Electric scooter speed contoller

G

George Herold

Guest
Hi guys, I scored an electric scooter on trash day. (A Schwinn zone
5)
Of course the SLA batteries were toast. (2 X 12V @10A-hr.) But I’ve
got two old power wheels from when the kids were younger. (What, me
throw something out?) 4 x 6V @12 A-hr. I charged up the old
batteries but found one of those was dead also. (It refused to have
any charge pushed into it.) So I figured with three I’d have 18V
which should be enough. And it is, it runs fine. (maybe 10mph on a
flat.)
Now here’s the problem. There’s an electronic speed control (hidden
somewhere.. I haven’t found it yet.) And there must be a low voltage
cutout in the controller. So when the current draw drops the battery
voltage below some point the controller cuts out.
So I’d like to find out first where the speed control is hidden. And
then I’m hoping I can hack it and drop the voltage cut-out.
I’ve done a few web searches, but I mostly find sites where they want
to sell me something... nothing useful. Any hints on finding
schematics for something like this would be appreciated.

As a side note: I took apart the thumb throttle control on the handle
bar and discovered only a pot. The sad news is that it looked like a
little trim pot... I guess those last a bit longer than their 200
rotations spec.

Thanks
George H.
 
On Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:40:53 -0700, George Herold wrote:

Hi guys, I scored an electric scooter on trash day. (A Schwinn zone 5)
Of course the SLA batteries were toast. (2 X 12V @10A-hr.) But I’ve
got two old power wheels from when the kids were younger. (What, me
throw something out?) 4 x 6V @12 A-hr. I charged up the old
batteries but found one of those was dead also. (It refused to have any
charge pushed into it.) So I figured with three I’d have 18V which
should be enough. And it is, it runs fine. (maybe 10mph on a flat.)
Now here’s the problem. There’s an electronic speed control (hidden
somewhere.. I haven’t found it yet.) And there must be a low voltage
cutout in the controller. So when the current draw drops the battery
voltage below some point the controller cuts out. So I’d like to find
out first where the speed control is hidden. And then I’m hoping I can
hack it and drop the voltage cut-out. I’ve done a few web searches, but
I mostly find sites where they want to sell me something... nothing
useful. Any hints on finding schematics for something like this would
be appreciated.

As a side note: I took apart the thumb throttle control on the handle
bar and discovered only a pot. The sad news is that it looked like a
little trim pot... I guess those last a bit longer than their 200
rotations spec.
Click to expand...
All I can think to suggest is that you trace wiring and see where the
wires from the handlebars comes into a box with the wires between battery
and motor.

--
My liberal friends think I'm a conservative kook.
My conservative friends think I'm a liberal kook.
Why am I not happy that they have found common ground?

Tim Wescott, Communications, Control, Circuits & Software
http://www.wescottdesign.com
 
George Herold wrote:
Hi guys, I scored an electric scooter on trash day. (A Schwinn zone
5)
Of course the SLA batteries were toast. (2 X 12V @10A-hr.) But I’ve
got two old power wheels from when the kids were younger. (What, me
throw something out?) 4 x 6V @12 A-hr. I charged up the old
batteries but found one of those was dead also. (It refused to have
any charge pushed into it.) So I figured with three I’d have 18V
which should be enough. And it is, it runs fine. (maybe 10mph on a
flat.)
Now here’s the problem. There’s an electronic speed control (hidden
somewhere.. I haven’t found it yet.) And there must be a low voltage
cutout in the controller. So when the current draw drops the battery
voltage below some point the controller cuts out.
So I’d like to find out first where the speed control is hidden. And
then I’m hoping I can hack it and drop the voltage cut-out.
I’ve done a few web searches, but I mostly find sites where they want
to sell me something... nothing useful. Any hints on finding
schematics for something like this would be appreciated.

As a side note: I took apart the thumb throttle control on the handle
bar and discovered only a pot. The sad news is that it looked like a
little trim pot... I guess those last a bit longer than their 200
rotations spec.

Thanks
George H.
integrated controller in the motor?
Click to expand...

Jamie
 
On 6/6/2013 9:34 PM, George Herold wrote:
On Jun 6, 5:37 pm, Jamie
jamie_ka1lpa_not_valid_after_ka1l...@charter.net> wrote:
George Herold wrote:
Hi guys, I scored an electric scooter on trash day. (A Schwinn zone
5)
Of course the SLA batteries were toast. (2 X 12V @10A-hr.) But I’ve
got two old power wheels from when the kids were younger. (What, me
throw something out?) 4 x 6V @12 A-hr. I charged up the old
batteries but found one of those was dead also. (It refused to have
any charge pushed into it.) So I figured with three I’d have 18V
which should be enough. And it is, it runs fine. (maybe 10mph on a
flat.)
Now here’s the problem. There’s an electronic speed control (hidden
somewhere.. I haven’t found it yet.) And there must be a low voltage
cutout in the controller. So when the current draw drops the battery
voltage below some point the controller cuts out.
So I’d like to find out first where the speed control is hidden. And
then I’m hoping I can hack it and drop the voltage cut-out.
I’ve done a few web searches, but I mostly find sites where they want
to sell me something... nothing useful. Any hints on finding
schematics for something like this would be appreciated.

