Sun-Thing28 Ebike Kit Build

Hooked it all up.

God awful noise from the horn.
[youtube]pi6MqpGtG6s[/youtube]

God awful noise coming from the hub. Is this normal? Have I bought a bad motor or mounted it wrong?
[youtube]bHYa49X1qA4[/youtube]


If I pedal without power, there is no noise. I've removed the brakes and tied back all the loose cables, nothing is rubbing. I took it out for a test ride and managed about 10mph max, I managed about 30 meters before the power cut out. Quite disappointing. :(

Suspect the battery needs its first proper charge before I do anything (though it reports as full) else but just wanted to see the motor spin up :cry:

Any ideas?
 
Been researching, this sounds like the problem I'm having.
http://goldenmotor.com/SMF/index.php?topic=3456.0

When I first connected up the battery I accidentally reversed the polarity because I was a tired and impatient idiot (note the plaster / bandaid in the video)
It made a slight pop and I was worried I'd destroyed the controller. So I guess I need to accept that I may have blown some parts.

If the hall sensors are fine and it's actually the controller (given the rubbing sounds, i doubt that) what should I be looking for in the controller? I have a multimeter and a soldering iron but that's about it.
 
This thread is basically me talking to myself. Hehe

Whilst I wait to take the motor apart, is this normal? Connected up for about twenty minutes and now just does... This
[youtube]aPRI2yG9pMs[/youtube]
 
That last photo sounds fine................if the motor turns. If it isn't moving, well..........? That noise sounds like bearings, but it could be other things like a bad Hall or phase. In all seriousness, does the motor still turn when you apply the throttle?
otherDoc
 
Yeah I been reading your posts. Seems like it's been the longest slog to get your bike up and running.
I plugged my battery in reverse polarity to my controller once, it blew a large capacitor inside right of its legs, and the other one next to it didn't look to good either. I had to order a new one, didn't feel like trying to fix it.
 
Mm yes it has been a bit of a slog but I'm on my own and have no experience of bikes or electric motors so it's been a fun learning curve.
The motor does turn, I can actually ride the bike, it judders a little violently at low "revs" and then power eventually cuts out and I'm dead in the water and doesn't really go much more than 10 - 15 mph whilst making the rubbing sound. Which is why I suspect the hall sensors. I'll open it up soon and take a look soon and report back. Imagine i'll be slogging away at this for a while longer!
 
Ok well, this is embarrassing. I was taking the motor out of the bike ready to pull it to bits. As I disconnected it from the controller I noticed the cheap chinese connectors in one of the "molex" style plugs (pictured on the right) had pins made of very flimsy metal, when I initially connected it one of the pins that feeds the motor was bent out of the way and wasn't making a connection.

I'm baffled how this translates to a sound that is reminiscent of taping a playing card to your spokes but it's working now and I had my first test run last night. Aside from a couple of teething issues with the quality of my electrical connections (the power lead fell unplugged itself) it was awesome and the V-brakes are better than expected at the speeds I'm doing.

[youtube]Vvs98_80yRU[/youtube]

It's not as fast as I imagined but it's pretty good fun! In terms on the service from sun-thing28, he didn't respond to my pleas for help with the motor power/ sound issue but as somebody to buy cheap from, I would recommend him provided he continues with the level of service I received. The quality of the main components seems quite good. The minor parts such as connector cables, throttle and "frog" light are quite dire. I imagine I'll replace these over time.

If anybody can point me in the direction to replace the supplied gauge with a better one , I'm all ears.
 

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Well done, yeah I was going to suggest that maybe some kind of phase wiring setup is wrong but I thought some one else would have more detailed idea of what to do, but you learned the best way and figured it all out by your self.
I guess now you have had so many problems and grind´ed through all of them you now know more about ebikes then most people who have em. 8)

If you want to go faster you could build a 12S 48v lipo battery or even go 14S if you want some serious speed.
Even having 48v lipo on a higher amp controller will give a noticeable boost over 48v lifep04 because Lipo (lico) batteries can really dump heaps of amp current into your controller/motor which equals total more power and give some noticeable gains.
 
This looks great buddy, well done! You do know that 1000w Is waaay past the 250w legal limit here in the Uk though?
 
Yeah I am aware of the legal limits. I'm not doing anything crazy on it and my commute takes me (mostly) over farmland roads with public rights of way.

At the moment I'm still having issues with power cutting off if I put more than 30% throttle. I'm not sure what would cause that but I'm currently tempted to replace all the thin wiring with something much more beefy. The cables to the motor are pretty thin.

