what leads/connectors/switches for 36V 20A bike/motor??

[callagga]

Hi,

While waiting for my bike kit I wanted to get some basics for the wiring from the local shdp, but what sort/brand type do I ask for, and from what sort of shop? (eg Tandy, car shop?...). bike will be 36V 20A (10Ah battery)

I wanted to get:
• wire
• connectors (not sure if there are solderless options here)
• switch
• weatherproofing for exposed connections,
• extension sockets, cg something I can mount on bike (eg femmle connector) so whe I pot bag I can just slot the lead (with male end) in.

Thanks

 

[icecube57]

Find Anderson Connectors and a proper crimp tool. Use these on any connections that carry large current. Your phase wires, battery wires, and power connector to your controller. These make good solid clean connection. They are genderless. They wipe clean everytime you connect and disconnect them. You can get some silicone sealant to water proof the back of your connectors to water proof them. A kill switch is nice to interrupt the power between the battery and controller. I use my andersons connectors as a kill switch. A small tug on the connectors on my handlebars disconnect my battery from my controller. 12-14 gauge wires should do. Silicone wires or teflon coated wires are all the rage but not mandatory. I use 12 gauge wire from Walmart or Autozone. High stranded copper wiring is a good option for wires.

 

[dogman dan]

Yeah, get the andesons. I procrastinated too long using the OK bullet connectors that came with my kit. The andersons I am switching to are the bomb. You can put them together like leggos in all kinds of configurations to make plugs that only take the plug you want, so you don't plug the charger in to the wrong socket or something like that. You can get all kinds of colors for coding too.

Powerwerx is where I got some pretty cheap, shipped fast. 30 amp is what most folks are using.

Somewhere in here there is a post on how to crimp em right. Can somebody find it and put in in the tech reference section?

I'm using a cheap crimper from home depot, well not all that cheap, it was about 25 bucks. Go for the 12 guage wire even if it is overkill, but the cheap stuff from the car parts store will work fine. I tried a quick search and didn't find the post that had pix of how to crimp. One more thing for the to do list. In words, I'm using a crimper that has a u shape on one side of the jaw and a bump on the other side that fits in the u. You put the bump into the seam on the barrel of the connetor, which folds down the seam, then rotating the crimp 90 degrees, use another part of the jaws to fold in the sides. When you are done, you have a tidy little square that fits in the plastic receptacle.

 

[lesspedal]

powerwerx.com has assembly instructions on their site for powerpoles.

 

[XRuss]

plus more Powerpole info can be found at: http://www.flyrc.com/articles/using_powerpole_1.shtml

and even more if you google. good luck

 

[morph999]

callagga, did you order your motor? If so, what did you decide on?

Here is what learned from getting my first e-bike assembled:

1) if your controller and motor are from different companies, you'll have to connect the wires and you'll possibly need connectors for it or solder them together

2) you'll most certainly have to find a way to connect the controller to the battery and that'll probably involve soldering as well or crimping

Also, the motor had to be filed down about 1 mm to get it to fit on my 9mm fork spacing. I have a really old bike, though so that may not be a problem for you. That's about it. Some say you need a fuse but I don't have a fuse on mine. You also probably need some 12 gauge wire to connect the battery to the controller.

 

[dogman dan]

Thanks for the links guys. But they still don't really show how to actually use the crimper properly. The post I was talking about really helped me. I am using the style of crimper like the 12 buck one on the powerwerks website. Hey! I got ripped off at home depot of mine! :x I think I paid at least 20 bucks. Powerwerx seems to have some nice tool prices.

 

[kazbluesky]

Andersons definitely. Also, I don't crimp them, I just solder them - no farting about, simple, easy, no waste, no chewed up mistakes, and they are done for ever!! Get some of that solder-paste put a touch inside the connector, a touch on the the wire, push it in and then heat her up and the solder squirts around inside and makes a perfect join - no crimping necessary

 

[callagga]

thanks - I've ordered the WattsUp meter