Swytch kit controller replacement?

[cheesemonkey]

Hello everyone,

I had Swytch PRO kit since October 2020 and I've done 3,500miles in nearly two years of commuting.

Swytch has been great overall to get me into "pedelec" but I've also had the typical experience of its components failing regularly and having to go through the frustrating email tennis with the customer service team. The most recent failure is the battery pack; by process of elimination, I think it's the controller. The reasons why I think it's the controller is because:

• The pedal sensor (magnetic ring with the sensor on the post) still flashes when crank goes around
• The motor hub has noticeable resistance when spun backwards with the battery pack attached to the handlebar mount (No resistance when the battery pack removed)
• The "walk test" (there's a function on the battery pack to test the hub motor at 6mph) fails - no output at the motor
• The battery pack charged fine and is fully charged
• The brand new spare battery pack works fine on the bike...

The brushless motor controller is LSW1542-1-6F by lsdzs.com. 36V, max current of 12A with rated current of 6A. Low V protection at 31V and throttle adjustment is between 1.2 and 4.4V (I don't have a throttle).

Can this be sourced generically? I can't find any info on the internet even on lsdzs.com. I'm not going back to Swytch to pay more as frankly I'm happy to move on to another complete kit once the brand new battery pack goes.

I'm sure fellow Swytch kit owner have gone through this before and hopefully a wiser individual here has found a workable solution.

Thank you and happy cycling.

 

[Nealh]

LSW is Lishui brand , Woosh use them all the time.
They are in the main only oem supply items but sometimes a controller/display turn up on AliExpress.
Tbh I think for the controller kit it would be simpler to change to a KT controller kit where the parts are so much more freely available and are the best go to after market or third party brand to use.

 

[peterjd]

LSW is Lishui brand , Woosh use them all the time.
They are in the main only oem supply items but sometimes a controller/display turn up on AliExpress.
Tbh I think for the controller kit it would be simpler to change to a KT controller kit where the parts ar so mmuch more freely available and are the best go to after market or third party brand to use.

Hello everyone,

I had Swytch PRO kit since October 2020 and I've done 3,500miles in nearly two years of commuting.

Swytch has been great overall to get me into "pedelec" but I've also had the typical experience of its components failing regularly and having to go through the frustrating email tennis with the customer service team. The most recent failure is the battery pack; by process of elimination, I think it's the controller. The reasons why I think it's the controller is because:

• The pedal sensor (magnetic ring with the sensor on the post) still flashes when crank goes around
• The motor hub has noticeable resistance when spun backwards with the battery pack attached to the handlebar mount (No resistance when the battery pack removed)
• The "walk test" (there's a function on the battery pack to test the hub motor at 6mph) fails - no output at the motor
• The battery pack charged fine and is fully charged
• The brand new spare battery pack works fine on the bike...

The brushless motor controller is LSW1542-1-6F by lsdzs.com. 36V, max current of 12A with rated current of 6A. Low V protection at 31V and throttle adjustment is between 1.2 and 4.4V (I don't have a throttle).

Can this be sourced generically? I can't find any info on the internet even on lsdzs.com. I'm not going back to Swytch to pay more as frankly I'm happy to move on to another complete kit once the brand new battery pack goes.

I'm sure fellow Swytch kit owner have gone through this before and hopefully a wiser individual here has found a workable solution.

Thank you and happy cycling.

I am very interested in your progress with your Swytch project, as I suspect I will need to go a similar route with my Mk 1 at some point. My controller was replaced under warranty (just!) but now has a Yose battery on rear rack. Good luck - keep us informed.

 

[cheesemonkey]

Thanks very much both; helpful to find out a bit more about the controller.

The issue I can see here is that, unless I find an identical controller I'd have to fiddle the connectors to match wire to wire configuration. Just Googled KT controller and led to an eBay page which shows 500W sinewave controller for £70 (probably about the same to purchase from Swytch) and the wiring is completely different.

