TROUBLE WITH THREE YEAR VOILAMART MOTOR.

[CHARLES PORRETTO SR]

I need some help.



I went riding this morning. My motor began to vibrate and make a growling sound. Then it quit. Advancing the throttle did nothing. Trying to turn the front wheel was difficult. It is 36 volt motor. The battery is brand new. The controller is new. Who can give advice about what is happening? The motor is about three years old. I ride daily. If you have any questions please let me know.

 

[harryS]

Direct drive motors become hard to turn if one or more of the windings (there are three) is short circuited. Disconnect the motor from the controller. If it now turns freely, the short circuit is upstream of the connection, like in the controller. If it stays stiff, then it's likely a motor problem.

But it still could be right at the motor connector. Sometimes, if you use those bullet connectors, they get really hot and melt thru their insulation and contact each other. That would be the easiest to fix.

 

[CHARLES PORRETTO SR]

With no power to the motor. The battery turned off with the key. Throttle shows nothing. But the wheel is difficult to turn and as it is turned I can feel the drag in very small increments, not a steady constriction when I turn the wheel by hand. So what would make it bind like this and do nothing when power is applied as if the throttle is turned off. Standing by.

Thanks

Charlie

 

[harryS]

Disconnect the motor connector as explained above.
.

 

[CHARLES PORRETTO SR]

OK,

Here's what happened. I disconnected the front-wheel motor. Unplugged it from the controller. Un plugged the power from the battery. The binding of the front wheel WENT AWAY and the wheel turns free like before. Hooked up everything again and it's working perfectly. Big question. Will it do that again. What do you think?

 

[rich c]

Similar symptoms on a Bafang geared hub motor for me. It was a bad hall sensor and Sondors sent me a new motor. Could also have been a slightly loose connecter between the controller and motor for you. Are there any fault codes on your display?

 

[CHARLES PORRETTO SR]

I don't have a display. The sad thing is I don't remember where I bought it. It was thru eBay, but over two years ago, almost over three. They stop showing purchases after two years, and I doubt they would do anything anyway.

I'm hesitant to take it out until I find out what mad it do that. I had to push it a half-mile back home. Uphill.

 

[harryS]

It works! That's progress.

You can skip this explanation, but when the wires in a direct drive motor coil are connected together, the motor becomes hard to turn. This is how regenerative brakes work. Current is the coil is created by the magnetic field, and it create a opposite magnetic field that fights the motor magnets. Works like a brake. It's also how the motor spins, because the controller will schedule the coil current so the magnetic fields help the motor turn in the proper direction, rather than making it hard to turn, as you found out. If you had a geared motor, they have clutches, so this symptom would only come up if you turned the wheel backwards.

Without seeing your setup, two possibilities come to mind.

1) The controller had a problem, usually a short circuit in a driver transistor. but those problems rarely go away. When a transistor pops. It stays popped. It could be a heat problem though, and now that things are cool, it works.

2) Your wiring was touching somewhere because it got hot and the insulation melted. Again, a heat problem. Do you have all of it in a bag?

All I would suggest is to inspect the wires from the motor and see if you can see any obvious damage. Tape it up with electrcical tape if you find any bare spots. Maybe ride it around in a circle in a flat area.

 

[CHARLES PORRETTO SR]

I checked for bad spots on the wires. Didn't see any. The controller is out in the open, mounted to my metal basked for a heat sink. The controller never got hot while all this was going on. I started up the driveway, slight incline and began riding. it began to make a noise, grrrrrrrr. I kept going until it stopped. I shut off the battery with the key. Turned the throttle off, and it still remained stiff.

I disconnected the battery and unplugged the motor from the controller. It then loosened up. How was it getting current when the battery was turned off with the key switch? I'll take your advice and go in a circle and see what happens, but it's a mystery.

 

[rich c]

If you got 3 years out of an eBay eBike, I’d say you may have reached its life expectancy. I sure wouldn’t want to put any money in it.

 

[CHARLES PORRETTO SR]

No. I just took it for a short run. Everything seems normal. If it does it again I'll buy a new one. The whole kit is now only about 165.00
Thanks for the help.