Trigger signal for Ebrake line

[Sacman]

I'm wanting to hook up my ebrakes to my Crystalyte controller because I want it to automatically cut the power on the Cruise Control when I come up to stoplights. But I don't want to use the crappy brake levers supplied by Crystalyte. Instead, I want to just use a magnetic reed switch and somehow attach it to my current brake levers to send the ebrake signal.

So I'm using my digital meter to determine what trigger signal the Crystalyte ebrakes send to the controller but all the wires I connect my meter to shows an open circuit (whether the brake levers are pulled or not). Looks like the switch or the wires on this thing already went bad. Maybe it's a good thing I never bothered to hook them up.

I've already done a search on this form but couln't find anything. Does anyone know what the ebrake trigger signal is? and thru which pin or wire the signal is sent to the controller? My Crystalyte controller has a standard 3-pin ebrake connector.

 

[deardancer3]

I think One of the three pins (middle one I think) is grnd, one is a plus voltage thru a resistor and one is sense, looking for a change from high to ground.

when the brake is pulled, a grnd is sent to the sense wire, disabling power to the motor until the ground goes away.


I think there are some guys here that sell a magnet and sense switch like what Bionx uses. rick K maybe?

d

 

[rkosiorek]

first it is easiest if you use a Normally Closed Reed switch. AKA Form "B" contacts. i could not find any in stock anywhere. instead i found ones that were SPDT (both NO and NC contacts) AKA Form "C". wires were soldered on and the switches were sealed inside some thinwall 1/4" dia plastic tubes. i just sealed the ends with hotmelt glue:



you want the NC contacts because the brake function is activated when the input gets shorted to GND. the switch is mounted to the frame of the brake lever. the magnet is mounted to the moving part of the lever. when relaxed the magnet is close to the switch holding it open. when pulled the magnet moves away from the switch an the NC contact will short the signal to GND.

to use the common NO reed switches you need to find some mounting where the magnet moves closer to the switch as the lever is activated. easiest place to arrange that would be to mount the magnet to the cantilever arm at the sheath covered end of the brake cable and the switch to the cable between the arms. when you activae the lever, that piece of cable shortens pulling the cantilevers together, moving the magnet closer to the NO switch and activating it.



the connectors are the XS Series connectors from JST Manufacturing.

to mount my ruggedised reed switches i found some rubber molding the cross section being shaped like the letter "P". the open end has a hole just under 1/4" diameter. the switch is a tight slip fit into that hole i glued the rubber to the frame of the levers. then i glued a round magnet to the lever itself. being a slip fit i can adjust the activation point by sliding the switch inside the rubber mount. friction will hold it in place. the rubber molding was originally used as a door seal for a small portable fridge.







rick

 

[Sacman]

deardancer and rkosiorek,

Thanks for the help guys. So the ground is the trigger signal for the ebrakes. Got it!
And Rick thanks for the wonderful explanations and pictures on wiring it with a NC or NO reed switch. Very clear and helpful.
Using rubber door weatherstripping was also a good idea on mounting the magnet and switch to the underside of the brake lever.
I used to own a BionX and that's the same way thier kits mount the ebrake magnet and switch.
Looks like I'm gonna try the NC switch that's sends the GND signal when I move the magnet away. I'm gonna try that right away.
Thanks again guys.

 

[docnjoj]

Thanks Rick for that timely post! I am about to wire up your kit and I completely forgot how to do it!
otherDoc

 

[rkosiorek]

i also think that most of the e-brake levers sold with the kits suck. and they don't work with "Rapid Fire" style integrated shifters/levers. i was looking for solutions but not finding any.

Juergen from Acclivity Solutions is a Bionx dealer from Ottawa. a few years ago he sold a kit to a woman who lived in my town and i helped him when he came here to install the PL350 kit she had bought from him. that is when i saw the Bionx switch mount. i thought it was a great idea, but i thought that they must have gotten come kind of custom molding for the rubber bits. a couple of months later i was rummaging through the local scrap metal yard looking for some some chunks of brass, there were some brass looking rods buried under some doors for some small portable refrigerators. when i was moving the doors out of the way, i recognised the rubber seals. the rods turned out to be some kind of plated plastic junk, but the door seals were golden and came home with me.

i also found a bunch of the reed switches for a reasonable price. so i made up a few "kits" of parts to duplicate the "Bionx" style of switch. complete with wires, connectors, magnets, wire ties, etc. which i offered for sale. from this experience i theorise that the e-bike thing is genetic. one of the common gene traits is the "Cheap Gene". well most of the people who contacted me seemed to suffer from it anyway. not a very popular product. i eventually did sell out of them.

rick

 

[docnjoj]

It is actually a super piece of engineering, Rick and I am a proud owner! Thanks again! It allows me to avoid installing those crap brake levers and use the good ones provided on my trike!
otherDoc

 

[nicobie]

I went about it using mini switches which Radio Shack sells. It worked out real well and eliminates the wires running to your handle bars.

