Broken throttle

Seanoge

Pedelecer
Jan 16, 2017
158
13
78
Gulval, Penzance
Think I damaged my 36v Thumb Throttle. Looked on line but Uk stock £20,- + £10.- postage. From China £9.- but delivery August. Not even sure it is the throttle so don't want to waste £30.- Any ideas?
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
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Basildon
£4.70. Cut the connector off your present one and join the wires to the new one. All throttles work the same with three wires.

£7.42 here with the right connector and cable, but it's not guaranteed that the connection sequence matches. In the worst case, you can cut the wire and swap them over. I'd say that there's an 80% chance it's an exact match.

 

Seanoge

Pedelecer
Jan 16, 2017
158
13
78
Gulval, Penzance
I banged the Throttle and the bike jumped forward., then it wouldn't go anywhere. That is male 3 pin
I have an old one from when I upgraded the Battery from 24v to 36v. I was under the impression that Throttles were 24 or 36 as well. Great, will try 1st. thing in morning. Thanks.
 

vfr400

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Jun 12, 2011
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I have an old one from when I upgraded the Battery from 24v to 36v. I was under the impression that Throttles were 24 or 36 as well. Great, will try 1st. thing in morning. Thanks.
They all work at 5v. In the controller is a system that cuts down the 24v/36v/48v or whatever to 5v to power the throttle, pedal sensor, speed sensor, brake switches, motor hall sensors and the controller's CPU. Only the motor and battery indicator lights work at battery voltage. If you have an LCD, it's supplied by battery voltage, but it also cuts it down to 5v for its internal workings and communications.
 

vfr400

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Black goes to black, red probably goes to purple and white probably to grey. No harm will be done if you get it wrong. It just won't work, so try it one way, and if it doesn't work, try it the other way. In fact if you get it the wrong way, it will give instant full throttle so make sure the wheel is off the ground.

The controller has a safety feature built in. After switching on, it won't give power until it has seen a zero throttle signal, so if you did have the 5v connected to the signal wire, nothing would happen, but if you disconnect and reconnect, it'll jump to full throttle operation.
 
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Seanoge

Pedelecer
Jan 16, 2017
158
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78
Gulval, Penzance
Tried various combinations, no luck. In one Display blinks, in another Display is OK but no battery. Not sure if the Throttle is working as no response from the red button. I have another different Throttle with 5 wires, is there any point in opening this ?
 

Seanoge

Pedelecer
Jan 16, 2017
158
13
78
Gulval, Penzance
Tried various combinations, no luck. In one Display blinks, in another Display is OK but no battery. Not sure if the Throttle is working as no response from the red button. I have another different Throttle with 5 wires, is there any point in opening this ?
Strange i found a wire(I collect Rubbish) same connection, same wire colouring. When I switch on I Get a full Screen the blinking, displaying "info"
 

Seanoge

Pedelecer
Jan 16, 2017
158
13
78
Gulval, Penzance
Strange i found a wire(I collect Rubbish) same connection, same wire colouring. When I switch on I Get a full Screen the blinking, displaying "info"
Ok, cut the 5 wires, and experimented,. 2 tries only blinking. 3rd try bike took off on its own into the gate!! Broken Mud guard. Got things under control and found that if the red button is switched on it goes at full pelt, throttle doesn't seem to have any influence. Suggests to me that with the right throttle things could get back to normal.
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
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You mustn't connect wires willy-nilly because you can do some severe damage if you get them wrong. The three throttle wires only carry 5v. Connecting them out of sequence to a throttle with three wires won't do any harm, but if you connected say the 5v and ground to a switch in the throttle, you could blow the 5v regulator in the controller.

If you have a throttle with more than three wires, show us what you've got so we can tell you which wires to use.

The very worst case is when there are more than three wires from the controller because one of them will most likely be battery voltage, which would destroy the throttle and just about everything else on the 5v line, like controller, motor hall sensors and PAS. You should be OK with just the red (5v), black (ground) and white (signal) wires.

You can test your controller and motor without a throttle. Switch everything on, lift the wheel off the ground, then short the red and white wires. If the motor doesn't kick up to full speed, no throttle will help you. In that case we need to see all the wires from your controller to help you.
 
Last edited:

Seanoge

Pedelecer
Jan 16, 2017
158
13
78
Gulval, Penzance
I tried the Red & white and it is trying. I think I may have done some damage to the back whee in my accident, A job for Halfords I think. So the Controller seems to be Ok. In the photo of the other Throttle I had the Black/Black, Red/Red/ & Blue/White when it took off.
 

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vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
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I tried the Red & white and it is trying. I think I may have done some damage to the back whee in my accident, A job for Halfords I think. So the Controller seems to be Ok. In the photo of the other Throttle I had the Black/Black, Red/Red/ & Blue/White when it took off.
There seems to be a wire missing from that throtle. They're normally:
Red 5v
Black ground
Blue throttle signal
Green battery voltage for LEDs
Yellow switch
Brown switch

Is your brown cut short? On some bikes, I've seen the switch wired internally to switch the throttle on and off, but in that case they have 4 wires (no yellow and brown).

I doubt that Halfords will help.

Show us some pictures of your bike. maybe we can help.

Have a look at the wire where it comes out of the axle. If it's damaged, you'll need a new motor.
 

Seanoge

Pedelecer
Jan 16, 2017
158
13
78
Gulval, Penzance
No wire missing. Another Throttle with only 5 pins. I think I may have buckled my front wheel and done something to the brakes on the back wheel difficult to turn freehand.
 

Seanoge

Pedelecer
Jan 16, 2017
158
13
78
Gulval, Penzance
Took it into Halfords yesterday, about the back wheel not freewheeling. Collected and they said there is nothing they can do, "probably" the motor. I connect a throttle and wired it the same as before (Back wheel off the ground this time) and the motor drives but not sure if it,s strong enough. Motor reading is around 72 . Is this good?
 

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vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
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72W is a little high if that's with the wheel off the ground. It probably means that the brakes are rubbing a bit or something else. It might free up once you start using it. Around 40W would be typical for a well-maintained bike and motor.

In case you don't know, each PAS level on the display allows a different maximum power and you only get that power when riding in your lower range of speed. As you speed up, the power goes down.