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Stubby79

New Member
Jul 17, 2009
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Victoria, BC
It's probably that bit I mentioned about how the faster you drain it, the less amp-hours(to break it down simply) you'll get out of it. Since the two only have to do half the work each of the one bigger one, they're more efficient.
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
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north carolina
Okay here is a question for anyone who knows about hub motors or brushless motors in general I expect.

I change out the controller on my hub. I burned the other one I think. I got the new one in and set it up today. I used the color code from the motor to match up the color code of the controller. It had three wires from the controller and three wires to the motor for power. I used the color code.

There are five wires from the sensors. I used the color code again. Now it runs but it is pedal first and it stutters and never gets to full power. I think the sensor wires are crossed but I'm not sure how many sensors there are. If there are five then I will just switch the wires around till it works. If there are three then the red and black are some kind of power leads and I don't want to swith them around I think.

Also the controller says it is for 60 and 120 degree motors do I need to change anything that might cause this problem.

If you know share if not when I figure it out I'll let you know.
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
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north carolina
well i got it wired right. Actually it was right all along. that darn nubby tire was rubbing these things are a real lady in a slinky blue dress to get adjusted. Now I find that it runs at about half the speed it should be. Even turned upside down and with no load it doesn't go very fast.

If anyone knows why let me know. Is it the 36volt controller or what. Anyway I shut it down and returned to work on a different pusher. I'm trying my hand at one with two wheels instead of the bob tailed nag. I have high hopes for that design.

I'm going to test it at 24v for a while then slip it up to 36 and be prepared to buy a new controller. It is running the cheap ebay china connection controller.
 

Stubby79

New Member
Jul 17, 2009
33
0
0
Victoria, BC
It could be the voltage difference with the controller.
It could be the speed sensor(s) on the hub motor send more pulses than a regular motor, and the controller, thinking the wheel is spinning really fast, is limiting the speed. (it would still have full torque on take off, until it reaches said speed though, I would think)
Is the wheel rated for 24 volts or 36? getting less voltage than it's rated for would limit it.
I'm not sure what each wire is for, but you could try disconnecting them one at a time (if they match in color, i wouldn't try mixing them up) and see what it does.
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
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north carolina
I did that each time I disconnected one it locked up the motor. The motor is rated 24 volts. When I put 36 through the old controller the motor ran faster but stopped after a few yards. It ran again at 24 for a while then died. I'm going to give it a rest and look for a bike with a better front fork for it. I tossed one of my bikes tonight, I might toss some more as well. When I find one with a wide enough front fork, I might have to weld on some shackles to make it work. I should have done that in the first place. Then I will see what is what. I might just need to redo the trailer to get the weight down or something similar.
 

Stubby79

New Member
Jul 17, 2009
33
0
0
Victoria, BC
Be careful running it at 36 volts...it's not going to increase the power by half; it's going to more than double it. Not only does the voltage go up, but the current does too.
A 350 watt motor @ 24 volts will pull 14.5 amps.
That same motor at 36 volts will pull almost 22 amps, which makes for 787 watts. Easy to cook a controller and or a motor at that.
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
Thats a shock. I only bought a 350 watt controller. I was figuring the motor I have at 10 amps to get the 250 watts at 24volts. I figured that if it still drew 10 amps it would be 350 watts. Then there is really no reason for it to be running so slowly. I didnt work on it today, I was working on my four wheel sorta trike. I think it is going to be another failed experiment but It is something I always wanted to try.

I need to wire it and get it on the test track tomorrow. I got the frame finished today. It's a little shaky at the moment but I think the weight of the batteries will give it some stability. When I get it finished I will make some pics of it. Its a strange looking bird.
 

Stubby79

New Member
Jul 17, 2009
33
0
0
Victoria, BC
No, your;e right...if you can keep the amperage in control, through use of the speed controller, it can be 350 watts. Well, 360, 36v x 10a. But if you hook 36 volts up without a controller, you'll get that 787 watts. And I don't know if the controller would know to stop at 10 amps (40-odd % duty cycle). Thats great if it does...did you measure the amperage in use?
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
No i was going by the specs from the original controller. I did know that without the controller it will pull max amps. It's how I blew so many fuses before i went back to controllers. I still am not sure they are so great with the curry type motor but for the brushless you have to have them.
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
Today I learned how to fix it till it can't be fixed any more. I think everyone knows how to do that. I tore one bike's e system apart tested it piece till I found that I hadn't turned off the kill switch.

Then one of the pusher's just came apart lol.

I still don't have a good fork for the hub motor so I am bikeless unless you count the one that has no motor. I don't count it, who wants a bike with no motor.

I do have a bunch of really good components though.
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
After I came home from dinner I went out to the shop and made a set of shackles so that I could use the forks from a twenty inch bike for the hub motor. I'll have to keep an eye on them since it is mostly a learn as you go fork lol.

I have to build a quick trailer tomorrow so that I can pull the batteries behind me. I want one that is small and easy to pull. I might go back to the noisy lawn mower wheels for it. Or the scooter ones at least.

I also have to rebuild a pusher bike for the walking in the park trips. I don't want to take the hub down there. Two much incentive for it to do a Houdini on me.

I'm telling you the pusher just broke the metal where it attached to the bike. I am going to have to do something better with it. I really want to go with a two wheel trailer rather than the bobtail one.
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
Well I have one bike running and one that almost runs. That darn hub motor is going to be the death of me. Now I can lift the front end and it runs smooth as glass. Get on it to ride and it jerks and bumps like it has a square wheel. Can't seem to get any torque or speed not sure what the problem is. I was going to just trash it but that isn't learning anything.

Since I got the thing running smooth some of the time, I am pretty sure the problems so far have been front fork issues. I think this might still be the problem since I made shackles for the front fork which don't seem to be keeping the axle from turning. I think that might be the problem but maybe not.

The axle has a flat spot on it, I think that might because it wants to turn when power is applied. I am going to have to have to try a front fork, I guess I will buy a thrift shop bike with a different kind of fork and try that. I don't care much for the bike I have the hub on anyway it is way too tall for me.
 
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deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
Since this thread has become more or less a daily journal of sharing my experiences while experimenting with Ebikes, I have decided to move it to my blog instead of wasting space here. So look for it on my blog. About bikes not politics...