Gazelle ion display replacement.

[archie 44]

Hello.
first time forum user.
i have inherited a good but old gazelle m-ion ebike, with the down curved battery inframe, and round shape original bar mounted controller/display.
It does not run, engage or have any sign of ebike operation.
the bike is good in every way, and the battery holds charge, as indicated on the display.
im aware its limited ability, and likely range with old battery, but it could take me , instead of the car .
A fully charged battery, dumps immediately on attempting use.
ive made enquires , and come to conclusion, that the display needs pairing or replacement.
A trip needed ,to the gazelle dealer on south coast , and the less engaging attitude ,makes this uneconomic.

Can the original round display/controller be replaced ? with some non gazelle aftermarket device.
Can this be done at home by me ,the very competent home hobbyist, or a shop near the east midlands ?

Any advice welcome, or an idea of what to do instead, with a slow heavy bike that has plenty of life left.
Thanks

 

[Andy-Mat]

Hello.
first time forum user.
i have inherited a good but old gazelle m-ion ebike, with the down curved battery inframe, and round shape original bar mounted controller/display.
It does not run, engage or have any sign of ebike operation.
the bike is good in every way, and the battery holds charge, as indicated on the display.
im aware its limited ability, and likely range with old battery, but it could take me , instead of the car .
A fully charged battery, dumps immediately on attempting use.
ive made enquires , and come to conclusion, that the display needs pairing or replacement.
A trip needed ,to the gazelle dealer on south coast , and the less engaging attitude ,makes this uneconomic.

Can the original round display/controller be replaced ? with some non gazelle aftermarket device.
Can this be done at home by me ,the very competent home hobbyist, or a shop near the east midlands ?

Any advice welcome, or an idea of what to do instead, with a slow heavy bike that has plenty of life left.
Thanks

IMHO before doing anything else, get the battery checked out for full functionality.
On older and especially 2nd hand bikes, this is the main source of problems, even though it appears otherwise to be OK....
I hope its not defective, as replacement rf re-celled batteries are not cheap.
If you are a reasonable competent electric/electronic DIYer, with the necessary tools, like a multi-meter for example, then you will get it going again if that is humanly possible.
If you are not competent in those areas, I hate to say it, but a new bike, with a full guarantee is probably your best bet, and will not be as expensive as getting a LBS to repair and replace what you have now....
Best of luck.
Andy

 

[archie 44]

Hi. thanks for reply.
mistake on me. its a Sparta m-gear ion.
Ive removed the battery, then found online ,that the plastic banana battery also holds most of the electronic control gear. To access the batterys , i would have to commit to carefull sawing with a dremel tool to open the case. Then i could isolate ,and gerry rig some kind of 24v source to check function, and drive.
Can anyone suggest a method to supply some power, and see if the drive will run ? before i commit to buying new cells to solder in.

 

[Scorpio]

Hi, I picked up an older well used ebike non-runner as a bit of a learning exercise / project, so I think I recently went through a similar think as you are planing.
Question - does yours have the older led display (like mine) or something else?

My progress is here - suggest you check the link in a few days as I want to list the links I found useful when I was tracing faults on mine

Kemp Starley Dutch Town Bike - out of hibernation.

Hi folks, and welcome to a project I've just picked up to keep me occupied. It might get brought back to life as electric or non-electric, or could become a parts donor - a lot will depend what I find when I get started. First impressions : It's a Dutch town bike by Kemp Starley, high build...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

 

[Andy-Mat]

Hi. thanks for reply.
mistake on me. its a Sparta m-gear ion.
Ive removed the battery, then found online ,that the plastic banana battery also holds most of the electronic control gear. To access the batterys , i would have to commit to carefull sawing with a dremel tool to open the case. Then i could isolate ,and gerry rig some kind of 24v source to check function, and drive.
Can anyone suggest a method to supply some power, and see if the drive will run ? before i commit to buying new cells to solder in.

You did not answer my questions, so let me repeat, if you are not a long term committed and qualified DIYer, with regard to both electronics and electrics, do not consider opening up an e-bike battery, as it can become a fire bomb!
This guy thought that he knew what to do:-

Starting such a fire is easy peasy!
Putting it out is next to impossible, unless you happen to have a pond or similar that the whole bike can be thrown into! Even then, it may need up to an hour to cool down enough to extinguish!
The cooling water the guy is using, is probably the best way to handle that situation, but it may take an hour or more to cool down, but his house and pets should be safe.
regards
Andy

 

[archie 44]

