April 25, 201312 yr Author ARRGHHH !!! Just went to plug the batteries in series and greated with a big flash and EC5 connectors have melted... It was also connected to the controller......
April 25, 201312 yr Been googling to find a spare BUT not looking promising.....I have also mailed Clarks who i suppose after much reading will direct me to suppliers who can not source the part !!! ... I know the feeling ... when you start working on the mechanics of a 2nd hand bike you just never know what you're going to find and it's tough finding like-for-like replacements for older parts sometimes. I saw this recently though - you need an in-line cutoff switch for the rear brake but the package is pretty incredible value provided you don't mind dual-controls - and you get brand new disc brakes and gear shifters for £80 : Shimano XT M765 Dual Control Disc Brakes | Shimano Disc Brakes | Merlin Cycles Lots of deals around for substitutes like this on other levers but this is a complete system and incredible value. It's for 3 x 9sp so should be compatible with Kraken ... I think the SRAM cassettes and derailleurs are OK with Shimano shifters. LiPos scare the living daylights out of me. Every time I read about them I feel a bit like I'd be shacking up with a suicide bomber Edited April 25, 201312 yr by 103Alex1
April 25, 201312 yr Before you go any futher, lay your battery configuration out on the floor and take a picture of it. Upload that pic to the forum.
April 25, 201312 yr Author It will not allow me to connect another battery in series ???? http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/romanski/F626D371-4485-4DD9-A2B2-009D302570FF-17663-00000C597B80D66C_zps20dbef2b.jpg
April 25, 201312 yr ARRGHHH !!! Just went to plug the batteries in series and greated with a big flash and EC5 connectors have melted... It was also connected to the controller...... Rule no.1 when making an electric bike from a kit: Always check the polarity with a meter before connecting anything - even if they have matching connectors. Rulle 2: Don''t take any notice of colours. It's not unusual for the Chines to use blue for "+" and brown for "-". When you connect your controller with the correct polarity, you still get a big flash and a bang, which can be enough to damage connectors because the KU123 has large capacitors that charge instantly when you make contact, so don't panic as long as polarity is correct. Afrer a few connections, youur nerves become stronger, and connection becomes easier. Don't worry, you can't electrocute yourself from it. If by chance you did connect with wrong polarity, your controller is an ex-controller - not just pining for the fjords, in which case I might be able to help you out with a new one. Edit: I see, you've got lipos. You have to work out the logical connections very carefully. Your leads look OK to me. How much did the connector melt? It could still be the controller capacitor causing the spark if it's superficial, otherwise you need to check the leads with a meter.
April 25, 201312 yr I can't really see the connections due to the low resolution, did you plug in all the packs?
April 25, 201312 yr Author I can't really see the connections due to the low resolution, did you plug in all the packs? Yes Plugged one group 3 in then when i plugged other group of three in it melted the connector.
April 25, 201312 yr Author Rule no.1 when making an electric bike from a kit: Always check the polarity with a meter before connecting anything - even if they have matching connectors. Rulle 2: Don''t take any notice of colours. It's not unusual for the Chines to use blue for "+" and brown for "-". When you connect your controller with the correct polarity, you still get a big flash and a bang, which can be enough to damage connectors because the KU123 has large capacitors that charge instantly when you make contact, so don't panic as long as polarity is correct. Afrer a few connections, youur nerves become stronger, and connection becomes easier. Don't worry, you can't electrocute yourself from it. If by chance you did connect with wrong polarity, your controller is an ex-controller - not just pining for the fjords, in which case I might be able to help you out with a new one. Edit: I see, you've got lipos. You have to work out the logical connections very carefully. Your leads look OK to me. How much did the connector melt? It could still be the controller capacitor causing the spark if it's superficial, otherwise you need to check the leads with a meter. I'm used to flashes/sparks mate, i'm an industrial sparky by trade upto 11Kv....... Just did not expect it with all FETS not firing. Which colours are the throttler as the colours do not up mine on controller. I have two 3 pin plugs - blue-black-green red-black-green Connected them up individually this time and have 50.1v at controller. Edited April 25, 201312 yr by bilabonic
April 25, 201312 yr The series connection at the controller can't be right. Can you take a closer pic. Parallel both groups of packs together, check them with a multimeter.
