Technical HELP!! required

[Saddlesore]

I've bought a pig in a poke and I'm hoping those in the know or a technical genius can help me salvage something from this disaster.

Now please don't laugh but I bought a bike off ebay which had allegedly been used only a few times and negotiated a considerable price reduction because of misdescription and initial problems (obviously not enough!)

After rebuilding the wheels,front forks and assembling the front brake properly it seemed to perform ok and I was quite pleased until the second week of ownership when the thing failed at the top of a hill.

My local friendly electric bike mechanic based in Upton on Severn ( highly recommended chap too I may add) has had a look and told me the controller / sensor in the crank has failed. This bike is unusual in the controller / sensor is built in around the crank.

The bike is called a Lightning and is the usual Chinese bitza with an alloy MTB frame, 180w rear hub motor and powered by a 24v 7ah NIMh battery. The original supplier e-bikes direct was contacted and the friendly chap there said I was not the only one seeking this part and he was trying to source spares as the original importer from Derby had gone out of business. I'm not too hopeful but someone on this site may be able to advise if this type of controller is available or if another type could be fitted to another part of the bike and be connected up although we are not too sure of the wiring layout.

I don't really want to scrap the bike so any suggestions (apart from don't buy 2nd hand on ebay) would be gratefully received.

Thanks

 

[flecc]

Unfortunately the Lightning Scooter China Ltd company is mainly a sort of go between assembler. Listed as between 101 and 500 employees, they claim to manufacture a vast range of products, even motor cycle clothing.

The company website three electric bike pages are below so you can check if your bike is still shown:

Lightning ATV

Although this often doesn't bear fruit, you could try direct contact with their contact person:

Lightning Scooter China Ltd
Mr David Lau
Hardware City Industrial Zone
Yongkang
Zhejiang
China
321000
.

 

[Saddlesore]

Thanks flecc for the link - its always worth a try - I'm not going to write of £250 without a fight.

The chap at E-BikesDirect is trying to locate spares and I might forward this link to him as he may still have customers who have a warranty claim against him for parts.

Worst case scenario is I'll put a 26 inch wheel in the back take off the battery and use it as a normal bike. Actually I rode it 6 miles to the mechanic at Upton and it rode quite well ( apart from the saddle) and only took me 1/2 hour.

Thanks again

 

[flecc]

That sounds promising. Almost all hub motors have quite a lot of drag, so if the worst came to the worst and you turned it into an ordinary bike, it would run quite freely.

If your chap could identify what kind of motor it is, brush, 3 wire Hall effect or 8 wire Hall effect, another controller might be possible, not bothering with the pedelec sensor and just treating it as a throttle control bike.
.

 

[Saddlesore]

Thanks again flecc for the advice.

I thought the motor was a 180 watt hall effect but the awful chinese manual states it is a '24 volt 180w magnetism brush motor' (sic) - I'll get that checked out by the mechanic and let you know.

I was quite surprised that the original supplier stated that there were problems with replacement controllers / pedelec sensors as it appears on the face of it very similar to a number of current bikes - I'm thinking principally of the Powacycle Cambridge, the old Synergie Unisex e-bike (identical frame) and not dissimilar to the current Mistral or certain other e-bikes selling for £399 mark. Where are the controllers on these as they all appear to be in or around the same place as my Lightning which would not make it that unique.

I see that the model no. appears to be TDH25Z1 if the handbook can be trusted as it states only that model had front suspension and the rating on the motor is 210 rpm.

Thanks again

 

[Saddlesore]

Just got a message from the chap at E-Bikes Direct - The website re Lightning is not the manufacturer as he has checked. The bike was merely marketed as 'Lightning' in the UK which predisposes me to think it is similar or the same as a lot of recent models marketed on the web and ebay - certainly the frame is - being identical to the C.V. Leisure Roadstar and Synergie Unisex e-bike framewise at least

All the best and if anyone has more info I would be most grateful - the chap at e-bikes direct is still on the case so fingers x'd

Cheers all

 

[flecc]

That sort of naming happens a lot and causes endless confusion, the Synergie bikes popping up with various brandings.