Qualified DIY'ers ? erm, would that be a certificate from the school of hard knocks, or the university of blind optimism. I am neither, nor a youtube ego polisher. Thanks for video link. looks like the owner was piggybacking a 2nd battery.
Anyway. this old Sparta O mine. think i'll need to fix branding mistake and then relist more focused questions.
Mine has a round greyish lcd display, with lighting button on top edge , and chunky single function button on base edge. No other handlebar controls. The display feeds 3 wires to banana battery pack in downtube frame, just below headstock.
At the chainset end, there is 1 cable to rear motor hub, ,with weatherproof plug , externally attached along chainstay.
Ive removed the battery carrier from frame, and found it itact with no damage ,or prior repair. Ive found pics online of the case open, and mine matches the part numbers. Online pics show all control electronics mounted in base of battery pack, with 20 'D' cells .NiMH.
- so far found battery will not charge ,without display attached. That done, it takes a day to achieve 25% charge ,which then trips the non genuine charger. On disconnecting the charger , and pressing the function button,little is achieved.
The display shows error codes E001,E004, and E014. First 2 battery on charge, battery flat, but E014 is 'display not paired with controller.' words to that effect.
next task would be to get into the battery case with great care, then disconnect the battery string. then to find away to feed 24v , to the the control board , and see if it wakes up, aknowledges the display, and see if any drive is available at all ,to the rear hub motor. Then choice to spend around £100 on cells.
Back in the day , this model was a early 'assist' bike, with around 20miles range ,for a carefull rider, on dutch roads. It was reviewed as lacking severally, any incline capability.
The rest of the bike is in very good condition. Ive nothing that can supply 24v , at say 3amps.
I think it needs a more committed tinkerer. time to put it on ebay. £150 . vgc Sparta ion m-gear 8spd . all parts present.needs new battery.

 

[Andy-Mat]

Qualified DIY'ers ? erm, would that be a certificate from the school of hard knocks, or the university of blind optimism. I am neither, nor a youtube ego polisher. Thanks for video link. looks like the owner was piggybacking a 2nd battery.
Anyway. this old Sparta O mine. think i'll need to fix branding mistake and then relist more focused questions.
Mine has a round greyish lcd display, with lighting button on top edge , and chunky single function button on base edge. No other handlebar controls. The display feeds 3 wires to banana battery pack in downtube frame, just below headstock.
At the chainset end, there is 1 cable to rear motor hub, ,with weatherproof plug , externally attached along chainstay.
Ive removed the battery carrier from frame, and found it itact with no damage ,or prior repair. Ive found pics online of the case open, and mine matches the part numbers. Online pics show all control electronics mounted in base of battery pack, with 20 'D' cells .NiMH.
- so far found battery will not charge ,without display attached. That done, it takes a day to achieve 25% charge ,which then trips the non genuine charger. On disconnecting the charger , and pressing the function button,little is achieved.
The display shows error codes E001,E004, and E014. First 2 battery on charge, battery flat, but E014 is 'display not paired with controller.' words to that effect.
next task would be to get into the battery case with great care, then disconnect the battery string. then to find away to feed 24v , to the the control board , and see if it wakes up, aknowledges the display, and see if any drive is available at all ,to the rear hub motor. Then choice to spend around £100 on cells.
Back in the day , this model was a early 'assist' bike, with around 20miles range ,for a carefull rider, on dutch roads. It was reviewed as lacking severally, any incline capability.
The rest of the bike is in very good condition. Ive nothing that can supply 24v , at say 3amps.
I think it needs a more committed tinkerer. time to put it on ebay. £150 . vgc Sparta ion m-gear 8spd . all parts present.needs new battery.

My last and final tip, which will upset some here, is if you stay with e-biking, don't buy anything with a middle motor......either front drive or rear drive.
Be VERY wary of anything secondhand.....especially with regard to the state of the battery....But you may have learned that lesson already!
regards and best wishes.
Andy

 

[Lucifer656]

Hi. thanks for reply.
mistake on me. its a Sparta m-gear ion.
Ive removed the battery, then found online ,that the plastic banana battery also holds most of the electronic control gear. To access the batterys , i would have to commit to carefull sawing with a dremel tool to open the case. Then i could isolate ,and gerry rig some kind of 24v source to check function, and drive.
Can anyone suggest a method to supply some power, and see if the drive will run ? before i commit to buying new cells to solder in.

 

[Scorpio]

Hi, video below shows how to use the charger to test basic system. On your bike (control system is part of the battery) can you connect the charger to the battery on the bike - and then turn it on?

Suggest you check with others to see if its a good idea - I'm new to this and learning a lot in the past few weeks - there's a lot I don't know !

I'm not sure if links to other forums are allowed here but google "28836-troubleshooting-charging-and-electrical-issues" for a helpful guide.

 

[Nealh]

Soldering cells in Parallel and series is a bad idea.