April 25, 201312 yr Red black and green is the throttle. I think that the connector's the other way round on the 3-speed switch, isn't it? The spark and bang you get when you connect the controller to 50v is not like anything else you''re likely to experience as a sparky. So, are you saying that it was just the spark from the controller, or is something else wrong? Ideally, you need a pre-charge resistor on your connection because the spark will erode your connectors eventually.
April 25, 201312 yr If it melted the connector, it's shorted. You must have changed the polarity to the correct way around when re soldering. Hopefully the controller is ok.
April 25, 201312 yr Author The series connection at the controller can't be right. Can you take a closer pic. Parallel both groups of packs together, check them with a multimeter. 25v at both packs in parallel, 50v when connected to controller. That's correct i thought. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/romanski/7F54C1F0-B954-4CF6-B54C-5010DE78738C-17663-00000C6911922543_zps8246d0e5.jpg
April 25, 201312 yr Seems fine. We're all packs charged to the same level? Before you plug the DB18 parallel harness in, await my PM.
April 25, 201312 yr Author Red black and green is the throttle. I think that the connector's the other way round on the 3-speed switch, isn't it? The spark and bang you get when you connect the controller to 50v is not like anything else you''re likely to experience as a sparky. So, are you saying that it was just the spark from the controller, or is something else wrong? Ideally, you need a pre-charge resistor on your connection because the spark will erode your connectors eventually. Must of just been current surge i was not expecting, as i have connected them all now and have 50v sitting at controller, just need an input from throttle now. I work on loads of things live when on site upto 415v so used to sparks, watching an 11kv cable or breaker explode know thats a bang. Still not holding out much hope though.....
April 25, 201312 yr Author Seems fine. We're all packs charged to the same level? Before you plug the DB18 parallel harness in, await my PM. Yes, i charged all packs individually and have each cells voltage/resistance. All balanced OK. Just tried it and it's working ok No lights on indication on throttle though. Surprised by the torque of the motor as well...Jeez Edited April 25, 201312 yr by bilabonic
April 25, 201312 yr When you look at the 6 JST plugs on the small parallel harness, you will notice they are actually 2 x bunches of three JST plugs. Make sure 1 x bunch of plugs goes to one bank of packs, and the other bunch goes to the other bank. Does that make any sense at all? Ill draw it out if need be.
April 25, 201312 yr http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z313/sacko_vit/4786706A-555E-4CFE-836A-778F59F7D779-19906-00000E96CED39C80_zpsfa0514e0.jpg Throttle..
April 25, 201312 yr What throttle do you have with LEDs? If it's the type with a red button, the green and brown are the switch and the yellow's the LEDs
April 25, 201312 yr Author When you look at the 6 JST plugs on the small parallel harness, you will notice they are actually 2 x bunches of three JST plugs. Make sure 1 x bunch of plugs goes to one bank of packs, and the other bunch goes to the other bank. Does that make any sense at all? Ill draw it out if need be. I learned that the hard way. Ordered new connectors.
April 25, 201312 yr Author What throttle do you have with LEDs? If it's the type with a red button, the green and brown are the switch and the yellow's the LEDs No buttons just led indication. Doubt it will be reliable but may as well use it. It has a spare yellow cable to connect to controller. Cheers guys.
