Proteam Problem

[alan riley]

Hi, I am sold on EBikes, I own a Tonnaro Big Hit, which is fantastic and I love it. I have a back up Proteam electric folding bike, which has the "Frog style" battery. My wife uses this sometimes when we are going out and about.

It has developed a problem, when out and about it is prone to cutting out and staying off with no lights lit on the handlebar power level monitor . You either leave it five minutes and it miraculously comes back on, or go over a bump and it cuts back in.

At first I thought loose connection, I tightened up what I could, but it still persists. I have also thought it may be the servo assisted brake maybe sticking and the system shuts down to prevent overheat, and thirdly I thought maybe there is a fan on the controller unit that cuts off the battery to prevent an overheat (a bit like a PC fan). I may be talking a load of rubbish, but I am a novice with functionality and repair of these bikes.

By the way the battery is new!

Any advice would be appreciated as a repair maybe I can do, or if anyone knows a company who can repair these things in my local area (Lancashire) or can point me to a wiring diagram of these type of bike, I would really appreciate it.

regards
Alan Riley

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If the LEDs on the handlebars go out, the problem will be between the battery and the controller, with the most likely candidates being the main connections where the battery slides on to the pins. Take the battery off and look into the slots. They should be narrower than the pins, but they sometimes get prised apart so that they don't grip the pins tight enough. If you're dexterous enough, you can get a very narrow screwdriver down the side and hook them back, but it's not difficult to take the top off the battery and remove their holder so that you can properly reshape them. Another strong possibility is the main fuse. Check that it's gripped properly and that the fuse itself isn't faulty.

 

[amigafan2003]

Are you anywhere near Blackpool? I'll happily take a look at it for you.

 

[alan riley]

If the LEDs on the handlebars go out, the problem will be between the battery and the controller, with the most likely candidates being the main connections where the battery slides on to the pins. Take the battery off and look into the slots. They should be narrower than the pins, but they sometimes get prised apart so that they don't grip the pins tight enough. If you're dexterous enough, you can get a very narrow screwdriver down the side and hook them back, but it's not difficult to take the top off the battery and remove their holder so that you can properly reshape them. Another strong possibility is the main fuse. Check that it's gripped properly and that the fuse itself isn't faulty.

I took your advice,and i have prized the pins together, I have waggled each joint from the battery to the controller to see if there is a loose connection. There are 2, 1 which is the 2 pin connector which came with the battery and the second which is a crimp I undertook to join them up. They all seem sound.

I then took the bike out, it lasted 4k then started acting the fool again. From then on it will propel me 100 yds then all the lights go out and its the end for a couple of mins then it lights up again. It seems to stop when it is put under pressure. The funny thing is the battery indicator which you can press on the top of the battery does not light up when all the lights die on the bike.

by the way thank you ever so much for your reply, I used to work on my normal push bike, and I am now trying to master the new generation of leccy bikes
regards
Al

 

[alan riley]

Are you anywhere near Blackpool? I'll happily take a look at it for you.

Thank you for the offer I may take you up on that I am about 30 miles away!

regards
Al

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Time to get out the voltmeter. It sounds like the battery management system is shutting it down - probably because one cell is too low. Start by measuring the voltage directly after charging.

 

[alan riley]

Time to get out the voltmeter. It sounds like the battery management system is shutting it down - probably because one cell is too low. Start by measuring the voltage directly after charging.

Hi
thank you for your prompt and knowledgeable reply, if there is a voltage problem with a cell of the battery, what is the answer? is the battery scrap?

regards
al

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Hi
thank you for your prompt and knowledgeable reply, if there is a voltage problem with a cell of the battery, what is the answer? is the battery scrap?

regards
al

Not normally.First we have to identify where the problem is and what' causing it. Most likely is something like one of the balance wires has come unsoldered inside the battery.

 

[alan riley]

Not normally.First we have to identify where the problem is and what' causing it. Most likely is something like one of the balance wires has come unsoldered inside the battery.

Where would you recommend to have a battery checked over like that, and repaired if necessary?

Best regards
Al

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I don't know anywhere that does it. Best to do it yourself and learn something along the way. The first thing to do is measure the voltage directly on the outside battery terminals with a voltmeter. If you haven't got one, you might be able to borrow one, or you can get one from Maplin or Ebay.
Digital LCD Multimeter Voltmeter Ammeter OHM AC DC Circuit Checker Tester Buzzer | eBay

 

[alan riley]

I don't know anywhere that does it. Best to do it yourself and learn something along the way. The first thing to do is measure the voltage directly on the outside battery terminals with a voltmeter. If you haven't got one, you might be able to borrow one, or you can get one from Maplin or Ebay.
Digital LCD Multimeter Voltmeter Ammeter OHM AC DC Circuit Checker Tester Buzzer | eBay

Hi
I have dusted down my voltmeter and after charging I have a reading of 28.1 volts.

Now what do I do? run the bike til it cuts out then retest? (thank you for your patience)

regards
Al

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Pesumably it's 24v. Whether you have 7S liCo or 6S LiFePO4, it seems a bit low if it's straight off the charger. Measure your charger voltage to compare.

The next test is to measure the individual cell voltages. There'slots of different cells and BMSs in the frog batteries, so take the 4 screws out of the case, lift the lid and take a\ photo of the contents if you could please.

 

[alan riley]

Pesumably it's 24v. Whether you have 7S liCo or 6S LiFePO4, it seems a bit low if it's straight off the charger. Measure your charger voltage to compare.

The next test is to measure the individual cell voltages. There'slots of different cells and BMSs in the frog batteries, so take the 4 screws out of the case, lift the lid and take a\ photo of the contents if you could please.

Hi again, I hope I am not taking you over old ground. The charger has a single male end, and I was afraid of blowing up the charger by sticking probes where they shouldnt go (ooh Matron)


This shows the male end of the charger, where should I probe?

Secondly here is a piccie of my 24v 10Ah Frog battery internally, it says on charger that it is a lifePO4.



Can you tell anything from this, I cannot see where to probe any cells

regards
Al

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The photo isn't very clear. It's much better to use an image host like www.photobucket.com; upload your photos there and copy and paste a link; then you can see full detail.

If I see it right, it looks like the fuse isn't wired. Is that correct?

The heatshrink contains the main cell-pack. If it's LiFePO4, they'll be 18650 or 22650 cells, which means 8 strings of between 6 and 10 cells. Each string has a balance wire that goes to the BMS. As far as I can see, the BMS is tucked between the cell-pack and the connector end.

Try and ease out the cell-pack, so that you can see the BMS seperately. Most BMSs have a multi-pin connector for the balance wires. You need to be able to get to this connector or the balance wire connections to measure the cell-string voltages. See if you can get a photo of these connections.

To measure the charger voltage, hold one of your voltmeter probes to the outside of the connector, while you touch the middle pin with the other probe.