Lesson learned (as regularly highlighted on here); buy proprietary product, you can't get third-party replacement / equivalent. With no skill and time to solder / modify components myself, I see this as being taken hostage to Swytch support.

Once again, Swytch kit has been great for me to get into pedal assist bike cheaply and explore.

 

[Nealh]

One can's simply buy a KT controller as your display won't work as they are incompatible, the comm's protocols are different. If changing and using KT one buys a complete controller kit for about £100, so a controller , a kt lcd, and PAS, throttle (if needed) and a wire loom. Any PAS & throttle will work if the wiring is sequenced correctly.

 

[Vegoilbear]

Having exactly the same issue as cheesemonkey but only got 9 month's use. Swytch support seem to be fobbing me off with stupid suggestions. I'm tempted to take the controller apart to examine the power MOSFET but will invalidate the warranty. Very frustrated with Swytch.

 

[Vegoilbear]

Well that didn't work the controller is fully potted.

 

[Vegoilbear]

Decided to fork out for a new controller from Aliexpress (approx £96). They seem to have two in stock. Hope that works.

If Swytch provide a replacement battery pack eventually them I'll have a spare. Wishful thinking I know.

 

[saneagle]

Swytch sytem is a POS apart from the motor. At the first sign of trouble after warranty, chuck everything apart from the motor, buy a quality controller kit and motor cable and wire everything direct. Keep the battery if it's OK and keep it in the pod if you want, but if the battery goes, chuck that too and get any battery you want. Don't waste money on replacing parts with Swytch ones.

 

[Nealh]

For the £96 for the new controller one could have bought a whole KT controller kit and have a better control system. One can even have nice KT 6 mosfet 30mm dia tubular controller now rather then the box style controllers.
About £98 with tubular controller or £80 with a box type controller.

 

[duff]

Very interested in this thread - have begun researching switching out the Swytch kit myself. Have a Swytch Pro kit on brompton and considering options to allow for a small lcd screen, potentially 48v battery (and controller that would handle it).

Dream is torque sensor mod to Swytch kit. Ie. new controller etc

Best of luck with you journey

 

[StuartsProjects]

Very interested in this thread - have begun researching switching out the Swytch kit myself. Have a Swytch Pro kit on brompton and considering options to allow for a small lcd screen, potentially 48v battery (and controller that would handle it).

One does like to think ahead, and I too have been considering what to do if the Swytch kit on my Brompton fails.

But where to mount the battery, especially if you want to keep the battery on the bike when its folded ?

 

[cheesemonkey]

Very interesting comments from everyone, thank you very much.

Decided to fork out for a new controller from Aliexpress (approx £96). They seem to have two in stock. Hope that works.

If Swytch provide a replacement battery pack eventually them I'll have a spare. Wishful thinking I know.

Have you got the replacement controller from Aliexpress? And how is the controller going?

Just looked and the price as gone up to £108.92. So maybe it could be wiser to ditch the original controller and get KT controller as suggested above.

 

[cheesemonkey]

One can's simply buy a KT controller as your display won't work as they are incompatible, the comm's protocols are different. If changing and using KT one buys a complete controller kit for about £100, so a controller , a kt lcd, and PAS, throttle (if needed) and a wire loom. Any PAS & throttle will work if the wiring is sequenced correctly.

Swytch sytem is a POS apart from the motor. At the first sign of trouble after warranty, chuck everything apart from the motor, buy a quality controller kit and motor cable and wire everything direct. Keep the battery if it's OK and keep it in the pod if you want, but if the battery goes, chuck that too and get any battery you want. Don't waste money on replacing parts with Swytch ones.

I'm interested in looking into this. One obvious question is "will it be a simple plug & play" to the Swytch motor hub. I suspect the wiring plug ends won't be the same (I can see different terminals) and will the wiring within the terminals be in the same sequence.

How can I tell?

 

[Nealh]

I'm interested in looking into this. One obvious question is "will it be a simple plug & play" to the Swytch motor hub. I suspect the wiring plug ends won't be the same (I can see different terminals) and will the wiring within the terminals be in the same sequence.