As a side note: I took apart the thumb throttle control on the handle
bar and discovered only a pot. The sad news is that it looked like a
little trim pot... I guess those last a bit longer than their 200
rotations spec.

Thanks
George H.

integrated controller in the motor?

Jamie- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I think that's what it must be, several (three or more) wires head
into the motor housing. It's says Currie Electro Drive on the
aluminum cover but no numbers. There are four screws holding the
alum. cover to the motor. Of course I can't take one of them off
without taking the whole back end apart. :^(

George H.

So, take it apart. Did you forget where you posted.
Click to expand...
:)
 
On Jun 6, 5:37 pm, Jamie
<jamie_ka1lpa_not_valid_after_ka1l...@charter.net> wrote:
George Herold wrote:
Hi guys, I scored an electric scooter on trash day.  (A Schwinn zone
5)
Of course the SLA batteries were toast.  (2 X 12V @10A-hr.)  But I’ve
got two old power wheels from when the kids were younger.  (What, me
throw something out?)  4 x 6V @12 A-hr.    I charged up the old
batteries but found one of those was dead also.  (It refused to have
any charge pushed into it.)  So I figured with three I’d have 18V
which should be enough.  And it is,  it runs fine.  (maybe 10mph on a
flat.)
Now here’s the problem.  There’s an electronic speed control (hidden
somewhere.. I haven’t found it yet.) And there must be a low voltage
cutout in the controller.  So when the current draw drops the battery
voltage below some point the controller cuts out.
So I’d like to find out first where the speed control is hidden.  And
then I’m hoping I can hack it and drop the voltage cut-out.
I’ve done a few web searches, but I mostly find sites where they want
to sell me something... nothing useful.  Any hints on finding
schematics for something like this would be appreciated.

As a side note: I took apart the thumb throttle control on the handle
bar and discovered only a pot.  The sad news is that it looked like a
little trim pot... I guess those last a bit longer than their 200
rotations spec.

Thanks
George H.

integrated controller in the motor?

Jamie- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...
I think that's what it must be, several (three or more) wires head
into the motor housing. It's says Currie Electro Drive on the
aluminum cover but no numbers. There are four screws holding the
alum. cover to the motor. Of course I can't take one of them off
without taking the whole back end apart. :^(

George H.
 
On 6/7/2013 9:54 AM, George Herold wrote:
On Jun 6, 9:42 pm, Tom Biasi <tombi...@optonline.net> wrote:
On 6/6/2013 9:34 PM, George Herold wrote:



On Jun 6, 5:37 pm, Jamie
jamie_ka1lpa_not_valid_after_ka1l...@charter.net> wrote:
George Herold wrote:
Hi guys, I scored an electric scooter on trash day. (A Schwinn zone
5)
Of course the SLA batteries were toast. (2 X 12V @10A-hr.) But I ve
got two old power wheels from when the kids were younger. (What, me
throw something out?) 4 x 6V @12 A-hr. I charged up the old
batteries but found one of those was dead also. (It refused to have
any charge pushed into it.) So I figured with three I d have 18V
which should be enough. And it is, it runs fine. (maybe 10mph on a
flat.)
Now here s the problem. There s an electronic speed control (hidden
somewhere.. I haven t found it yet.) And there must be a low voltage
cutout in the controller. So when the current draw drops the battery
voltage below some point the controller cuts out.
So I d like to find out first where the speed control is hidden. And
then I m hoping I can hack it and drop the voltage cut-out.
I ve done a few web searches, but I mostly find sites where they want
to sell me something... nothing useful. Any hints on finding
schematics for something like this would be appreciated.

As a side note: I took apart the thumb throttle control on the handle
bar and discovered only a pot. The sad news is that it looked like a
little trim pot... I guess those last a bit longer than their 200
rotations spec.

Thanks
George H.

integrated controller in the motor?

Jamie- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I think that's what it must be, several (three or more) wires head
into the motor housing. It's says Currie Electro Drive on the
aluminum cover but no numbers. There are four screws holding the
alum. cover to the motor. Of course I can't take one of them off
without taking the whole back end apart. :^(

George H.

So, take it apart. Did you forget where you posted.
:)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yeah yeah... A project for my son and I this weekend.

