Issues with Salisbury...

[JoDuncan]

Hi everyone, I'm new here but I've lurked for a while and used the forum when researching ebikes last year.

I suppose I should say that I'm not a cyclist; I just use my bike for transport.

I've had various issues with the Powacycle Salisbury LPX. Some issues are similar to those discussed on previous threads e.g. motor cutting out. But the most recent, and most dangerous is that the motor starts all by itself.

Now, whilst that sounds ridiculous, it's pretty much what happens. I'm sitting on my bike waiting when it starts to move (switch can be on or off position and the throttle wasn't turned). It's a bit troubling as I have no idea where to start in fixing it.

I had to send my old battery to powacycle for repair (it failed to take any charge) and it was returned (although I suspect it is an entirely different battery) and now the problem of the ghost bike occurs from time to time.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to the cause / cure?

Apologies if this has been covered; I did do a search.

Thanks

Jo

PS whilst I've got you, is removing / repairing / replacing the crank spindle relatively straight forward? Is the pedal-assist sensor something that will give me issue when tinkering there?

Thanks again

 

[kitchenman]

Hi Jo. Welcome to the forum. I once left my battery connected on my bike overnight something that I was told not to do. When I was preparing for my ride the following morning the front wheel hub motor just started to spin around! ...I suspect one of the members will be able to explain why this happened to me and see if is of any relevance to your issue.

 

[JoDuncan]

Thanks for that.

Typically, after use, I've been leaving the battery in and switched off... I'll change my ways but I don't know why this matters!

 

[kitchenman]

Thanks for that.

Typically, after use, I've been leaving the battery in and switched off... I'll change my ways but I don't know why this matters!

It may not be necessary unless off course switched off is not really switched off. ..I would give it a try and see if there is any change ...

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Hi everyone, I'm new here but I've lurked for a while and used the forum when researching ebikes last year.

I suppose I should say that I'm not a cyclist; I just use my bike for transport.

I've had various issues with the Powacycle Salisbury LPX. Some issues are similar to those discussed on previous threads e.g. motor cutting out. But the most recent, and most dangerous is that the motor starts all by itself.

Now, whilst that sounds ridiculous, it's pretty much what happens. I'm sitting on my bike waiting when it starts to move (switch can be on or off position and the throttle wasn't turned). It's a bit troubling as I have no idea where to start in fixing it.

I had to send my old battery to powacycle for repair (it failed to take any charge) and it was returned (although I suspect it is an entirely different battery) and now the problem of the ghost bike occurs from time to time.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to the cause / cure?

Apologies if this has been covered; I did do a search.

Thanks

Jo

PS whilst I've got you, is removing / repairing / replacing the crank spindle relatively straight forward? Is the pedal-assist sensor something that will give me issue when tinkering there?

Thanks again

I've never heard of that problem before, but I have some ideas about it.

You say that it happens when switched off, but that's impossible, so i question what means "switched off". Are you talking about switched off with the switch on the throttle, or are you saying that it does it with the battery switched off? On some bikes the switch on the throttle only switches off the throttle - not the pedal sensor. If this is the switch you mean, can you test whether the pedal sensor still gives power when the switch is off.

There's two reasons i can think of that would cause your problem with the controller active (switched on):
1 The throttle wires are damaged and shorting
2 Pedal sensor is faulty or damaged wiring.
If my suspicions are right, it's the pedal sensor

 

[flecc]

Powacycle have also had a lot of throttle trouble on the Salisbury/Windsor models, several mentions in this forum about the issue, so that may be the source of your problem.

There's also this post which details a similar problem, but the bike was returned to the dealer so no solution on offer except the Powacycle workshop manager acknowledging the bike was faulty.

And there's this post I've found which seems to be close to your problem, with the solution.

And another throttle fault on the step-through Windsor version post here

And another Salisbury dud throttle here, as said, a common fault on these.

And this member has had three throttles go, post here

I'd better stop looking before I depress you too much, sorry about the bad news.
.

 

[JoDuncan]

Thanks for the replies people.

When I said "Switched off" I was meaning the throttle switch. I've had suspicions that the pedal sensor is dodgy for a while...

Depressing is the word yes, I've pretty much read through all the Salisbury posts on these forums but I couldn't see any that described the motor starting with no intentional input from the rider.

Anyhoos, thanks again. Much appreciated.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Thanks for the replies people.

When I said "Switched off" I was meaning the throttle switch. I've had suspicions that the pedal sensor is dodgy for a while...

Depressing is the word yes, I've pretty much read through all the Salisbury posts on these forums but I couldn't see any that described the motor starting with no intentional input from the rider.

Anyhoos, thanks again. Much appreciated.

That makes it easier. Forget the pedal sensor. For the bike to power up while stationary, the throttle signal wire has to get switched on a bit by the hall sensor or it must touch the red (5v) wire. Have a look for any damage to the throttle cable - especially where it comes out of the throttle. Most likely it could be touching at the hall sensor, but, I'm thinking that this would give much more than an occasional start by itself. The other possibility is that the hall sensor is getting a magnetic field that it's not supposed to. You don't wear one of those magnetic bracelets do you, or is there a loudspeaker nearby or anything else like that that can make or provide magnetism? It could also be a loose magnet in the throttle, but again, I think this would give more problems than what you're experiencing.

