STOLEN: MAC 8T, OSN A123 48V on Trek Shift 3

... and programming the controller to optimize performance, some notes..
Em3EV software
teklektik said:
  • Controller must be powered off via 'ignition' wire or disconnected from the bike battery if 'ignition' wire is jumpered to controller Vbatt+ wire.
  • Do not use extender cable (either USB or Audio TRS).
  • Try a different USB port that can supply sufficient power (needs to run the controller processor and flash the memory). It may help to disconnect other accessories that draw 5V power from the controller (throttle, PAS sensor, 3-pos switch) to minimize USB power requirements.
  • Press and hold the cable 'FlashMe!' button after you click transmit.
Click to expand...
...and.. recommended software..
MXUS 3000 Hub Motor
zombiess said:
arkmundi said:
Which means the capability to do that. I was surprised that Cellman provided NO information or software or anything other than the USB cable on the controller. So now I'm left with the good members of the ES forum to enter the information vacuum. Reference to good threads, reads on the how-tos would be most appreciated.
Click to expand...
You can use xpd. .
Click to expand...
Detailed here: XPD: open-source keywin e-bike lab replacement -and- Programming the infineon
..and much more here at zapparello's wiki: https://code.google.com/p/xpd-ebike/wiki/Entry
Am in luck, since I run with Ubuntu...
zapparello said:
If you're using the Ubuntu/Debian or Fedora Linux distributions, just download the respective binary package (.deb or .rpm respectively) from the subdirectory with latest version number and install it.
Click to expand...
.. yielding a clean, painless and working install.
 
Experience
Took what was a longish ride on Dec 30th, of 14 miles, to exchange the seat on my Trek Shift 3 "Comfort" bike for a more comfortable saddle, which my seller was more than happy to accommodate. I have a Cloud9 8" saddle on the Gitchee, which I guess I got used to and just could not suffer anything less. They use a multi density gel layering up process that results in no bottoming out.

Since the new A123 AMP20 48V was still relatively untested, did some simple checks and the battery remains very robust. Used 0.67 kWh or about 14 ah of capacity. So I'm still using about 1ah per mile, even though its a more powerful 1000 watt motor. That was surprising. My Gitchee with the 36V 500 watt Heinzmann got about the same. A more efficient motor maybe?

So I used what I expect was about 70% of capacity. The second surprise was that the pack remained at 52 V, and all the cells remained between 3.28 and 3.29 V, so balanced. I felt no power loss or sag on the trip. Since I only charge the pack to about 80% of capacity (using the LED's on my smartcharger to gauge), I was down in the range of about 10% residual capacity. These are all great results - the bike, motor and battery are all out performing my original expectations.
 
the MAC/Trek machine fails 19-March-2015, a day ahead of freaky Friday. :cry: Its Trek's fault. Spent the day looking at the mess and considering my path forward towards repair. What I believe happened:
  • the rear dropouts fail; the slot for the axle is gone completely
  • the motor is spinning, so the phase/hall wires get wound around the axle; one of the phase wires is stripped; motor stops running
  • as the axle/dropout assembly tears loose, it takes out the dérailleur, breaking the hanger
  • I get dropped to the pavement, but I'm OK as I land right-side up
The Trek has a lifetime warranty for the frame, but I don't know I want to go that route. First - I did put a MAC 10T on the rear wheel and that's likely to invalidate the warranty. Second, if I get a frame replacement, I've still got the same problem.

Instead, I'm going to try to find the perfect torque arms and get a pair for both sides. Get the torque on the hefty part of the frame arms. Make a permanent repair. I may make my own, using the water jet cutter at the local makerspace, to make it interesting & challenging. Advise on that would be welcome. :idea:

In the meantime, I'm going to put the MAC on my Gitchee and run that way until my fix-it project is done.

I took the cover plates off the MAC to make sure there wasn't any internal damage, like the phase or hall wires pulling off. That's OK. Believe its just the insulation on one of the phase wires that got stripped. So I'll try the easy repair route first to see if I can get back into action. Then move on from there.
 
Ark,

Checkout Crossbreaks super commuter thread with clamping torque arms.
 
Had an axle spin-out. :cry: What I think happened is a failure of the torque arm. That failure took out not just the wire set to the motor, but also the dropouts on the Trek, ripped the deraileur off, and fried the controller. This vid goes into some detail and my repair work:
[youtube]-r9IDuzfLGo[/youtube]

Of interest: Torque Arms at Grin
In high power systems that generate a lot of torque, or in setups with weak dropouts, the forces present can exceed the material strength and pry the dropout open. When that happens, the axle will spin freely, wrapping and severing off the motor cables and potentially causing the wheel to fall right out of the bike.
Click to expand...
Says Grin, the maker of the Universal Torque Arm that EM3ev supplied me with when I bought the kit

How many have spun axles? Were you using a torque arm?
Uh, yea. And did my best when doing the build to make that torque arm work for me. As the vid alluded, I could not match-up the diagrams for installing that came with it, tried various configurations and went with what I thought was the best. Result: the hose-clamps supplied to strap the arm to the frame appear to have loosened, allowing the axle bracket to come off, and then the axle spin-out which cascaded into further damage: motor, controller, deraileur and dropouts.

Solution: cut slight new dropouts for vertical motion, put a Grin arm on both sides of the axle, and add U-Bolts for better clamping of the torque arms to the frame. Also, those arms are now holding the wheel on, in part. Try as I might, I can not get the wheel to move in the slightest in any oblong direction, apart for the spin. Really don't want a flat now as it'll be a pain in the finger tips to take the wheel off for repair.

