Battery - controller connectors

[Arbol]

I am going to build two e-bikes, both with the Xiongda 2-speed kit:

http://xiongdamotor.en.alibaba.com/product/1557215740-220560510/NEW_Invention_E_bike_Motor_with_CE_CCC_RoHS_Certificates.html

One bike is going to be as plug & play as possible, so I want to buy a 36V 10Ah BMSbattery battery:

http://www.bmsbattery.com/battery-pack/664-36v-12ah-38140-lifepo4-battery-12-cells-ebike-battery-pack.html

and for the second one I want to experiment a bit more, with two 6s 5Ah lipos in series (with the idea to learn, and finally, in a v2.0, add a couple more lipos in parallel, with their main & parallel fuses, a switch & resistor, a wattmeter and a BMS).

Questions:

1. Which is the type of the (male) battery connector of the controller of the Xiongda?
2. Which is the type of the (female) connector of the BMSbattery battery discharge cable? (I assume the battery charge cable is a standard one, fitting to most PSU). There is a picture at the link: http://www.bmsbattery.com/battery-pack/664-36v-12ah-38140-lifepo4-battery-12-cells-ebike-battery-pack.html but I do not recognize which connector type is the one at the picture
3. Which connector type do you recommend me for the series harness of the lipos? Hobbyking sells EC5, XT90 and HXT4mm. I believe Deans are thought of to be good connectors. Most lipos come with JST-XH for balance wire and HXT4mm for output. Should HXT4mm then be the preferred choice?
4. Would a PC 380W PSU work to charge the lipos with an imax (or eventually with a BMS)? (I recall a "trick" with a clip to be able to use a PC PSU without a motherboard)

 

[Arbol]

I have seen the following battery-to-controller connector at greenbikekit:

https://www.greenbikekit.com/electric-bike-kit-1/e-bike-kits-controller-power-cable.html

It seems the connector at the controller side is something called DJ7031, which is not available AFAIK as a standard battery connector. For this reason, this adaptor is needed.

Are most Chinese controllers (not only GBK, but Xiongda and BMSbattery ones, for example) using a DJ7031 connector? If so, would this connector work for both lipos (I assume that what they call "Bullet connector" is a HXT4mm) and for ready-made batteries such as http://www.bmsbattery.com/battery-pack/664-36v-12ah-38140-lifepo4-battery-12-cells-ebike-battery-pack.html ?

 

[Zebb]

I have always used Deans connectors, does for all applications, just keep polarity the same way no matter what you do. I always use positive on the vertical side. Just remember to put heat shrink on cables before soldering.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That GBK connector is specially for the plain bottle batteries without the controller commpartment. It also fits the white 36v 10aH Headway rack batteries. It's not really suitable for any batteries. You have to double up the wires to get enough current, even at 15 amps. The DJ7031 connector is standard on their KU series controllers. It's also used on GNG controllers, but more common is bullets and barrels.

The Xiongda controllers have cheapo bullets and barrels on the battery connector.

Don't think about HXT4mm connectors on your lipos. You won't e able to fit them, and even if you could, they're dangerous because you can touch them the wrong way round. Deans are the easiest to fit, they're easiest to connect and disconnect, and they do the job perfectly. There's loads of other connectors, but why would you want to make it more difficult.

 

[Arbol]

That connector is specially for the plain bottle batteries without the controller commpartment. It also fits the white 36v 10aH Headway rack batteries. It's not really suitable for any batteries. You have to double up the wires to get enough current, even at 15 amps.

The Xiongda controllers have cheapo bullets and barrels on the battery connector.

Don't think about HXT4mm connectors on your lipos. You won't e able to fit them, and even if you could, they're dangerous because you can touch them the wrong way round. Deans are the easiest to fit, they're easiest to connect and disconnect, and they do the job perfectly. There's loads of other connectors, but why would you want to make it more difficult.

Thanks d8veh.

So, if I understand you correctly, the best solution is to cut all connectors (both at the battery side, irrespective if I have lipos or li-ion batteries, and at the controller side) and solder deans (male for controllers, female for batteries) everywhere, right?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That's what I do. If you put Deans on every battery and controller that you have, you can swap things from bike to bike.

Two things to remember withe Deans: Always put a female on the battery side so that you don't have live pins that can short if they touch something metal; Always attach the positive wire to the vertical pin (with the connector horizontal).

 

[drsolly]

I tried Deans, I found them hard to unplug, and I expect to have to unplug and plug quite a lot. I found XT60 and XT90 hard to solder (not impossible, though) because you're soldering while the connector is in its plastic housing, and it's easy to melt the plastic. I settled on EC5 connectors fo my standard high-current connector. You solder the connection, then when everything is cool, you push on the plastic, which goes into place with a click, and is very very difficult to get off again (maybe even impossible).

For phase wires, I've lost patience with the little bullet connects that most vendors seem to use, and I replace them with HXT4mm, which I wrap with insulating tape for extra safety, because I expect to have to unplug those only very rarely.

 

[Arbol]

Hobbyking lipos have all HXT4mm connectors, if I understand correctly. Sales representatives are always saying how good HXT4mm are in comparison to all other types of connectors, and they recommend HXT4mm series harness, such as:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__18603__HXT4mm_Battery_Harness_14AWG_for_2_Packs_in_Series.html

Of course, I believe you more than HK sales representatives. So the question is then:

If I want to use a series harness for two 6s, is it better to already cut the HXT4mm connector of the individual lipos and solder a Deans there, and then to custom made a series harness with Deans on the three sides, or could I leave the HXT4mm at the individual lipo level, buy a HXT4mm series harness, and leave the HXT4mm connectors for the lipos, but only cut the HXT4mm "main output" one, and put a Deans there? What is best practice?

