Hello,
I joined the forum specifically to ask for your help with my problem. For the last few months I have been reading various forums to help me upgrade my existing bicycle to an ebike. I have read many forum posts on Endless Sphere and they have helped me a lot. Now I have a problem for which I cannot find a solution on this or other forums so I figure I ask what you think.
I have a problem with motor randomly cutting out for a split second or maximum two seconds. I will explain below.
Two weeks ago I completed installation of ebike kit. My setup is:
LCD3 settings are:
Max speed = 45 km/h; Wheel size = 700c;
P1 = 212; P2 = 1; P3 = 1; P4 = 1; P5 = 15;
C1 = 7; C2 = 0; C3 = 0; C4 = 0; C5 = 8; C6 = 7; C7 = 0; C8 = 1; C9 = 0; C10 = n; C11 = 0; C12 = 4; C13 = 0; C14 = 2.
Overall, motor is quiet, runs smoothly, motor/controller react quickly to starting and stopping. Problem is that motor randomly cuts out for a second or less than a second. This happens at any assist level, at any wattage, seemingly at random. I changed battery voltage monitoring to P5 = 0 but I saw no voltage drop that would cause the cut outs. Either way it is happening at 150 W or at 250 W or at 400 W at various assist levels. It happened at PAS level 2, 3, 4, and 5 (although I never ride on 5, was just testing it). It only happens for a second or less, and could happen several times within 1 minute or it could happen once every 5 minutes. I am riding on completely flat ground with occasional bump.
When I am talking about cut out, I mean that motor stops delivering power for less than a second, maybe maximum of two seconds, no error codes, no power loss on LCD, just motor not delivering power. It even feels like it is braking at that moment (maybe that is air resistance, can't really tell). Motor power on LCD starts going down and depending on the length of the cut out, it will either drop 50-100 W or all the way to 0.
I ruled out brake sensors because I disconnected them and problem is exactly the same. I ruled out the battery because it happens at various charge levels and I never see a sudden drop in voltage on the LCD when motor cuts out. I have tested various C1 settings for the PAS (5, 6, 7) but 5 and 6 make it worse so I am sticking with 7. I have not yet completely ruled out PAS but I can't figure out why it would be causing this issue. Maybe it's the controller or maybe the motor. It seems to be correlated to demands in power, or at least I assume that is.
For example, on the way to work (17.5 km one way), it was fairly good but occasional cut out of the motor. There was wind in my back. However on the way back the wind was against me, it was very strong, probably the worst wind in the last 6 months, supposedly gusts of 44 km/h. So the motor was cutting out all the time, on all PAS levels, mostly on 2, 3, and 4. There is clearly a connection between strong gusts and motor cutting out. Maybe the motor wants more current when it cuts out and controller can't deliver it or is somehow limited in delivering it. Maybe this is due to settings in LCD3 or due to build of controller. Thing is, it is a 20A max current controller with nominal current of 10A, designed for 36V and 48V (PSWPower KT controller). Besides, the cut outs occur at motor power of way less than 500W. They happen at PAS level 2 (150W), level 3 (270W), and level 4 (380W). It occurred at least 15 times yesterday at level 3 and motor power is limited to around 270W in that level. I cannot see how it can be the motor (unless its faulty) and the controller.
Again, motor otherwise runs so smoothly. It is quiet, no hickups, no grinding, quick start, quick stop, just runs beautifully besides these cut outs. It just doesn't make sense.
Only thing I can say about PAS is that I just now read on the website where I purchased it that the sensor should be installed UNDER the derailleur cables, on the frame below the BB, under the cable guide. I have it now installed over the cable guide and maybe that is the reason for problems. See this photo of the cable guide: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_guide#/media/File:Cable_guide_2.JPG Otherwise the sensor is around 1 mm from the magnet ring but maybe the sensor is just at the edge of detection and it should be closer to the frame. Damn, it would be silly if it was something like this. I will say that some of the motor cut outs were connected to shifting to a higher gear, not always but if I could predict when it will happen, it would be when I am upshifting (even if I am keeping the same pedaling frequency).
Otherwise, if it is not PAS, what do the people think it is? I know motor is not getting hot because I stopped a few times when it was cutting out frequently and touched the motor. It wasn't hot. I can't touch the controller since it is in a case but few days ago I opened the case and saw no signs of excessive heat. Any help is appreciated. Thank you ahead of time.
I joined the forum specifically to ask for your help with my problem. For the last few months I have been reading various forums to help me upgrade my existing bicycle to an ebike. I have read many forum posts on Endless Sphere and they have helped me a lot. Now I have a problem for which I cannot find a solution on this or other forums so I figure I ask what you think.
