powell

here are pictures
and schematics of my EPLUS conversion
they should be familiar to anybody who opened EPLUS NMH hub.

Metal Man

First snow of the new year. I have about 11,700 miles on this now. I love this bike!

powell

Metalman
I have added schematics of my EPLUS conversion.
Seriously?
Do you ride in winter also, have you change to winter tires?

Metal Man

Yes, I ride all year, I'm usually good to about 20 degrees F. I have studded tires.

powell

Metalman
I understand you have not noticed any mechanical /noises the way the motor works.
Is this click after applying regen brake /after releasing brake lever/ still the same ? Or is it louder?
I would pay more attention to lubricate bearings if I rode in winter.
Bearings on EPLUS are high quality sealed Japanese ones just like on Tidal Force bikes, but I still lubricate them.
I place EPLUS on its side ,squirt 5 droplets of Mobil 1 motor oil to the centre of motor and next I rotate wheel to allow oil to flow down.
I do it on both sides of EPLUS.
High quality full synhetic Mobil 1 is one of the best if not the best motor oil in the world. It not just lubricate but also seals your EPLUS hub center from moisture penetration.
I know EPLUS motor stands out of many DD motors , because its mechanical design /example wires do not enter through axle like in your typical cheapo China brand but through individual holes in stainless steal solid centre hub/
but still few squirts of such fully synthetic oil from both sides keeps both sides centres oily - very good.

nimbuzz

I'm not positive but I wouldn't use Mobil1 for a bearing (I do use it in my car) It is engine lube and even though engines may have two main bearings these are toleranced and engineered to run in an oil bath and Mobile 1 is engineered to be a bath in a gas engine for piston rings, high temps & etc and is not designed for a dry bearing. A bearing should have a thicker grease specified for this application to stay in the bearing for the long term. If I suspected the original grease was dry or displaced I would give it squirts of Triflow teflon lube twice a year. I think the Mobile 1 will just be pushed out of the bearing races soon and leave it dry and very vulnerable. Again, Mobile 1 is an engine lube and may not be optimal for a dry bearing. Bones makes lubes for skateboard bearings that are a thicker cream meant to remain in the bearing but skateboarders and rollerbladers want speed and very low rolling resistance so they use light greases ("cream").

I would consider taking the bearing seal off on the inside of the motor because it is clean in there and doesn't need the seal. With the seal off I could spray-clean the bearing with bearing cleaner or even WD-40 (as a cleaner NOT as a lube--it is a very light weight lube for some non-critical things) and then after it dries apply a thicker teflon grease which would last. Taking the inner seal off on the inside of the wheel has been done millions of times on skate boards and some top of the line bearings even come without a seal on one side for skateboards and rollerblades for this purpose. Campognolo and other companies make bicycle bearing lubes but these are often for racing and they get renewed regularly--not left for 11k miles.

I agree that after 11,000 miles some lube should be added and bearings should be cleaned. One could replace them but I'd look into the price for this size as some odd sizes can be expensive and sometimes require a press to get them in and out as they must be completely seated. Good grease can substantially prolong the life of a bearing. Some greases are intended to stay in place and last long in this application. This particular bike is carrying a lot of weight but all of our ebikes have more load than a bicycle.

It would be nice for a dry bearing engineer to chime in with info for all our ebike bearing maintenance needs.

powell

I can see your point, especially about that oil can be thown out of bearings.
however
everthing depends...how often you do it and for what weather conditions.
I want this oil to splash and lubricate also metal seals, snap rings and get it inside motor and
I don't do it once in a season, more often than that. I squirt untill it flows out.

Kris King /golden standard in bicycle parts - the best/ manufacturer actually recomends motor oil for lubrication for its expensive hubs in certain weather conditions.
Check this out
page from CHRIS KING manual.
My comment above was about riding in winter.
Here what KRIS KING says about lubrication of its sealed bearings built into front hub.
They do mention Tri-flow lubricant.

Metal Man

I have over 12,000 miles on this now.

Sfli3

Hi Powell,

I tried to find out what was wrong with the circuit board but I had no luck. I am very appreciative of the help that you had given me last November. I know that you have a lot of knowledge about the eplus system and I wanted to offer this to you first before I try ebay. I am looking to sell my motor, controller, and brake handels. I was wondering if you or know someone that would be interested in these items. Let me know and thanks again for your help!

Steve

powell

Steve
I cannot remember , can you refresh my memory...
You opened front hub , right
What I was helping you with?

Sfli3

Yes. Here was our last converstation

wrandyr

If Powell doesn't want anything, I would be interested in at least the wiring harness, particularly the brake/throttle part.

wrandyr

Steve,

Now that I think of it, the reason I am looking for the brake/throttle harness is that the display does not come one. I have 2 E+ systems, so I am able to swap parts around. I discovered that the problem existed for both battery/motor sets when I used one brake/throttle harness, and did not happen on either when I used the other harness. I have not yet figured out what is different about the bad harness.

