Osney

If it's still working the brake lights there might be a problem with the connection to the controller/inverter. I couldn't find any other way the braking system talks to the electronics, and joggling the switch a bit made my regen under braking work again. Best of luck with it!

The 'brake' regen is triggered by a tiny microswitch on the brake pedal. It's an on or off thing, and can get stuck easily. Have a close look at the pedal and you should see it. I've had to give mine a careful clean a couple of times now, but that seems to sort it.

I'm in a similar position, having shaved a mere 230kg off by my DIY lithium ion battery replacement! I know very little about suspension setups though, so really not sure what to adjust.

The lead acid Discover batteries in my buggy were getting so bad I could barely do four miles before it ground to a halt. Dealer wanted £1600 for a replacement set, and going down the LiTime or Relion route was going to be just as pricey if not more so, and UK availability isn't good. Instead, I bought a couple of nominal 22v battery modules from a crashed Peugeot E208 for £200 each, wired them up in series and reprogrammed the charger to a basic lithium ion setting. It works fine, and with the two modules would easily do 15-20 miles before the meter on the dash goes down to three bars. Fully charged, the two modules together give about 52v, which is plenty to make the buggy zip along. It worked so well I bought another two modules to put in parallel and double the capacity. As yet, I've not sorted out any battery management system, which I know is a risk. It's on the list of things to do - I'd be happier charging to 80% than 100% every time - but the modules have very basic BMS built into them which gives some protection and I do all my charging outside just in case. So far, the batteries haven't even felt warm either in charging or discharging. I've had to do a bit of work on the underside and rear of the tub to mount the batteries and make it more mud-proof and there's room for improvement there. Overall, I'm very happy at having saved £800 and made the machine much more usable. The modules weigh 12.5kg each too, so I reckon I've shaved about 230kg off the weight of the vehicle. I might have to put a little extra weight back in as it spins the back wheels on steep grassy slopes a bit now. Not helped by the 4wd not working at the moment - another thing to fix.

I know it's probably not the most accurate gauge, but the dial on the dash goes up to 400A (in the red) for discharge, but only 100A (in the green) for regen. I'd very much doubt the controller would put out much more than 100A regen even on a high speed downhill run.

What condition is your 12v battery in? By which I mean the little one that sits right under the driver's seat? After four years it might be on the way out, and that could explain the occasional misfire on the solenoid. It's the 12v supply that turns the solenoid on, connecting the 48v battery set to the controller and motor.

Good luck, and let us know what it is if you find out!

Not sure what happened there! Didn't mean to repost my earlier reply. I'm no expert on the charger, but as far as I know, the two digit readout lights up when it is on, either with a status or a rolling error code. If it's not doing either, then there's something else wrong. I read a thread a while back about road crud getting into the power connector, so it might be that or a corroded connection. You need to be very careful and isolate the battery pack before poking around though. UK spec E1s have a big red circuit breaker button to turn everything off, which I don't think US spec ones do.

Is there a code displayed on the charger itself? If you look in over the front wheel from the driver's side, you can see the charger's own display cycling. It should show up an error code there. It's a Delta-Q ICL series charger, if memory serves (and they've not changed it since mine was built).

Is there a code displayed on the charger itself? If you look in over the front wheel from the driver's side, you can see the charger's own display cycling. It should show up an error code there. It's a Delta-Q ICL series charger, if memory serves (and they've not changed it since mine was built). Delta-Q_ICL-Series_BatteryCharger_UserManual_R1.pdf

A fuse is designed to stop the system from drawing too much current, so changing it for a larger one is probably not a good idea! Replace it with an identical one, and hope it doesn't blow again, as that would indicate something else wrong in the charging circuit.

Might be E013 here? https://support.delta-q.com/hc/en-us/articles/360044018472-IC-RC-ICL-Series-Faults-and-Error-Codes

Yup. Every time mine goes up on the lift so I can grease all thousand and one grease nipples, I squirt a little silicon WD40 into the spring bushings and for a few miles it's as quiet as anything. It doesn't last though, particularly given the terrain I drive over. Still eking out about five miles from the old batteries. I really must do something about a li-ion upgrade sometimes soon.

The problem may well be one battery dragging the rest down, or even one bad cell in one battery. My buggy will manage maybe three or four miles before throwing the error code as it struggles up hills - a bit of a problem, since I live and work on a hill farm! I have a fairly rudimentary battery tester I got from Amazon for about £20, which measures voltage and resistance across 6v batteries. According to the manufacturer data, the resistance across the individual batteries is meant to be 1.5 (micro ohms, I think, but I'm no expert in the terminology). Most of mine read between 1.6 and 1.9 the last time I checked them, but one read 2.5 and so is probably failing or failed. Despite that, the charge meter on the dashboard always shows 'full' or one bar below. I suspect that the batteries are simply not up to the job of supplying all the current the motor needs when going uphill. It's possible a dragging parking brake will have an effect too, although mine is broken in the 'off' position and is rubbish anyway. Li-ion is the way to go, but new buggies with that option are horribly expensive and retro-fitting is very complicated. I hope you find a solution.

