I bought an iZIP Trekking Enlightened

[Powerclocks]

I am a bit new to electric bikes, being 68yo I struggle at times to understand the new technology, In saying that I still like the occasional ride and have bought a pedal assist bike, iZip to be precise, it is annoying to use, I want to alter it to take a twist grip, the battery has issues and whilst I have it in parts I would like to address both issues simultaneously.
There is a three pin plug at the bottom of the frame that goes to the power meter on the handlebars, on the same plug is a smaller plug (2 x wire plug) that I guess to be the battery level meter wires, can I unplug the power meter and plug in a twist grip? I saw somewhere someone did something like that except on their bike there was an unused plug with 3 x extra wires that they just plugged into, I dont appear to be that lucky.
Now to the battery issue, I have the pack out of the frame and will be peeling off the plastic to investigate the condition of the individual cells, has anyone done this before and have a couple of tips before I get all gung ho and just tear it open and start back probing everything?
All the best from mostly Covid Free Queensland.
Graeme

 

[vfr400]

Unfortunately, you can't fit a throttle to that version because there's no connector for it and no input on the controller that can read a throttle signal. The spare connector is a programming port.

You can change the controller and do some wiring to wire in a new one with a throttle connector. For £40, you can get one with an LCD that gives a few more power options and other useful functions.

The battery is fairly straight-forward. Peel off the heatshrink to expose the management unit (BMS) that will have a multi-pin connector on it. Unplug that so that you can measure the cell voltages on the pins. Once you have the voltages, you'll know whether the battery is anu good. www.ebikebatteries.co.uk can re-cell it at a cost of about £250 to £300, or you could install a battery on your empty down-tube or on the rack for about £200.

 

[Powerclocks]

Thanks for that, I might think about buying an upgraded controller and display to take a twist throttle, depending on how much I ultimately have to spend on the upgrade.

Am I right to think I should be getting a reading from the plug shown.

Also I am showing a charge at the charge plug and in a few hours will see if the battery is really all that bad. Is it a good guess to assume that there is a disconnect somewhere within the pack on the output and perhaps to make things worse, a dead or low cell somewhere.

I tested after charging and the battery held 20.5v.

Can you recommend a twist throttle upgrade kit? I looked them up on eBay and they don't look too hard to handle,
this one 224156437130 looked like a likely suspect if it is an intergrated controller and display but looks like they do not supply the twist throttle with the kit and then there is this one 264840306550, I can fit it perhaps where the original controller sat under the frame.

Any guidance gratefully received.
Graeme

 

[vfr400]

I don't understand what you mean. You mentioned 20.5v, but show 0v and 25.7v. It should be 29.4v fully charged, and that's the voltage you should measure on the charger when not plugged in.

 

[Powerclocks]

Hi, I had not put the on off switch in the circuit that's why it was showing zero, newbie error.
it now shows 22.5v after an hour off the charger.

 

[vfr400]

Leave it on charge all day to see what it rises to.

 

[Powerclocks]

OK, any thoughts on the twist grip upgrade?

 

[vfr400]

OK, any thoughts on the twist grip upgrade?

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You've got to sort out what you're doing with the battery before worrying about that.

 

[Powerclocks]

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You've got to sort out what you're doing with the battery before worrying about that.

I am of the hope springs eternal era, I hope it is in pretty good shape, the bike has less than 100 hours use on it for 13 years and in pristine condition with original tyres. If the battery is unserviceable I will repack it so it isn't really that important. I took a look at your advisory, looks good, I got ideas from it,

 

[Powerclocks]

Hi, I charged for 36hrs and it pushed it to a variable voltage that fluctuates (after disconnection from the charger and 1 hr to settle) the voltage varies between 22.8 and 23v.
would discharging the battery and recharging have any effect on it?
would it hurt the BMS to do this?

 

[Powerclocks]

OK, I had a friend come over, we figured a few thingsout and we did a bit of testing, after a bit of fooling around we just now got the battery up to 24.5 so after a short load down it looks like the battery is ok, I did a test of the bike on a stand and found no assist coming from the controller, it looks like the controller is gone, I am getting no assist when pedaling on the stand. I ordered another controller/Lcd and a twist grip, also a pair of Brake levers with power cut outs built in. It only cost all up around $100.00aud so I am not worried about where this is going cost wise.
One more question, how should I test the motor. I dont want to jump 24v straight into it, the wires attached to the controller suggest that to do that could cause a meltdown, now assuming the controller is screwed how can I connect and test the motor without blowing something?

