Control issues

[Genetics]

A couple questions regarding a new controller for my cascade cruiser by black maxx… 750w 48v pre made E-bike…..

I’m getting a high quality battery for my bike and I’d like to get a better controller so as to give the motor everything it demands …. I’m still fairly new to the hobby and have a couple questions that I can’t find answers to.

#1 if I get another controller are they typically universal and will it play well with most LCD’s , or do I need a controller with its own LCD ?

#2 will it make any difference to the performance if I get a better controller ? Stepping up from a 20 amp to a say 30 amp controller?

#3 does anyone have a good suggestion for a better quality controller that’ll give me more options ?

thank you for the input - D

 

[Genetics]

What kind of bike do you have?
That would give us much better idea what kind of advice to give you.

To answer your question

1) No, I would not say "fairly universal" as you need to make sure each controller will work with certain display
2) Yes, 20A to 30A is a huge jump
3) What kind of bike do you have? Do you have pretty good budget for your upgrade?

Thank you much..

the bike is a black maxx “cascade cruiser”, it’s the standard folding bike under 100 other names 750w 48v

 

[AHicks]

To answer another of your questions, yes, the display must be compatible with the controller, and no, your existing display will not likely work with an upgraded controller. Plan on buying a display AND controller.

 

[Genetics]

To answer another of your questions, yes, the display must be compatible with the controller, and no, your existing display will not likely work with an upgraded controller. Plan on buying a display AND controller.

Yes- thank you ! Yea- I already managed to figure out before I made the mistake of buying a controller, setting it up and then figuring out it won’t work without its own proprietary controller. My only question now is which controller will be best suited for my 750w motor ? I’ve read many reviews about guys upgrading the controller and basically feeling like they are on a brand new bike…. Could you tell me what is the max amp controller I will want for that motor ? I just don’t want to burn something and cost more money..

thank you

 

[AHicks]

I'm a huge proponent of the KT controllers/displays. Most of the OEM ebike manfs. could take a lot of lessons from them and the ebike world would be a better place for it! Add the facts they're generally really well priced and available from hundreds of sources and you have a winner - to my way of thinking anyway.

The downside is, in your case, is going to be matching up the wiring. What I'm looking at in that pic is the fact that you are in for a patience test. The problem is the color of the wires is generally standardized (e.g. yellow, blue, green phase wires coming from the motor), but their functions are NOT standardized. You can try hooking the yellow wire from the motor to the yellow wire from the controller, but there is NO ASSURANCE that's going to work. That yellow motor phase wire may need to be connected to the green or blue wire coming from the controller to function properly.

To have a good chance at success here, you need to be resourceful, patient, comfortable working with car wiring for instance, and did I mention patient?

To make matters (much) worse, because of the huge numbers of variables involved, there are no directions....

 

[rich c]

Does the controller mount inside the tube? Then physical size will be very important. Larger controllers make for more heat. Make sure no wires lay on the controller.

 

[AHicks]

My bet is suggesting an upgrade controller for a RAD mini will be a bad plan from where I'm sitting. The wiring connectors are very likely going to be ALL wrong (check out the connectors in the pic)!

Here's a link to a KT controller with a motor connector I haven't seen before. It looks an awful lot like the one shown in the pic at top? Go to this link, and scroll down to the 30a SM and the 35a SM. Everything you need to know (like dimensions) is right there.

27.9US $ 28% OFF|Kt Ebike Controller 36v 250w 350w 48v 500w 750w 1000w 1500w Waterproof Electric Bicycle Ebike Controller With Light Function - Electric Bicycle Accessories - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

 

[Genetics]

yeah- I don’t even know what Amp controller I have , this is all I have to go with and I’ve Googled it to no avail.

 

[AHicks]

I don't either, so best guessing OK? The 750w (advertised) rating is most likely a motor rated for something like 500w, that's good for temporary bursts of 750w. It COULD be a 750w looking at the size of the phase wires in the pick. Dunno...

In any case, you probably want a controller rated for 20 amps or more - based on just the math involved. Round numbers -
50 volts (average) times 20 amps, equals 1000 watts. So a 20 amp controller should be able to provide UP TO 1000 watts - plenty for a 500-750w motor.

