BrooklynBay's electric scooter project.

I bought a 3D pen recently on EBay for under $18. It came in handy for a lot of repairs including filling in a hole in the bottom of the electrical box for the full wave bridge rectifier.

The 3D printing pen came in handy once again. I had to modify another electrical box. This box is for the main key switch & circuit breaker. The corners have a slight bevel which caused a problem trying to mount a circuit breaker. I cut off the beveled area on one side, placed the circuit breaker in the corner, then used the pen to fill in a wide gap.

The next project was mounting a spare tire under the box. I used electrical fittings. The placement was an exact fit. It wasn't too close to the rear wheel. The wheel is mounted near the edge of the box.

An air pump was mounted in the box, and was an exact fit. The mounting kit was originally intended to be used with a round bike frame so it fit in the corner.

I got around to modifying & mounting two Ryobi P704 flashlights today. I removed the head, switch, and fragile wiring, then I used solid core 12 gauge wire, heat shrink tubing, and a luminaire disconnect for the power plug. A 3/4" EMT pipe clamp was used to connect the handle of the flashlight to the box.

My local hardware store had one very powerful 50 LB magnet left in stock. It's holding two 5/8" box wrenches for the front wheel.

I'm curious as to what the local laws are for such things. Out here it couldn't be on the sidewalk, and if it was on the road it needs a license plate.

They don't allow bicycles on the sidewalk so I'm sure that they won't allow this either. It's a low speed scooter so I doubt that it needs a license plate. It's electric, and not gasoline powered so I don't know if that makes any difference. It has a headlight, taillight, running light, turn signals, horn, and a brake light which I installed to make it street legal. Electric bicycles don't have license plates, and they are capable of achieving a much higher speed.

The key switch is installed.

I was able to get a lot of wiring done over the past couple of days. So far the wiring was completed for the USB port, cigarette lighter, generator, relay, batteries, diode, electric boxes, main switch, headlight, horn-siren combo, turn signals, and running lights. I still have to connect the main pedal & wiring.

Looking good! Love the LED turn signal

The wiring is finished! I went for a test run, and ran over a broken piece of pavement. The generator got scraped, and the screws got loose, then the chain came off. The gear on the end of the generator was slightly off of its alignment which caused the chain to bind. I had to modify the end of the generator. I removed the gear, spacer shaft, and lock washers, then placed the end nut on the shaft with the end gear. There was no place to attach the end nut so I had to solder the gear to the shaft. I hope that it's capable of withstanding the abuse of these city streets.

My 3D pen came in handy again. The solenoid relay for the drive motor has top mounted studs which are exposed. I used the 3D pen with flexible filament to make rubber stud covers. You could see it in the upper center of the attached photo.

I reused the 7 Amp circuit breaker which originally came with the scooter. The power analyzer shows a start up current draw of 40 Amps. The circuit breaker didn't pop right away in normal use but popped after continuous tapping of the accelerator pedal.

Always some tweaking to do after a maiden voyage

The 40 Amp circuit breaker came in the mail the other day. It was a little bigger than the 7 Amp breaker but it still fit. The spade terminals were the same size so I didn't have to replace any crimp connections.

I was busy trying to modify an extra pneumatic front wheel to replace the solid rubber smaller rear rubber wheel. The rubber wheel is 5 1/2" in diameter, and the pneumatic front wheel is 7 1/2" in diameter. The sprocket gear's bolt pattern was smaller, so it had to be drilled. My drill press came in handy for making 4 holes. The frame & box were cut for the larger wheel, and the inside of the box was patched. The spare tire had to be moved. The stock kickstand doesn't work anymore since it's too short.

That should definitely help out with the rough pavement.

I went out for a test run with the new rear tire a couple of days ago, and it was a major improvement. The generator didn't scrape, and it was a softer ride. I didn't feel the bumps as much. I went out again today, and it seemed like it was lacking power. I assumed that it had to do with the batteries going down to 36V until I smelled a strong burning smell. The current usage shot up from 40 Amps to 57 Amps then killed the batteries at 72 Amps. After recharging the batteries, the motor was able to run without a load. As soon as I put a little pressure on the motor, it temporarily drained the batteries. The charge built up to its previous level after a few minutes. It looks like the small 100 Watt 24 Volt motor couldn't stand up to heavy duty usage. I looked into larger brush & brushless motors, but I'm not sure how they will fit without modifications.

I figured out why the power kept fluctuating between 20 & 40 volts after the motor issue. The sudden power drain damaged one of the batteries. That battery is shorted, and won't take a charge. The other battery seems to be unaffected.

I looked into several motor options. The performance motors might be fast, small, lightweight, and very expensive but they are rated for intermittent duty. I chose a heavy duty, continuous duty 48 volt motor with a slightly higher RPM & current rating than my previous 24 volt motor. Everything has to be redesigned to enable this large motor to fit. I'm using two 18 Volt batteries in series to get 36 Volts. The maximum voltage with both batteries in series (fully charged) is approximately 42 Volts. The motor isn't being run at maximum capacity.

The new motor is in. I'm having difficulty with the chain drive system. The high torque of the new motor causes the drive gear to slip, and eventually pop off no matter how tight I make it.

Another battery got ruined because of sudden voltage spikes. It's always the battery closer to the ground connection. I installed a series diode on the ground wire of the motor, and another in parallel across the motor to suppress back EMF. The positive terminal already has a diode which is used for regenerative braking. I don't know if that's what's been saving the second battery from getting ruined.

Always a ton of tweaks getting any project just right. What do you have in mind for the drive gear?

I want to keep the chain system, but it looks like it won't work. I'm thinking about using a belt system which is much quieter or some sort of direct drive set up.

Hi buddy not to give hate I just have a comment. Great idea and it's like karma I saw this today. Yesterday I saw a u tube video were a guy took a skateboard and power it with a 20v dewalt drill. This guy took a brass wire wheel and took out the brass brushes. That left him with a wheel and jack shaft. Attached the wheel to the skate wheel. Got a long flex shaft attached it to the wheel shaft and chuck of drill. Holds the drill via pistol style and go's like hell threw the neighborhood. Granted your beefed up and better and he used a skate board but Yankee thinking. I wish recharge packs we're so expensive I have first gen Sears 18v contractors pack 5" skill saw and jammer drill dual chargers in a hard case. It's 10 years old and almost looks new. It has a funny shape battery.wish I could get new battery cheap. Sears wants $120. A pack and special order. I looked on Internet Sanyo replacement battery that I must solder tables c go at 90. I bought a new 20 v Sears unit last year for $100 on sale at toolathon sale. WTFSID?

On Friday I went to a local industrial supply, and bought 3 aluminum timing pulleys & a timing belt. The belt looks very fragile, but I hope that it will last. The older model Razor scooters had plastic timing pulleys with a similar belt. The later models like mine used a more durable chain.