Panasonic mid drive motor fuse location

XennonYazon

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 15, 2019
8
1
Hi there! My name is Xennon Yazon from the Philippines. I have a Panasonic Off Time folding bike with a mid drive motor which I bought from a Japanese surplus bike dealer. The battery which is an NKY201B02 doesn't work anymore so I tried connecting a different battery following some of the guides on this forum. When I first connected the battery to the positive and negative leads, there was a spark on the terminals. After that, no more sparks which lead me to believe that I blew the fuse. I have since removed the motor assembly but I cannot seem to locate the fuse. I suppose that there are fuses because it says so on the round translucent plastic pouch which covers the wiring connectors. This round plastic pouch is inside what is supposed to be the bike's bottom bracket which is an unused component of the bike. On the plastic case it say 20A beside a fuse icon and another fuse icon says 0.5A. So most probably there are 2 fuses. Does anybody know the fuse location?
I have looked at FLECCs page here, http://www.flecc.uk/p/motorunit1.html, but I don't see any fuses mentioned or in any of the pictures.
Thanks by the way to FLECC for the informative pages about the Panasonic motors. It has a wealth of information!!!
If anyone can point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated.
All the Best,
Xennon
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
Hi Xenon, there is no fuse in the Panasonic crank motors but their batteries have fuses. Their original ones that used NiMh batteries had two battery fuses are inside the battery casing as shown here in a photo from my recelling page for the old unit:



But your model was sold with a small lithium battery and I don't know where the fuses were in that.

However, if you connected the other battery correctly and it arced, you may have blown that battery's internal fuses, so you'll need to open it up to check for its fuses.
.
 

XennonYazon

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 15, 2019
8
1
Hi Xenon, there is no fuse in the Panasonic crank motors but their batteries have fuses. Their original ones that used NiMh batteries had two battery fuses are inside the battery casing as shown here in a photo from my recelling page for the old unit:



But your model was sold with a small lithium battery and I don't know where the fuses were in that.

However, if you connected the other battery correctly and it arced, you may have blown that battery's internal fuses, so you'll need to open it up to check for its fuses.
.
Thanks FLECC!!! Ok I will check up on that tomorrow and post back what I find.

Thanks a million!!!
 
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XennonYazon

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 15, 2019
8
1
Hi FLECC!
It looks like my motor is shorted out and does not work anymore. I have been looking on the internet for a replacement motor but cannot find one. I did however see this brand new one on eBay and it is only 85USD.


It is 24 volts like mine but I can only install a single gear unlike mine which has 3 gears. The mounting holes to the bike frame look very similar and I think I can mount it on my bike. How difficult/easy would it be to install an on and off switch on this? The seller has several other Panasonic mid drive motors and some display/controllers available but I cannot determine which one will work with which controller.
Any suggestions will be highly appreciated.
Best Regards,
Xennon
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
That one is no use to you I'm afraid, it's only a crank pedelec controller for a front wheel hub motor that they marketed at one time. It has no motor of its own. Bikes with Panasonic motors at that time had C or F appended to their names to indicate whether front wheel motor or centre (crank) motor. For example:

Kalkhoff Agattu C

Kalkhoff Agattu F

I'm afraid I'm stumped on which control units go with which motors, it's information that Panasonic have never publically released.

I can only suggest contacting Panasonic's European e-bike centre for any clarification you need on that. You'll see the Contact Us at the top right of their website on this link.
.
 

XennonYazon

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 15, 2019
8
1
Ok, thanks for the information and the link. I will be looking at the site. How about this motor?


The seller says it will work with this display/controller:


If I buy the motor and display controller, do I just add a new battery?

Regards,
Xennon
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
Ok, thanks for the information and the link. I will be looking at the site. How about this motor?


The seller says it will work with this display/controller:


If I buy the motor and display controller, do I just add a new battery?

Regards,
Xennon
That's the series 2 motor with a 9 tooth motor sprocket instead of your 14 tooth one. They usually fit in the frame mountings ok and will work similarly, but it hasn't got the sprung arm and chain idler with it and I don't know if your old unit one will fit the new unit.

