Pedal assist works but throttle doesn’t
Posted by Guardiiann7@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 8 comments
So I have a Macfox-M20X mini swell and I've had it for a little over a year now and my throttle has stopped working completely. It didn't happen out of nowhere though at first I would get a small (!) Error on the screen meaning nothing worked even the pedal assist but the error would go away on its own in a minute or two, this happened for a few weeks. Then one day it stared accelerating on it own without me even touching it, it did a full backflip as I turned around to close my garage, then finally it just stopped working including the pedal assist. So I tried 2 different throttles from Amazon and all the volts and stuff matched up but when I plugged them in they still didn't work but they would get rid of the error code and make the pedal assist work, so after a few weeks of googling and trying to contact the company I found that no one else on the internet has ever had this problem, and the company didn't have a replacement throttle or any idea what went wrong. Help
RadroverUpgrade@reddit
I had a throttle fail; a new one and I was off and running again;
but I had to do some cable surgery.
Even if the connectors fit together, the pin assignment of the connectors
can vary. To fix it, it takes a bit of electrical skill; most important:
how to use a multimeter.
I could walk you through how to troubleshoot and repair this problem;
but without being able to test voltage on the pins, it's damn near
impossible.
Guardiiann7@reddit (OP)
That’s very helpful, I have a multimeter at work I can use so I’m definitely willing to try your idea. And walk through would be greatly appreciated
RadroverUpgrade@reddit
Alright.
You first need to determine if the controller is supplying
power to the throttle. If not, the throttle will not work.
You also need to determine the pinout of the controller
connector.
Make sure the multimeter is on DC voltage setting.
Raise the drive wheel of the bike off the ground,
Disconnect the throttle and turn on the controller.
Measure the voltage across all three pins of the
connector on the controller.
Do not short any of the pins together!
Make a diagram of the controller's throttle connector's
three pins and record the voltage between pin1 and pin2,
pin1 and pin3, and finally pin2 and pin3. If a reading
is negative, record it as such. (Each time use the black
probe of the multimeter on the lower number pin.)
On one of these measurements you should get 4.5v
(or -4.5v) that will indicate the controller is supplying
power to the throttle.
The measurements will also indicate the pinout of the
controller connector and which throttle wire you need
to connect to each controller pin.
(edited for clarification)
Guardiiann7@reddit (OP)
Ok so o believe my controller is under my battery and I just stripped tf out of a screw so I can’t access that any more and I don’t know which pin is 1,2 or 3 so I randomly tested all of them in pairs and got 3.8 to 4.0 sometimes negative so I think the throttle is getting power because when I unplugged the throttle the pedal assist stops working and a throttle symbol with a line threw it appears on the screen, idk where the controller is tho
RadroverUpgrade@reddit
You don't need to access the controller;
just the connector on it leading to the throttle.
Pin 1,2 and 3 are arbitrary. Just something
to show on your diagram to determine the pinout
of the controller.
Without a pinout, you won't be able to get the
throttle to function.
Guardiiann7@reddit (OP)
Ok then I got I think good readings from it I didn’t make the diagram I’ll have to do it again i only had like 10 minutes at work but I put wires in the connector to test them cause the way it is but what do I do once I figure out the readings on each pin
RadroverUpgrade@reddit
Once you give me the reading for each pair
of pins, I'll write another set of instructions on how to
wire in your throttle.
Guardiiann7@reddit (OP)
Ok thank you I’ll let you know