Getting power but no movement

[Jo060]

I've been slowly putting together a 1000w Voilamart kit on my days off.

Before completely buttoning everything up, I wanted to test the motor to make sure it works.

I hooked it up to a smaller 36v 13ah battery while I wait for the 48v battery to arrive.

When I enabled the power switch, I could hear a small click coming from the rear wheel hub, and the LCD screen illuminated (dispite it indicating low battery while the batter states it's fully charged). When I twist the throttle, nothing happens. I double checked all of the wires, and everything is connected accordingly.

Any ideas on why the wheel isn't spinning when twisting the throttle? Is it under powered with the smaller battery?

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Off the top of my head, and I’m certainly no expert, I’m thinking if it uses a 48 v battery, the motor isn’t likely to run on 36 v. Wait for the battery or see if a 120v/48v stepdown transformer is a thing if you just need to test it.

CN

 

[Jo060]

It turns out that the LED battery level indicator on the battery itself is inaccurate. I left the battery on the charger for a few hours and it fired right up.

 

[Kayakguy]

I just had a similar experience, though the cause was completely weird. I started out for home from the grocery store yesterday, and found I had no power. I popped the battery out, and reset it, as sometimes it loses a solid connection. No luck. So I rode acoustic style, which was no fun, as my bike doesn't pedal easily unpowered. Fortunately, I only had a few blocks to go.

The symptoms of my problem were confusing. The display lit up, and showed me the odometer reading and assist level, but it indicated I was doing 5 mph while standing still. I could change the assist level, but even zeroing it out (the only way to make the throttle work), I got no response from the throttle. I cleaned the electrical contacts with denatured alcohol, checked whatever wiring I could see (not much, as everything is internal) and topped up the battery, even though the multimeter indicated over 51 volts. Nothing helped.

Then I started looking through the trouble shooting part of the manual, and next to the symptom, "It doesn't work" I read these words: "Brakes are applied." WTF? How could the brakes be on? So I played with the brake levers a bit, until I realized the front brake lever didn't quite release as it should--because my drop-down handle bar mirror had gotten bumped out of alignment, and was pressing the brake lever up enough to activate the motor cut out. That also probably contributed to the sluggish ride when I was pedaling acoustically. Problem solved, but to make sure it didn't happen again, I removed that mirror. I have come to rely entirely on my helmet mirror, which I have become very fond of, so I won't miss the handle bar mirror.

I realize this anecdote is unlikely to help anyone else, but you may find it mildly amusing. Also, I hope somebody comes up with a better name for regular bikes than "acoustic" or "analog," as I sometimes have to explain those terms to riders of "regular" bikes.

Oh, the bike is an Ariel Rider C class.