Testing engine/controller setup without battery?

[rhodebump]

Hi,

My ebike quit working on me, and I suspect that it is the battery. If I give the engine any kind of load, the engine cuts off. If I unplug and plug the battery in, it will work again.

I don't have a 2nd battery to test with. The battery is a 48V 10ah capacity. Is there a "cheap" way to test the setup (like using a 12v battery charger?)

Thanks for your thoughts.
Phillip

 

[dogman dan]

Get a voltmeter. You can then use the voltmeter to see what happens when you put a small load on the battery.

You should be able to use the motor to put a tiny load on the battery, by keeping the wheel off the ground, and just cracking the throttle a bit.

If the volts drops like a rock under a tiny load, your battery is stuffed. Going from a 52v starting point to 42v under a small load would be toast. Likely a bms equipped battery will shut itself off around 42v, or sooner.

If it won't run at all, then you can do a similar test by connecting the battery to a light bulb, stove element, anything like that and see if the voltage plummets.

 

[dnmun]

yep, sounds like the pack is severely outa balance. post up a picture of the BMS so we can show you where to measure the cell voltages.