Help! Failed kalkhoff

[Larkin]

Hi
I have a five year old kalkhoff groove F7 that stopped working. Based on my description of the fault, Kalkhoff said that the battery box and controller need to be replaced but they have stopped making them. Does anyone have any ideas about how I might get this fixed?
Many thanks.

 

[vfr400]

Hi
I have a five year old kalkhoff groove F7 that stopped working. Based on my description of the fault, Kalkhoff said that the battery box and controller need to be replaced but they have stopped making them. Does anyone have any ideas about how I might get this fixed?
Many thanks.

You should be able to use any controller and battery with it. If it were just the battery, I think this is the one:

Ebike Batterie 36V 12.8Ah Li-ion Akku für Ansmann Kalkhoff Raleigh Groove MiFa | eBay

Entdecken Sie Ebike Batterie 36V 12.8Ah Li-ion Akku für Ansmann Kalkhoff Raleigh Groove MiFa in der großen Auswahl bei eBay. Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!

www.ebay.de

but if it needs a new controller, you must dismantle the controller from it's compartment at the front of the battery receiver, pull it out and show us all the wires and connectors.

Edit: According to the German pedelecs forum, the Motor is a Bafang SWX, so completely standard Chinese and any controller or battery will work. Show us the controller's connectors and the motor connector.

 

[Larkin]

You should be able to use any controller and battery with it. If it were just the battery, I think this is the one:

Ebike Batterie 36V 12.8Ah Li-ion Akku für Ansmann Kalkhoff Raleigh Groove MiFa | eBay

Entdecken Sie Ebike Batterie 36V 12.8Ah Li-ion Akku für Ansmann Kalkhoff Raleigh Groove MiFa in der großen Auswahl bei eBay. Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!

www.ebay.de

but if it needs a new controller, you must dismantle the controller from it's compartment at the front of the battery receiver, pull it out and show us all the wires and connectors.

Edit: According to the German pedelecs forum, the Motor is a Bafang SWX, so completely standard Chinese and any controller or battery will work. Show us the controller's connectors and the motor connector.

Thanks for replying. I will get photos of the connectors but in the meantime, I just want to check that what I've been told by Kalkhoff is accurate as I haven't spoken directly to them, it's been via a dealer.
This is what happened. The motor stopped working and the display showed Err 09 (see photo)
The error message only comes up when the pedals are turning the rear wheel. There is no error message if it’s just the front wheel turning, nor if the back wheel is spun by hand with the pedals stationary, nor if the pedals are turned backwards.
I relayed this to the dealer who contacted Germany. The answer that came back was that "the only solution is a replacement battery box and controller".
I'm off to take some photos now. I know what the motor connector is but I'm not sure what the controller is but I'll photograph everything I can see that looks relevant.
Thanks for your help so far.

 

[Larkin]

Thanks for replying. I will get photos of the connectors but in the meantime, I just want to check that what I've been told by Kalkhoff is accurate as I haven't spoken directly to them, it's been via a dealer.
This is what happened. The motor stopped working and the display showed Err 09 (see photo)
The error message only comes up when the pedals are turning the rear wheel. There is no error message if it’s just the front wheel turning, nor if the back wheel is spun by hand with the pedals stationary, nor if the pedals are turned backwards.
I relayed this to the dealer who contacted Germany. The answer that came back was that "the only solution is a replacement battery box and controller".
I'm off to take some photos now. I know what the motor connector is but I'm not sure what the controller is but I'll photograph everything I can see that looks relevant.
Thanks for your help so far.

Here are the connectors. The first is the controller connector (the box that the battery goes in) and the second is the motor connector.

 

[vfr400]

That's a standard Chines 9 pin connector. You can use any Chinese controller and battery. It's only a question of how much you want to spend. £70 gets you a nice control system. £40 gets an adequate one. You need to show photos of the controller connections before I can pass final judgement.

 

[Larkin]

That's a standard Chines 9 pin connector. You can use any Chinese controller and battery. It's only a question of how much you want to spend. £70 gets you a nice control system. £40 gets an adequate one. You need to show photos of the controller connections before I can pass final judgement.

Thanks. I have a few questions. From my description of the problem, do you think a new controller would fix it? Where exactly are the controller connections? Where can I buy a new controller? (£70 seems very reasonable)
Many thanks

 

[vfr400]

The controller sits in that compartment in the front of the battery receiver. You have to unscrew something to uncover it, them pull it out if you can. We need photos.

The battery must be about 7 years old. How healthy it is depends on how much it was used and how it was looked after. We need to see its connections to the controller.

If you want to condemn the battery, you can use any controller and 36v battery that takes your fancy.

 

[Larkin]

The controller sits in that compartment in the front of the battery receiver. You have to unscrew something to uncover it, them pull it out if you can. We need photos.

The battery must be about 7 years old. How healthy it is depends on how much it was used and how it was looked after. We need to see its connections to the controller.

If you want to condemn the battery, you can use any controller and 36v battery that takes your fancy.

Here are photos of the battery box and controller.

 

[vfr400]

Only 2 wires on the battery connector means standard Chinese. Can you show all the other connectors on the wires that attach to the controller. It's the wires and connectors we need to see, not the label.

 

[Larkin]

Only 2 wires on the battery connector means standard Chinese. Can you show all the other connectors on the wires that attach to the controller. It's the wires and connectors we need to see, not the label.

One of the two thinner wires goes to the back light and the other goes into the frame.

 

[vfr400]

That main wiring harness is non-standard. I've never seen one like that before. Here's where we are then. You can use a standard Chinese controller, but you will have to replace the control panel and the pedal sensor. You will then have to thread the new wires through your frame and do some wiring for the lights and brake switches to work. You will have the option of fitting a throttle if you want. The whole lot would cost about £50 to £80 depending how nice a controller you want.

If you know anybody with electrical skills that can trace where all those pins in the multi-pin connector go to, you could probably get away with just a cheap controller, then cut off that connector from the old one and join all the wires.

 

[Larkin]

Do you think it would work if I could find an identical controller and joined it to the existing lights wiring with a block connector?

 

[vfr400]

Do you think it would work if I could find an identical controller and joined it to the existing lights wiring with a block connector?

I don't understand. Surely, if its identical, it'll have all the correct wires and connectors?

 

[Larkin]

I don't understand. Surely, if its identical, it'll have all the correct wires and connectors?

Sorry, dumb question. I really appreciate all your advice. I’m just a bit daunted at the thought of using a standard controller and replacing parts and rethreading wires. I may try to source a replacement for my existing controller first. Otherwise, do you know of anyone who would do the work for me?

 

[Fat Rat]

Welcome to the site