 

[docnjoj]

That is a cool way to do it, nicobie. I have disc brakes and I don't think there is enuf travel to use the little n/c switches. I like the waterproof connector.
otherDoc

 

[Sacman]

Very nicely done! I like it!
That is a much cleaner way to do it with less wires up by the handle bars. 8)
But is there any adjustment on the mounting of the switches? Maybe just bending the little metal arm?
I don't want to have to be squeezing the brakes with a "death grip" in order for the switch to activate.

 

[BLUESTREAK]

HI SACMAN if this is the new controller that you have and the brake cutoff plug has three(3) wires 1 red-1 black and 1 green you need to hook the black and green to a switch, this is what i have done to my 48volt 40 amp crystalyte controller, I got this info. from electrider.com and it works hope this helps.

 

[Sacman]

HI SACMAN if this is the new controller that you have and the brake cutoff plug has three(3) wires 1 red-1 black and 1 green you need to hook the black and green to a switch, this is what i have done to my 48volt 40 amp crystalyte controller, I got this info. from electrider.com and it works hope this helps.

Thanks bluestreak. Yes my controller has the standard Crystalyte 3-pin ebrake connector. From your information and from the posts above... the black is the negative(-) or GND trigger wire so I need to hook that black wire and the green wire to a NO switch that closes the connection when I squeeze the brakes. Can you confirm that is correct?

 

[rkosiorek]

Thanks bluestreak. Yes my controller has the standard Crystalyte 3-pin ebrake connector. From your information and from the posts above... the black is the negative(-) or GND trigger wire so I need to hook that black wire and the green wire to a NO switch that closes the connection when I squeeze the brakes. Can you confirm that is correct?

that is correct. but i avoid using wire colors. over the years i have seen every color of the rainbow used by the Crystalyte controllers for these wires. what is important is the position of the wire in the connectors. the connectors in the pictures are the ones used by Crystalyte. if you lcheck your connector you will see that in your case the wire colors are: Pin#1 -RED, Pin#2 -BLACK, Pin#3 -GREEN.

if you need some of the 3 pin connectors for your Crystalyte i have them $1.50 for a male/female pair. + postage. PM me for more info.

rick

 

[fechter]

I like nicobie's solution. I did something very similar on my old Zappy drum brake. I'd suggest mounting the microswitch on the outside of the caliper however, so that the switch is pressed when you release the brakes. Since the switch has both NO and NC contacts, you can wire it appropriately. This way the switch can't be damaged by too much travel in the brake caliper. You can also set it up so the switch flips before the brake pads make contact.

Is is possible the stock Crystalyte brake levers use hall effect switches? That might explain the lack of a resistance reading. Hall switches might be a good alternative to magnetic reed switches. You could use the same method of sealing inside a small tube with hot melt.

The hall or reed switch / magnet setup could possibly be done on the caliper unless you have hydraulic disk brakes.

 

[Patriot]

When I installed a brake switch for my rear regen, I didn't want to run a switch wire all the way up front to my brake handles. So, I got one of these cheap lights from DealExtreme and cut off the switch.

The switch installs on the brake line, front or rear. The best place is to simply install it wear the V-brake dust cover is. I didn't have to buy any expensive mini switches, or magnetic switches that require modifying the brake handles to work. These switches are already made for this, and they always fit with no mods. When it closes, it activates the regen. The same can be used for any other purpose. Other than a cannibalizing it off a cheap DX light, I haven't found anyone who sells them.

Overall, it was a much cheaper and simpler way of doing business. It didn't require me to find a magnetic switch, which can be a bit unreliable after alot of use (sometimes). I tried a magnetic switch, once. After alot use, it required some realigning to keep making it work. It turned out to be a pain.

This switch is a simple compression switch, and has not failed me yet after months of use. I think this light is out of stock, but they sell other cheapies with the same switch.

I cut the wire off flush with the light body, and just installed the light on my daughters bike. It just doesn't have the brake function anymore. She doesn't seem to notice. :wink:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8292

 

[Sacman]

Is that a plunger type swich in that rubber boot? The switch on the original Crystalyte ebrake levers is a plunger type switch as well.

 

[nicobie]

It's just a switch from Radio Shack that can be wired NO or NC, and you're right about adjusting it by bending the mounting bracket. The actuating lever on the switch can be bent too.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2049718

Nick

 

[Patriot]

Is that a plunger type swich in that rubber boot? The switch on the original Crystalyte ebrake levers is a plunger type switch as well.

I'm not sure exacttly what the switch in the C-lyte levers are. All I know know is this is a very simply switch. When it's screwed to the brake line on the V-brake, and adjusted properly, it works very well. The only problem I can see having with it, is getting wet, even though it has a boot to cover the internals. However, once I installed my full fenders to keep it from getting wet (and everything else dry), it's in a place that gets very little to no abuse.