How can I tell?

Agree ditch the POS as d8ve said. and simply buy a kt set up.
All one is paying for with the swytch is for a crappy battery/bag connection, the rest is just generic stuff.

 

[Vegoilbear]

Very interesting comments from everyone, thank you very much.



Have you got the replacement controller from Aliexpress? And how is the controller going?

Just looked and the price as gone up to £108.92. So maybe it could be wiser to ditch the original controller and get KT controller as suggested above.

Very interesting comments from everyone, thank you very much.



Have you got the replacement controller from Aliexpress? And how is the controller going?

Just looked and the price as gone up to £108.92. So maybe it could be wiser to ditch the original controller and get KT controller as suggested above.

It failed within two weeks. However, I'm sure it is identical to the one used by Swytch so I don't know why it failed so quickly. I now have a replacement from Switch which I've just fitted. So, will see how that goes.

 

[peterjd]

It failed within two weeks. However, I'm sure it is identical to the one used by Swytch so I don't know why it failed so quickly. I now have a replacement from Switch which I've just fitted. So, will see how that goes.

Hi, Only just noticed this thread. Swytch sent me a replacement controller for a Mk1 several years ago now with instruction to fit the Hall override cable which was supplied on the Mk 1's. Been fine since then (fingers crossed). Peter

 

[nakaru87]

Gee; I hate it when you check out all the reviews,and finally buy the product and get a bad experience like this.

I was looking into the Swytch; Maybe you can help me, when I give Brompton's front wheel a good spin by hand, it goes for ever; Does this also happen with the Swytch wheel, or it doesn't run nearly as long?

If it was me wanting a e-bike I would, I would ask them whats the problem why it's not resolved? Tell them this isn't what I paid for and I would want my money back if they can't solve the problem. then listen to what they have to say. Or if your fed up with it demand a refund.

 

[cheesemonkey]

Gee; I hate it when you check out all the reviews,and finally buy the product and get a bad experience like this.

I was looking into the Swytch; Maybe you can help me, when I give Brompton's front wheel a good spin by hand, it goes for ever; Does this also happen with the Swytch wheel, or it doesn't run nearly as long?

If it was me wanting a e-bike I would, I would ask them whats the problem why it's not resolved? Tell them this isn't what I paid for and I would want my money back if they can't solve the problem. then listen to what they have to say. Or if your fed up with it demand a refund.

I'm two years down the line so their support is basically this: "got a fault? sure, we can help. we can provide replacement parts for £££££."

Swytch wheel, or any brushless motorised hub wheel, will not spin "forever" like non-motorised hub (they do spin though). But that shouldn't matter as most of the time the motor is doing the work.

I'm not completely disappointed by the Swytch kit. It's been great overall - it's an easy kit to install, don't really need to know much about electrics/wiring as the kit is all set-up neatly, one of the cheapest option for e-conversion, had one year warranty (which I used multiple times). Had I been equipped with more knowledge about pedelec in general, the spec on Swytch kit, and waited much more on the longer term reviews, then I probably wouldn't have gone with Swytch. But it got me into ebike so for that reason alone, I'm happy. What let me down was the reliability and restriction in customisation.

 

[ALW]

My son has a bike with the previous gen Swytch kit.

The switch kit has just started to fail, I suspect owing to battery age, although I've not attempted to open the cell pack to measure cells, it does not appear to hold a charge dropping very rapidly under load.

I'm not inclined to replace the pack via Swytch, but given the motor is OK, can anyone point me to a good source of information on swapping out the controller/battery with more generic products?

I've no experience of this and it seems from what I've read there's a configuration element required for individual motors. I'm an electronic engineer and IT literate so more than confident in my abilities, I just haven't yet found a good concise source for information on the work that's required.

The other option is I believe the internal battery pack connection in the Swytch battery bag is an XT type from memory, so given the Swytch Lishui controller appears to be OK, adding an external battery pack could be a much simpler idea to get it back up and running?

Thoughts, advice or links will be gratefully received!

Thanks,

Andy.