Faulty Motor (s)?

[dc-bikes.com]

Hello,

I have ordered on the internet a front wheel conversion kit 24 V 250 W from the Sylvan Company distributed by ebay shop uk-direct. I had never used uk-direct before and wanted to check product quality.
When I received the kit, I tested it and I found that the motor wires were getting really hot quickly as well as the controller. In addition the maximum motor speed with no load in it reached 8.8 mph only. In some instances as well the motor would not start except if I gave the wheel an initial push.
I hooked up a cycle analyst on it which measured a consumed power of in excess of 300 W at the same 8.8 mph again with no load.
I permutted motors and controllers with other kits I have (Goldenmotor Mini Motor 24 V) and found the controller worked fine with those motors whereas the motor behaved the same with last generation controllers from Goldenmotor.
So I reported the above to the Sylvan Company which agreed to send me another motor which I received a couple of days ago.
I again did the same tests with the received motor and... same again. Wiring becomes very hot as well as controller and speed doesn't exceed 8.6 mph.
Also sometimes the second motor might need a gentle push to start much like the first motor.
Both motors are freewheeling ok. There is a bit of a drag but nothing unusual compared to the other motors I have.
Supplier specifications calls for a "maximum speed between 9 to 15 mph with 75 kg load" so I can't believe those motors do not reach 9 mph with no load and I find the heat as well disturbing.
I initially had difficulty believing both motors could be faulty. Coincidence?
I started thinking maybe the controller supplied is not appropriate for the type of motor given.
Or both motors hall sensors would have a fault? Could that generate this low speed and high heat.
I also thought maybe both motors could be turning in reverse. I checked hall sensors wire colors and made sure connection were ok at the connector level.

Or is there something I missed? I also permutted batteries (fully charged) and used LSA and LiFe with no difference.

Grateful in advance for your help.

Kind regards,

jb

 

[flecc]

It may well be wrong colour coded wires JB, a common problem with Chinese production. Many of us have motors with wire colours of motor and controller not matching.

Ask the supplier if they have any knowledge of mismatched pairs, otherwise it's a choice between demanding your money back or sorting the wire colours.

If you decide to try and sort it, try the three phase wires first, one of my two bikes has all three colours mismatched as you'll see on this link.

After that it's the more difficult to sort Hall sensor wires, though that's easier if you open up the motor and have access to the sensors. That could cancel your warranty though, so it's worth considering money back first.
.

 

[torrent99]

It may well be wrong colour coded wires JB, a common problem with Chinese production. Many of us have motors with wire colours of motor and controller not matching.

Ask the supplier if they have any knowledge of mismatched pairs, otherwise it's a choice between demanding your money back or sorting the wire colours.

If you decide to try and sort it, try the three phase wires first, one of my two bikes has all three colours mismatched as you'll see on this link.

After that it's the more difficult to sort Hall sensor wires, though that's easier if you open up the motor and have access to the sensors. That could cancel your warranty though, so it's worth considering money back first.
.

Have a look on the EndlessSphere technical forums, there's a post somewhere on there that provides a method for determining the correct wiring. It certainly does sound like a wiring order mismatch.

 

[dc-bikes.com]

Sorting out wiring

Thank you both for your answers.
I have asked for money back but everything went quiet...
I will try the phase colours tonight.
Is there a risk of me damaging the motor(s) or controller by trying random wire colour combinations?
Kind regards,
jb

 

[torrent99]

Thank you both for your answers.
I have asked for money back but everything went quiet...
I will try the phase colours tonight.
Is there a risk of me damaging the motor(s) or controller by trying random wire colour combinations?
Kind regards,
jb

As I remember the basis of the approach on ES is more or less that. (Or really try every combination [keep a note of the ones you've tried] until you get one that runs nicest). However, don't try running it under load i.e. riding it, or applying max throttle that IS likely to cause damage. Just let it spin the wheel.

 

[flecc]

You won't cause any damage, in some phase wire combinations the wheel won't rotate but the motor will still hum.
.

 

[dc-bikes.com]

Brilliant advice!

Brilliant advice!
The phases were wrongly colour coded.
Thanks!
jb

 

[flecc]

That's great jb, it's more often the phase wires than the Hall sensor wires.

At times I think the Chinese believe the colours are just there to make things look nice.
.