Since I had my eBike in the shop for those repairs, figured I might as well true the wheel too, so... Picked up on the two-pitch method for tuning the wheel into alignment. Perfectly tuned means perfectly trued. Sage advise.
[youtube]Kpue4ed6G9Q[/youtube]
 
Sat Apr 11, 2015 » Had an axle spin-out... above... ordered up a complete new MAC 8T kit which I've been running on, with the intention of repairing the 10T kit above, for when I needed it. Just didn't think it would happen so quickly...
Thu May 07, 2015 » motor just stops, no sign of any visible damage. Rode the bike home pedal & gear style... I mean talk about slow and painful (hills). And I mean, jeesh.... :evil:
Fri May 08, 2015 » have the wheel off, inspected and problem deciphered...
Note I had two well mounted torque arms, having suffered the axle spin out from above. What breaks is the weakest juncture, which in this case was the axle itself, the end where the wire exits the axle and MAC has cut a groove so the wire set can be angled around. So again, its the wires that are damaged at that point, so no motor rotation, lacking either phase or hall connection
Axlebreak.png
Sat May 09, 2015 » countless hours now invested in pulling the 10T motor apart to replace the axle. I don' recommend it - just buy a bare motor ~$250 ~ more than worth it.
Sun May 10, 2015 » all that and its a no-go. Maybe I fried the controller as per last. So have two motor and two controller and no working eBike. Bummer!
Notes
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=52540#p781165 ... MAC rear motor uses a 12mm x 1.5 pitch nut. Considering double-bolting my motor on
https://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=59227#p884851
d8veh said:
That motor will make a lot of torque, so you need to make sure that the torque arms\are very secure. I'd use two. On the disc side, I'd make a plate that bolts to the caliper mount, and I'd weld the torque arm to it so that the axle is securely held in all directions.
Click to expand...
Yea, ditto the torque of the motor and the need for taking extra precautions in mounting the motor to the bike.
dogman dan said:
Dropouts need to be filed deeper on nearly any bike, if you wish to perfectly align the center of the hubmotor axle with where the center of the QR axle was. That gets the brake disk aligned vertically. The 14mm axle means about 2mm deeper dropout is needed compared to a 10 mm axle. Once you do that, the drops will not be quite so shallow. A set of good torque plates is still needed. That torque plate is what really holds the axle in place.
Click to expand...
Great advise, but, for all my reading-up, was not encountered in time ... hindsight
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=52155#p773799
johnxsi said:
Paul, cheers for the info, I will fire you an email.
Ironically I thought I went overkill with custom-double-1/4"-steel-dropouts to prevent this exact thing from happening, but here we are.
Click to expand...
Doc's ULTIMATE TORQUE ARMS... ordered me up a pair, along with
... some 3M Scotch-Weld Epoxy Adhesive DP420 Black
Tutorial on mounting
Harbor Freight has this nice pneumatic air file
 
Getting back on the road after axle break (see above).
The on-going saga... have a repair in place as follows:
[youtube]JpLfVaKI9A0[/youtube]
Grin torque-arms, both sides, hammered into the triangle between the frame arms. So the angle of the axle with respect to the flat has been transferred to the drop-outs as file-downs. Then for extra strength and to insure a tight fit, used 420 epoxy and nickel strip: wrapped the strip around the axle, gopped-on the epoxy, then place the axle into the drop-outs so as the angle is correct, the torque-arms are in position. Let the epoxy set that way. Axle lifts out leaving the nickel strip in place. Hammered down on the outside edges. We'll see if my eBike can take the road test and stay intact with the abuse I give it. If not.... well.... fracktheQ@&)&frecking$%*&%hackQ&)*(&and^)^no-mo-jack!!! :oops:
 
[grumble grumble] So, battery taken as well? Not charger? So. One local bike shop selling ebikes...
http://www.landrys.com/

Any others? Just thinking of places that bitch (could have been a guy) would be shopping to pick up a charger. Might give `em a "heads up" to a bike "needing parts" or "needing servicing"...
 
Thanks. Battery firmly attached to the eBike, so yes the battery too. Charger is separate and inside so still have. In thinking about that - they'll deplete the battery on the first ride and then take its charge to zero. Then they'll wake up to the fact it needs charging and won't know how. So they'll guess and wreck the pack that way. So a total waste of the $800 some dollars invested in that pack. Too bad really. I'll be doing a few things to try to find the bike - will working up a flyer I can leave around, including at local bike shops. Maybe I'll get lucky.
 
Some Canadian nobuddy pressed "Like" on that page... then "Message" and up popped "Typically replies within a day"... so looks like they might post for you? Or suggest somewhere else local to post?

Oh... waitasec... Bingo:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/worcester/

... a "public" group that ya can "join" and post to... Currently "5,421 Members".

:wink:

EDIT: Think about a "grabber" headline... mine was "Wheelchair theft rampant etc..."

EDIT (again): Suggest you may be ex-military, and need to bike to travel due to some "disability"... hehe
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Cute motor mid-drive build
Replies
4
Views
1,861
Tinkerman
T
arkmundi
MXUS + ?? controller, A123 72V on a TBD
2
Replies
47
Views
20,763
sonnetg
sonnetg
I
:Newb: 50v20ah Rear Mac 8T Build.
Replies
15
Views
2,726
bionicdan
bionicdan
T
Kona Stab, 8T Mac, 20S A123 20AH
Replies
18
Views
4,539
pendragon8000
pendragon8000
Back
Top