Cyclamatic Power Plus with 36v battery and controller

[Fordulike]

Quite possibly, I didn't actually get the board in at all till I realised there was a groove, but as I say it is possible.
Is there a way I could know for sure if I had?
I was thinking I had loosened a wire or something because it was a tough job getting them all back in place.

You may have just disturbed a connector when putting the wiring back into the bottom bracket controller holder.
I think you should carefully pull it all back out again, check security of the connectors and also check if any of the connector pins have backed out of their socket.

I remember those days of trying to stuff all the wiring back in, and I feel your pain lol

 

[billyx22]

I am in the process of doing that.... there are just so many of them!
Might help if I knew which went to where.... oh well

 

[billyx22]

Is there a definite way of finding out if it is the controller that's gone or any other checks I could do?

 

[Fordulike]

I'm sure other members will suggest their own ways of checking.
Power to the throttle battery lights is a good sign

What I would do personally, is firstly make sure the bike is on a full bike stand, or one which lifts the rear wheel off the ground. Mishaps with the bike coming to life whilst on the ground can be costly.
Then I would locate the two connectors that go to the e-brakes. They might be a bit of a pain to find, as the electric throttle cable enters the controller holder through the same hole. Maybe other cables too, I really can't remember the layout, as it is so long ago since I played with the Cyclamatic.

Anyhow, the two brake sensor cable connectors should be similar and have similar colour coded wiring exiting them. Maybe d8veh can confirm this

Disconnect the two connectors. This should eliminate any problem that the e-brake wiring is shorting, causing the controller to shut off.

Check all other connectors are secure and test if bike works.
If it does, then it will be a problem relating to the e-brakes.
If not, then we'll do some more fault finding.

 

[billyx22]

That's great.
A big thanks.

 

[Fordulike]

billyx22, I was just wondering if you've accidentally pressed the red button on the handlebars to off. I seem to remember doing this a few times, thinking the bike was broken, but it was the button.

 

[billyx22]

Lol no, hoped I had though!

 

[Fordulike]

Lol no, hoped I had though!

In fact I remember now that the button was a royal PITA.
Totally arse location

 

[billyx22]

Agreed

 

[billyx22]

I intend to do what you suggest, regarding the ebrakes.
First I thought I would unscrew the controller again just to check and then spotted something.
When I turned ignition on and tried the throttle an LED on the circuit board started flashing red, on and off.
That was not happening when I opened the controller the first time to do the shunt because I tested the throttle and motor after soldering the shunt and they worked fine.
(2 pics)

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If the red LED didn't flash, the controller wasn't switched on. When on, it should flash with an even on-off pattern.

 

[billyx22]

Ok.
From your experience do you think the controller is broken or maybe something else.

 

[billyx22]

Thanks to all anyway.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

There's so many possibilities. It's not easy to break a controller. If you had the pcb properly in its slot and didn't drip solder all over it, it's probably Ok.

 

[Fordulike]

billyx22, I'm guessing you're pretty confident and competent with electrical and mechanical things, otherwise you wouldn't have given the shunt mod a shot in the first place.
i.e. it's not for the faint hearted lol.

Therefore, I apologize if any of the suggestions below, sound like I'm teaching you to suck eggs, but even the best of us overlook the simplest of things.
Me especially

• Make sure battery is fully charged.
• Ensure that the prongs of the docking battery base, and the contacts on the battery are clean.
• The contacts on the battery can open up over time and create poor conductivity. You can use a screwdriver to GENTLY bend them inwards slightly to grip the prongs better.
• Disconnect ebrake cut-offs as mentioned earlier in thread.
• Make sure rear wheel is securely off ground while testing.
• Check for backed out contacts in each connector block on controller.
• Check for any wiring that may have been damaged whilst stuffing the controller back in the bottom bracket housing.
• With controller still out of bottom bracket housing, systematically wiggle each connector block whilst someone else twists the throttle.
• Try the same with the someone turning the crank to activate the PAS, just in case the throttle is kaput.
• If the above fails to spark any life at all, go to pub, after all tomorrow is another day

 

[billyx22]

So, I didn't know which were the ebrake cables so thought I would disconnect, try then reconnect one by one.
Second one I came to was one of them.
When disconnected everything worked, when I put it back it stopped again.
I am thinking it has definitely happened when I put all the wires back in originally and may even be just a broken connecter.
I should have mentioned from the start this is a new bike though without warranty.

 

[Fordulike]

So, I didn't know which were the ebrake cables so thought I would disconnect, try then reconnect one by one.
Second one I came to was one of them.
When disconnected everything worked, when I put it back it stopped again.
I am thinking it has definitely happened when I put all the wires back in originally and may even be just a broken connecter.
I should have mentioned from the start this is a new bike though without warranty.

The generic ebrake units aren't the best quality. I had numerous problems with Wuxing units on my MAC build.

So it looks like a short in one of the ebrakes, if I'm reading your post correctly.
If it turns out to be the front brake lever causing the problem, then you could just leave that one disconnected. Warning: at the electrical end, not the mechanical cable!!!
You only really need a working ebrake to cut the motor on the driven wheel!

 

[billyx22]

Yes it was the ebrakes.
Now it has gone kaput.
Controller gone, smoke coming from it!!
I think I read somewhere, I may be mistaken, that you had a cyclamatic that blew the controller?
I'm hoping against hope you could tell me if it's possible to get a replacement.
Or if anyone knows, original or any other that would work.
Thanks.

 

[Fordulike]

Yes it was the ebrakes.
Now it has gone kaput.
Controller gone, smoke coming from it!!
I think I read somewhere, I may be mistaken, that you had a cyclamatic that blew the controller?
I'm hoping against hope you could tell me if it's possible to get a replacement.
Or if anyone knows, original or any other that would work.
Thanks.

Maybe you put too much solder on the shunt. Difficult to say without hands on.
Drop The Sports HQ a line, they may be able to sell you an original controller:

http://www.thesportshq.com/electric-bikes.aspx

Now if you bought it originally from them and the warranty has run out, I would still try to negotiate a discount on a replacement

 

[billyx22]

Maybe I did but the smoke means it beyond repair right?