Topic: 10 Second drive

[techytype]

lol! Umpa,

i was being 'led' by others comments about their being fuses in the control box  , must admit i'm amazed there are none and a bit of an oversight imo not expecting owners to modify.

the C5 wiring mod kit stops reversals causing damage which is good as no matter what size fuse is installed, no fuse is ever going to be faster than a base of a transistor or diode in a race to destruction.

my honest aim was to iexplain the generally sound principals applied to fuses so those less experienced/trained can appreciate in plain English (with full emphasis on ish!  ),

as it happens on my piagio X9 500 scooter has a fuse in the battery lead, but your right about most cars. i ould counter the leads from car battery to ground and car battery to solenoid, from solenoid to starter tend to be far thicker than the C5 loom, and thus more substantial. being so thick they will take a fair bit of abuse before bursting into flames, whatever shorts them wil likely blow before the leads are badly damaged.

got to emphasis here i'm not knocking the C5Wiring kit in any way, my concern is the cables are while possibly adequate for normal use, imo would soon burst into flame in a shorted battery situation.

i should also point out its law to have the battery properly secured in a motor vehicle, but i observed at Brighton Run many just rely on a angle piece of metal that stops it sliding forward under breaking (which did not work very well on 'DAVE' the lone machine at Brighton).

i appreciate the body will likely prevent the battery from leaving the bay if it rolled, but of it can be fitted without removing any clamp/stop, then it can come out again without removing any clamp/stop. Granted. Might be a very low risk but potentially catastrophic in an accident, so my advice is to at least fit a securing strap, a heavy duty cable strap or leather belt would do.

i've not had the time to look closely at the wiring kit mod yet, mine was ready fitted by C5 Clive, but my service engineers/designers instincts say there is room for now designing an upgraded Mk2 version, especially with heavier leads.

other mods would be as i had trouble with DAVE's battery quick release clamp covers coming off, and on my C5 they also fell off easily. i think that's an easy enough fixed by drilling some small holes in the covers and retaining with a couple of thin cable ties.

i don't know if anyone has checked the 'voltage drop' over these very extended leads, but under duress if the extra resistance is high enough, i suspect the diameter of cable used coupled with the length, could cause the motor to get hotter than it would with original battery setup, might even cause the control box to malfunction intermittently, with spurious results.

but now i digress from th simple fuse and why they get fitted 

regs
alan

[Karl]

..got to emphasis here i'm not knocking the C5Wiring kit in any way, my concern is the cables are while possibly adequate for normal use, imo would soon burst into flame in a shorted battery situation.

..mate , the c5alive wiring kit is an improved version of a similar kit that has been used since c5alive was first set up many years ago. I'm guessing the original kit was produced back then because people were getting fed up with the original temperamental keyswitch assemblies.

C5martin introduced the latest version about 18months ago in response to the number of control box and pod repairs coming his way caused by people connecting their batteries up the wrong way round. It has since been well tried and tested over the years with none of the catastrophic problems you fear may develop . Although you may not be intentionally knocking the kit - unfortunately that's exactly how its coming across, which I think is a little unfair.
There is always room for improvement in everything, but a balance has to be struck between time/cost/effort. The c5alive kit is very capable of the job it was designed for and good value for the price it is sold at. It is easy to overlook the amount of time and effort each kit takes to produce, as well as the cost of the raw materials.

There's nothing stopping someone making their own kits that are better/worse/cheaper/more expensive but the number of control box and pod repairs might well increase. The c5martin developed kit is the only one I trust.


"Dave" was loaned to you in good faith having only recently emerged from major "surgery" so a few snags were expected to surface  - which have been identified and on the list to be sorted. The battery used on the day was an extra large one that I wanted to experiment with so the "foot" to hold it in place was a bit rushed & simply wasn't up to the job - I agree with the need to keep the batteries securely in place hence mine usually all have webbing straps.

Not having a rant but I do think your comments needed to be answered.

[radiomarty]

Karl - gonna need a wiring kit for pimping project - any idea on restocking (understanding the C5Martin retirement)

[Karl]

Karl - gonna need a wiring kit for pimping project - any idea on restocking (understanding the C5Martin retirement)

I'm hoping to have some ready for January, I've got most of the raw materials - just need to put some time aside to assemble the bits.