I have a problem with motor randomly cutting out for a split second or maximum two seconds. I will explain below.
Two weeks ago I completed installation of ebike kit. My setup is:
- Q128C 48V 328RPM 500W rear hub motor from BMS Battery (bought it with the wheel)
KT36/48SVPR-20A sine wave controller from PSWPower, nominal current 10A, max current 20A +/- 1A
KT LCD3
48V 12.8Ah bottle battery with maximum discharge current of 30A
I have only PAS, 12 magnet, right hand side, magnet KM-DISC17 and King-Meter T281 Double Hall Sensor
No throttle, no cruise control
Two hidden wire brake senors
LCD3 settings are:
Max speed = 45 km/h; Wheel size = 700c;
P1 = 212; P2 = 1; P3 = 1; P4 = 1; P5 = 15;
C1 = 7; C2 = 0; C3 = 0; C4 = 0; C5 = 8; C6 = 7; C7 = 0; C8 = 1; C9 = 0; C10 = n; C11 = 0; C12 = 4; C13 = 0; C14 = 2.
Overall, motor is quiet, runs smoothly, motor/controller react quickly to starting and stopping. Problem is that motor randomly cuts out for a second or less than a second. This happens at any assist level, at any wattage, seemingly at random. I changed battery voltage monitoring to P5 = 0 but I saw no voltage drop that would cause the cut outs. Either way it is happening at 150 W or at 250 W or at 400 W at various assist levels. It happened at PAS level 2, 3, 4, and 5 (although I never ride on 5, was just testing it). It only happens for a second or less, and could happen several times within 1 minute or it could happen once every 5 minutes. I am riding on completely flat ground with occasional bump.
When I am talking about cut out, I mean that motor stops delivering power for less than a second, maybe maximum of two seconds, no error codes, no power loss on LCD, just motor not delivering power. It even feels like it is braking at that moment (maybe that is air resistance, can't really tell). Motor power on LCD starts going down and depending on the length of the cut out, it will either drop 50-100 W or all the way to 0.
I ruled out brake sensors because I disconnected them and problem is exactly the same. I ruled out the battery because it happens at various charge levels and I never see a sudden drop in voltage on the LCD when motor cuts out. I have tested various C1 settings for the PAS (5, 6, 7) but 5 and 6 make it worse so I am sticking with 7. I have not yet completely ruled out PAS but I can't figure out why it would be causing this issue. Maybe it's the controller or maybe the motor. It seems to be correlated to demands in power, or at least I assume that is.
For example, on the way to work (17.5 km one way), it was fairly good but occasional cut out of the motor. There was wind in my back. However on the way back the wind was against me, it was very strong, probably the worst wind in the last 6 months, supposedly gusts of 44 km/h. So the motor was cutting out all the time, on all PAS levels, mostly on 2, 3, and 4. There is clearly a connection between strong gusts and motor cutting out. Maybe the motor wants more current when it cuts out and controller can't deliver it or is somehow limited in delivering it. Maybe this is due to settings in LCD3 or due to build of controller. Thing is, it is a 20A max current controller with nominal current of 10A, designed for 36V and 48V (PSWPower KT controller). Besides, the cut outs occur at motor power of way less than 500W. They happen at PAS level 2 (150W), level 3 (270W), and level 4 (380W). It occurred at least 15 times yesterday at level 3 and motor power is limited to around 270W in that level. I cannot see how it can be the motor (unless its faulty) and the controller.
Again, motor otherwise runs so smoothly. It is quiet, no hickups, no grinding, quick start, quick stop, just runs beautifully besides these cut outs. It just doesn't make sense.
Only thing I can say about PAS is that I just now read on the website where I purchased it that the sensor should be installed UNDER the derailleur cables, on the frame below the BB, under the cable guide. I have it now installed over the cable guide and maybe that is the reason for problems. See this photo of the cable guide: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_guide#/media/File:Cable_guide_2.JPG Otherwise the sensor is around 1 mm from the magnet ring but maybe the sensor is just at the edge of detection and it should be closer to the frame. Damn, it would be silly if it was something like this. I will say that some of the motor cut outs were connected to shifting to a higher gear, not always but if I could predict when it will happen, it would be when I am upshifting (even if I am keeping the same pedaling frequency).
Otherwise, if it is not PAS, what do the people think it is? I know motor is not getting hot because I stopped a few times when it was cutting out frequently and touched the motor. It wasn't hot. I can't touch the controller since it is in a case but few days ago I opened the case and saw no signs of excessive heat. Any help is appreciated. Thank you ahead of time.