April 26, 201312 yr Now available in 8 and 9 speed: Aliexpress.com : Buy New arrival 8 speed freewheel with 11 32T Gear Teeth for road bike, free shipping from Reliable 8-speed freewheel suppliers on CnOutdoor Aliexpress.com : Buy New arrival 9 speed bike freewheel/11 12 14 16 18 21 24 28 32T/cassette for MTB road bike from Reliable bike freewheel suppliers on CnOutdoor
April 27, 201312 yr Author That controller's bad. The pcb should be in the slot on the side opposite the FETs, but not in the FET side. You have to take out the three screws in the side to extract it. The tyres should be OK. If you want best performance, Schwalbe City Jets 26 x 1.95 are good, but not puncture proof. Your first job is to try-fit the back wheel. The anti-rotation washers go on the inside of the drop-outs. Check whether the rim's central. If not, you have to dish it. Even if you don''t need to dish it, you have to check and tighten the spokes. For that you need a 13G spoke key. The ones BMSBattery sell are pretty good. You can get similar ones on Ebay, but it's a bit of a lottery how good they fit. Just thought. Don't dish it 'til you've sorted the free-wheel. See below. Next thing to think about is a cobalt drill to drill the torque arm. Either get a set (always useful) or at least 3mm and 5mm. They're fairly cheap on Ebay, but make sure you get 5% cobalt, not cobalt coated. Don't waste your time with the pedal sensor. It'll be too fierce. Maybe later think about one of those £60 750w Conhismotor controllers with LCD display and variable PAS. You might have trouble fitting those throttles. If you do, I've got the small thumb throttle that fits. I ordered a couple as spares with my last battery. The 14T free-wheel will be too low. You might as well order a 11T one from Cyclezee now. It'll save a lot of messing about later. I think he has two types. The DNP one needs spacers, so you might be better off with the other one whatever it is. Ask John to check the stack-height. The 7 speed BMSBattery one is 35mm and requires two washers as spacers. The DNP one is 39mm, so as well as needing a 6mm spacer, it'll be a tight squeeze to fit it between your drop-outs. Which battery did you get? Right, going to have a go at fitting the back wheel today, i have 'popped' it in upside own with derailler off and disc brake off. So i use the spacers that fit the axle directly to centralize wheel. Not sure about the torque arms as they are alu, are they upto the job ? Will get a pic up and soon. Cheers
April 27, 201312 yr The torque arms that you indicated in post #1 are very hard stainless steel, and perfect for the job. No, you don't use spacers to centralise the wheel. You should start with the disc and caliper assembled otherwise you might have to do it all again when you find that you can't get your caliper to line up with the disc. The anti-rotation washers go on the inside of the drop-outs. Normally with only that on the axle on the disc side, the disc is in the right position to clear the frame and match the caliper range of adjustment. If the disc touches the frame, you can add a washer behind the anti-rotation washer, but you'll probably also have to put washers between your caliper mount and the caliper/adapter. DEpending on the stack-height of your free-wheel, you'll probably need to add spacers to the axle to keep the top gear away from the frame. A six-speed doesn't need spacers, a seven speed needs two washers, A DNP 7 speed needs about 6mm of something, and I guess the 8-speed ones need something more. Once you have the wheel spaced like that, you can then check whether the rim is central, which it probably won't be, so then you need to dish the wheel by going round the rim loosening all the spoke nipples half a turn on the disc side, and tightening all the nipples half a turn on the other side. You need to be precise and systematic when you do that. Don't lose count or where you got to otherwise you'll have a lot more work to do to get the wheel true. When you do it, you'll notice that they never got the spoke tension right in the first place. Worry about that after you dished the wheel to get the rim in the right position. It's best to do all this with the free-wheel that you intend to use permanently, otherwise you'll be doing it all again later. If you just want to get the bike going, it's ok to leave the wheel a bit off centre to try it out, and then centralise it properly when you get your 11T free-wheel. You'll soon get fed up with the 14T free-wheel.
April 27, 201312 yr Author Using a 7 spd cassette, wheel is not to bad, quite central. When i have the lock washer and one slim washer on disc side it rubs to the right of caliper - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/romanski/AFA97FBA-1E71-4D5E-AB74-A30C5650C9E6-19967-00000D3C68B594C1_zps2f051c3d.jpg When i put another washer in it moves disc to far to the right in the caliper - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/romanski/D67E730F-3108-403D-97F8-E6501D36C40D-19967-00000D3D15C9DAA1_zps5269d24a.jpg I have the one thick washer on cassette side and it's just clearing the frame - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/romanski/5F6C3F47-01AB-435F-B742-FA20068E29D6-19967-00000D3D3B997FE7_zpsdd0fb2a9.jpg Need a thinner washer i think ?
April 27, 201312 yr Author Think i might dremel a bit off the second washer to make it thinner ?? What do you think ???
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