Author Topic: brake switch signal not passed to internal controller in dual kit  (Read 4747 times)

Offline dr.ing.geode

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hi,
I got a dual Magic Pie.
I had a VERY aggressive electro-brake (regen) so used usb cable to reprogram from 100% to 87% which seemed ok.
At 15-20Km/h (10-14mph) this was ok.
At higher speeds downhill it was giving a jerky on-off feeling, as if it overvoltaged and a cut-off protection software switch - or the battery - was releasing electro-brake, an ABS kind of feeling.
After a while, the front motor stopped receiving the brake signal and I almost ran into a car since it would not disengage the cruise control (figured out that pressing the cruise control button disengaged it, but until then my heart jumped out of my chest to the nearest lamp-post).

Now the symptoms:

If I remove the rear motor cables:
I have no lights on throttle control, but throttle works.
It does not work always.
If I use throttle for a while, then the throttle stops responding.
If I use throttle, set cruise speed, it might go for a while and stop.
Power cycle (on-off) resets this.
The more I keep the motor switched off, the more it takes for this to happen.
"After a while" = "about 20sec"

If I have both motors connected:
I have lights on throttle.
Both motors work all the time.
No brake switch affects front wheel, so with any brake pressed, I can use throttle on front wheel
(It it was rear motor, and front brake I would not complain ;) )

I used rear motor cable to front wheel:
I have lights on throttle.
Motor deactivates after a while.
Brake switch does not cancel throttle nor cruise control.

So I isolate the problem from the front motor connector and below, i.e.
either the connector make a poor connection
or the concentration box below the connector was "pulled" and has bad contacts"
or the internal controller is badly parameterised
or the internal controller lost its regen circuit or something?

With the usb connector I can reprogram the motor.

I found the default parameters strange:
1) 24V motor -> if I set to 48V (my bat) it is heartless, does not go uphill nicely and after small discharge it is almost dead
2) 60 degrees phase -> I understand it is three phases and should be 120, or does the DUAL motor setup require 60?
3) I can set regen, but obviously if the brake does not activate, it won't use it, so set it to 0% and put rear to 100%

Now, I suspect that:
1) the combination of two motors generated some kind of high voltage and fried something
2) the usb cable has somewhat wider poles in the male connector and widened the female socket of the centre pin which is brake
3) the WD40 I used to ensure that the pins won't bend again (had this problem at the rear motor not the front!) left some kind of gummy mess and acts as insulator.

So, I used acetone and alcohol to clean wd-40 mess.
Next I think to open the motor and check wire continuity and resistance.

Before I do so, I kindly request:
1) a motor disassembly check-list / howto
2) wiring diagrams
3) diagnostic procedures

Is there any other "check" using software to do?

For instance I tried holding brake and pressing cruise button five times and it only gave me half speed to rear motor and independent front motor control (hm, interesting!!!) indicating that the controller does not ignore the brake signal, it just does not receive it?

Greetings from sunny Athens Greece

p.s.1 by the way, in Greece during summer we get 40C, how low should I put the amperes to avoid frying the motor?
p.s.2 I bought this kit for evaluation purposes in order to start a dealership, and on first assessment I had both technical and existing dealership problems, but I am not categorically against it yet, because the motor looks like a good quality product, but I'm not happy with the connectors and the "follow up" craftmanship. The "data" connector gets its pins bend if one is slightly off alignment with the arrows, the SAE connector got a cold connection after a while, the dual kit came with a single anderson to SAE cable, the motors were not properly laced to the rims, i.e. it is not "plug'n'play". As a dealer I could fix all these and rework stuff, but if it is unreliable I will get a HELL of complaints. On the good side, it is VERY nice ride, feels good quality, I like the battery and the overall design, but you know, "the devil is in the details".

Offline GM Canada

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Re: brake switch signal not passed to internal controller in dual kit
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2011, 05:48:11 PM »
Wow! That certainly is a mouthfull. Thank you for giving such detailed descriptions of your problems. Can I ask one question before I ask about 20 more :)  You say you have a dual pie and you say your looking for a wiring diagram. Did you build it yourself or was it done for you. In other words who wired it?

Gary

Offline dr.ing.geode

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Re: brake switch signal not passed to internal controller in dual kit
« Reply #2 on: January 21, 2011, 09:29:47 AM »
Wow! That certainly is a mouthfull. Thank you for giving such detailed descriptions of your problems. Can I ask one question before I ask about 20 more :)  You say you have a dual pie and you say your looking for a wiring diagram. Did you build it yourself or was it done for you. In other words who wired it?

Gary

The dealer mentioned it was imported from GM China. For some reason I sense that this comes as some sort of a surprise to you. 

Considering that they build whole bicycles with their dual motor configuration, it comes to no surprise of me that they also provide the wire harness along their kits. They only forgot the dual power supply cable, so at much later time they send me a SAE "Bullet" adaptor that I had to solder to the battery adaptor (two encased anderson adaptors).

Later I found out that these adaptors are very common among American car manufacturers, so they could be acquired locally at OPEL repair shops, which is GM (the "other" GM, the "small" one!)

So, regarding the other "20 more questions", as the Queen Mother put once - amidst a crowded Albert Hall: "bring it on!"

Offline MagneticMotorE

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Re: brake switch signal not passed to internal controller in dual kit
« Reply #3 on: February 03, 2012, 07:19:18 PM »
Hi. I had that same problem with my (Regen. Braking) but, once I checked for loose wires, which I did have one loose wire, it never happened again. so now when I go fast around (30's mph) or faster downhill, Regen. works the whole entire way until I stop.

Plus I have (Dual Motor) Set-up.

I have the following:
Rear 1000 watts 48v Magic Pie 2.0
Front 500-1500 watts 3 phase E-Bike Kit 36v

Please Look At My Set-up @ 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9iZpp3yQ48

I'm using a 30amp Terminal Block to conjoin (Both) Motors to (One Battery)
The Terminal Block cost me $5 from Home-Depot.