BIONX - No Pedal Assist
 

Hello,
I put together a Bionx bike - D500 motor, RC3 controller, DS3 display. There is no throttle available, only pedal assist and even the pedal assist does not work. All looks well on the display, battery charges and holds well. The notch on Torque Blocker points down.
I reseated all connections.
I am able to change assist level and regen level on the controller, and there are no errors on the display. Odometer and speedometer work well so I believe the communication with the wheel is ok. Just there is no assist from the motor when I pedal. I even went to higher speeds (over 25 km/h) as someone suggested somewhere that may engage the assist. Nothing helped.
Does anyone have a suggestion what might be wrong or how to test the motor?

Thank you

BionX had proprietary functions incorporated into their hub systems. ebikesca has developed some "work-around" tricks. FME with other systems they have been helpful. You might contact them.

Is it a "new" motor kit from an internet source? Perhaps it was not activated? If not activated you will need to find somebody with BBI bootleg software and a BIB interface device to connect to a computer. Many previous BionX dealers no longer have this. I'm just guessing, hopefully it's something simpler.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cb741e23f0.png

It is not a new motor as it shows mileage on it (on the display). It must have been activated already. Maybe after I replaced the display, it now requires another activation?

If it's a used motor with over 50km on it then activation is not likely the problem.

Was the previous display DS3 or G2? If it used to be G2 then your battery firmware may or may not be compatible. Console code 0002 on my G2 reveals battery firmware version. Not sure how this works on your RC3/DS3. Battery firmware version 12 only works with G2, version 15 works with either G2 or DS3. You'd need a BIB tool and BBI software to change versions.

The fact that your console speaks to the motor suggests that the firmware may be correct, but I'm not sure about this. The wrong firmware will ignore the battery. I'm just throwing out wild suggestions based on 6 years of owning BionX D500s and batteries. I'm not a technician. More likely a bad connection you haven't found yet!

I found software online and have ordered the interface. Will post here if I am able to find out the problem.

I finally got the interface. After hooking it up and running software (debug mode), it seems like there is no user torque input - User Torque = 0 Nm. Also, Strain Gauge signal reads as n/a. Any suggestions what this means? Strain Gauge is shot? Is there a way to actually run the test for Strain Gauge?
Thanks

Time to give up.

-SP

sarma- Good luck figuring out your strain gauge issue, I have no further suggestions.

I'm curious about your experience using the BIB, I just got one from bxlegacy. I successfully installed the software and WinZip but can't get the BIB to function. I have Windows 10 and I now learned that it requires nothing more recent than Windows 7, back dated to Nov 2018. Which version do you have? A FaceBook group member says he installed it with Windows 10.

Any secrets to getting the program to start? Do you just plug in the BIB connected to bike parts + computer and wait for it to start or do you click on one of the files?

Hope you can fix the strain gauge. There is an active BionX group at FaceBook that might be helpful.

BobG

I use it with WIN10 too. What error message do you get? For me, sometimes the software does not see the interface. I then have to restart the software and reconnect the interface to get it to work. otherwise, it works w/o issues. I set the PC date to Nov 22, 2018 if that matters.

I get a long list of 136 files with no clue how to continue for a non-computer geek! Shouldn't a start icon appear on the desktop? I've connected all of the BionX parts to the BIB and computer and turned on the G2 console.

I've clicked on the "drivers" file to update as instructed by a member of the Facebook group. I also tried the other German software source from the bxlegacy site as he also suggested. When I click on the "bbi.exe" file I get this error code ...

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1f106227f8.jpg


I only have the temporary 21 day version of WinZip installed. I have to open the WinZip program before I re-date the computer to 2018 or my trial period expires. Maybe I have to go ahead and buy the permanent version?

Thanks for any suggestions. I probably should post this at the FB group. At least I know now I don't need to buy an old laptop with WIN7. Wish I could help with your strain gauge issue.

As suggested above, check out ebikesca (Grin). The owner, Justin, is one of the smartest guys in the industry (IMO).

I found a discussion about location of the strain gauge at this old Endless Sphere thread. Post 5 gives a few test procedures. Scroll down to post 6 for a big photo of sensor in D500 wheel The good news is that you only have to remove the freehub on the D500 wheel to access it, unlike the P series wheel at above video which requires spoke removal.

PS- I finally got the BIB to work with my WIN10! I just had to delete and re-install the software a few times.