Newbie from South Wales with a repair query.

[Exuptoy]

Hi, I’ve just purchased a Carrera Vulcan E-Spec as spares or repair due to the fact the Topology DS103C screen is damaged. It was £200 which as a mountain bike seems acceptable but I thought worth a shot as it rides nicely without the assistance.
Is there any hope of finding one which will work (firmware specific I believe) or can they be upgrade to something modern?
Cheers
Lyn

 

[saneagle]

Hi, I’ve just purchased a Carrera Vulcan E-Spec as spares or repair due to the fact the Topology DS103C screen is damaged. It was £200 which as a mountain bike seems acceptable but I thought worth a shot as it rides nicely without the assistance.
Is there any hope of finding one which will work (firmware specific I believe) or can they be upgrade to something modern?
Cheers
Lyn

I've never seen that display on a Vulcan. Is it a Vulcan with a conversion kit added or is it OEM? Can you show some photos?

 

[Exuptoy]

Ok. Not sure if it’s been upgraded then as the battery is flat and the charger was missing. I got the keys and removed the battery which is a Phylion EBTF360. I was assured that it was in use a few months back but knowing batteries I’m not expecting much but for the money it was worth a chance.

 

[Nealh]

Having the Suntour hub it appears to be an original OEM EAPC supplied via Halfrauds.
As with these bike the parts are dear to replace , if you are handy with a soldering iron and diy then the obvious as we iterate often is to replace the operating system with a KT one and keep the hub and battery.
If the BB PAS is a TS one then that would need replacing as well.

 

[Exuptoy]

Please excuse my ignorance, what is the BB PAS?

 

[Exuptoy]

Torque sensor?

 

[Nealh]

Bottom bracket Pedal assist sensor, one though has answered now that it is Torque sensor.

 

[saneagle]

Thanks. I had another look and found it in this manual:

https://washford.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/Suntour%20TFT%20148%20Owners%20Manual

I've never seen it before, though.

You can buy them, but there are going to be different versions, so that's dodgy considering how much they are. Your best option would be to ask Halfords about it.

The motors aren't bad, but the rest of the electrics are locked to each other. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that your battery won't work directly with another controller, so the alternative solution is to pay about £300 for a new battery, controller, LCD and pedal sensor, then you need to do a bit of soldering and wiring to install it. That would give you quite a nice ebike for £500. You should be able to get some of that back by selling the battery and controller.

It's possible that one of the other Suntour LCDs would work with your controller. That would give you a solution for around £100 if you could try one; however, the Suntour system does have a few problems waiting to get you sooner or later - in particular, the torque sensor arrangement.

 

[Exuptoy]

Ok. Thanks for the info guys. Something to get on with. Halfrauds will carry out an assessment on the bike for free but you can guess that they’re gonna find lots wrong with it.
I have a charger on back order from Powabyke at £68, so I will await its arrival and see how it goes charging it up. It’s the 3pin Pen (house type charger).
Are there any member in South Wales that could confirm my battery would take a charge? Long shot I know but if the battery is goosed and I have to pay for a new charger then it could get expensive wasting extra funds.

 

[Exuptoy]

I’ve just removed the frame cover, I’m not certain if the screen is an upgrade as the part number would suggest it’s a colour display with the DS103-C designation. Were they standard?
The controller looks in fine fettle and doesn’t look to have had a hard life. No burning, scuffs, shorted wiring etc.
Excuse the stuff on my table, gotta keep the chair and cushions up or the dog uses it as a
post

 

[Exuptoy]

Looking online if seems some of the Vulcans had a sensor on the rear of the front chain ring, this one appears to have the sensor inside the BB. I’m assuming it’s a later version as the earlier ones seem to have a lot of issues at this point?

 

[saneagle]

Looking online if seems some of the Vulcans had a sensor on the rear of the front chain ring, this one appears to have the sensor inside the BB. I’m assuming it’s a later version as the earlier ones seem to have a lot of issues at this point?

That's interesting, so they finally fixed it, though the cable coming out of the bottom bracket is always vulnerable. Does it exit the BB directly into the controller compartment?

 

[Exuptoy]

Yes it does. There’s a slot in the centre sleeve and it passes through. I assume there’s a cadence sensor inside the BB to know when you’re peddling?

 

[saneagle]

Yes it does. There’s a slot in the centre sleeve and it passes through. I assume there’s a cadence sensor inside the BB to know when you’re peddling?

If it has 4 pins, there are effectively two sensors, like the previous one. One comes from a device that gives a 0v - 5v, depending on the torque, and the other gives a pulsing signal when the pedals turn.

 

[cyclebuddy]

Phylion EBTF360

Something doesn't stack up here...

IIRC, that battery was used up to 2018 models, with the controller potted (sealed) into the battery dock and had Suntour components throughout (i.e. display). From 2018/2019, the battery maker changed (not Phylion), as did the location of the controller to a box on the underside of the frame. That combined with the weird display, old battery, controller location, odd BB... it all just suggests your bike is a bodge job from several different bikes and components?

 

[Exuptoy]

It’s this one with the profiled down tube not just a bodged £300 treader. It also says that in 2021 it was still using Suntour components not the later Bosch stuff so I’m not sure.

2021 Carrera Vulcan E Electric Mountain Bike – 18" – Specs, Comparisons, Reviews – 99 Spokes

A 27.5″ aluminum frame hardtail trail e-bike with modest components.

99spokes.com

 

[Exuptoy]

Spec is further down this page.
The only thing that differs is the Suntour display on mine is the Topology DS103-C.

 

[cyclebuddy]

Are you sure it's a Phylion battery? That shape isn't listed in Phylion's own catalogue - although the battery used on Carreras up until 2018 still is.

Phylion eBike Battery Catalogue-2023V2

 

[Exuptoy]

Yes, the battery details are on the label under the battery, also the manual listed above by @saneagle ( https://washford.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/Suntour TFT 148 Owners Manual ) shows the same battery and screen being packaged on a retail bike.

 

[Exuptoy]

SRSuntour in Germany said the only screen I could retrofit was the SW102 OLED from the Vengance 2 but I just back from Halfrauds, I got a new screen and proven it working with a customers battery for £130, however it looks like my battery may be goosed. When I plug in the PEN plug it sometimes shows 4 blue lights with a flashing fifth one then it drops off to nothing. The charger is just green lit like it’s fully charged. Maybe the battery needs some work on the internal board.
The Halfords guy said the kit looks like screen, controller and crank all came from a touring bike like the Crossfire.
There’s a few used batteries on eBay for offers around £180 so this will have cost me £550 with the charger for a 2021 bike which I don’t think is bad but certainly not a bargain.
Off to find me a battery