 

[muckymits]

Is this one of the early ones made? If so I have fought with one of these for 6 months, they are the work of the devil. I had to admit defeat and scrap it due to intermittent faults. The wiring resembled nothing like what Powacycle had and I am convinced it was a loom fault. I did notice a shop in Scotland was selling one spare or repair, similar unknown fault. Take it to your local priest and have it exorcised.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

There's nothing difficult about these bikes. you could easily replace the controller, throttle and pedal sensor for about £20 if they are problematic, but normally the problems would be something simple - like poor soldering, which can be fixed for nothing. If you can't do these things yourself then you need to buy your bike from a local supplier that can.

 

[flecc]

The standard controller on these was very basic, for example not latching on low voltage cutout. As a result when the battery was nearing the end of content, the bike would cut out, then cut back in as the load was removed, hunting off and on repeatedly.

A decent controller would certainly improve it.

 

[muckymits]

Ahh but the better controller from Powacycle wont fit in the box

and it had to be rewired to suit

 

[JoDuncan]

The standard controller on these was very basic, for example not latching on low voltage cutout. As a result when the battery was nearing the end of content, the bike would cut out, then cut back in as the load was removed, hunting off and on repeatedly.

A decent controller would certainly improve it.

This also happens to me. What are the options for the controller? Is there a website for supplies you guys use?

I'm getting depressed! I know it's a relatively cheap ebike, but for me, it was an expensive purchase and stupidly I thought that the workmanship would be better. It's a pig.

Do any of you guys know if there are more robust alternatives to the spindle? I'm after a sturdy one as I'm pretty heavy and my one has failed and the guy at Powacycle told me there was only one option due to the width...

 

[banbury frank]

Hi I bought one off bought for a customer it fits replacing the old one need to change the plugs

In the end it was the battery faulty so the bike was junk also the bottom bracket bearings we worn out

also where the battery leads where soldered to the battery pins on the bike they where loose needing re soldering

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace


Frank

 

[Deleted member 4366]

This also happens to me. What are the options for the controller? Is there a website for supplies you guys use?

I'm getting depressed! I know it's a relatively cheap ebike, but for me, it was an expensive purchase and stupidly I thought that the workmanship would be better. It's a pig.

Do any of you guys know if there are more robust alternatives to the spindle? I'm after a sturdy one as I'm pretty heavy and my one has failed and the guy at Powacycle told me there was only one option due to the width...

Many of us use BMSBattery.com for stuff like this. The controller would be the KU63, or the KU65 if you want the display/control panel.
Controller - BMSBATTERY

for the other problem, I'm assuming that you mean the bottom bracket spindle, which is a very common problem on cheap bikes. I believe that the spindles aren't properly hardened so that they bend and then you get uneven pressure on the bearings that destroys them. Putting in new bearings doesn't help because they don't last five minutes. You need a new spindle, and best to get a cartridge type as they're not very expensive. You need to measure the length of your existing one to find a replacement. 131mm is about as long as they go. Halfords normally have a range up to about 127.5mm for about a tenner. You could take your existing one to compare. You need a bottom bracket adaptor to screw them in/out and a crank puller to get the cranks off. these cost about £20 for the pair. You could just take it to bike shop and ask them to fix it, but their spindles would tend to be shorter.

 

[danfoto]

I suppose I should say that I'm not a cyclist; I just use my bike for transport.

Jo, if I do ever get it together to print some T-shirts which just say "I'm not a Cyclist. I just ride my bike" are you in for one?

Dan

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Jo, forgot to say: If you can, measure the size of your controller to compare it with any potential replacements because some might be too big to fit in the compartment.

 

[banbury frank]

Hi The link I gave you is the right size to fit I have tried it on a bike

Frank

 

[Ajax]

Hi I bought one off bought for a customer it fits replacing the old one need to change the plugs

In the end it was the battery faulty so the bike was junk also the bottom bracket bearings we worn out

also where the battery leads where soldered to the battery pins on the bike they where loose needing re soldering

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace


Frank

The controller shown in that link looks interesting. The pics at the bottom of the page shows a number of leads coming from the controller. eg battery, 3phase motor, motor sensor, throttle and brake leads. Question, where on the salisbury would i find the motor sensor?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The controller shown in that link looks interesting. The pics at the bottom of the page shows a number of leads coming from the controller. eg battery, 3phase motor, motor sensor, throttle and brake leads. Question, where on the salisbury would i find the motor sensor?

Some motors are sensorless and only have the three power wires.Some motors have the hall sensors, so have 5 additional thin wires - usually on a separate connector.. So you have to follow the wires from your motor to their connectors to see which motor you have. Even if the motor has sensors, it will run with a sensorless controller, but if it doesn't have them, you can't use a sensor controller like the one Frank pointed out. The controllers from BMSbattery can work with and without sensors. Somehow the controllers can detect what you've got and adjust themselves automatically.

The one in the Ebay listing doesn't have a pedal sensor, but the supplier can supply them with pedal sensor if you ask him.