Help! What To Do?

[tometucker]

I have been offered a Freego Eagle Electric bike. It was bought in 2015 by my 96 year old brother-in-law. He hardly used it and tells me that it has only registered 160miles. It is in showroom condition with many extras. The only problem is that the battery is dead.
I am 78 years old myself & arthritis makes an electric bike very attractive especially as this one has a step through frame.
My problem is finding a battery for this particular bike as Freego themselves have ceased trading. I have seen batteries offered on Amazon for as little as £160 but not sure if they would be suitable. I would appreciate any advice from members as to where I might be able to get a battery for this particular bike.
Thanks

 

[flecc]

They used a 36 volt 10 Ah battery that looks like the Silver Fish one. I'm not familiar with those and their base connections but others are and I'm sure will advise. The photo below shows an Eagle with that battery in place.

Later they were fitted with larger range batteries which will do the job and they are available rather expensively on ebay via this link

 

[Nealh]

Any of the silverfish 36v batteries of any capacity will work for the eagle, all one has to do is 100% check that the the battery polarity matches the bikes polarity. If for some reason one or the other is arse about face, one simply swaps the wires oveR
In the last couple or three years there have been two freego hawk owners with the same issue and we helped them quite easilt to get there bikes working again with new Silverfish batteries.
The bikes themselevs are very sturdy and usable so no reason not to spend a couple £££'s on a new battery.

 

[Nealh]

Flynn's Freego threads. We got his 10 year old bike up and working for little cost.
The bike condition was excellant.

For Sale - Freego Eagle 2012 Model

Hi All, I have a Freego Eagle 2012 model it is in generally good condition but in need of a new battery given that the one fitted will not take a charge. The bike has been stood in the shed for a couple of years and to my shame I have not maintained the battery properly. The bike was working...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

Purchase of replacement battery

Hello All Having recently advertised my Freego Eagle for sale and then receiving some excellent advice from Nealh and having second thoughts about selling I have now purchased a replacement battery from an ebay seller that Nealh posted a link to. The battery was a very reasonable price and as...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

 

[Nealh]

So as to make sure any new silverfish fits and locks in place correctly, nearly all come with a new base and fitting rail so it is best to simply swap out the old rail/base to ensure 100% fitting. The important bit is making sure polarity is correct so no sparks or pops occur.

 

[flecc]

Most suppliers seem to be out of stock of the 36 volt Silverfish, but this link with good ebay feedback has some at a good price. Doesn't seem to include a new base though.
.

 

[Nealh]

The two battery links I posted in Flynn's threads are still available with mounting kits.

 

[tometucker]

They used a 36 volt 10 Ah battery that looks like the Silver Fish one. I'm not familiar with those and their base connections but others are and I'm sure will advise. The photo below shows an Eagle with that battery in place.

Later they were fitted with larger range batteries which will do the job and they are available rather expensively on ebay via this link

Thanks

 

[tometucker]

Any of the silverfish 36v batteries of any capacity will work for the eagle, all one has to do is 100% check that the the battery polarity matches the bikes polarity. If for some reason one or the other is arse about face, one simply swaps the wires oveR
In the last couple or three years there have been two freego hawk owners with the same issue and we helped them quite easilt to get there bikes working again with new Silverfish batteries.
The bikes themselevs are very sturdy and usable so no reason not to spend a couple £££'s on a new battery.

Thanks for all the info. I have located the links on Flynn's post. Is it possible to fit the higher amperage battery instead of the 10amp one? Can I assume that this would increase the range? I certainly like the price but do they offer 3-5years like the original?
I hope I am not imposing too much but this is all new to me.
Regards,
Tom

 

[flecc]

Thanks for all the info. I have located the links on Flynn's post. Is it possible to fit the higher amperage battery instead of the 10amp one? Can I assume that this would increase the range? I certainly like the price but do they offer 3-5years like the original?
I hope I am not imposing too much but this is all new to me.
Regards,
Tom

You aren't imposing in any way Tom, we are always happy to help. It's yes to having a larger capacity battery and the increased range it will give.

I'm afraid I dont have an answer on the warranty they give.
.

 

[soundwave]

eBike Batteries

ebikebatteries.co.uk

they can recell what you have and give warranty but it wont be cheap but you will get the best batt possible and built buy a pro.

 

[Nealh]

No reason one shouldn't get similar usage, if they are cared for corrrectly. Not forgetting if one could get a new freego battery, one would likely be looking at twice the price.
One expects the sub £200 silverfish batteries use cheaper china cells, but that doesn't mean they won't give good service for 3 or 4 years. China cells still have good brands but just not well known ones most have heard of BAK ,Sinowatt, Eve, Dlg are three names that produce very good cells in there own factories. The likes of these cells aren't rebadged cells but genuine ones and are made in house in their own factories.

