Lyen controller stopped working

[cwah]

Hello there,

I tested for the first time my brompton with the direct drive conhismotor today. It's a 20s lipo (74V) setup with lyen controller (37V-150V).

I was at 80V and running around 7 amps at 500W. Did 1 peak at 1500W. I was running around 7 amps when it suddently stopped working.

I runned for a total of about 60 second.

I think the problem is from the controller because the CA could still read the voltage. And a direct drive motor wouldn't die that fast.

Need help, what can I do?

 

[Cyclezee]

My first thought is to alert the emergency services, but that is probably not the answer you are looking for cwah.

 

[cwah]

I spent so much time and effort for this...

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi cwah,

Your project is clearly a labour of love and it has been an uphill struggle.
Your tireless enthusiasm and determination will hopefully reach a satisfactory conclusion, so please don't stop now cwah.
What you have achieved so far is certainly not for the faint hearted

Please be careful.

 

[oigoi]

Perhaps the controller has been overloaded by the current? I can see from your post it is rated for the voltage you are using, should it be able to handle the current also?

Could you test the motor by checking for continuity through the windings using a multimeter? Like you say it is unlikely for the motor to die so suddenly but might be worth checking.

It could just be something like a loose connection though.

 

[neptune]

@cwah. Do not be downhearted. Expect the best until you know the worst. Re your first post , what is the "CA"? I am not sure of your set up . check the obvious things first, like battery terminals and wiring , especially plugs and sockets . It could be any of the following, if fitted . Pedalec sensor, throttle, motion sensor, brake switches, plugs and sockets, the wires themselves, and ultimately the controller. In any experimental project there will be teething troubles on the way . Good luck, and keep us informed.

 

[NRG]

cwah, any fuses in the cct? Is the CA in cct as well? can you bypass it...do you have a multimeter..if so disconnect the battery from the controller and use the meter to measure across the + and - of the controller checking for a short cct....if OK disconnect the motor and do the same short cct check from each controller phase wire to the controller - input wire....

Your are looking for an 'open cct' IE: not a zero or close to resistance...

 

[cwah]

Perhaps the controller has been overloaded by the current? I can see from your post it is rated for the voltage you are using, should it be able to handle the current also?

Could you test the motor by checking for continuity through the windings using a multimeter? Like you say it is unlikely for the motor to die so suddenly but might be worth checking.

It could just be something like a loose connection though.

I was also wondering if it was overloaded by the current. But the controller shouldn't allow higher current than what it can handle isn't it?

How do I check for continuity through the winding? Shall I plug the multimeter through some plugs?

 

[cwah]

@cwah. Do not be downhearted. Expect the best until you know the worst. Re your first post , what is the "CA"? I am not sure of your set up . check the obvious things first, like battery terminals and wiring , especially plugs and sockets . It could be any of the following, if fitted . Pedalec sensor, throttle, motion sensor, brake switches, plugs and sockets, the wires themselves, and ultimately the controller. In any experimental project there will be teething troubles on the way . Good luck, and keep us informed.

I spent a bit of time checking for connection. For now, I plugged and reppluged most connection.

A CA is a Cycle Analyst. Sorry for the jargon lol

 

[cwah]

cwah, any fuses in the cct? Is the CA in cct as well? can you bypass it...do you have a multimeter..if so disconnect the battery from the controller and use the meter to measure across the + and - of the controller checking for a short cct....if OK disconnect the motor and do the same short cct check from each controller phase wire to the controller - input wire....

Your are looking for an 'open cct' IE: not a zero or close to resistance...

What is a CCT? I haven't used any fuse but I definitely have to use that later (need more knowledge to know which one to use)

I have a multimeter but I don't know how to check for continuity from that. What option should I turn on the multimeter?

Thanks a lot

 

[oigoi]

I was also wondering if it was overloaded by the current. But the controller shouldn't allow higher current than what it can handle isn't it?

