BBS02B started bucking, surging, with power lags!

[Denny G.]

About 15 months ago, I installed a Bafang BBS02B on a Bacchetta Corsa recumbent bicycle (see photos). All went very well, great installation, smooth ride, et al, 'till about a week ago when going up a slight grade I noticed a momentary power loss/hesitation. While in power assist with pedals, I could feel bucking, surging, and power lags in my feet. I said, "Oh Oh!" As my ride continued, I could feel these sensations even more. The power output no longer matches what it did with settings at 0 - 6. Eventually, about 15 miles from my return destination, the mid-drive conked out completely, and I was left having to power up hills and over dales using only my legs. I am 82 and the others I was riding with were getting paperwork together in case I died or something. The first thing I thought of was an electrical failure somewhere in the mid-drive assembly. Then whilst reading here and other places, controller failure sounded like a possibility. At any rate, I would surely appreciate any advice I can get from you good folks out there. Thank you so much in advance. PS, I did check power from the battery. No problem there.

 

[tomjasz]

Battery voltages? A good place to start.

 

[Denny G.]

Thomas, you hit on it! Shortly after my original post, I rode my e-bike 'till it totally lost power. I, therefore, tested the battery. No power whatsoever. The problem was p__s poor design of the solder joints inside the battery bracket (Bafang Ultra Slim 48V 11.6 Ah with Panasonic Cells). I had resoldered previously, but road vibrations rendered that fix also a failure. I repaired again; except, this time I have mechanical connections (to avoid melting the plastic plug) to the four inside prongs of the electrical plug, followed with dielectric silicone RTV potting to ensure nothing can move inside the bracket. I have documented the repair here with photos, should anyone else experience my battery bracket failure. Thanks so much for your reply, which is the only reply I've gotten.

By the way, I purchased the Play-Doh from the Dollar Store ($1.00, used to dam the silicon RTV); the electronic grade Silicon RTV for potting was purchased from Amazon (~$10.00). The electrical connectors were from the Home Depot. The padding (excess rubber carpet padding) goes under the the bracket. After a test ride: Quiet and as smooth as silk!

 

[BBassett]

About 15 months ago, I installed a Bafang BBS02B on a Bacchetta Corsa recumbent bicycle (see photos). All went very well, great installation, smooth ride, et al, 'till about a week ago when going up a slight grade I noticed a momentary power loss/hesitation. While in power assist with pedals, I could feel bucking, surging, and power lags in my feet. I said, "Oh Oh!" As my ride continued, I could feel these sensations even more. The power output no longer matches what it did with settings at 0 - 6. Eventually, about 15 miles from my return destination, the mid-drive conked out completely, and I was left having to power up hills and over dales using only my legs. I am 82 and the others I was riding with were getting paperwork together in case I died or something. The first thing I thought of was an electrical failure somewhere in the mid-drive assembly. Then whilst reading here and other places, controller failure sounded like a possibility. At any rate, I would surely appreciate any advice I can get from you good folks out there. Thank you so much in advance. PS, I did check power from the battery. No problem there.

Save yourself the headache and just replace it with an HD. I finally replaced my 02 with about 8000 miles when it started making noise I could hear over the music. The HD I replaced it with is soooooooooooooooooooooo quiet and smooth.

The HD fits right into your 02s mounting bracket. But a torque wrench and a set of BaFang sockets and it's simple. When you burn up the HD it might actually be able to be rebuilt.

 

[Denny G.]

Thank you BBassett, I'll keep your suggestion in mind. For now, however, everything is working well and running very quiet and very smooth. My problem was not with the drive, it was with the poorly designed battery mount.

 

[BBassett]

Thank you BBassett, I'll keep your suggestion in mind. For now, however, everything is working well and running very quiet and very smooth. My problem was not with the drive, it was with the poorly designed battery mount.

Cool man, those clip-on batteries aren't worth the trouble most so because of their limited size. Ride safe.

 

[AEB]

I have the same set-up on my Sycip titanium frame bike. The system worked great for about 6 months and now the trouble is the power surges or cuts out completely. Have detached and re-attached all the connections. This seemed to work for a while but the problem started again. The suggestion from Denny G is probably a good one but completely beyond my capabilities. Any other insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tomjasz]

Taking the batteries off of their base without some measure of care can mess up the slots for the tabs. Hailong Shark cases are the worst. Retention Shark cases are more durable. There are retrofit pin connectors that solve the problem. Or charge on the bike in which case you MUST treat with dielectric grease or better yet with ACF50 or Boeshield to prevent corrosion. I treat ALL connections with ACF50 or Boeshield. Good enough for avionics, good enough for me.