Speed wise, when it was working, it's fast enough for me. It cruises at 18 to 22.
 
ipub said:
Yeah I am aware of the legal limits. I'm not doing anything crazy on it and my commute takes me (mostly) over farmland roads with public rights of way.

At the moment I'm still having issues with power cutting off if I put more than 30% throttle. I'm not sure what would cause that but I'm currently tempted to replace all the thin wiring with something much more beefy. The cables to the motor are pretty thin.

Speed wise, when it was working, it's fast enough for me. It cruises at 18 to 22.
Click to expand...


i couldn't tell you why this might be, but my ebike with a piddly little 250w front hub takes me at that speed!
 
Quick update.

Things are working much more smoothly but I still don't trust the chinese wiring and plan to replace it asap. Everything is made to what I'd call an adequate standard but the wiring, particularly the spade connectors, are pretty poor and I've seen various performance issues as a result but when it works properly, it works well enough. I don't feel like I can hit the battery too hard but until the wiring is sorted I can't say for sure if they are any good.

I've also replaced the home made box wooden triangle with a bike bag similar to the Falcon EV triangle bag but made locally in the UK by hand and to the exact measurements of my bike! This looks much better. I've taken my box apart and kept the hardboard backing and shelves (that the battery sits on) held in with three wood screws. I can then velcro strap the batteries in place to stop them from moving and cover them with another piece of material to protect them from punctures.


The bag opens up on one side only, the other side (not pictured) is plain and flat. My bag is around 10 cm wide but this is custom.

IMAG0141.jpg


IMAG0143.jpg


Here you can see the waterproof durable material and the layout of my ebike parts. The controller for my bike is a bit on the large side and only just fits into the large frame :

IMAG0144.jpg



The bag makers (Jon & Helen) have a turnaround of approximately two weeks once they have the exact triangle template. They also make bags for recumbents etc and the prices are very reasonable, I think, My custom made extra wide bag came in at roughly £45 plus postage.

If anybody is thinking of a bag, I would recommend these guys : http://www.bike-bag.co.uk

Finally, I'd like to replace the chinese headlight / keylock unit with a simple battery meter. Can anybody point me in the right direction ?
 
dnmun said:
what happened to the controller you blew up by reversing polarity?
Click to expand...

That's the very same. There must be some protection in there then as it worked fine afterwards .. despite the crack pop noise that made me jump out of my skin. Can't have done it any good though.. Maybe that's why I'm seeing a reduction in performance?
 
no controller works fine after reversing the polarity. i suspect it was not reversed but just sparked when you plugged it in.

would you even know if you had reversed it?

you use the factory plugs which are polarized already don't you?
 
Well, I remember wiring the power cables the wrong way round into the male and female kettle lead connectors (the type you wire yourself) and plugged them in and there was a definite pop. I think I have damaged something though.. I'm not sure what.

I finished wiring it up into the bag and went for a short ride. I am getting a total power failure when I hit full throttle. The LED headlight unit it came with has a sort of battery and power meter built in and all lights just go out with one red LED dimly lit. I have to then completely disconnect the batteries and then reconnect them before I can throttle up again.

Feels like I've hit some safety feature but I don't know what would cause that. On the plus side, the bag works beautifully. Anybody got any ideas or is it just easier buying another controller ?
 
Do you completely charge your battery. Leave it on the charger for 10hrs or more after the green light comes on ?
I proud of you for getting your bike going with little help from E.S.
 
Thanks man. Painful process so far!

The battery charger it came with turns itself off after it's charged and then every 30 seconds or so it'll turn back on for short while, I'm assuming that's for balancing? I'm fairly sure the battery is full but do you think I should leave it charging longer?
 
ipub said:
Thanks man. Painful process so far!

The battery charger it came with turns itself off after it's charged and then every 30 seconds or so it'll turn back on for short while, I'm assuming that's for balancing? I'm fairly sure the battery is full but do you think I should leave it charging longer?
Click to expand...

no you are totally wrong. if the charger cycles on and off it is because the battery is so far out of balance that it cannot charge the battery up anymore without the one cell hitting the HVC and turning off the BMS charging port.

you need to measure the cell voltages of each cell WHILE CHARGING!!!! and post them up here.

you just have to ignore what he said about a low voltage cell because it is a totally random statement.

you have to list the cell voltages here while charging so you can get some informed advice.
 
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