How do I check for continuity through the winding? Shall I plug the multimeter through some plugs?

A motor can quite easily draw too much current. If it does then then components inside the controller (usually a transistor of some sort) will burn out.

To check the motor windings. Not sure what the wiring is like on the motor you've got. Usually each set of windings will have two wires feeding it. You would use the multimeter on the resistance or continuity setting and connect the multimeter wires to the pairs of winding wires one pair at a time.

The multimeter on the resistance or continuity setting tries to send a current down one of the meter wires and looks at how much current comes back again on the other one. you can test this by touching the two multimeter wires together and it should read zero ohms.

So you put the multimeter wires onto the two wires of one set of motor windings.
If a motor winding is good you should get a low resistance (less than about 70 ohms). If one of the motor windings is damaged when you test it with the meter you will measure a very high resistance (eg. over 10000 ohms)

 

[oigoi]

here is a youtube video about measuring resistance

How to measure resistance using a multimeter - YouTube

 

[NRG]

What is a CCT? I haven't used any fuse but I definitely have to use that later (need more knowledge to know which one to use)

I have a multimeter but I don't know how to check for continuity from that. What option should I turn on the multimeter?

Thanks a lot

cct is short for circuit...continuity on you meter is the resistance setting, select the lowest...seriously if we are having to tell you this very basic stuff then I fear you shouldn't be anywhere near it.

No fuse with 80v worth of LiPo is asking for a whole lot of pain if you get a short or an issue...No offence but I really think you should seek out somebody local who understands and knows the dangers of what you are doing for some help and education.

 

[NRG]

A motor can quite easily draw too much current. If it does then then components inside the controller (usually a transistor of some sort) will burn out.

To check the motor windings. Not sure what the wiring is like on the motor you've got. Usually each set of windings will have two wires feeding it. You would use the multimeter on the resistance or continuity setting and connect the multimeter wires to the pairs of winding wires one pair at a time.

The multimeter on the resistance or continuity setting tries to send a current down one of the meter wires and looks at how much current comes back again on the other one. you can test this by touching the two multimeter wires together and it should read zero ohms.

So you put the multimeter wires onto the two wires of one set of motor windings.
If a motor winding is good you should get a low resistance (less than about 70 ohms). If one of the motor windings is damaged when you test it with the meter you will measure a very high resistance (eg. over 10000 ohms)

Our motors are typically wired in a Y configuration so measuring from one phase wire to another will typically have a resistance well below 1 Ohm usually each phase is about 0.3 of an ohm....so two in series = 0.6 Ohm...anything more than this then you have a problem or bad connection.

 

[cwah]

Just sawped with my other controller... And it worked.

It's definitely a problem with the controller

Going to check controller resistance now

 

[cwah]

Just realised that the cycle analyst was still working so there us current going through the controller.

Is it useful to check the hall and phase sensor continuity as a transistor has probably blown inside?

 

[cwah]

Here is the resistance test on the controller phase wire:

Is it good?

 

[cwah]

Here is inside the controller:

Not sure what to look at, but the connections seem ok.

 

[muckymits]

If you going to do this type of work go buy yourself one of these NEW Portable E-bike Brushless Motor Controller Tester | eBay

It is so much easier, the Halls and windings can be checked in seconds. I was taking throttles off to put them on the 5v bench supply for checking, its now done on the bike. Just use your meter at first to check the battery.

David

 

[oigoi]

cwah I'm not sure what kind of readings you would get from measuring the controller like you did with the multimeter. my suggestion of measuring continuity was to check the motor windings to confirm if the motor is ok.

To diagnose the fault with the broken controller using a multimeter is not easy and you would be better doing what muckymits suggested if you want to repair the controller

You need to think about what you are going to do to stop your next controller breaking - can you limit the current somehow? Or get a controller that can handle the voltage and current you want to use.

It is better to have a controller that is over-rated so it