George H.

Good luck. Help is here.
Click to expand...

Tom
 
On Jun 6, 9:42 pm, Tom Biasi <tombi...@optonline.net> wrote:
On 6/6/2013 9:34 PM, George Herold wrote:



On Jun 6, 5:37 pm, Jamie
jamie_ka1lpa_not_valid_after_ka1l...@charter.net> wrote:
George Herold wrote:
Hi guys, I scored an electric scooter on trash day.  (A Schwinn zone
5)
Of course the SLA batteries were toast.  (2 X 12V @10A-hr.)  But I ve
got two old power wheels from when the kids were younger.  (What, me
throw something out?)  4 x 6V @12 A-hr.    I charged up the old
batteries but found one of those was dead also.  (It refused to have
any charge pushed into it.)  So I figured with three I d have 18V
which should be enough.  And it is,  it runs fine.  (maybe 10mph on a
flat.)
Now here s the problem.  There s an electronic speed control (hidden
somewhere.. I haven t found it yet.) And there must be a low voltage
cutout in the controller.  So when the current draw drops the battery
voltage below some point the controller cuts out.
So I d like to find out first where the speed control is hidden.  And
then I m hoping I can hack it and drop the voltage cut-out.
I ve done a few web searches, but I mostly find sites where they want
to sell me something... nothing useful.  Any hints on finding
schematics for something like this would be appreciated.

As a side note: I took apart the thumb throttle control on the handle
bar and discovered only a pot.  The sad news is that it looked like a
little trim pot... I guess those last a bit longer than their 200
rotations spec.

Thanks
George H.

integrated controller in the motor?

Jamie- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I think that's what it must be, several (three or more) wires head
into the motor housing.  It's says Currie Electro Drive on the
aluminum cover but no numbers.  There are four screws holding the
alum. cover to the motor.  Of course I can't take one of them off
without taking the whole back end apart.  :^(

George H.

So, take it apart. Did you forget where you posted.
:)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...
Yeah yeah... A project for my son and I this weekend.

George H.
 
The low-voltage cutout is more of a feature than an inconvenience. Since the
original SLAs had a higher voltage rating, the old, used, lower rated ones
will likely only give a short duration of running time before the cutoff
level is reached.
You may be able to modify the controller to operate in a different range of
voltages, but the way circuits are made today it could be unlikely.

Curtis is another manufacturer of a lot of bike/scooter mobility
controllers, and may be a source of useful specs and other technical info
wrt the controller and motor.

BTW, discharging lead-acid batteries into an over-discharged state will
generally cause damage that will significantly decrease the useful life of
the batteries.
That might not be an issue with the old used batteries, run 'em till they
die, but generally all batteries are damaged by over-discharging them.

If the controller is also the charging circuit, there would be an issue of
trying to charge an 18V pack with 24V.

--
Cheers,
WB
..............


"George Herold" <ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:0ec054a5-7ed7-4732-a1f5-7a336c8d3734@b4g2000yql.googlegroups.com...
Hi guys, I scored an electric scooter on trash day. (A Schwinn zone
5)
Of course the SLA batteries were toast. (2 X 12V @10A-hr.) But I’ve
got two old power wheels from when the kids were younger. (What, me
throw something out?) 4 x 6V @12 A-hr. I charged up the old
batteries but found one of those was dead also. (It refused to have
any charge pushed into it.) So I figured with three I’d have 18V
which should be enough. And it is, it runs fine. (maybe 10mph on a
flat.)
Now here’s the problem. There’s an electronic speed control (hidden
somewhere.. I haven’t found it yet.) And there must be a low voltage
cutout in the controller. So when the current draw drops the battery
voltage below some point the controller cuts out.
So I’d like to find out first where the speed control is hidden. And
then I’m hoping I can hack it and drop the voltage cut-out.
I’ve done a few web searches, but I mostly find sites where they want
to sell me something... nothing useful. Any hints on finding
schematics for something like this would be appreciated.

As a side note: I took apart the thumb throttle control on the handle
bar and discovered only a pot. The sad news is that it looked like a
little trim pot... I guess those last a bit longer than their 200
rotations spec.

Thanks
George H.
 
On Mon, 10 Jun 2013 05:57:56 -0700 (PDT), George Herold <gherold@teachspin.com> wrote:

[...]

