its just a standard glass buss fuse. nothing special or bike related at all. used in millions of appliacations. should be able to get at home depot or lowes or hardware stores

 

[theRealFury]

Something like http://www.amazon.co.uk/Carpower-CP...MO/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1305823152&sr=8-16? if it is then any cartridge fuse should be able to replace it i believe?

 

[skeetab5780]

thats the correct amperage fuse but the wrong physical size. the number he gave us in his first post is a good part number. you can google image search it and come back with 100 pics of the fuse

 

[theRealFury]

Yea, i found it now... problem is that particular fuse seems to only be made in large batches to be used in manufacturing processes. I have found a coule of EU suppliers but they all come in lots of 50-100 which im sure he wouldnt want to buy. Might have to buy one of the maplin ones and see if you can make it work. Without seeing how the fuse is housed im not sure if the fuse could be modified or "made to fit" the current fuse holder. I know my fuse is similar on my kit but looking at my housing im sure i could fit a regular 30a cartridge fuse in it if i needed to.

Other than that the only 2 options are to contact the seller of your bike / kit (if you baught it in the UK) and see if they can supply a replacement fuse or order one on the slowboat from China

 

[jimw1960]

Just jumper the fuse with a paper clip to see if the motor starts working. At least that will confirm that the fuse was the only problem. Make sure you don't have any obvious short circuits before doing so, though.

 

[skeetab5780]

Yea, i found it now... problem is that particular fuse seems to only be made in large batches to be used in manufacturing processes. I have found a coule of EU suppliers but they all come in lots of 50-100 which im sure he wouldnt want to buy. Might have to buy one of the maplin ones and see if you can make it work. Without seeing how the fuse is housed im not sure if the fuse could be modified or "made to fit" the current fuse holder. I know my fuse is similar on my kit but looking at my housing im sure i could fit a regular 30a cartridge fuse in it if i needed to.

Other than that the only 2 options are to contact the seller of your bike / kit (if you baught it in the UK) and see if they can supply a replacement fuse or order one on the slowboat from China

am i missing something? what did we do before the internet.....

get up out of the chair, and go to the store... those fuses are a dime a dozen everywhere.

sorry to be so blunt, but ive posted this same thing 3 times already

 

[jimw1960]

Or steal a fuse out of your wife's car. She didn't need those windshield wipers anyway.

 

[theRealFury]

Yes, those fuses may be a dime a dozen in the USA, unfortunatley they are not common here in England, because of our higher voltage the standard fuses only go up to 13 amp... 30 amp fuses are not stocked as standard by hardware stores unless they are for automotove use, and these usually have low voltage limitations. I do understand where you are coming from though, if it was a standard fuse here in England it would be a non issue.

 

[skeetab5780]

Yes, those fuses may be a dime a dozen in the USA, unfortunatley they are not common here in England, because of our higher voltage the standard fuses only go up to 13 amp... 30 amp fuses are not stocked as standard by hardware stores unless they are for automotove use, and these usually have low voltage limitations. I do understand where you are coming from though, if it was a standard fuse here in England it would be a non issue.

in that case, im sorry about that... im posting a few links of f30a glass fuses from cheap websites
some are under a dollar. ( im not sure how much shipping will be)

http://www.het-electronics.net/servlet/the-4353/30A-F30A-250V,-6/Detail

this is a china based website http://www.aliexpress.com/fm-store/502373/210363218/fuse.html

this is an electric bike website that shows they have 20a versions of the fuse maybee they have 30's also http://www.electricbikes.it/index.p...id=26&sort=1a&filter_id=166&alpha_filter_id=0

and at last i did an ebay search and theres tons of cheap auctions

5 fuses for 6dollars
or 100 fuses for 7 dollars free shipping...

if this is not the fuse you are looking for please let me know ill try to help you find the correct one.

 

[apmaman]

Bit the bullet and ordered a set of 10 from China, should be here in about a week or so.

I was going to just bypass the fuse but I dont want to ruin the battery because knowing my luck recently I would :lol: I'll post back when they show up, and no doubt swear some more at the bike :x

 

[theRealFury]

Ok, well glad to hear you have some ordered now at least... they will be here before you know it... my last order from china came in less than 5 days. Good luck and let us know if you have any further problems

 

[apmaman]

UPDATE!

Fuses arrived and well, no joy.

Tried a few and the fuses blow instantly, even before I can screw down the fuse holder properly. As soon as it makes any electrical contact they blow. The fuses are rated for 30a 250v like the original one.

I thought it might be a short with perhaps my addition of a twist throttle, so I opened up the container where the controller is and made sure all the wires were not touching and tried again, fuse blows as soon as it goes in.

I have no idea what it could be.

Anyone?

 

[DanSFIV]

did u get it working??

i'd say your fuses holder is damaged. I had the same issues for my blade fuses in my battery box and it would pop right away too or on high speed demand. Once i changed it everything is good.