Help! Back wheel will not work by pedaling

[802Kmighty]

Hello! My ecotrike fat wheel has been a beast for a year but has started to need replacement parts because of my poor maintenance.
It is a rear wheel hub and the electric is not an issue.
The main issue I have right now is my bike will not pedal like a normal bike. I can use it with the motor but if I try to use the pedals it wont grab the wheel. It doesnt seems like anythings wrong with the freewheel and the chain works. Its like the wheel can not get pulled by the pedals but the hub works perfect.
Any thoughts or helpful comments will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Nealh]

Firstly one assumes the cranks/pedals turn fine when the chain has been removed !!!

 

[802Kmighty]

Firstly one assumes the cranks/pedals turn fine when the chain has been removed !!!

Yes that assumption is correct.Works fine with or without the chain. It is not the cranks itself.
It is like whatever it is that goes through the center of the wheel and is supposed to grab the wheel when you move the crank does not grab it.
Yet the motor spins it fine.

 

[Nealh]

So you have a throttle and it works fine on the throttle !!!

 

[802Kmighty]

So you have a throttle and it works fine on the throttle !!!

Yes so I can still use it thankfully. But would like to get the pedals/cranks to work to give some relief the motor and battery. Plus I kinda need it to help up hills my motor is not vey high powered and I live in an area where I run up steep inclines often.

 

[Nealh]

Check the PAS (pedal assist) set up on the bottom bracket, is it a one part sensor fitted to the lhs or a two piece item (could be on the rhs ).

 

[wheeliepete]

Hello! My ecotrike fat wheel has been a beast for a year but has started to need replacement parts because of my poor maintenance.
It is a rear wheel hub and the electric is not an issue.
The main issue I have right now is my bike will not pedal like a normal bike. I can use it with the motor but if I try to use the pedals it wont grab the wheel. It doesnt seems like anythings wrong with the freewheel and the chain works. Its like the wheel can not get pulled by the pedals but the hub works perfect.
Any thoughts or helpful comments will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Sounds like the pawls are stuck in your freewheel. Lay the bike on it's side, chain upwards and apply some 3 in 1 oil around the inside of the freewheel and they should free up.

 

[flecc]

Yes so I can still use it thankfully. But would like to get the pedals/cranks to work to give some relief the motor and battery. Plus I kinda need it to help up hills my motor is not vey high powered and I live in an area where I run up steep inclines often.

If you can turn the pedals forward without the rear wheel turning, it's the 7 speed Shimano freewheel on the side of your motor that has failed. If Wheelie Pete's solution doesn't work it will need to be replaced.

For that you need a cycle shop thats used to hub motor electric bikes since the cable into your motor spindle is on the freewheel (right hand) side. That complicates changing the freewheel more than on an unpowered bike.
.

 

[802Kmighty]

Sounds like the pawls are stuck in your freewheel. Lay the bike on it's side, chain upwards and apply some 3 in 1 oil around the inside of the freewheel and they should free up.

I will give it a try thank you

 

[802Kmighty]

If you can turn the pedals forward without the rear wheel turning, it's the 7 speed Shimano freewheel on the side of your motor that has failed. If Wheelie Pete's solution doesn't work it will need to be replaced.

For that you need a cycle shop thats used to hub motor electric bikes since the cable into your motor spindle is on the freewheel (right hand) side. That complicates changing the freewheel more than on an unpowered bike.
.

I will be happy if its just the freewheel and not the hub itself. I think i know a shop but they havent actaully looked at it just said they can try when I had wire issues lat year.

 

[flecc]

I will be happy if its just the freewheel and not the hub itself. I think i know a shop but they havent actaully looked at it just said they can try when I had wire issues lat year.

It won't be the hub motor, only the sprocketed freewheel which is threaded onto the side of the motor.

Try oiling the way Wheelie Pete suggested, and work the crank back and forth a few times to try to free up the pawls inside it.

Information Link
.

 

[802Kmighty]

Check the PAS (pedal assist) set up on the bottom bracket, is it a one part sensor fitted to the lhs or a two piece item (could be on the rhs ).

I think its a once piece cadence style right by the crank/pedal

 

[Nealh]

I'm still trying to make sense of this as there are two opinions occurring on this one,
my thoughts are that it is an e - assist issue with the PAS not driving the hub as the throttle does work and others think it is mechanical and gear sprockets are stuck so not freewheeling. If the latter then the throttle use would mean the bike can't freewheel while riding.

With the single unit PAS sensor one has to make sure the centre part is freely rotating and not snagging at all, also make sure the center moving part isn't pinched tight. Muck/crud can gum it all up and cause issues, so probably best to remove the crank arm and the PAS unit to clean and test by hand. They can be troublesome so might be better to replace with a new one or opt for a 2 part PAS disc/sensor which don't very often cause any issues, any issue with them are generally simple ones to sort out.

 

[Nealh]

A small film of the wheel might help better in defining what is actually occurring.

 

[wheeliepete]

I read the problem as crank/chain wheel, chain and freewheel are all moving, but no mechanical drive to the wheel, hence suggesting stuck/broken pawls. Does the motor cut in when the pedals are turned?

 

[802Kmighty]

I read the problem as crank/chain wheel, chain and freewheel are all moving, but no mechanical drive to the wheel, hence suggesting stuck/broken pawls. Does the motor cut in when the pedals are turned?

The motor does not active when they turn like it used to. I did spary it but have not seen anything change and will have time to work on it on sunday.

 

[Nealh]

The motor does not active when they turn like it used to. I did spary it but have not seen anything change and will have time to work on it on sunday.

Any the wiser with this reply WP ?
To me it say's ' the motor does not electrically assist using the PAS system when the pedals/cranks are rotated'.

Trying to put someone else's utterings in to some sense can be confusing.
A short film clip to upload would be best so as to see the issue at hand.

 

[wheeliepete]

No, not really Nealh, maybe we are both right, but a video should shed some light.

 

[802Kmighty]

Any the wiser with this reply WP ?
To me it say's ' the motor does not electrically assist using the PAS system when the pedals/cranks are rotated'.

Trying to put someone else's utterings in to some sense can be confusing.
A short film clip to upload would be best so as to see the issue at hand.

Sorry I was in a hurry when I texted back. My p.a.s had stopped working but thats not the issues. Its mechanical not electrical because the motor still worked. The bike without a battery should still work but it will not turn the back tire. I could take a video to show this but as of two days ago my battery stopped holding a charge. So luck is on my side.. I am going to have time to work on it this Sunday and hopefully get it to work normally until I save up for a new battery. Thanks for your help and dealing with me.

 

[Nealh]

With out a battery the wheel should still turn, it sounds like the controller mosfets have blown or a phase wire has shorted. Disconnect the hub motor cable form the controller box, there should be a connector along the rear bike stay on the drive/gear side. If the motor frees up the controller has blown if the wheel doesn't free up the hub phase wires have shorted and are damaged, likely where the cable enters the axle.

As usual this fault would be easy to identify if the bike was in front of one of us.