Help! Windsor Powacycle - no power to motor

[Arsemyth]

Hi,

my neighbour has a Windsor Powacycle which she bought 16 years or so ago. She uses it as her daily commute to work. Last week the power assist stopped working although the battery is charging as normal. Does anyone have experience with this make of ebike that they can share with me before I start taking it to bits?

Many thanks in advance

Roger

 

[Nealh]

Despite the age and assuming the battery delivers power.
Whilst fault finding disconnect the brake sensors so there is no chance of conflict.
First check the pedal sensor arrangement attached to the BB. It is usually a two piece item consisting of a magnet disc and a sensor, check the gap between sensor face and magnet disc it tiny approx.1mm. Also check the magnet disc is firmly in place and doesn't rotate on it's own axis around the BB shaft or by hand. Try the PAS and see if it then works.


If that doesn't sort it out we are then into the realms of electric fault finding with a meter, but one thing at a time.

 

[Arsemyth]

Despite the age and assuming the battery delivers power.
Whilst fault finding disconnect the brake sensors so there is no chance of conflict.
First check the pedal sensor arrangement attached to the BB. It is usually a two piece item consisting of a magnet disc and a sensor, check the gap between sensor face and magnet disc it tiny approx.1mm. Also check the magnet disc is firmly in place and doesn't rotate on it's own axis around the BB shaft or by hand. Try the PAS and see if it then works.


If that doesn't sort it out we are then into the realms of electric fault finding with a meter, but one thing at a time.

Many thanks for your response.

I have just brought the bike into my workshop... The first thing I've noticed is that the electrics are extensively butchered. It appears that both the throttle and brake sensors have been disconnected. There is an on-off rocker switch which has also been disconnected. The bike was being used in pedal-assist mode only.

Once the bike was up on my work stand I noticed that when power was switched on and I turned the pedals there was a rattling, grinding noise from the hub motor. When I turned power off the rattling noises ceased.

I am assuming that this is a mechanical problem with the hub motor. If so, is it worth repairing. The owner is happy to purchase a new ebike if this one cannot be repaired.

Many thanks

Roger

 

[Nealh]

If the motor is quiet with no power then it is fine, with power the noise is likely electrical phase out of sync or poor phase contact. It very hard to give advise just by an explanation, a small film of the noise/motor working is best.
Check that any motor wire connection is making good contact, if it has a waterproof connector several inches from the hub axle make sure it is fully pushed together.

 

[Nealh]

Does the wheel with power off, offer up any fwd resistance or does it freewheel nicely.
Like wise in reverse it should offer a slight whirring as the clutch gearing engages.
Internally there is little to go wrong barring nylon clutch gears wearing and the odd bearing failing, bearings can be felt by manual rotation and rough/uneven feel on rotation.

 

[Arsemyth]

Does the wheel with power off, offer up any fwd resistance or does it freewheel nicely.
Like wise in reverse it should offer a slight whirring as the clutch gearing engages.
Internally there is little to go wrong barring nylon clutch gears wearing and the odd bearing failing, bearings can be felt by manual rotation and rough/uneven feel on rotation.

Hi,
There doesn't appear to be any resistance on the freewheel with power off or with power on. The rattling noise, which sounds like a knackered bearing only occurs when the power is on, and the wheel is turning above a certain speed. As the speed drops the noise suddenly stops (as if something is being disengaged) and the wheel continues to spin silently to a stop.

There is a definite roughness felt through the pedals while pedaling, but this could be from the pedal bearings.

I'm a complete novice at repairing ebikes (none of our local dealers will touch this one, hence my involvement), but if the motor can easily be repaired then I'm happy to have a go.

 

[Nealh]

Remove the motor wheel and rotate the axle manually, one should then feel any rough bearing rotation. If the motor powers ok then could be the reason for the noise.
Can you record the operation and post it for us to hear/see ?

 

[Michael Price]

Until recently there were spares advertised on ebay but these seem to have disappeared! ALl I can find on there is a used Windsor and Salisbury (which is similar but with a cross bar)
You could potentially buy a second hand Windsor and use the current one for spares? If you did that then you would also have 2 batteries which can be useful.
I used to have a Salisbury and I always found Powacycle very helpful when I had problems. Mind you that was several years ago but it might be worth giving them a ring - at least you could find the price of a new rear wheel - if they are still available anyway!

 

[Arsemyth]

Hi,

I've filmed the rear hub in action, both with power on and with power off. Unfortunately I cannot load the videos up to this website... too big. I can stick them in Wetransfer if that's a help?