Koowheel ignoring your battery replacement request…sad thing is that they will likely said your fix voids the warranty if they ever get back to you. I hate these companies’ horrendous business practices. Just opening it up probably voids it as well.
Like I mentioned, probably easier to sell these in the FB group since this is a DIY forum and we can build this stuff.
@Mountchristopher these would sell much better on eBay, craigslist, letgo, reddit et cetera. I don’t think many people here are going to buy hub motor boards. I’ll give you my final offer of shipping plus $50 for all 3.
Hi All,
I wanted to post some pictures of the KooWheel charger that started smoking. Purchased the board/delivered on Mar. 23, 2018, used the charger almost everyday, no more than 3-4 hours per day. Charger failed within a week.
HUGE THANK YOU TO KOOWHEEL USA FOR REMEDYING THIS ISSUE.
The capacitors closest to the board connection seem to have exploded. (See the cotton bursting out…) I suspect the capacitors can not handle the current discharge directly from the battery.
DO NOT USE THE SUPPLIED KOOWHEEL DC ADAPTER TO CHARGE BATTERY!
I RECOMMEND PLUGGING THE CHARGER INTO BOARD… THEN INTO WALL… NO MORE THAN 4 HOURS
I would like to nominate this as the ramble of 2018 so far
Umm you mean plug charger into wall then into board? You want to precharge the cap in the charger before you plug it into the board. Really depends on the bms ( my bms the charge side is live ). So if I plug my charger into charge port first I get a rush of current into the charger vs plugging the charger into wall first 
Ah ok, yea thats not a good idea. Best practice is charger plugged into wall first then plug into charge port. @Deckoz What do you think?
With a brick charger: If you plug the charger into the wall first, you may get a spark when you plug the charger into the board. It is different with a hobby charger or a lab power supply.
Seems like it might be BMS dependent then. If I plug my charger into charge port first it ill fry the connector.
Yup 10 Char
my friend just got one and he is interested if there are some parts that are know to fail or something like that
Hi Acido,
Roberto here from PET. Regular maintenance is mandatory, check screws are always tighten but not too much if that make sense, dry after riding on wet and store indoors at room temperature. I recommend to charged using the board instead of the external adaptor. Avoid hard vibrations riding on rough tarmac.
Hi there,
has anybody an idea how to update/flash the ESC on a Koowheel d3m board? The speed controller seems to have a serial port and I wonder if it is possible to alter ESC settings (like on a VESC) or update/flash new firmware.
I would like to limit the speed to a certain speed so that it is in compliance with local regulations because otherwise you can be prosecuted quite severely here.
Thanks!
No you can’t. As you said is a ESC not a VESC so you can not modify it without the factory software. The first speed is like 20km/h. How slow do you want it?
Hi rey8801. Thanks for your answer! Yes i wasn’t expecting VESCs to be in there. However you can often change settings in regular BECs as well. I am deep into the RC hobby and most likely there is a way to alter settings on all kind of BECs. Just wondering if someone found out what controller exactly is used here and if anybody knows a software that allows settings to be changed or new compatible firmware that can be flashed.
I want to reduce the speed so that it maxes out at 6km/h in normal mode and is open in the secret turbo mode (7 pressed to the ON/OFF switch). There is a stupid law here in Germany and riding a motorized vehicle that goes faster than 6km/h needs a registration, drivers license and insurance. If the driver is caught in action, he will be prosecuted for two severe offenses: violation of driving without a driver’s license and violation of compulsory insurance. For both of those offenses you can get arrested and will earn yourself a remark in your certificate of good conduct. You might even loose your drivers license for driving a non-registered vehicle. You see… not too much fun riding esk8s in Germany.
having a board that only goes 6km/h after you power cycle it would be a huge advantage if you get checked by the police. 
Another idea (but not nearly as elegant) would be modifying the remote controller. A little resistor in combination with a reed switch (magnetic switch) could be added that reduces the signal of the throttle potentiometer. Then use a little neodymium magnet at the remote to go full speed (reed switch = closed) and when being checked by police flip away the little magnet (reed switch = open) and the board will only go slow regardless of how hard you hit the throttle.
I know about Germany’s law, it’s sucks! I heard about horrible stories, so I understand your fear. If you find out how to modify it the all forum will appreciate your contribution. As far as I know noone here did it. You can also think about replace the ESC with a double VESC. For the space you have in the Koowheel enclosure the new Flipsky dual vesc will probably fit and you will have an open source VESC for a bit more than 100 euro. To a VESC you can attach bluetooth module and adjust speed ecc from your phone. For instance in mine, I have different modes and if I need someone to try it I just need to switch between the preset profiles I made to reduce speed and watt. The nice thing that I see a perfect application for your situation is that if you set the lower speed as default mode, then you only need to change the mode from your phone, but in case the police stops you you only need to reboot the board (on/off) and the board will be in the default configuration again. Basically if you do not definitely change the mode, only the default configuration will be loaded on the vesc when you turn it on. I think that is the best solution, for better acceleration, power, control… @moon is organising a group buy for the dual unit. Just my two cents
Other mods I would do on the koowheel (I had it too!). Change the esc battery connector to a xt60, solve the disconnection problem. If you do not like battery sag, replace the cells with Samsung 30Q. Plus the VESC you have another board
Thanks! is it this Dual VESC you are talking about? https://flipsky.net/collections/electronic-products/products/dual-fsesc4-12-100a
Yep and here the group buy that has to take off https://www.electric-skateboard.builders/t/eu-uk-group-buy-flipsky-dual-esc-with-heatsink-108-interest-check/65053/2
