Old dog?

[allen-uk]

Are there any recommended 'teach yourself ebike repairs' books about?

I don't want to BUILD ebikes, nor strip down controllers, repair burnt-out motors, etc., etc. I just want to have some basic clue when my trusty Wisper 905 won't do anything!

Would a multi-meter and a short course on ebikes give me enough to at least TRACE a fault? To discover that there is power in the battery, in the on switch, and so on, but NONE at a certain point?

And would it do me any good?

I'd rather call a local ebike mechanic to come out and sort it for me, but (at least in N London) there aren't any! And the man in my local bike shop, smashing bloke though he is, won't touch electrics with a barge pole.

Hence the question. I don't think it's EASY, but is it worth trying to learn?

A

 

[flecc]

This one is in North London Allen, they might be able to help.

London Electric Bike Sales & Service

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE WORKSHOP IS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. FOR REPAIRS YOU MUST PHONE AHEAD TO SPEAK WITH THE SHOP MANAGER BEFORE COMING IN.
All repairs need to be booked in advance.

Store Manager: TBC

Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 1000 - 1700

183 York Way, London, N7 9LN

Phone: 020 7482 2892
Email: TETSlondon@gmail.com

I'm not confident there is a way to usefully learn enough to repair your e-bike by taking a simple course, but basic fault finding is within reach of almost anyone with some application, so some things will be repairable.

The problem is that I don't know of any suitable e-bike centric course, or even a general electrical course that doesn't have a deep involvement.

Hopefully I'm wrong and someone will know of something suitable. You could check with your local adult learning centre who might have something.
.

 

[danielrlee]

As far as kit goes, I would recommend two things. The first is a multimeter - doesn't have to be expensive but I find alligator clip leads handy as well as the usual pointy probes. The second is one of these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1PC-24V-36V-48V-60V-Car-Scooter-Brushless-Electro-E-bike-Motor-Controller-Tester-/181246430524?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item2a33210d3c
I used one recently to successfully diagnose a faulty controller and would not be without it now.

I think that with enough time, you can learn everything you need on here and Endless Sphere. For the times you need a little extra help, there is always d8veh ;-)

 

[Deleted member 4366]

It's easiest to learn by doing. You definitely need a multimeter. Whatever you want to do, people here can walk you through. There's some useful info here:
http://www.ebikes.ca/documents/Ebikes_Basics_Guide_Web.pdf

 

[Teejay]

In the second page of the Grin Technologies Guide, (the link above) in the paragraph about Controllers, it says, "... and converts the DC (direct current) type of electricity the battery provides into the AC (alternating current) electricity needed to spin the hub." A mistake, surely??

 

[Alan Quay]

In the second page of the Grin Technologies Guide, (the link above) in the paragraph about Controllers, it says, "... and converts the DC (direct current) type of electricity the battery provides into the AC (alternating current) electricity needed to spin the hub." A mistake, surely??

Yes, no, and sort of.

Assuming were talking about a brushless DC motor, then it will have three coils. They are all joined to form a ring of coils. Three wires are then taken off, each between a pair of coils.

In order to move the motor, different coils need to be energised at different times. The result is a chopped up DC current that goes backwards and forwards, sometimes in a sine wave, in three phases. You could call that 3 phase AC if you like.

Hope that helps.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That's it. Between each pair of phase wires, the current is switched backwards and forwards as each magnet goes past. First it pulls the magnet and then it pushes it

 

[Tubamanandy]

I found that Grin Technologies guide really useful - thanks again d8veh

 

[allen-uk]

Yes, me too, it is a good start (The Guide) particularly for terminology.

And I suppose you're right about doing it yourself. It's just that faced with a big heavy ebike which worked yesterday, but today is as DEAD as can be, knowing where to start is the problem!

Multimeters sound handy. Any recommendations for a dead basic one - not for cheapness, just lack of knowledge on my part which means that I won't know what button to press for what.

I'm not a complete duffer, I suppose. I did keep a fairly complex arrangement of Macs, scanners, printers, and bits going when I ran a graphic design company, but always had recourse to the engineers when things went too wrong. (And never had a multimeter).

A

 

[Deleted member 4366]

This one is about as cheap as they come:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Digital-LCD-Multimeter-Voltmeter-Ammeter-OHM-AC-DC-Circuit-Checker-Tester-Buzzer-/360538749861?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item53f1c8bba5

or this one from Maplin is very easy to use:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/3-in-1-autoranging-multimeter-with-non-contact-detector-n73bz