 

[tomjasz]

I have the same set-up on my Sycip titanium frame bike. The system worked great for about 6 months and now the trouble is the power surges or cuts out completely. Have detached and re-attached all the connections. This seemed to work for a while but the problem started again. The suggestion from Denny G is probably a good one but completely beyond my capabilities. Any other insight would be greatly appreciated.

Post some pictures of your battery base and your connectors on the battery removed from the base.

 

[tomjasz]

 

[tomjasz]

Troubleshooting random issues Shark case Hailong case BBS02 cuts out

Luna hardcase battery documentation - Electricbike.com Ebike Forum

<td style="background-color:MediumSeaGreen"> Luna Hardcase Battery Documentation ESSENTIAL READING FOR NEW EBIKERS: Charging brand new batteries (https://electricbike.com/forum/forum/knowledge-base/batteries-aa/20988-charging-brand-new-batteries) Beginners guide...

electricbike.com

Shutdowns and contact maintenance
Sometimes a shark battery's contacts may bend back far enough to not provide a stable connection to the cradle, resulting in cutouts and/or a causing the contacts to overheat. This may be more prone to happening if the shark is not reinforced to frame with a velcro strap. We recommend periodically checking this area to make sure the contacts are in the proper place. If they are not you can bend them back into place using a screwdriver. Please take care not to short out the terminals against each other or anything metal nearby.

NOTE: this image is for reference only, it's possible that your battery has more terminals or looks slightly different, if you are unsure, be safe and email support.

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
For the newer generations of sharks with 4 or 5 pins:

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
If this issue does come up, in order to prevent it from happening again keep this in mind:

• Would be good to clean any carbon buildup off of the pins with a wire brush if possible (just the pins, not the contacts). This will help power flow better.
• If being used near ocean we recommend a light coating of dielectric grease on the pins such as Permatex 22058.
• If you have soldering skills and the cradle is only using one set of pins to run wiring to, then it would be useful to run the wiring to multiple pins in the cradle, the neighboring pin on both side is same polarity as the closest wire. Both pins on either side are capable of delivering power and if soldering the same wire to both pins it cuts the current in half for each pin. As such it is less likely to heat up since there is less bottlenecking of power.
• You need to start reinforcing the pack to the frame, this is critical. Maybe that means velcro, or even just using bungees. Checking to see if you can improve how you have the cradle mounted to frame to make it more sturdy can also help.

For a video on how to adjust contacts see below

 

[tomjasz]

Available parts. https://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/battery-accessories/con-dt-silvblt.html

CON_DT_Bullet

Replacement Bullet Connector Assembly (Male + Female Sides) for Hailong Downtube Batteries

www.ebikes.ca

ebike silver fish battery connector with 4 pins for downtube silverfish, rear rack battery-Greenbikekit.com BBS, ebike batteries, Bafang M620, Bafang M600, Bafang M500, Bafang M510, KT controller with display-GreenBikeKit.com

4 pin connector for electric bike lithium battery discharge.

www.greenbikekit.com

 

[AEB]

Post some pictures of your battery base and your connectors on the battery removed from the base.

I have the 48B 13.5 Ah Reention Shark Samsung 35E. Here are some pictures:

 

[tomjasz]

How do the tabs look?

 

[tomjasz]

Use your multimeter to see what the voltage is at the connectors from the battery. Since the slots look good it could be a poor connection in the base.

 

[AEB]

How do the tabs look?

Sorry for the delay in answering. The tabs look good and clean. I will have to get a multimeter to check the connectors. Because I am a novice do I just look for the needle to move or is there a specific reading I should look for.

 

[tomjasz]

Sorry for the delay in answering. The tabs look good and clean. I will have to get a multimeter to check the connectors. Because I am a novice do I just look for the needle to move or is there a specific reading I should look for.

We want to know if there if the battery voltage has dropped out when the motor dies. We've seen poor connections in the base. Where did you purchase the battery?
There's tons of tutorials on YouTube. Every kit owner should have a multimeter. If it's auto-ranging your in business.

 

[tomjasz]

How do you test a lithium battery with a multimeter?