Failure of performance upgrade RipCurrent S (V2) controller

[Chazmo]

Hi again, folks,

I bought the performance upgrade controller for my RipCurrent S (RCS) last year — the 12 transistor model vs. the stock 9 transistor — and installed it on my RCS. Recently it failed on me and I’m wondering if anyone has any knowledge/skills on how to diagnose and fix it. I’d welcome any help on what to do, if there are suggestions/experience.

The controller worked perfectly until I (mistakenly) pressure washed the bike. I let it dry and gave it several days to correct itself but it never did. Shortly after I washed it, it exhibited the following symptom…

The display of speed would go insane as soon as the motor was engaged. By “insane” I mean that it would show extremely high speeds and bounce around to the point that I couldn’t use the bike because it would stutter power to the motor and would cut out completely under pedal assist. I think the throttle (by itself) was working [edit: no, ignore that… the throttle was doing the same thing as pedal assist], but that’s not how I ride and something had clearly “broken.” It was not throwing any error code either. Oh, and when I turned off assist entirely, the speedo was correct. I replaced it with the stock controller, which works fine and proves that something is wrong with the performance controller, not the torque sensor. But, I would really like to have the extra power and the rear brake light back though, hence the post here.

Anyway, does anyone have any experience with these, design or spec? I have the installation guide spec, but nothing about the design.

Thanks in advance, gang.

 

[Chazmo]

Does anyone know how to get the electronic circuitry out of the case so I can inspect it. Man, they sealed this thing up with silicone gaskets to survive nuclear winter, but I can’t figure out how to open the thing up… I’ve removed 11 Philips head screws that seem to be all that there is and I have removed the end covers, but the case itself seems to be a metal box that doesn’t crack open or anything, and I don’t know if it’s just the sealant that’s holding the circuitry in place in the box… There doesn’t seem to be any give when I pull on the wires, and I don’t want to damage the circuitry by pulling too hard.

 

[Cadstar]

Does anyone know how to get the electronic circuitry out of the case so I can inspect it. Man, they sealed this thing up with silicone gaskets to survive nuclear winter, but I can’t figure out how to open the thing up… I’ve removed 11 Philips head screws that seem to be all that there is and I have removed the end covers, but the case itself seems to be a metal box that doesn’t crack open or anything, and I don’t know if it’s just the sealant that’s holding the circuitry in place in the box… There doesn’t seem to be any give when I pull on the wires, and I don’t want to damage the circuitry by pulling too hard.

View attachment 189518View attachment 189517View attachment 189519

This is kind of an old post now, but I'm new here and since no one has answered, this is a good place for me to start. What I can tell you is that thing is not made to ever come apart, not by anyone. It's not just a great end gasket, what they do here is assemble the unit then fill it with epoxy and cap it off so it all solidifies into one solid block inside. This is done for moisture/corrosion/vibration resistance. Great way to do it for those reasons - seems to keep water mostly out, but I personally hate it - because I have been in your shoes and spent 2 weeks working on digging epoxy out of my CCX controller when suddenly a contact came through with a new one for me. I was never so happy to set a project aside in my life - it is damn difficult work! It later turned out my controller was fine, I had a display issue. So I now have a "spare" controller with maybe 15% of the epoxy dug out but it still works just in case I need it some day.
Hate to say it but my best advice is look for a new controller. Beyond that maybe you can go aftermarket controller but that will require new display and likely some wiring adapters or other little odds and ends and hassles probably - I don't have a ton of detail on this, but it is possible - torque sensor might be an issue, not sure. I would think finding a controller that can do high current is possible. In the end you will probably spend a ton of money on it but it's just a Bafang motor so it should be possible.
I'm still holding out hope that someone will take up the replacement parts license and start making some already, not sure if Lectric got that in their deal.