Can't find my manual (UK spec) but is 4884 not the parking brake? I had problems with the sensor on mine - brake could be fully off and vehicle would roll down a hill, but no motive power from the engine until a sharp kick to the brake pedal popped the parking brake enough to click the sensor switch, which is up in the mechanism at that end, rather than at the brake at the front of the motor/transmission. Sometimes hooking a foot under the park brake lever and pulling it up worked too. Now the whole thing's so gummed up I never bother putting it on - it's a rubbish bit of design. Sorry if that's an unhelpful suggestion. Hope you get it sorted soon.

Mine is the Sector E1 electric, which isn't particularly fast and struggles on hills. I use it as a farm vehicle for checking livestock and carting feed, for which is serves admirably (the Highland cows also like to use it as a scratching post). The seatbelt alarm is a pain when you've opened a gate and are driving through it before stopping, climbing out and closing it behind you. I quite agree that for any spirited driving the seatbelt is your friend.

I've just pulled the passenger side clip over and pushed it into the driver's seatbelt fastener. I rarely have a passenger, so it's not much of a problem for them. Alternatively you can buy a bare clip that slots into the fastener and fools it into thinking the seatbelt's fastened. Not wearing the seatbelt is obviously done at your own risk! Here in the UK it's technically breaking the law to do so on while driving the vehicle on the public road.

Blimey! I'd no idea they were so flammable. There's nothing left! Quick question since my (UK spec) one is also of that vintage. Did you get the faulty batteries replaced, and was it with the same Discover batteries as originally fitted? My buggy lives in a shed along with a lot of expensive equipment I'd rather wasn't burned beyond recognition.

If you've got a big red button, it needs to be pulled out or the main battery is disconnected. Hitting it in is a kill switch, as it were. They're easy to knock as you climb in and out, too, but as a safety feature I'd rather have it than not. I hope that's all the problem is!

The charger fitted to the vehicle is one of these - https://delta-q.com/product/ic1200-industrial-battery-charger/ and there's a list of error codes here - https://support.delta-q.com/hc/en-us/articles/360044018472-IC-RC-ICL-Series-Faults-and-Error-Codes The charger is at the front, directly behind the winch. It's unlikely you've fried anything, but equally the batteries should last longer than that. Even when quite depleted they won't be totally dead, but more likely give a flashing '45C3' error on the dashboard lcd display for low voltage. I'm in the UK, which judging by the plug you've shown in your photo you are not. The vehicles are slightly different depending on country - US versions don't seem to have the big red circuit breaker button below the bench seat, for instance. The vehicle should have come with a manual though.

Are you using an extension cord? They can cause problems as the charger is very sensitive to voltage drop, I'm told. Another thing that happens is the cooling fan gets stuck, although that usually only slows down the charging, not stops it altogether.

I've not ordered anything from them, as I'm in the UK and the delivery charges are not insignificant! I found them most useful for identifying the particular bearings and seals, which are fairly industry-standard. That said, I have a Vector E1 (as the electric version is called over here), and I was told it was the same as the US-Spec Sector E1. Taking the front knuckle apart to replace the wheel bearing(s), I discovered it's actually an HS500.

I've found this site really useful for part numbers etc. https://alpha-sports.com/hisun_parts.htm?q=hisun-parts-catalog Look up Front Axle for an exploded diagram of the front knuckle. The wheel bearing and seal dimensions are listed, so you can order generic ones from pretty much any bearing supplier. The only thing I've found hard to track down are bearing seals with the extra sleeve on the outside that covers the end of the driveshaft. There's probably a technical name for them, which is why I can't find them! I replaced the rear bearings on my E1 a while back with just standard seals and it's fine.

And another update. Turns out my Vector E1 has the front suspension and bearings of the HS500, not the Sector E1 as I was told. Most of it is the same, but the main wheel bearings are different. Annoying, given I've just bought two sets. I wonder what else is different.

Well, getting the rack off was relatively painless. Of course, it helps that I've got a lift in my workshop. New one slotted in fine - a bit of jiggery-pokery needed to make sure it was centred, since it didn't come out of the bag that way. I'm still waiting on a few parts for the front suspension, so no point connecting everything up just yet. Sorting out the tracking is going to be fun once I do. Taking the old rack apart, it appears the problem was failed seals letting in water. About a pint of brown oily sludge made a horrible mess of the floor when I took the big rubber bellows off, and the internal ball joints were both shot. The spigot where the rack connects to the steering rod is way off centre - pushed forward, as it were - which is no doubt where the water was getting in. I presume there's a worm gear in there, although I've not taken anything else apart yet. Pushed off centre like that means the gear teeth don't interlock properly, explaining why the steering wheel would spin freely in one direction without anything happening. Getting the buggy up on the lift has revealed bearings gone on front left and rear right axles, so that's another job to do. I've already replaced the rear left, so ordered a spare set for the front right as it will doubtless be next. Wonderful buggy, but perhaps it needs to be a little more robust for the off-road work it's supposed to be designed to cope with. And lugging about all that battery weight doesn't help either.