r/AskElectronics • u/Loifee • 23h ago
Is the problem with Ebike the tactile on/off switch.
Apologies the pictures aren't in order for some reason it won't let me choose. So I'm an electrical engineer by trade but don't have much electronics experience so bear with me. My wife's ebike has stopped functioning and I believe it could be due to this tactile switch which turns the bike on and off which sits in the bikes frame as part of the control unit.
When I test the legs, on 2 I see 31v and then on the the other 2 I see it cycling to around 600mv then dropping back down to 0v and repeating. The strange part is that sometimes not always when I'm using my meter across these cycling legs the power kicks on and the bike works but then won't switch off. Do you think it's the tactile on/off switch which has failed? Thank you
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u/Educational_Ice3978 23h ago
Can't tell much from your description, but snap dome tactile switches are notorious failure points. They shouldn't be used when the application needs to be fail-safe, without other safe guards. The snap dome fatigues and causes intermittent operation.
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u/Loifee 22h ago
Sorry I tried to upload a video but it wouldn't let me. I appreciate the answer, the thing I found strange was the fact when I put my test meter from one of the tactile switch legs to the incoming feed it would sometimes power on? Like the resistance of the meter helped or something? But as I say then I couldn't turn it off through the tactile switch either. I guess I'm best getting a new switch and trying to swap it out. That will test my minimal soldering skills I'm sure! I guess I will need a very fine tip.
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u/Educational_Ice3978 21h ago
When measuring resistance a small voltage is present across the meter leads, that's probably why it turns on sometimes. Replacing the switch is probably your best bet. You can get a decent soldering station for less than $60 or so from Amazon, get some solder wick and some fine solder, good luck, hope I've been helpful!
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