Hopefully your chap will get there in the end though.
.

 

[Saddlesore]

I am resurrecting this thread as I've researched this particular bike which bears the model No. TDH25Z1. If you google this it will come up with countless chinese electric vehicle websites that market this bike - I'm still not sure who actually manufactures it but it appears to be a current model in a variety of these suppliers catalogues and it is the same bike as my defunct 'Lightning' and is fitted with a 180 watt brush motor powered by a 24 volt 7ah NIMh battery.
Now from my limited understanding of electric motors and associated controllers a brush motor is far simpler than a hall effect one and the relevant controller is simpler as well so surely I should be able to find a replacement controller that will do the job even if I have to forgo the pedelec sensor and just use it off a throttle. Otherwise is there anyone who could advise if my controller could be repaired.
If anyone out there can provide advice or any contacts I would be grateful as the original supplier e-bikes direct has given up trying to locate a replacement
Thanks

 

[Beeping-Sleauty]

24v brushed hub controller replacement

I am resurrecting this thread as I've researched this particular bike which bears the model No. TDH25Z1. If you google this it will come up with countless chinese electric vehicle websites that market this bike - I'm still not sure who actually manufactures it but it appears to be a current model in a variety of these suppliers catalogues and it is the same bike as my defunct 'Lightning' and is fitted with a 180 watt brush motor powered by a 24 volt 7ah NIMh battery.
Now from my limited understanding of electric motors and associated controllers a brush motor is far simpler than a hall effect one and the relevant controller is simpler as well so surely I should be able to find a replacement controller that will do the job even if I have to forgo the pedelec sensor and just use it off a throttle. Otherwise is there anyone who could advise if my controller could be repaired.
If anyone out there can provide advice or any contacts I would be grateful as the original supplier e-bikes direct has given up trying to locate a replacement
Thanks

You could try one of these:

24V 350W brushed speed controller e-bike scooter on eBay, also Parts Accessories, Scooters, Outdoor Sports, Sporting Goods (end time 17-Aug-08 16:10:40 BST)

from e-crazyman, (Keywin Ge). i have had good service & prices from him in the past, this brushed hub controller comes with its own pedelec system, you don't need external sensors, the rotation of the wheel sends the feeback, you can email Kewin at ecrazyman@gmail.com,

let us know how you get on.

 

[Saddlesore]

You could try one of these:

24V 350W brushed speed controller e-bike scooter on eBay, also Parts Accessories, Scooters, Outdoor Sports, Sporting Goods (end time 17-Aug-08 16:10:40 BST)

from e-crazyman, (Keywin Ge). i have had good service & prices from him in the past, this brushed hub controller comes with its own pedelec system, you don't need external sensors, the rotation of the wheel sends the feeback, you can email Kewin at ecrazyman@gmail.com,

let us know how you get on.

Thanks for the information - I'll contact this chap as suggested and will let you know on this forum how I got on.

 

[Kheemonahs]

Thanks for the information - I'll contact this chap as suggested and will let you know on this forum how I got on.

Is Saddlesore still about, or does anybody know the outcome of his search, as I now have the exact same problem (all details the same) and am coming up against the same brick wall?

Can anybody help please?

 

[banbury frank]

Hi

Try this link for 24 volt brushed controller uk suppler

Electric Scooter 24 VOLT CONTROLLER 350w Ped | eBay

Frank

 

[Kheemonahs]

Hi

Try this link for 24 volt brushed controller uk suppler

Electric Scooter 24 VOLT CONTROLLER 350w Ped | eBay

Frank

Thanks for that frank, but these bikes do not have a seperate controller like the one shown, it is all in one unit together with the motion sensor wrapped around the spindle in the bottom bracket housing.

If all else fails I will have to consider bypassing the unit all together and find a unit to fix somewhere on the bike which does both jobs.

Tony