King Song 16X - mods thread

[traktori]

29 minutes ago, davinche said:

When did you purchase your wheel? I'll be getting a 16x soon so I'm wondering whether or not these mods are necessary for the newest batch haha.

I’m also waiting a delivery from the factory, it should have started the journey to Finland 28th May. So I’m also interested if they have done improvements to the latest batch.

[EvoKnvl]

On 9/14/2019 at 12:59 PM, buell47 said:

Just got done pulling mine apart to make it more dust proof. Thanks to @buell47 & @davinche for the awesome pictures and videos.  Mine was a V2 version, which I'm guessing had the v1.4 board (I didn't bother checking because I was over it by then :D) Mine did not have any sealant over the power switch, so I made sure to seal that up.  I had no issues with my headlight, so I only sealed one of the 2 holes because I was worried about heat and wanted to allow it to vent.  The rest of the case wasn't that bad.  Some light dust here and there.  I did add the foam into the 4 areas as a precaution.

By far the biggest source of dirt was from this giant hole at the bottom as shown in the pictures below that buell47 took.  This massive hole completely covered my LED's in dirt as well as everything around that area.  I not as fancy as buell47, so I just taped the hole and we'll see how it holds up

On 9/14/2019 at 12:59 PM, buell47 said:

The sheet metal on the pedal holder shouldn't be longer than here, otherwise the outer housing will hit it. 

 

 

 

[Waulnut]

I just got a KS16x from eWheels and I didn't open it or anything, but went to feel for the open space under the pedal and felt some foam in that area.  I assume previously, it was just empty space like in the earlier pictures. I dont know how well it will protect it from dust coming in, but just wanted to put it it out there. 

[Tinkererboi]

Anybody else notice the battery packs get punctured by the rear blinker mount thingamajig? 

Have added silicone and kapton tape for now, don't think i'm gonna meddle with it further. However an idea just occured to me. Why didn't I just coat the whole battery pack in truckbed liner. I had a whole can lying around and changed my mind about coating the entire wheel with it in the end. 🤦‍♂️.

Bet it would be just as safe as the pre-18xl batteries and even more waterproof, without adding much bulk. 

[Tinkererboi]

Anybody has had a more recent "waterproofed" power button panel and still had water intrusion? As we all know by know that's the biggest weak spot for water damage in the 16x.

I think I might have found another absolutely essential mod for all 16x owners. - Please do seal up your light sensors somehow. Personally tried GS Hypocement but it still wasn't airtight so I ended up covering the entire switch with transparent sink sealing tape from aliexpress.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_m08MnIj

Story time. So I did most of the essential mods (dust ingress solved, inner shell disassembled and coated with a nice fat bead of gasket maker, useless thin heatsink gasket replaced with another fat bead of gasket maker, switch panel and headlight sealed from the back) on this thread right from day 1 and never encountered any problems, even the occasional light drizzle and ankle deep puddles never seemed to faze my 16x. Water detecting sticker on my batteries have turned pink long ago but never had any issues in 1 year of abusive riding. 

Last week, I decided to add even more weatherproofing in the way of sealing the entire circumference of the outer shell. Needless to say, I was pretty confident in my work. So much so that I hosed my wheel down full power this time. Normally, i would only carefully use the mist setting on my hose and a wet cloth to scrub my muddy wheel. Turns out the wheel ended up in "that" dreaded state where it would refuse to turn off.

Thankfully I was able to shake the water droplets off and save my wheel without opening it. After some closer inspection, I realized the light sensor was in fact far from waterproof, and could feel a copious amount of hot air flowing out from under the front rubber bumper when I pressed a hairdryer against the sensor. My guess was that all along we have thought that the 16x main switch was getting soaked from a a badly sealed inner shell even though that was never where the water got in from. 

[bcarp]

On 9/27/2020 at 5:11 AM, Tinkererboi said:

Please do seal up your light sensors somehow.

Thanks for this. Would it be possible to photo where you are sealing this? My light sensor fails intermittently and I’m not sure why. I opened it up and it looks fine. Perhaps it’s water so I should seal it anyway. 

[Tinkererboi]

4 hours ago, bcarp said:

Thanks for this. Would it be possible to photo where you are sealing this? My light sensor fails intermittently and I’m not sure why. I opened it up and it looks fine. Perhaps it’s water so I should seal it anyway. 

here ya go. It's sink sealing tape underneath all that soft grip tape which I added for the looks. Might have to do the top too cause now it looks like my wheel has male pattern baldness. 

Do force hairdryer temp air through the light sensor and see if it solves your problem. Even if it does work, keep testing over 24h to make sure it's really, really solved before sealing. This is to make sure corrosion hasn't set in too badly yet. 

