Sunday, January 26, 2014

E-bike conversion kit controllers: LSW153-45-6

What is inside the controller?

I opened an old busted controller I got from Clean Republic back in 2011 to see what is inside and here is what I got.

If you visit the URL written on the circuit board, you can infer that the controller is manufactured in China by Nanjing Lishui Controller Research lnstitute. There are several IC chips, diodes and capacitors on the board which might be possible to replace if you know what you are doing. 


To open the controller, just remove the screws on the side where the wires come out. 


Then unscrew the sides.


 Lastly, slide out the circuit board.


Compared with Other Controllers Out There

Here is a table showing 3 different ratings of the same CE-G3M20211-1592-16 numbered controllers. Note that the unique product number determines the variation in ratings not the CE-G3M... numbers.

Rated Voltage: 24V
Maximum current: 14A
Rated current: 7A
Low voltage protection: 21V
Throttle adjust. voltage: 1.2v-4.4v
Product number: LSW153-45-6 
Rated Voltage: 24V
Maximum current: 14A
Rated current: 7A
Low voltage protection: 21V
Throttle adjustment voltage: 1.2v-4.4v
Product number: WS 0806021626    

Rated voltage: 36V
Max current: 15A
Rated current: 7A
Low voltage protection: 31V
Throttle adjustment voltage: 1.2.v - 4.4v
Product No WS X0907-18830


Clean Republic and LEED use the same 24V controllers for their Li-ion batteries, although they use different chargers. You can see below that the ratings are the same.
Clean Republic Controller LSW153-45-6 / CE-G3M20211-1592-16 used for Clean Republic's Sprinter 10K Samsung Li-ion battery pack. The 10k battery pack's watt hours is 105.6 (24V x 4.4 Ah) which makes the pack very airline friendly. The watt hour limit for carrying batteries installed in your  electronic device is 160 watt hours.   
Leed Bicycle Solutions. Exactly the same controller used for LEED's 30K Samsung Li-ion battery pack. The watt hour rating for the pack is 249.6 (24V x 10.4 Ah).
Since both Clean Republic and LEED's lithium-ion battery packs use exactly the same kind of controller, it made me wonder if Clean Republic's SLA battery packs also use the same controller. So I re-opened my old SLA pack from Clean Republic which I had opened before and discovered that it uses exactly the same controller as the one used in lithium-ion packs that power the 24V 8Fun motors. It is the same CLSW153-45-6 / CE-G3M20211-1592-16 as you can see in the photo below.
Controller inside Clean Republic SLA Battery Pack (Product number: LSW153-45-6 X11030003974 Ex-factory date: 03-2011). I got this as a replacement of the original controller I had for my SLA kit. The watt hour rating for the SLA is 192 (24V x 8 Ah) but each battery (when separated) has a watt hour rating of 96 (12V x 8 Ah).
This is what the SLA battery pack contains: two 12V 8Ah (UB120) SLA batteries, one LSW153-45-6 / CE-G3M20211-1592-16 controller, one LED switch, and the Hengguang Power HG6S240160 24V=1.6A charger with chrome connector. SLA battery packs are charged with the switch on (LED light).  
You can see from the photo below that even the old original controller of my SLA kit has the same product number LSW153-45-6 / CE-G3M20211-1592-16.

Original controller for my Clean Republic SLA kit (Product number: LSW153-45-6 X10010004013 Ex-factory date: 01-2010): the same CE-G3M20211-1592-16 controller used in lithium-ion battery packs.

NOTE: More posts on e-bike conversion projects are available here