Motor problems

anon4

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My bike has just developed a strange issue, thought it was the halls but now not sure. Upon startup it will sometimes display E007 which stands for "motor breakdown". When this happens the motor "sticks" and makes a car ignition sort of noise. If I nurse it in on low power it will start running and the error goes away. Clutch/gears issue? The problem is intermittent
 

Nealh

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What bike /kit ?
 

Woosh

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anon4

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May 9, 2017
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you need to have one.
You can pick one up at Toolstation, Screwfix, B&Q etc for under £10.
This one costs £5.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XL-830L-Handheld-LCD-Digital-Multimeter-3-1-2-Voltmeter-Ohmmeter-Multitester-WT/192695696917
I'll get round to it, trouble is even with that as the fault is intermittent it may not show? Have ordered new gold plated connectors for the halls to rule that out as they are a bit corroded, in the meantime I cleaned them up the best I could. Phase wires look good
 

Woosh

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May 19, 2012
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trouble is even with that as the fault is intermittent it may not show?
you need a tester to test things like battery voltage and Hall sensors, if only to eliminate them from the list of suspects.
Intermittent faults are more difficult to diagnose, so you have to be patient. When a problem occurs, check the LCD: is it still on? does the battery voltage indicator on the LCD shows what you expect? is the throttle lever stuck? is a brake lever stuck? does the speedometer shows the correct speed? does the LED on the pedal sensor flash when you pedal?
Post what you see and the symptoms here.
 

Nealh

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Aug 7, 2014
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Most motor issues will be controller fets or motor halls, so a meter is a must if yo are wanting to find the issue. A sticking motor is likely to be a fet or phase issue.
Could also be the controller isn't configured correctly and a parameter or two need changing.

You can carry out a manual hand test, support the bike and with no power on turn the wheel quickly by hand backwards is the resistance very strong or does is turn easily ?
 

anon4

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 9, 2017
574
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you need a tester to test things like battery voltage and Hall sensors, if only to eliminate them from the list of suspects.
Intermittent faults are more difficult to diagnose, so you have to be patient. When a problem occurs, check the LCD: is it still on? does the battery voltage indicator on the LCD shows what you expect? is the throttle lever stuck? is a brake lever stuck? does the speedometer shows the correct speed? does the LED on the pedal sensor flash when you pedal?
Post what you see and the symptoms here.
All the above appeared to be normal apart from error 7 code and sticky motor
 

anon4

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 9, 2017
574
90
32
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Most motor issues will be controller fets or motor halls, so a meter is a must if yo are wanting to find the issue. A sticking motor is likely to be a fet or phase issue.
Could also be the controller isn't configured correctly and a parameter or two need changing.

You can carry out a manual hand test, support the bike and with no power on turn the wheel quickly by hand backwards is the resistance very strong or does is turn easily ?
I know of this trick, again appears to be normal resistance
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
19,406
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Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
All the above appeared to be normal apart from error 7 code and sticky motor
which LCD and controller do you have on your bike?
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
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anon4

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May 9, 2017
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Hmm, started the bike, E007, revved the throttle with wheel off ground and it went away. These controllers have always seemed rough in their power delivery but I think that's because it's probably square wave, the roughness seems more pronounced at 48v though, perhaps these just aren't a good match for this motor? I have a cheapo sine wave one with no display and that runs butter smooth
 

Woosh

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May 19, 2012
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I have a cheapo sine wave one with no display and that runs butter smooth
if your wheel runs smooth with one controller then look around the other controller.
 

Nealh

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Aug 7, 2014
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Not all sensored hubs like working with square wave controllers and no halls connected, the fact that the sine wave works goes to show this it true with your current hub. It is a sensored hub stick with what works which is a sinewave controller.
 

anon4

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 9, 2017
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Not all sensored hubs like working with square wave controllers and no halls connected, the fact that the sine wave works goes to show this it true with your current hub. It is a sensored hub stick with what works which is a sinewave controller.
I thought square wave could be sensored too? It certainly has a hall plug, I assumed it was square because of choppy power delivery when starting up, or does this mean it's just crap?
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
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Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
I thought square wave could be sensored too? It certainly has a hall plug, I assumed it was square because of choppy power delivery when starting up, or does this mean it's just crap?
square wave controllers can work well with sensored motors.
In your case, I suspect that your controller does not like 48V.
Try it with a 36V battery to see how it goes.
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
19,990
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West Sx RH
I thought square wave could be sensored too? It certainly has a hall plug, I assumed it was square because of choppy power delivery when starting up, or does this mean it's just crap?
No, square wave is 3 phase wries no halls.
It's probably as you say 'just crap'.
 

anon4

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 9, 2017
574
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square wave controllers can work well with sensored motors.
In your case, I suspect that your controller does not like 48V.
Try it with a 36V battery to see how it goes.
The controller is purposely dual voltage
 

anon4

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 9, 2017
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No, square wave is 3 phase wries no halls.
It's probably as you say 'just crap'.
Well there's a reason it costs £20 less than a KT setup I guess. Anyway I replaced the hall plug connectors with gold plated ones and touch wood no more error code. Seems smoother, but still not silky. I guess it's just cheap, I had to plug the self learn in when I got it because it span backwards
 

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