 

[tometucker]

You aren't imposing in any way Tom, we are always happy to help. It's yes to having a larger capacity battery and the increased range it will give.

I'm afraid I dont have an answer on the warranty they give.
.

Thanks again. I have ordered the 15ah battery from the ebay link in the Flynns post. The site I found was at :-

36V15Ah Silver Fish Battery Electric Bike Battery E-bike Battery | eBay

If the battery has a switch, be sure to turn off the power switch.

www.ebay.co.uk

However I did notice that the add said it was for a 500W Kit E-bike. I checked the rear hub on the bike & it says that it is a 250 watt motor there. Excuse my electrical ignorance but do you think I should I be concerned?

The other thing I noticed, in some of the posts that you have replied to, is the mention of making sure that that the polarity of the new battery is correct. I assume that the existing battery carrier on the bike will have colour coded leads from it to the motor but is there a way of checking both the new battery & the existing carrier terminals for polarity?

Thanks again for your help!

 

[Nealh]

Take no notice of the motor wattage for the battery, what matters is it is of the correct voltage. It has a max continuous 20a working current rating so will work with any bike with up to a 20a controller rating that bike can be 250, 350 or 500w.

 

[Nealh]

Some battery leads may be Black for B- or Red for B+, some one may not be able to see the wire colour so the pin out is marked simply - or +.
For polarity one needs a meter, set the meter to 200v on the DC scale. The meter probes are colour cordinated Red + & Black -, if you get a voltage reading with a minus in front of the reading it means the polarity is reversed. One doesn't need to to worry about the bikes carrier to much just check the old and new battery side by side, if both polarity's check out the same with the probes on the same contacts on each battery then one can be sure polarity is correct.

 

[tometucker]

Some battery leads may be Black for B- or Red for B+, some one may not be able to see the wire colour so the pin out is marked simply - or +.
For polarity one needs a meter, set the meter to 200v on the DC scale. The meter probes are colour cordinated Red + & Black -, if you get a voltage reading with a minus in front of the reading it means the polarity is reversed. One doesn't need to to worry about the bikes carrier to much just check the old and new battery side by side, if both polarity's check out the same with the probes on the same contacts on each battery then one can be sure polarity is correct.

Hi, I ordered a 15a battery off the ebay site after your last post. It arrived two days later & I fitted it without any problems. It is adding a new dimension to my cycling & I thank you once again for your advice & help.

 

[Nealh]

I'm happy to help, must be the fourth freego I have helped to get back to use again in the last couple of years.

 

[tometucker]

Hi, It's me again. Things were going well until today. I was 4miles into a ride when the display cut out & came up with the message "Error 30" on the display. I assumed it was a problem with the new battery or it's controller & have emailed the supplier. The battery is still showing fully charged on the battery display on the top of the battery itself.
However reading some posts on the forum it looks like it may be some thing other that the battery causing the problem. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can trace the cause of the error message? I have seen some mention of resetting the SMS unit but not sure if this can be done.
Any suggestions or pointers would be most welcome.

 

[Nealh]

Error 30 is comm's between controller and display so a fault between the two or more likely a controller fault.
It could be anything causing the issue, a broken/faulty wire between the pair or a bad connection if poss one will need to carry out continuation wire fault finding from the display wire connector to the controller.
The 5v rail or moisture can be another fault or even a shorted controller mosfet, so one will have to carry out a mosfet test.

 

[tometucker]

Error 30 is comm's between controller and display so a fault between the two or more likely a controller fault.
It could be anything causing the issue, a broken/faulty wire between the pair or a bad connection if poss one will need to carry out continuation wire fault finding from the display wire connector to the controller.
The 5v rail or moisture can be another fault or even a shorted controller mosfet, so one will have to carry out a mosfet test.

Thanks for your post. The display does initially light up but after a couple of seconds dies off & the error 30 message comes up at the bottom of the screen. This makes me think that the fault is not with the wiring. I do wonder that as the bike was not used for several years before being passed on to me that the inactivity may have led to the problem but I must have done 100 miles at least before it occurred.
Unfortunately you have lost me with your mention of a 5V rail & I do not know what a mosfet test is. I have taken the small panel off at the bottom of the frame exposing, I assume, the controller & all the wires. I don't know of anybody local to Lowestoft that might be able to diagnose the fault so I would like to do it myself if possible.
Do you know if it is possible to get a replacement controller if that is the problem? Any thoughts, comments or ideas would be most welcome.