Sfli3

No problem wrandyr. I will probably wait a couple weeks before I put the items on ebay. I was going to give Powell first crack at them and then anybody else on this forum. I know that the eplus parts are hard to find and I wanted to give anybody that was following this forum a chance to replace parts. The controller, brake handle, and motor all worked fine until the circuit board from the battery hub went bad and the bike had less than 60 miles on it. The tires and rims look brand new so I know the previous owner was telling the truth about the mileage.

powell

Steve
sorry for getting to you back late.
So as you said when you bought this Eplus it all functioned good.
You did not have Eplus charger, you opened battery hub and hooked up third party charger.
It is easy to make short and damage battery electronics if not careful.
For sure battery electronics are gone. As I wrote before to repair such a board with no schematics would be very difficult stuff.
As we know only one specific display/controller will work with given Eplus motor, they have specific ID.
On other hand every Eplus battery hub will work with any Eplus. Means any Eplus battery electronics can be replaced.
However PIC chip on battery electronics is loaded with software, so if PIC chip is dead chances are zero to repair.
I know Eplus system to some degree only.
To me any Eplus battery hub is needed to connect to the rest of your Eplus to make sure that all works fine.
I am not interested unless I get all your kit for really cheap.
Chances of finding buyer for non-functioning ebike kit on eBay are next to zero.
From last conversation with Rick Ruggiero which still sell Eplus parts he would be willing to sell used hub for $800, new for $1000. For sure he will not sell any electronics boards , he for sure does not repair any Eplus electronics, however he has
computer interface to program Eplus and run diagnotics.

Sfli3

Hi Powell

Here is my email. Sfli321@gmail.com. It would be better to communicate in private. I have to have over 50 posts in order to talk in private on this forum. Im not looking for a lot of money for this system so it will probably be worth your while. Send me an email and I can send you pictures if you want them. I also have the tire off of the front hub that I will through in too
Thanks!

Metal Man

If Powell isn't interested, I may be.

powell

Steve,
On the second thought.
I am NOT interested in buying.

Sfli3

Hi Metal man,
If your interested, send me an email. Sfli321@gmail.com
Thanks!!

Metal Man

I passed 13,000 miles on this today.

powell

That is impressing considering your EPLUS drive works on heavy cargo bike.
On other hand EPLUS is computerized drive with all kind of protections built in.
Unlike cheap China drives it is impossible to melt EPLUS - overheating protection, also you cannot throw higher voltage at it - overvoltage protection /why would you? Eplus achives on 36V what other primitive drives need 48V /
I am approaching 9000km on my converted EPLUS /28km short of 9000km/.
I havn't noticed any deterioration/changes in my EPLUS. Works like new.
FALCO DD hub drive is the only edrive I would recommend to anybody thinking about converting their bikes to electric, because like EPLUS FALCO is designed to Western standards by the same design team. Made in India.
Metalman,
how is your battery from Paul doing?
What distances do you cover on one charge?

Metal Man

Over 14,000 miles on my E plus Big Dummy!!

powell

Congratulation Metalman,
My EPLUS reached 9920 kilometers as of today, around 8920 kilometers after switching to Lithium.

No problems with EPLUS drive powered on Lithium. I reach 51km/h everyday with pedalling. However I found out that my pedal effort has minimal effect on final speed. When I lay low to more areo position I still can reach 51km/h with no pedalling.
Mind you that on 36V system, no need for 48V or any crazy voltages.

Metal Man

Powell, sounds like you're getting some good use of yours too. I now have over 15,000 miles on my Big Dummy. I bought it in November 2010 and now have more miles on it than the motorcycle I bought in 2003.

My batteries are doing great. I bought a second one from Paul that I strap on when I'm covering a lot of ground. I have a 37 miles loop that I have to do from time to time and I've found that with the two batteries I can't run it hard enough to run them both down. I try to keep the speed within reason and I always pedal.

I do a local road race every year, it's 27 miles and hilly. I don't do it to win or beat anyone, just the satisfaction of completing it. Race day was only my fourth ride on the road bike for the year. I wasn't sure how I would do, since everyone knows you don't get any exercise on an E bike. I did fine, I was quite happy with it actually. My time was about 1 hour 44 minutes and I made all the hills with no real struggles.

powell

Sorry to replay so late.
here there is actual millage as of today on my Eplus.
I have to correct myself a bit on my post above. I pedal around 90% of the time.
Areo position is rather difficult to maintain with setup like on my Eplus Biria, I am not young anymore, beside in areo I cannot see road far ahead enough.
So on my way to work 3-4km before reaching work at pedal like crazy to escape cars, namely to have as few cars pass me as possible.
Of course the faster I go the fewer cars pass me - hudge motivation for me to pedal hard to reach even 54km/h sometimes/no windy day/, when I reach doors of my company I pant, cannot catch breath, breathing like crazy.
The point is that our 1000W Epluses are non-restricted which rather encourages pedalling - final speed depends on me.
I exercise a lot on my Eplus on my way to work, riding back from work is maybe different story, on the path I don't want to reach crazy speeds, no cars chasing so I take it easy.
here is my Eplus happily charging at one of elementary schools /my favorite for charging are schools, whatever public - I pay taxes, right?/