Magic Pie 3 Out of Commission..Need Help!

beach cruiser

beach cruiser

Member
Hello All,
It's been a long time since I last posted. Now I have a big problem. My rear wheel came loose while using the e-brake whereby the cable wrapped around the axle and pulled the wiring out of the internal controller. I bought a Universal Magic Pie Controller from Golden Motor Canada for $100.00. Installed it and the only thing that works is the thumb throttle lights up but no movement in the wheel. I disconnected the 3 main wires in the wheel leaving the 6 pin connector plugged in and the thumb throttle still lights up. Does anybody have any idea what part(s) need replacing or is the Pie fried?:-||
 
I'd crack 'er open & see if there's any chaos inside, a pretty easy task but be cautioned - there's some "advice" out there that may lead you astray in trying to do just that.

There's a buncha lil hex heads around the outside the hub cover, obv those need out (just the wired side) & they're no problem, where it gets tough is the case is sealed pretty well. The "advice" I warned of is some recommend "banging on the axle & it'll come right off"... except ofc that'll bugger the bearing pretty good & likely rip more wires while you're at it. I just took a bit of angle steel, drilled three holes (one for the axle, two for disc brake rotor mount bolts) & made my own pulley puller, or in this instance "case cracker" lol, worked a treat.

Pics 1 & 2 below are the bearing & wires that are right under the cover, the bearing has a retaining clip - but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be stuck a bit as it's pressed into a recess in the cover when assembled. As a BTW, the sides of the shaft keyway are usually razor sharp, dulling those over a bit while you're in there will help keep the wiring comfy (pic, red arrows);



Inside you'll find ...something close to but maybe not quite like this (sorry, but I've the older MP2), point being it's actually pretty straightforward to resolder the connections & splice in new wiring as I had to do when I first got mine. As you can see the MPs used to suffer horrid quality soldering & inferior plugs, something that's improved with the later models like yours - but the procedure is the same;



If you've no board damage (that's unlikely, prolly all wire/keyway damage) it shouldn't be a difficult repair - also, I dunno if you're aware but the MPs internal controller emits beeps as error messages. After a hard reset (unplug power supply, wait a mo & plug back in) silence is golden, but if you get beeping (it's kinda quiet) there's a problem. Again, I'm unfamiliar with the MP3 & 4 but w/mine it's three beeps = throttle position sensor fault, etc. Very handy that.
 
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Thanks a million BA! I already removed the nuts on both sides of the wheel but decided to wait till I got some more advice. Let me see if I understand you correctly....Just remove the cover on the side where the wires/cable exits... NOT the Sprocket side?
 
No worries & yarp - there's no need to pull both covers, the sprocket side has a whole lot of nuffin' under it to bother with, the disc brake/wired side is where all the groovy stuff is at. You can pull both covers if you wish but be aware it's a little troublesome getting it back together if you do, the magnetic fields of the rotor & stator will fight you, I'd imagine a bit like trying to stuff a coupla POed cats back into a bag lol
 
BarelyAWake said:
No worries & yarp - there's no need to pull both covers, the sprocket side has a whole lot of nuffin' under it to bother with, the disc brake/wired side is where all the groovy stuff is at. You can pull both covers if you wish but be aware it's a little troublesome getting it back together if you do, the magnetic fields of the rotor & stator will fight you, I'd imagine a bit like trying to stuff a coupla POed cats back into a bag lol
Click to expand...

Thanks a million BA, I'll giver a try!
 
BarelyAWake said:
I'd crack 'er open & see if there's any chaos inside, a pretty easy task but be cautioned - there's some "advice" out there that may lead you astray in trying to do just that. .....




........ also, I dunno if you're aware but the MPs internal controller emits beeps as error messages. After a hard reset (unplug power supply, wait a mo & plug back in) silence is golden, but if you get beeping (it's kinda quiet) there's a problem. Again, I'm unfamiliar with the MP3 & 4 but w/mine it's three beeps = throttle position sensor fault, etc. Very handy that.
Click to expand...