 

[Chazmo]

This is kind of an old post now, but I'm new here and since no one has answered, this is a good place for me to start. What I can tell you is that thing is not made to ever come apart, not by anyone. It's not just a great end gasket, what they do here is assemble the unit then fill it with epoxy and cap it off so it all solidifies into one solid block inside. This is done for moisture/corrosion/vibration resistance. Great way to do it for those reasons - seems to keep water mostly out, but I personally hate it - because I have been in your shoes and spent 2 weeks working on digging epoxy out of my CCX controller when suddenly a contact came through with a new one for me. I was never so happy to set a project aside in my life - it is damn difficult work! It later turned out my controller was fine, I had a display issue. So I now have a "spare" controller with maybe 15% of the epoxy dug out but it still works just in case I need it some day.
Hate to say it but my best advice is look for a new controller. Beyond that maybe you can go aftermarket controller but that will require new display and likely some wiring adapters or other little odds and ends and hassles probably - I don't have a ton of detail on this, but it is possible - torque sensor might be an issue, not sure. I would think finding a controller that can do high current is possible. In the end you will probably spend a ton of money on it but it's just a Bafang motor so it should be possible.
I'm still holding out hope that someone will take up the replacement parts license and start making some already, not sure if Lectric got that in their deal.

Thanks, Cadstar. Late reply, but better late than never. Thanks for the thoughtful post.

Agreed on your conclusion. Yeah, frankly I gave up. I still have the broken controller sitting around somewhere, but I haven’t touched it in months. I was not able to get the guts out, and I didn’t think that trying to crack the metal case open was going to get me anywhere.

I am using the original controller (which works fine) and I have a spare one from a spare bike, so I have been using that. I wish I had the powered rear taillight back, though. I may retry putting it back on the bike and see if it has healed itself in the interim of just sitting around, but that’s a project for another time.

I saw someone had one of these for sale on eBay, but I decided I didn’t need it. Instead, I purchased a used rear-wheel assembly which I may need someday.

 

[Cadstar]

Thanks, Cadstar. Late reply, but better late than never. Thanks for the thoughtful post.

Agreed on your conclusion. Yeah, frankly I gave up. I still have the broken controller sitting around somewhere, but I haven’t touched it in months. I was not able to get the guts out, and I didn’t think that trying to crack the metal case open was going to get me anywhere.

I am using the original controller (which works fine) and I have a spare one from a spare bike, so I have been using that. I wish I had the powered rear taillight back, though. I may retry putting it back on the bike and see if it has healed itself in the interim of just sitting around, but that’s a project for another time.

I saw someone had one of these for sale on eBay, but I decided I didn’t need it. Instead, I purchased a used rear-wheel assembly which I may need someday.

There are new parts supplies cropping up every now and then, but you certainly aren't the only person looking for one of those upgraded controllers! I'm hoping to buy a RipCurrent to go with my Crosscurrent later this week so I may be on the list soon too. I'll let you know if I come across something though.
A guy on the facebook group recently found a source for the standard controller, and this site is huge - they only have 3 different 52V controllers (out of dozens and dozens of controllers) and the one 30A listed has the newer larger type motor connector - which I don't know if the RCS V2 has. It also looks physically small for a 30A 52V controller to me. Lord knows what display it works with either. I know the upgraded one shows 40A peak and it's huge by comparison. Really fascinating site though, they seem to have a huge inventory - I think probably located in China but it doesn't really say. I did buy a headlight from them yesterday but it was through their Amazon storefront because I didn't want to wait a month for it, trying to sell a Jasion bike I rescued from Craigslist so I have funds for the RC.

NULKOMMA NKM-MATE-002 MATE Ebike Controller 48V/52V 30A Brushless Moto

NULKOMMA

nulkomma.com

Here is the standard controller in case anyone is looking. It appears to be an exact duplicate of a Juiced controller at the very least, and with post-collapse manufacture date too. I don't think the one guy that ordered one on fb has received it yet but it sure looks legit:

NULKOMMA LCC3 Electric Bike Brushless Motor Controller 52V 25A Ebike C

NULKOMMA

nulkomma.com

Apologies if Nulkomma is already a known site around here, my account was just admin-approved yesterday, but I've been lurking around for a while and haven't seen it mentioned.

 

[Chazmo]

@Cadstar good luck with the hunt for a RipCurrent S. I love mine. Be aware that there are at least two models. The 2022 revision was the last one they did (that’s what I have), and it came with a G2 battery. Please see my other thread about sealing this battery if you end up getting one.

By the way, I hadn’t seen this Nulkomma stuff before. So, thanks. The first of those controllers doesn’t look like it’d work. The second one might be a rough equivalent to the stock RipCurrent S controller. It looks similar.