Battery upgrade

Mark Sudol

Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
32
0
62
Bristol
Hello forum. I thought I had a fading battery but it was just the cold weather. However I do a 16mile commute and exhaust a 9ah battery on the journey. I would like to fit a larger ah battery to give me more distance on full power to shorten the journey time. I have a 6 pin Philion battery that are hard to get or very expensive. If I get a whole new battery system will I need a new controller and b.s., how easy is this to do. My bike is a Peugeot ec03 with a rack mounted battery and a front wheel hub motor
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
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Basildon
You need to look inside the controller's compartment at the front of the battery to see how many of the pins are connected. If it's only 2 or 2 pairs that each go 2 in 1 before they get to the controller, you can fit any battery you want, but if there are two thick wires and some thin ones, it won't be so easy.
 

Sturmey

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2018
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308
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Ireland

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vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
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Basildon
Some batteries are dumb, some are dumb, but switched on remotely by electronics, others use communication protocols before they give power. You need to determine which type you have. The wires on the connector give an indication.
 

Mark Sudol

Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
32
0
62
Bristol
I know I have a smart b.s. the battery can only be charged with a 5 pin charger. However can you assume all 6 pin batteries (pins that connect to the controller) will be smart as well?
 

Mark Sudol

Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
32
0
62
Bristol
Hi I appreciate the help but I am not yet at the stage of takin the controller apart. My first option is to get a 6 pin battery that will fit and work. There is a 6 pin battery from e life which is 11 ah. Ideally I would like a 13ah. Currently with my 8.8 I do 10 miles on reduced power and then turn the bike up go full for the last 6. I would like a battery where I could run full power all the way.
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
20,110
8,219
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West Sx RH
Until you can determine how many of your pin/wires are connected then buying a new similar battery will be a waste of money if it is not compatible.

For instance I have a 5 pin battery but only four pins are connected, it is a dumb connection and simply has a pair for charge and a pair for discharge which are for leaving on the bike for charging. Off the bike it uses a separate charge point whilst on the bike it uses the cradle charge point.
 

Mark Sudol

Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
32
0
62
Bristol
Ok fair enough. I will need to check how I get the controller housing apart to check the wiring. Essentially you are saying that unless I buy the actual joycube battery one that looks the same and has the same pin count may not work. This is good point as even the replacement battery cost too much to buy to then not work. Thanks
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
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Basildon
Nearly all rack batteries have 6 pins. On most of them, 4 pins are not connected by wires on either side. On others, you can have three, four or five pins connected. As I keep trying to tell you, the number of pins connected tells us about how the battery works. Read again all my posts because I don’t think I could make it any clearer.

That compartment with the controller in it, is easy to open by removing screws. You don't need to disconnect anything. Just look at the back of the connector and count the wires. If you can't do that, you shouldn't even be thinking about using a different battery.

When you have the compartment open, pull the controller out and photograph the wires from the connector to the controller to save didfficult questions later.
 
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vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
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That's unfortunate. Your connector is soldered directly to the pcb. I've never seen that before on a rack battery. Every pin would be soldered for strength and duribility, tegardless of how many are needed for electrical reasons. The only way forward now would be to follow the tracks on the PCB to see where they go, but you need to know what you're looking for.

It's a LiShui controller, so probably dumb and only the outer two pins are functional, but you can't replace the battery and its rack because the controller probably wouldn't fit in the new compartment without modification.

It looks like we've come to the end of this one and you'll have to pay for a direct replacement.
 

wheeliepete

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 28, 2016
2,047
755
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Devon
How unnecessarily complex and difficult! looks like Peugeot use the same "mad hatter" design philosopy on their ebikes as they do on their cars.
 

peter.c

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 24, 2018
1,611
491
thurrock essex
How about contacting insat /jimmy to see about a recell of your existing battery case might be a cheaper option I suggest you make a cup of tea if you phone its always a long chat but very helpfull
 

Benjahmin

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 10, 2014
2,478
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West Wales
Totally depends on which bike/manufacturer. Some have communications protocols that are hard to get around. Others are 'dumb' batteries and anything you like can be connected in there - so long as it's not steam powered :rolleyes:
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
3,986
Basildon
Tell me, I'm new and it is important for me to know. Is battery replacement very difficult? Will I be able to do it myself or better find out the address of the necessary service in advance?
It's very simple as long as you know what you have first. That's the difficult bit.

You're right to ask the question if you don't have an ebike yet because it's easy to replace, refurbish or upgrade the batteries on some bikes, while as a few are virtually impossible, which is even worse when 4 years in the future you need one, but the dealer doesn't deal in that brand anymore or he's gone bust because he chose to sell such stupid products.
 
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