 

[drsolly]

What I do, is I make up an HXT4mm-to-EC5 connector for each battery. Then I make a EC5-EC5 to EC5 series connector.

And I have an EC5-to-fuse-to-switch-to-wattmeter-to-EC5 connector to connect this to the bike. The switch has a 220 ohm resistor across the poles; this arrangement avoids the spark when you connect. The fuse is 40 amps, it should blow if there's a short circuit. The wattmeter tells me how many amp-hours has been drawn from the battery.

That assembly also has the connectors to go to my handlebar voltmeter and ammeter.

But I'm sure this isn't "best practice" because I've not heard of anyone else doing this

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If I want to use a series harness for two 6s, is it better to already cut the HXT4mm connector of the individual lipos and solder a Deans there, and then to custom made a series harness with Deans on the three sides,

That's what I do. I made one harness with HXT4s and it took me forever. I think you need a special machine to fit the plastic covers on. It's nearly impossible without it.

Another important point. You can't just cut connectors off lipos because you'll short them out. Cut the wires one at a time. Also, you must never have the two wires exposed at the same time. You solder one side, insulate it, and then do the other. If they touch, metal will be instantly vapourised.

 

[Arbol]

Another important point. You can't just cut connectors off lipos because you'll short them out. Cut the wires one at a time. Also, you must never have the two wires exposed at the same time. You solder one side, insulate it, and then do the other. If they touch, metal will be instantly vapourised.

Important security issue, thanks.

 

[Arbol]

What I do, is I make up an HXT4mm-to-EC5 connector for each battery. Then I make a EC5-EC5 to EC5 series connector.

And I have an EC5-to-fuse-to-switch-to-wattmeter-to-EC5 connector to connect this to the bike. The switch has a 220 ohm resistor across the poles; this arrangement avoids the spark when you connect. The fuse is 40 amps, it should blow if there's a short circuit. The wattmeter tells me how many amp-hours has been drawn from the battery.

That assembly also has the connectors to go to my handlebar voltmeter and ammeter.

But I'm sure this isn't "best practice" because I've not heard of anyone else doing this

I like this scheme, thanks.

 

[Arbol]

I assume these are Deans (despite the fact BMSbattery does not call them by the name "Deans"):

http://www.bmsbattery.com/connector/373-a-pair-of-t-shape-connector-brass.html

And then BMSbattery has several items under the name "shrink tube", such as:

http://www.bmsbattery.com/accessory/658-a-rol-of-heat-shrink-tube-100-meter.html

However, that product does not look like "shrink tube" (in the sense of a plastic tube which is inserted before soldering between a cable and the Deans takes place, and once the soldering ends, the tube is moved to "cover" the solder part, and is "shrinked" by applying heat), but just a sheet of plastic. Is this really "shrink tube"? Is it necessary to "roll" it and create a tube? How is it glued then?

 

[Alan Quay]

I assume these are Deans (despite the fact BMSbattery does not call them by the name "Deans"):

http://www.bmsbattery.com/connector/373-a-pair-of-t-shape-connector-brass.html

And then BMSbattery has several items under the name "shrink tube", such as:

http://www.bmsbattery.com/accessory/658-a-rol-of-heat-shrink-tube-100-meter.html

However, that product does not look like "shrink tube" (in the sense of a plastic tube which is inserted before soldering between a cable and the Deans takes place, and once the soldering ends, the tube is moved to "cover" the solder part, and is "shrinked" by applying heat), but just a sheet of plastic. Is this really "shrink tube"? Is it necessary to "roll" it and create a tube? How is it glued then?

I assume it is a tube, just flattened and then rolled up.

 

[trex]

...
And then BMSbattery has several items under the name "shrink tube", such as:

http://www.bmsbattery.com/accessory/658-a-rol-of-heat-shrink-tube-100-meter.html

However, that product does not look like "shrink tube" (in the sense of a plastic tube which is inserted before soldering between a cable and the Deans takes place, and once the soldering ends, the tube is moved to "cover" the solder part, and is "shrinked" by applying heat), but just a sheet of plastic. Is this really "shrink tube"? Is it necessary to "roll" it and create a tube? How is it glued then?

these shrink tubes are for making your own cell packs using primatic cells. The pack is brick shaped, you choose the right model whose half diameter is a little bigger than the two sides (H + W) added together (typically 20cm half diameter for a 36V battery). Make your brick with blank PCB board, then cut a length of tube 10cm longer than your brick, sleeve the brick with it and use a heat gun or the hottest setting on you hair dryer to shrink the tube.

 

[awol]

I have an EC5-to-fuse-to-switch-to-wattmeter-to-EC5 connector to connect this to the bike.

Am I right in thinking you have the fuse+switch on the + and the wattmeter on the - ?
So is it
ec5-fuse-switch-ec5 on the + and
ec5-wattmeter-ec5 on the -
or do you have them all in line (on the -negative?) just as you said ?

 

[drsolly]

http://blog.drsolly.com/2014/04/driver-cable-for-bike.html

That includes a circuit diagram, a list of components, costs, and where to buy them.