Aftermarket battery
- Thread starter Donny
- Start date
Dave Schlabowske
New Member
Yes, I checked and the OEM pack is 54 volts peak charge. The new pack is 50 volts peak, so that shouldn't cause a problem. Perhaps it was just a strange coincidence that my motor or controller went bad. It didn't happen while I was riding it. I rode it one night, left the aftermarket pack plugged in, and got up the next morning to find the assist didn't work. Your experience is making me want to try my pack again though. I kept the original pack and mount, but just soldered a pig tail connector into the wiring harness for the aftermarket pack. I remove the stock pack though when I run the aftermarket pack. Thanks again for sharing your experience.
Ann M.
Well-Known Member
You mention that this 50V pack is rated at 20amps @Dave Schlabowske. If this amp rating is significantly higher than that of the original pack, the controller might not be adequate to handle it, thus damaged parts.
Dave Schlabowske
New Member
Hmm, not an electrical engineer, but my understanding is controllers could be sensitive to volts but not amps. Based on @gadgetguy's experience, I feel comfortable trying my aftermarket pack again. My display functioned exactly like his for the couple weeks I was using the aftermarket pack. Thanks for this helpful forum.
Dave Schlabowske
New Member
Thanks again @gadgetguy, I am saddened to report a second motor failure after the aftermarket battery was installed. Same error code, which is for the internal RPM sensor (not the motor itself). Both Yuba and Accelna tech people agree the aftermarket battery should not cause this failure, but it sure is suspicious that I had 5,000 trouble free miles with the OEM pack, and two failures in 500 miles after installing the aftermarket pack. The Acellna tech support person did say all the components of their system "talk" to each other in some way, so I don't know if not having those two extra wires connected could cause my problem.
How many miles do you have on your aftermarket pack with the iZip Peak @gadgetguy?
The way I installed it was to solder a pig tail with a Deans connector into the black and red wires of the wiring harness under the OEM battery mount. I left the OEM mount in place so I can run still use the OEM pack (not at the same time as the aftermarket pack though). That does leave the four OEM battery connectors exposed to the elements. It was raining lightly when the rpm sensor failed the last time and I was running the aftermarket pack. I wonder if the exposed contacts could be shorting?
I have around 400 miles on my aftermarket pack. I will not use the OEM battery again. I have had zero problems with the new setup. I did install an on/off switch between the battery and the motor. When I charge the battery I turn the switch off. I also have a cycle analyst on this setup and installed the on/off switch in order to shut down the cycle analyst. When I installed the aftermarket battery I did remove the OEM mount and sealed off the extra wires. My bike now has about 3,500 miles on it.
Patrick Michell
New Member
Patrick Michell
New Member
@gadgetguy could you provide an update on how your battery pack is performing. Thanks. I have a Currie Sumo and I'm thinking of adding a similar battery
Dave Schlabowske
New Member
That is great, unfortunately I have not been as lucky. I have burned out 4 motors on my Yuba Spicy Curry in 6,000 miles. The actual error code has indicated a bad rpm sensor, but the motor needs to be replaced to fix that. The folks at Currie Tech/Acellna say it is not because of the aftermarket pack, and not all of the failures have been with the aftermarket battery, but I have since gone back to the OEM pack only. I hope that this motor will last until the Yuba Sweet Curry comes out and my dealer has agreed to take the Spicy Curry back when I buy the Sweet Curry. I will then add an aftermarket mid-drive motor and my existing pack to the Sweet Curry. Wishing you continued good luck with yours set-up!
I been riding with a 46t front chainring and upgraded rear cassette for more than a year with no problem. My bike came with 38t on the front. Only caution for chainring size consideration would be off road terrain riding and is your weight a consideration. I ride exclusively on the pavement in a hilly area and weight about 185 lbs. Changing the rear cassette to a higher quality one improved shifting. Don't forget to buy a new chain, one designed for electric bikes. I did the installation myself, but any LBS could do the work.
Thanks for the quick reply.
i weigh 190 lbs and don't really take the bike off road that much.
what will be affected if i do take the bike off road ... lower gears?
and every time i call a bike shop they tell me i can't change the front chainring because it's a ebike ect. and they don't know what there doing.
You have an e3 peak that you did it to ... right?
i weigh 190 lbs and don't really take the bike off road that much.
what will be affected if i do take the bike off road ... lower gears?
and every time i call a bike shop they tell me i can't change the front chainring because it's a ebike ect. and they don't know what there doing.
You have an e3 peak that you did it to ... right?
