Help! Got an Apollo Phaze-e and a problem.

[spike1]

I took my bike into a local bike shop to get its brake cables replaced and its gears fixed.
Before, the electrics were working fine, now, nothing. Turn on the battery, that's fine. I've even done the spark test on it, little bit of tin foil...
But the controller/display refuses to turn on.
I've tried unplugging the connector to the display. I've tried the same with the connectors to the motor and the brake sensors.
Still nothing;
I think there's another connector close to the battery holder but I can't find it. Must be tucked away in the frame.

Any advice?

 

[thelarkbox]

hi spike,, took me a sec to catch on to the "spark test", get a multimeter its a tenner or less and an accurate voltage reading is a required first test for any fault finding. then with a meter you can test if the display has any voltage....

 

[spike1]

Yeah, the spark test might be crude, but it does prove the battery's working/outputting power.
I think it's clear that a connection's been disconnected somewhere considering it was fine before the brake cable fix and dead after.

 

[thelarkbox]

Hope your right, and your best positioned to judge, But with ebike batteries accurate voltage measurement is a crucial and basic test.

A single volt difference/discrepancy when fully charged can indicate a severe battery issue, and significantly fewer volts are needed to create a silver foil spark than are necessary to power a system with low voltage protection.

Then a continuity feature ( buzz when probes connect together or via a wire or component) is also a useful tool for fault finding..

fwiw virtually no-one knows and uses every multi meter setting and everyone needs 3 hands to hold both probes and whatever is being tested

 

[Az.]

Check all cable connections. Make sure all are pushed all the way in. Don't do spark tests.

 

[saneagle]

The control panel works directly from the battery, so if it doesn't switch on, there's a connection issue. The points to check are:
1. The main battery connectors. they can get burnt if you connect the battery when it's switched on, so check them carefully
2. Next is the battery connector on the controller. You can try your tinfoil test there to see if the voltages is reaching.
3. It then comes out of the controller to the control panel connector, so you can check if the voltage is reaching there, but don't do a tinfoil test on that connector because it'll be difficult to avoid shorting other pins, which would be disastrous.
4. Finally, the cause I'm betting on, considering what was done, is that the wires got pulled out of the control panel or the control switches (if on a separate module).

What did the shop say about it? You should ask them what they did.

It reminds me of the guy, who took his bike in to Halfords to get a puncture fixed. They wanted to remove the wheel, but it was constrained by the motor cable, so they simply cut the cable where it comes out of the axle.

Another Halfords found a loose disc brake when they were fixing a puncture. They blamed the cheap Chinese screws, so they removed them and replaced them with their standard deluxe disc screws. One problem, though: The Chinese screws were special short ones. They screwed theirs all the way into the motor windings and jammed it completely, then gave the bike back to the owner like that.

 

[spike1]

Thanks. They said they hadn't touched the electrics side of it, but it's still possible something got yanked when they were removing the old brake/gear cables or putting the new ones on.

Trouble is, I can't find the connector near the battery enclosure. There should be one, according to the halfords workshop manual I downloaded, but I think they've tucked all that away in the frame. I've tried pulling the wires out but there's not enough slack to get at the connector.

 

[saneagle]

Thanks. They said they hadn't touched the electrics side of it, but it's still possible something got yanked when they were removing the old brake/gear cables or putting the new ones on.

Trouble is, I can't find the connector near the battery enclosure. There should be one, according to the halfords workshop manual I downloaded, but I think they've tucked all that away in the frame. I've tried pulling the wires out but there's not enough slack to get at the connector.

OK, you can at least check that you have voltage on the connector at the handlebars. Take out the battery. Set your meter to measure continuity. Put one probe on the battery receiver's negative pin, then probe each pin in the connector at the end of the cable to see which is the negative. Repeat for the positive. Put the battery in and switch in on, then check the voltage between those two pins being careful not to touch any of the others. If they're female pins (holes), you can tape sewing needles to your probes to get in the holes.