Wow! BarelyAWake!

Now that's what I call a response!

Good info plus good photos.

There's no telling yet if that has solved all of the OPs troubles. But you sure gave him something to work with.

If I could give folks help like that, then I'd call myself a "member" or a "contributor".

Nice job. I'm a-gonna have to try to do some imitatin'.
 
Thankee, it's really mostly rememberin' the pics... which I fail to do sometimes lol (any apostrophe abuse at your discretion) ;)
 
Hi Guys,
Got the screws out and loosened the hub cover but haven't gotten it off yet. Not been feelin well lately. Will let you all know what I find once I get er opened up.
 
Hello BA, I'm wondering if I'm doing this right....I've only been able to get it opened 3/4". Is it this hard to get the hub cover off. Here are a couple of pics.
 

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...from the pics it looks OK, but ofc it's hard to tell. Once the cover releases it's seal (the stage you're at) it shouldn't be a problem - you might be hanging on wires wedged in the keyway, it's really snug in there. Unbolt your puller & get it outa the way (yer done w/it) & give it a (very) lil lube in where the wires enter & the axle shaft (even a mild water/soap mix will work), wiggle gently & see if that gets you any play... I s'pose it's possible the bearings stuck in the case cover but that's less likely.

There really isn't anything else, 'cept patience is key ;)
 
BarelyAWake;...from the pics it looks OK, but ofc it's hard to tell. Once the cover releases it's seal (the stage you're at) it shouldn't be a problem - you might be hanging on wires wedged in the keyway, it's really snug in there. Unbolt your puller & get it outa the way (yer done w/it) & give it a (very) lil lube in where the wires enter & the axle shaft (even a mild water/soap mix will work), wiggle gently & see if that gets you any play... I s'pose it's possible the bearings stuck in the case cover but that's less likely.

Thanks BA, wasn't sure if i was making things worse. Sure is a bugger tho. Will keep you informed.
 
BarelyAWake...from the pics it looks OK, but ofc it's hard to tell. Once the cover releases it's seal (the stage you're at) it shouldn't be a problem - you might be hanging on wires wedged in the keyway, it's really snug in there. Unbolt your puller & get it outa the way (yer done w/it) & give it a (very) lil lube in where the wires enter & the axle shaft (even a mild water/soap mix will work), wiggle gently & see if that gets you any play... I s'pose it's possible the bearings stuck in the case cover but that's less likely.

Finally got the hub cover off...No wire damage evident on this side...Will have to take the other hub cover off to verify if there is a problem on the other side . I suspect it's the Hall Sensor(s). Does anyone know where to purchase these sensors??
 
Pulled the other hub cover off. No broken or melted wires evident. The only thing left is the Magnetic Hall Sensors. Will replace all 3 since they're cheap ($2.00 ea.) Went ahead & ordered 6 of them. The direct replacement for the Chinese ones are: Honeywell SS41, Part# 480-1999-ND....ordered thru Digi-Key.
___
 
Did you smell smoke when the wires were wound up before and yanked from the ESC? I'm wondering if it may have shorted before finishing the deed.
 
is the wheel hard to turn by hand when power on? i know you put a new controller on but it could bad. the wheel should turn freely
 
Did you smell smoke when the wires were wound up before and yanked from the ESC? I'm wondering if it may have shorted before finishing the deed.

No smoke...It pulled/stretched the 3 small wires out of the controller and pulled the cable out of the connecting socket going to the throttle.
 
is the wheel hard to turn by hand when power on? i know you put a new controller on but it could bad. the wheel should turn freely

The controller lights up, and the wheel turns freely. From what I'vr been reading it really doesn't take much to fry the the old outdated Chinese Hall Sensors. The Honey Well ones are a tad bigger which requires opening the slots a little bigger so the Hall Sensors can fit. No problem with a Dremel. What's hard is soldering longer sections of wire to to the sensors and then soldering those sections to the existing wiring w/o frying the sensors. I'm still working on this. I'm taking my time as I already trashed 2 new sensors.
 
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