I do own and e3 peak, I think it is a 2014 model year. The front chainring is actually easier to change than the rear cassette. You just have to purchase one with the correct bolt pattern (I think the one I purchased is in a previous post). It just bolts on. No special tools required.
The smaller the front ring the more revolutions (motor will turn) to turn the rear wheel one revolution. The smaller front ring allows the motor to spin faster and lightens the load on the motor when climbing a grade. The motor will generate less heat because gearing may be more favorable and motor is not working as hard. Since I don't climb steep grades, I decided to install 46t so that I stopped running out of gears (pedal turn without resistance) when riding over 20 miles/hour. I do find with the larger front ring I do shift more, but rarely use the biggest gear in the rear. I like that I can ride faster, but still have enough gears at the low end to climb hills. Shifting more allows the motor to run more efficiently. I don't find the shifting excessive with the larger chain ring.
Off road you may use the big ring in the back if the grade is steep enough. If the grade is too steep, you might have to walk the bike to avoid overheating the motor.
Look at the factory specs on other electric bikes, chain rings are larger unless the bike is dedicated for offroad. This bike is marketed for trails, that is why they put the smaller chain ring in the front. I think the new model Peak now has a 42t instead of a 38t. I am happy with my setup and if I change my behavior its no big deal to put the smaller ring back on ( I doubt I will ever change it).
hydrocrust
New Member
Hi, Folks, Long-time lurker, writing to thank the forum and and offer some info. I have an iZip Dash E3 2015. I ride about 11-12 miles/day, commute includes long uphill to work, downhill home. Original battery lost range, especially in last 6 months, (caused a challenge for adding more miles to the commute, like trip to store or ride kids to school) and there was back order for replacement. This thread and some others pointed me to LunaCycle options, purchased and installed a Dolphin 13.5 Ahr battery as replacement. LunaCycle is very DIY, no phone number to call, but responsive by email. The Dolphin is old design, but wanted external switch without removing battery from bike. The mounting bracket was not a perfect fit, had to drill a hole (like GadgetGuy), also reamed out back of bracket with Dremel tool to make room for the "mounting nubs" on the downtube. Not too hard. Used longer bolts, added some 1/8" rubber sheet stock below bracket, so I had something to tighten against with the bolts. The wiring from bike was 2xRed (together: big, small), 2xBlack (together: big, small), plus white and blue in middle. Original battery had four terminals. I disassembled both original bracket and battery to see how Blue and White were set up, these come from the BMS. New battery did not have this, so did not try to connect these - just disables battery status/range indicator on display (like GadgetGuy said). Soldered up the wires: 2xRed (together: big, small) to red on new battery bracket, 2xBlack (together: big, small) to black on bracket, protected with heat shrink, etc. Sealed up blue/white...in case I figure out how to connect these later. Added velcro strap to help hold battery on bracket/tube. Batt is a bit heavier than original, but narrower profile. It works, I like the external battery on/off button. Will see how it performs and will post an update later. This forum was helpful in selecting the Dash, which I like...overall. Smooth ride, lots of grunt from CurrieTech motor, etc. Upgraded disk brakes this year to double caliper, better stopping power. Should be good for another few years, with about 50% more capacity on the battery, less range anxiety. Very helpful to have this forum, appreciate people taking time to post.
hydrocrust
New Member
Update one month later. LunaCycle Dolphin battery is working well, longer range than the original (2 yr old) E3 battery. Don't miss the lack of battery level/range on display, easy to push button and see remaining charge on battery. As noted above, new battery is a bit heavier, but lower profile. I like it, seems solid and secure as mounted. I've been riding more than I did before (because of more limited range), especially extra trips for "bike pool" to school, glad to have the additional range. Power to motor feels about the same...perhaps slightly less "surge" than with the old battery, but maybe not, hard to tell.
Trail Cruiser
Well-Known Member
RPE has a 14ah refill on the 48v 8.7ah Izip downtube battery. That's a huge 61% jump in capacity from 417wh to 672wh, and for a very competitive price ($520 compared to the factory price). Hope that helps.
https://ebikemarketplace.com/products/currie-i-zip-e-bike-battery-replacement?variant=39456388549
https://ebikemarketplace.com/products/currie-i-zip-e-bike-battery-replacement?variant=39456388549
hydrocrust
New Member
Hi, Mark, that looks like a sweet deal, as long as you can live without the battery/bike for a while while it is being refurbished. I might have considered this if I had known about it...but I'm pretty happy with the LunaCycle option, plenty of power, lower profile, about same price. And I can always go back to the refill route later if desired.
