[fishfiles]

Motorized bike , but not a Honda , hope someone on the site might know something about them

I have been having this EZIP TRailz since 2007 and put a lot of rides on it , the wife loves to ride the St Tammany Trace Bike Trail that runs right thru or neighborhood , I don't like to pedal , I took the bike out this week and charged the 2 Lithium 24 volt batteries and no go , checked voltage and found nothing coming out of the controller , which is no longer available any where , they still sell this bike too ---

so I have been trying to find someone who has done a mod using another controller and throttle control and still use the same motor and battery set up ---they make so many controllers with different functions , the guy at the Electric scooter shop tells me people do all kinds of upgrades , switching to 36 and up volts , and swopping controllers , but he doesn't want to recommend anything to me , other than use a 24 volt 500watt controller

 

[retro]

I've never messed with one of those setups, but if the controller can be disassembled enough (without breaking stuff getting into it) for access to the internals I'd probably try to fix it rather than replace it.

Do you know whether it uses a BLDC (brushless) motor type? If so, its probably a hall-effect sensor input from motor to the controller. I'd start there, making sure the input signals are being produced. Then determine the type of variable output control, whether its PWM or other... unless it has proprietary components or its totally fried something major it might be repairable. It could be something as simple as an internal fuse that isn't documented as well.

I promised to go look at a dead conveyor for a nearby neighbor later on this week... according to the business owner it runs on 3-phase AC input power (pretty bizarre in America!) which standard 115 volts AC supply runs through a single phase-to-3-phase converter, then powers some unknown type of variable speed control for the conveyor. The guy paid big bucks to someone who can't figure it out of course... now two days ago he rode up my driveway on his ATV... been two years since I last seen him... an' fixed his electronically controlled baler for him. This is the kinda weird crap I get into... so if you can't find any other option, feel free to ship the bugger to 'da UP 'an we'll see what shakes out!

 

[fishfiles]

Thanks for the reply and offer Retro , yes it is HAL I see that on one of the eight plugs coming out the controller ----you got me thinking now about an internal fuse , there are no external fuses no where on the bike it's self , there are 40 watt fuses on the battery packs and they are good , as I am getting power to the controller

I was working on a Cat 316 excavator yesterday , it was going into throttle derate mode and buzzing for a high hydraulic oil temperature , I knew the temp of the tank as it was early in the morning and the machine had just been started , cool to the touch and I shot it with a digital heat gun and it was 94F , the monitor said it was 256F , I checked the wiring thru the engine compartment to the cab and found no damaged spots , so I went and got and installed a new sensor from Cat which was $42 , I ran the machine for 15 minutes and got the oil warm and no problems , the operator ran it for a hour yesterday and no problems , they called this morning and said it ran for 15 minutes and was doing it again , so I said get Cat and let them run their laptop on it , so I was there when the Cat guy came out this morning at 8:30 , he hooked up to it and said the software was out of date on all 3 of the onboard ecms , so he flashed them all , which took about 1 1/2 hours and then the machine wouldn't start , coding up with a communication problem , so he had to contact Cat and get a password and flash it again with a fix , so then he says the same sensor i changed yesterday was bad , said they go out all the time , he had them where they didn't work out the box , so Cat is going to warranty the sensor but not the service call , this is the kicker of the story , they use to charge $147.50 per hour from 7-5 , time an a half after those hours and $3.13 per mile to and from the shop , now they have a new system of charging , they don't charge milage , still charge travel time to the job and back to the shop , there is a bulls eye on the map around their shop , each circle out is a higher rate , the machine was at the 55 mile mark , so it was $190 per hour to and from their shop , @ 6.5 hours to tell the sensor they sold yesterday was bad --- got to love TIER 4 machines

 

[retro]

Ya, Tier 4 is a perfect bend-y'all-over-monthly electronic prison-plan! The local loggers here (my nearest neighbors and close friends) all have shiny new processing equipment. Its fast, modern, makes them lots of money and allows them to work 12-14 hour days in their tee shirts year 'round. But when something breaks on those efficient new machines its always a computer/network/sensor related issue and they're completely dead in the woods until the chintzy machine gets fixed.

They know I can't stand working on proprietary crap without a detailed service manual with schematics, it wastes all my time learning, rather than fixing... so I only get called up after the paid factory tech has failed and left them hanging. And those factory techs are dumber than rocks most of them! They're skilled at making up lame excuses is all!

I'm just a damn nutter in the woods... I shouldn't be my neighbors' goto guy after their high fallutin' electronic garbage shuts them down in the woods over a cheap china 10 cent sensor or a wiggled out plug... and after they've paid a few thousand bucks to some text-book, clean-shirted, punk who just drove away complaining about his wet 'n muddy, stained tennis shoes! I'm just a damn nutter in the woods fer cryin' out loud!

But if ya ever get in a bind don't hesitate to call. I hate sufferin' just as much as the next man. I'll do my damn-dest fer ya.

 

[fishfiles]

I hear you , the guy from Cat was 34 and has 5 years with Cat , was he worth $190 per hour ? no way ------ he didn't know I did it , but while I arranged the warranty replacement of the sensor and ordered another one next day air , the parts lady at Cat who is a very good friend for 30+ years , is sharp as a tack on Cat parts and I think the best Cat parts person out of the 3 local Cat dealerships , I asked her how many of those hyd temp sensors were sold in recent history , she said in the past year there were 2 sold and one was the one I just installed , so the tech lied about them going out all the time and then he tried to push installing it off on me , it is an easy part change and it will save the company money not having him come back out , but I have no faith that is the real problem and may never find out the real problem as I won't be there today and know he will cover his trail if that sensor doesn't solve the problem

 

[fishfiles]

Still have not made a decision on which controller to try and adapt into this electric bike

but while just researching to find someone that has done it and made a thread some where I remembered the story behind this bike , I been having it since 2006 , I bought it from a guy off Craig's List from Gulfport , Mississippi , he got a D.W.I. on this bike when he wiped out in front of a Sheriff on duty in front of a night club in Gulfport , he needed money for jail and had his girl friend post it on Craig's List , I was the first person to respond by email , it took him two days to respond to me and said I was the first and he had many responses but he was locked up , I wanted one bad and made the ride , so I got it for $175 , they were going for $400 at the time and he had $200 worth of extras on it , it almost turned in to a sour deal as I found out later that the front shock was bent , maybe from his wipe out as it had a couple of other dings and scratches , was lucky to find a guy parting one out on e-bay and got a entire front triple tree and shocks for $50 , I hate to let this bike go as it has a lot of history

I was pulled over on it once , not for drinking and driving , for riding a motorized vehicle in a no motorized vehicle zone ------

my neighbor is a drunk , full fledged , he got his license taken away for a long time , he rides a bike every where , he is another person I know that got a DWI on a bicycle , he ran into the side of a car and had to go the hospital and jail

 

[retro]

I knew a guy who got a DWI with his lawn mower, but on a bicycle...? Seems like that'd be a bad call since bicycles are not motorized vehicles. But I guess when you hit a car its gotta be blamed on something an' someone's gotta pay. Crazy stuff isn't it...

 

[fishfiles]

Have heard of a few people now getting a DWI on a horse , I live 1/2 from the horse trace , which is right next to St Tammany bicycle and walking Trace , they don't even let alcohol on the Trace ----wonder if the horse was drunk if he would get charged too , or maybe the rider for giving him the alcohol , maybe cruelty to animals , but maybe the horse liked it ..