If it does you would need the correct battery type and the stand charger to suit, both rather expensive though. You can't use any batteries or chargers on these systems.

So be careful, since it could end up so expensive for unit, controller, battery and charger, it could be better to buy another e-bike instead.
.
 

XennonYazon

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 15, 2019
8
1
Ok, yes I realize that it will be an expensive conversion. I'm thinking that I can just put a Hongsheng or Bafang mid drive motor but I will still need to buy a new battery and charger. My computation is that it will cost the same in total but those will be made in China while the Panasonic motor is made in Japan.
It is very difficult to buy ebikes or parts in the Philippines because it's not very popular. Everything needs to be bought from abroad. Importing lithium batteries is also very difficult for us. The Philippines is not a particularly large market for the suppliers therefore they do not stock parts. I've seen Specialized mountain ebikes but they cost over 4,000 usd and THEY DO NOT FOLD.
So, if I can fit the motor, connect a display, spring arm and idler, can I just connect the positive and negative to a new 36v battery and it will run/work?
Thank you for being so patient with all my questions.
Best Regards,
Xennon
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
So, if I can fit the motor, connect a display, spring arm and idler, can I just connect the positive and negative to a new 36v battery and it will run/work?
Unfortunately not Xennon, it's why you'd need the special type of battery and charger, both very expensive.

They have a five blade connection system, some used in charging and a different set in riding. The unit and charger won't work without all the connections and matching components.

Here's the battery base:



And here's the base charger:

 

XennonYazon

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 15, 2019
8
1
Therefore a 36v battery for a Bafang motor will not work? :(
I was thinking that it might work because the picture of the motor just shows a positive, negative and an extra lead for the battery level. You're the expert on this so I guess it will not work. :(
Regards,
Xennon
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
Therefore a 36v battery for a Bafang motor will not work? :(
I was thinking that it might work because the picture of the motor just shows a positive, negative and an extra lead for the battery level. You're the expert on this so I guess it will not work. :(
Regards,
Xennon
Afraid not Xennon, the extra lead is also a monitoring connection which both the unit and charger systems use. Those who've tried say they don't work without it connected.

A number of makers including Panasonic design their systems to only be able to work with the correct parts from themselves or approved suppliers.

Bafang are different, so with a Bafang motor bike you'd have many more options for battery and charger.
.
 

XennonYazon

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 15, 2019
8
1
Ok then! Looks like I will be looking at a Bafang or Tongsheng mid drive motor then. Do you have any suggestions between these 2 motors?
Regards again,
Xennon
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
Ok then! Looks like I will be looking at a Bafang or Tongsheng mid drive motor then. Do you have any suggestions between these 2 motors?
Regards again,
Xennon
They are bottom bracket mounting though Xennon, your frame doesn't have a bottom bracket and they wont fit in the motor's very different pedalshaft housing

You need a normal bike frame for them, so perhaps pick up a normal folding bike to convert. I haven't personally used either of those motors but the Bafangs appear very popular in here.
.
 

frankdoofy

Just Joined
Jul 18, 2019
2
1
Is the 26V Panasonic front hub (NUA031) in the same situation where the battery needs to be OEM for it to work?
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
Is the 26V Panasonic front hub (NUA031) in the same situation where the battery needs to be OEM for it to work?
That motor may be the usual 8 wire type, 3 for the phase windings and 5 for the Hall sensors, but I can't be certain since they also made a variant that was an electrical front brake for the bike.

However, the motor doesn't determine what battery connections are used, it's the separate controller that does that. If that is a normal 8 wire motor, you can use any 8 wire controller and battery.
.
 

frankdoofy

Just Joined
Jul 18, 2019
2
1
Thanks flecc. It is the 3/5 wire hub! It looks like I may try that. Instead of the Panasonic torque sensor mentioned earlier, I may try the controller and a cycle analyst v3 to connect a custom torque sensor mounted in my BB.
 
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