 

[vfr400]

You can't get your motor to run without a cotroller. Motors are generally fairly reliable, and so are controllers. If your battery only charges to 24.5v, it's completely shagged. You need to open it up and test the cell voltages to find out what's wrong.

 

[Nealh]

I am of the hope springs eternal era, I hope it is in pretty good shape, the bike has less than 100 hours use on it for 13 years and in pristine condition with original tyres. If the battery is unserviceable I will repack it so it isn't really that important. I took a look at your advisory, looks good, I got ideas from it,

A battery of this age is likely to be well past it's best, ageing being the major factor of the cells.
24.5v is 3.5v per cell/cell group which if it is the max charge they can rise to, means they are shagged out.
A 24v battery assuming 7s will be 29.4v fully charged or 4.2v per cell/cell group.
24.5v equates to approx. 30%/35% of capable capacity.

 

[Powerclocks]

A battery of this age is likely to be well past it's best, ageing being the major factor of the cells.
24.5v is 3.5v per cell/cell group which if it is the max charge they can rise to, means they are shagged out.
A 24v battery assuming 7s will be 29.4v fully charged or 4.2v per cell/cell group.
24.5v equates to approx. 30%/35% of capable capacity.

I'm a bit confused, the battery is rated at 24v, there are 20 x 1.2v cells, I thought it was doing pretty good?

 

[Powerclocks]

You can't get your motor to run without a cotroller. Motors are generally fairly reliable, and so are controllers. If your battery only charges to 24.5v, it's completely shagged. You need to open it up and test the cell voltages to find out what's wrong.

I will wait for the new controller to arrive before I start further testing, thanks for the info.

 

[vfr400]

I'm a bit confused, the battery is rated at 24v, there are 20 x 1.2v cells, I thought it was doing pretty good?

That's a NiMh one then rather than Lithium. If it were healthy, it would still charge to around 30v or whatever your charger voltage is.

 

[Nealh]

Nimh is what they are now you have actually told us what you have.
Nimh should be able to charge to 1.4v - 1.5v per cell and up to or near 30v fpr the battery pack.

The old Nimh pack I have only charges to 24v max and is 2006 vintage, the cells are shagged for bike use. The bike in question ( the twin stable mate of my avatar pic) is now running Li twin batteries off the same controller.

 

[Powerclocks]

Nimh is what they are now you have actually told us what you have.
Nimh should be able to charge to 1.4v - 1.5v per cell and up to or near 30v fpr the battery pack.

The old Nimh pack I have only charges to 24v max and is 2006 vintage, the cells are shagged for bike use. The bike in question ( the twin stable mate of my avatar pic) is now running Li twin batteries off the same controller.

Thanks, I haven't been involved with battery powered vehicles before this so I really dont get it yet, what would you recommend to repack the battery with, perhaps off eBay, I think I can do that so what would you pack that blue banana with.

 

[vfr400]

Thanks, I haven't been involved with battery powered vehicles before this so I really dont get it yet, what would you recommend to repack the battery with, perhaps off eBay, I think I can do that so what would you pack that blue banana with.

I wouldn't bother. Even Izip don't use the banana battery now in the same bike. Instead, they use a rack battery. I'd fit a 36v one and upgrade the controller at the same time. That would make it into a very contemporary bike.

 

[Powerclocks]

I wouldn't bother. Even Izip don't use the banana battery now in the same bike. Instead, they use a rack battery. I'd fit a 36v one and upgrade the controller at the same time. That would make it into a very contemporary bike.

I appreciate that info, I am looking at that but I think I will just repack it if I have to, it would cost around $650 for a battery and rack, then another $100 for a charger, $100 for a controller upgrade so it is getting to be like a home that is overcapitalized, I can repack for around $200 and add a new controller for $100, it might not have all the bells and whistles of a modern 2020 bike it will get me from a to b. $350.00 as opposed to around $800.00, not cost effective. Ill check out eBay for batteries.