BBS01 wiring to battery

Nikolaia89

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jul 3, 2024
5
2
Hi all!

Our battery got stolen from our E-bike - a Danish Cultima RXe from 2017. I can not find an OEM replacement and retailers they can not be found anywhere anymore.

What is the route to go from here? The E-bike is fitted with a Bafang BBS01 36V 250W motor and a C961 display. There are 5 wires going to the battery plugin port. One red (plus) one black (minus) and a green yellow and blue.

As to my awareness universal lithium batteries to be mounted on the frame only has the red and black wires. So what are the 3 other wires for? Are they essential for the bike's functionality?

What battery setup can I use that is as plug-and-play as possible?

I've attached some photos to clarify my concerns.

Best regards, Nikolai from Denmark
 

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saneagle

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 10, 2010
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Normally, the BBS01 only has two battery wires, but I know that there are CANBUS versions. Your looks quite old, so I'd be surprised if yours was one of them, but the wires are there staring us in the face. The only way to be sure is to follow those wires and see if they're connected in the controller.

In the worst case, if you have a CANBUS controller, you could replace it with a normal one, which doesn't cost too much - about 60 Euros from Aliexpress or 90 Euros from Amazon

If it's not a CANBUS version, you can use any battery you want installed wherever and however you want. Just connect the two wires.
 
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Nikolaia89

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jul 3, 2024
5
2
Normally, the BBS01 only has two battery wires, but I know that there are CANBUS versions. Your looks quite old, so I'd be surprised if yours was one of them, but the wires are there staring us in the face. The only way to be sure is to follow those wires and see if they're connected in the controller.

In the worst case, if you have a CANBUS controller, you could replace it with a normal one, which doesn't cost too much - about 60 Euros from Aliexpress or 90 Euros from Amazon

If it's not a CANBUS version, you can use any battery you want installed wherever and however you want. Just connect the two wires.
Thank you saneagle! I'm not sure what a CANBUS is and/or what it does - If I have it, can I override it?

So I just tried taking our 36v battery from our cargo E-bike and connected the plus and minus wires from the the bike to it, thus leaving the other 3 wires disconnected. The displayed turned on, and I took it for a short ride. Everything seemed to work perfectly and it had all the functions working. Does this tell you anything new? My theory is that the3 wires that are not plus and negative might be for add-on features, such as lights etc.
 

thelarkbox

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 23, 2023
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?? did your battery have a backlight and perhaps brake light fitted too?
If so perhaps the 3 thin guage wires just supply the lighting voltage to the now gone lights? and just the battery connections are needed (thick red/black wires)
 

saneagle

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 10, 2010
7,004
3,240
Telford
Thank you saneagle! I'm not sure what a CANBUS is and/or what it does - If I have it, can I override it?

So I just tried taking our 36v battery from our cargo E-bike and connected the plus and minus wires from the the bike to it, thus leaving the other 3 wires disconnected. The displayed turned on, and I took it for a short ride. Everything seemed to work perfectly and it had all the functions working. Does this tell you anything new? My theory is that the3 wires that are not plus and negative might be for add-on features, such as lights etc.
CANBUS is communications. The controller talks to the battery, and if it doesn't like the answer, it won't play.

If your bike works with just the red and black, you have nothing to worry about. You can use any 36v battery. Those wires are either not connected or for something extra. The only way to find out is to follow them to see where they go.
 

Ghost1951

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 2, 2024
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Stroke of luck there then. That's the kind of story I like to read about.
 

Nikolaia89

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jul 3, 2024
5
2
?? did your battery have a backlight and perhaps brake light fitted too?
If so perhaps the 3 thin guage wires just supply the lighting voltage to the now gone lights? and just the battery connections are needed (thick red/black wires)
No backlight or brake light on the old battery - only a reflector
 

Nikolaia89

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jul 3, 2024
5
2
CANBUS is communications. The controller talks to the battery, and if it doesn't like the answer, it won't play.

If your bike works with just the red and black, you have nothing to worry about. You can use any 36v battery. Those wires are either not connected or for something extra. The only way to find out is to follow them to see where they go.
The three wires must be for something else than the controller then. The bike ran as well as with the old battery! With your permission, I will then bury my worries and go look for suitable battery :)
 

Nikolaia89

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jul 3, 2024
5
2
Stroke of luck there then. That's the kind of story I like to read about.
As in I could have wrecked something when plugging in the battery from the other bike? Or lucky as in the three wires could have been a hindrance that I now don't have to worry about? :-D Thanks by the way!
 
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Ghost1951

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 2, 2024
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As in I could have wrecked something when plugging in the battery from the other bike? Or lucky as in the three wires could have been a hindrance that I now don't have to worry about? :-D Thanks by the way!
I meant lucky that the wires were not related to canbus. Now you have a simpler solution available.
 
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