Found the problem!

Fooling around with the LiFePO4 pack last night revealed the problem. It's an intermittent connection!

I could move the BMS by the battery and the unit would come alive. I then did a tiny bit more digging and found the source. The main out ground wire was not fully connected. I will rewire this junction with 45A Anderson PowerPoles.

Hiccup in the works

I took my newly completed ebike down to my LBS to inflate the tires. You're probably asking why I have to do that?!?! :-)

The rear rim has a very deep V profile. The air valve doesn't protrude enough out of the rim for a normal bike pump nozzle to fit. The LBS has an air pump with a very shallow nozzle. I can get air in with that.

Anyway, I did that and had a very nice discussion with a man in the parking lot for a few minutes. On the way back home, I was going along at a good clip and hit a bump in the sidewalk. I immediately lost power! I looked down at the DrainBrain battery meter and saw that I had "Low Voltage." I stopped and tried wiggling the connectors thinking there was an intermittent open circuit, but couldn't find one. I rode it back home and found that the battery was not right. It was only showing 33.6V when it should be around 40V.

Sigh.

I've contacted V.Power.HK and they have responded by having me check the BMS to see what the individual cell groups are showing...

In the meantime, I have ordered a "backup" 36V SLA (sealed lead acid) system from Jason at eBikeKit.com. I just couldn't be without my ride for that long. The SLAs are 24 lbs and have 12AH of power. That should be enough to get me to work and home again comfortably.

More later.

Ambrose

It's done!

I was able to complete the electronic connections yesterday and got to try out the new bike yesterday evening. It's a very sweet ride. Smooth and quiet. The bike looks and rides like a Cadillac. It took a while to get used to the initial weight of the bike. It's not light! However, it gets up to speed quickly and if I pedal just a bit, it runs very, very fast.

I picked up a bike handlebar camera mount so will be taking some bike mounted video soon.

Almost there!

I dropped off my ebike at the LBS (local bike shop) this morning and they were able to complete the bike enough to ride! I took it for a ride with my girls this afternoon and it works great! The ride is very smooth because of the huge balloontires from Schwalbe. I can now start assembling the electronics on to the bike.

The LBS connected and adjusted the brakes and the front and rear derailleurs. It's a sweet machine!

Torque Arm Installed

I spent a couple of hours last night putting the torque arm onto the front fork of my ebike. I think it looks terrific and should work very well.

Torque Arms have arrived

After what seems like a really long time, I finally received the torque arms from e-BikeKit.com.

They are surprisingly heavy and strong looking. A terrific deal at only $14. I bought two and plan to put one on each side. Here are some close up pictures of one.