So a 22-25 amp controller would have a little extra "overhead" available, to help prevent burn out and guarantee the ability to deliver everything the motor has available.

Keep in mind one thing. All of this power on tap is going to be quite capable of reducing the motor internals to ashes if abused. You'll be fine using power for just a few seconds - like crossing a busy road or climbing a short hill. The motor will be really "sporty"! The problems enter when the motor is asked to perform like that without cool down periods between these "sporty" bursts, or when you ask the motor to climb a hill that's going to take more than a few seconds to climb. 3-4 minutes of wide open operation (1000 watts+) is going to overheat this motor if it's a 500 or a 750....

That in mind, ALL of this is going to be based on your good judgement to keep it from burning down..... -Al

 

[AHicks]

Not recommending a 20 controller. I suggested that as a minimum requirement. MY suggestion would be something with some extra capacity/headroom, like the 22-25a controller might provide.

The problem with the Grin stuff is you want a display, you are forced to use that CA-3, which is great when it comes to what it's capable of doing, but it's an absolute dinosaur when it comes to it's unusually large size, or it's ability to display info. That display looks like something from the 70's and should have been updated/replaced many years ago....

You're free to do as you like, but speaking from a totally personal standpoint, I refuse to use or even consider Grin controllers, until they do something with that display.

 

[AHicks]

Yup, that display is the only thing standing between me and a GMAC bike....

 

[PedalUma]

Today someone is brining in a Arial Rider that is 12 months and two weeks old and has a fried controller. If I had the replacement in hand than that would be easy. But trying to match connectors and specifications with one on Ali or eBay will be a huge pain. I am having them contact Arial and get one directly if they can.

 

[rich c]

With that small size of the controller and no cooling fins, 15a is almost a certainty. Also has that 15 at the end of the model number.

 

[PedalUma]

Why upgrade to the point of stetting it on fire? It is restricted for a reason.

 

[tomjasz]

Phaserunner, did my research and tried to see if I could use EggRider.

Message me if you have an eBike that can use an EggRider.

 

[AHicks]

Why upgrade to the point of stetting it on fire? It is restricted for a reason.

If we are talking about upgrading the controller, one of the better reasons would likely be to add insurance to prevent it from overheating/smoking (in addition to the fact they're so user definable)?

Increasing capacity of the controller does lead to making more power available to the motor - BUT- with a KT controller, you can assign a reduction in capacity using the internal parameters - providing a safety valve for those cases where you think the rider may abuse the available power, or you just don't want to risk that potential. That makes them about as safe an install as anything available.....

From there it's just about the controller's physical size. Biggest one you can make fit usually works well..... -Al

 

[tomjasz]

Yea, the CycleAnalyst is pretty much the worst display there is, in terms of aesthetics.
I don't know if you can find a worse display than CycleAnalyst (in terms of aesthetics), if you can find one, I would love to see.

Grin has been developing state of the art components.
Phaserunner (very small for its performance) and GMAC (also very small for its performance), in addition Satiator charger is one of the best chargers out there.
And that display... I don't know why they did that.

From a renown company like Grin, I'd expect something clean and high tech, such as EggRider or similar.

OFFS! No other display is as capable. Color screen displays are pretty, but name another display with the options of the CA3.

 

[tomjasz]

I don't think anyone is arguing about the functionality of CA3. I (and everyone else) never argued anything about the functionality.
I don't know how many times I have to mention, I'm talking about the aesthetics.
There is no way that display needs to be that huge, it can easily be fit into much cleaner package. Especially far more sophisticated device such as smartwatch can fit in clean package and process far more data than CA3, I know that CA3 can fit into cleaner package like EggRider. (Again, I'm talking about aesthetics)

Please see your message.

 

[tomjasz]

don't know how many times I have to mention, I'm talking about the aesthetics.

Esthetics are something I don’t give two hoots about. I’m more interested in a displays options and access to tuning features.

 

[Genetics]

Esthetics are something I don’t give two hoots about. I’m more interested in a displays options and access to tuning features.

Two hoots ? Haven’t heard that one in a coons age