George,

I'm coming into this conversation a bit late, but I did notice these
sites which might have spare parts should you need them:

http://www.electricscooterparts.com/
http://www.monsterscooterparts.com/zone5.html

A message here:

http://scootersparts.net/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=392_416_439

offers some advice:

"Some of these Parts for Schwinn brand electric scooters will also
fit your S-150, S-200, S-300, S-350, S-500, S-750, Stealth ST-1000
and many more. In most cases parts are interchangeable for all
models and styles of Schwinn, Currie, or Mongoose electric scooter"

From another site:

"Schwinn, i-zip, e-zip, GT, and Mongoose scooters are all the same
scooters, just re-badged for marketing purposes. All of these
brands are produced by Currie Technologies..."

and a lead to:

http://www.currietech.com/
http://www.currietech.com/help-and-support/
http://www.currietech.com/dealers/wiki/index.php/Spare_Parts_Lists

Hope something in all this helps...


Frank McKenney
--
There is a wistful myth that if only we had enough money to spend--
the figure is usually put at a hundred billion dollars--we could
wipe out all slums in ten years, reverse decay in the great, dull,
gray belts that were yesterday's and day-before-yesterday's suburbs,
anchor the wandering middle class and its wandering tax money, and
perhaps even solve the traffic problem.

But look what we have built with the first several billions:
Low-income projects that become worse centers of delinquency,
candalism and general social hopelessness than the slums they were
supposed to replace. Middle-income housing projects which are truly
marvels of dullness and regimentation, sealed against any buoyancy
or vitality of city life. Luxury housing projects that mitigate
their inanity, or try to, with a vapid vulgarity. Cultural centers
that are unable to support a good bookstore. Civic centers that are
avoided by everyone but bums, who have fewer choices of loitering
places than others. Commercial centers that are lack-luster
imitations of standardized suburban chain-store shopping.
Promenades that go from no place to nowhere and have no promenaders.
Expressways that eviscerate great cities. This is not the
rebuilding of cities. This is the sacking of cities.

-- Jane Jacobs, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities"
--
Frank McKenney, McKenney Associates
Richmond, Virginia / (804) 320-4887
Munged E-mail: frank uscore mckenney aatt mindspring ddoott com



Replacement 24 volt 3pin Thumb Throttle for Schwinn, etc.
http://www.thesuperkids.com/scs1mompgt20.html
 
On Jun 7, 1:07 pm, "Wild_Bill" <wb_wildb...@XSPAMyahoo.com> wrote:
The low-voltage cutout is more of a feature than an inconvenience. Since the
original SLAs had a higher voltage rating, the old, used, lower rated ones
will likely only give a short duration of running time before the cutoff
level is reached.
You may be able to modify the controller to operate in a different range of
voltages, but the way circuits are made today it could be unlikely.

Curtis is another manufacturer of a lot of bike/scooter mobility
controllers, and may be a source of useful specs and other technical info
wrt the controller and motor.

BTW, discharging lead-acid batteries into an over-discharged state will
generally cause damage that will significantly decrease the useful life of
the batteries.
That might not be an issue with the old used batteries, run 'em till they
die, but generally all batteries are damaged by over-discharging them.

If the controller is also the charging circuit, there would be an issue of
trying to charge an 18V pack with 24V.
Click to expand...
Thanks Bill, Well we took the motor apart this weekend (only a few
minutes of work) and indeed the electronincs is built in to the
motor.. but it's all potted in the base, and buried underneath the
rotor. I guess the 'easy' solution is to buy another battery.

I was thinking that the voltage cut-out is really too low for 24
volts. Since we could run the thing for a while with just 18
Volts... If we get another battery I'll warn my not to drain it all
the way down.

George H.


--
Cheers,
WB
.............

"George Herold" <ggher...@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:0ec054a5-7ed7-4732-a1f5-7a336c8d3734@b4g2000yql.googlegroups.com...
Hi guys, I scored an electric scooter on trash day.  (A Schwinn zone
5)
Of course the SLA batteries were toast.  (2 X 12V @10A-hr.)  But I’ve
got two old power wheels from when the kids were younger.  (What, me
throw something out?)  4 x 6V @12 A-hr.    I charged up the old
batteries but found one of those was dead also.  (It refused to have
any charge pushed into it.)  So I figured with three I’d have 18V
which should be enough.  And it is,  it runs fine.  (maybe 10mph on a
flat.)
Now here’s the problem.  There’s an electronic speed control (hidden
somewhere.. I haven’t found it yet.) And there must be a low voltage
cutout in the controller.  So when the current draw drops the battery
voltage below some point the controller cuts out.
So I’d like to find out first where the speed control is hidden.  And
then I’m hoping I can hack it and drop the voltage cut-out.
I’ve done a few web searches, but I mostly find sites where they want
to sell me something... nothing useful.  Any hints on finding
schematics for something like this would be appreciated.

As a side note: I took apart the thumb throttle control on the handle
bar and discovered only a pot.  The sad news is that it looked like a
little trim pot... I guess those last a bit longer than their 200
rotations spec.

Thanks
George H.
Click to expand...
 
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