[bcarp]

Thanks. Just on the outside I see. I thought you were doing something internally. I was thinking of using hot glue which seems a little flexible once set. 

[Tinkererboi]

8 hours ago, bcarp said:

Thanks. Just on the outside I see. I thought you were doing something internally. I was thinking of using hot glue which seems a little flexible once set. 

Normally I would be doing this from the inside as well but really not in the mood to open the wheel for at least the next several thousand kms after already sealing it 🤣

Think this is more applicable to the everyday rider as well, since only a small handful of us actually enjoy opening our wheels up.

[bcarp]

On 9/29/2020 at 4:18 PM, Tinkererboi said:

Think this is more applicable to the everyday rider as well, since only a small handful of us actually enjoy opening our wheels up.

Fair enough. I've just opened my wheel up to change a flat tube & tyre & boy was that a nightmare. The pins holding the pedals on were bent & took 3 days to get them off. Then I discovered a whole host of broken plastic inside. Thankfully, not much in the way of dust. But the shell replacements include a few bits of extra foam to stop dust ingress. Waiting on new rear light brackets to replace all 4 that had broken (!).

[Dreygun]

Is there any "armor" type 3d printed pieces available for the 16x like i see for the msp? 

[Tinkererboi]

2 hours ago, Dreygun said:

Is there any "armor" type 3d printed pieces available for the 16x like i see for the msp? 

Haven't seen any. Not that it needs it anyways since the switch cover functions as an "armor" of sorts and can be cheaply replaced if you somehow manage to break it.

I guess the front armor mod is popular for the MSP series as the weakest part of the shell is literally out front waiting for you to hit it and boom your shell splits in two like a coconut. No idea why they haven't altered the design to reinforce it after 4 iterations of the same thing.

[redsnapper]

i am running my 16x on only one pack which means the capacity is 1/2 that of the normal setup. So my run time is cut down but I am curious abt the maximum current draw of aggressive riding and what the 1 pack setup might mean. Am I at significant risk of overlean by hving only 50% max current from 1pack?

[Nimbus2000]

Taking a shot in the dark here.... anyone have a 3d model of the 16x mudgaurd? Or have the ability to make or 3d scan one? My original one ripped off and I'm already decking out my wheel with 3d printed parts.

[Arek Gryglicki]

Hi Everyone! Sharing simple mod for adjustable pedal spikes/bolts which will greatly improve your grip and wheel maneuverability.

It took me around 1.5h to finalize entire project and the cost was ~USD 10 (including shipment).

https://imageupload.io/g/0VjG2HEt6u

You'll need:

- M4x10 hex hedaless screws, 50 pieces (same ones as used in Nylonove pedals)

- M4 screw tap set

- 3-3.4 mm drill for metal

- drill & power drill

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2021 by Arek Gryglicki

[Rollin-on-1]

I'd like to replace the following on my KS16X with higher quality fasteners:

-Shell fasteners

-Pedal hanger fasteners

I'd like to have new fasteners on hand before opening the shell up (this will be my first time opening it).  Can anyone tell me what size fasteners I need to buy?

Thanks!

 

[Tawpie]

4 hours ago, Rollin-on-1 said:

I'd like to replace the following on my KS16X with higher quality fasteners:

Shell screws: m3 x 8mm hex cap head, I bought 60 so there's spares. This covers all but ~16 of the small fasteners, the rest don't really need to be replaced (they're screwing directly into plastic bosses or are holding the headlamp/power switch assembly)

Pedal Hangers: m6 x 15mm hex (I got button head, but cap head should work), I haven't actually installed these yet and won't until I need to change the tire

NOTES: the m3's are all going into brass colored threaded inserts in plastic... do NOT EVER use locktite or other threadlock because it WILL eat the plastic—I have seen the photos. I'm told that the pedal hanger screws require caution with torque because SS into AL can make them impossible to remove. I don't know what how hard you should torque them, but suggest seeing where they're torqued now and not going above that.

Because you don't want the shell screws pulling the inserts from the plastic, tighten them with care. I went back in a couple of times and snugged things up.

Last caution: the screws in the trolley handle are 'plugged' with the white goop, this is because they rattle out very easily. I haven't come up with a good alternative and did lose one, so I put a wadded up piece of gorilla tape in there to try to keep them from vibrating out. After the second one tried to escape I did resort to blue locktite in the handle, near as I can tell it's all metal to metal and if it's not a new handle is not terribly expensive. If you can live with a rattly trolly handle, these don't need to be replaced (I didn't like the slightly loose trolly handle but in retrospect would have left well enough alone, it won't fall apart)

Edited May 4, 2021 by Tawpie

[Rollin-on-1]

4 hours ago, Tawpie said:

Shell screws: m3 x 8mm hex cap head, I bought 60 so there's spares. This covers all but ~16 of the small fasteners, the rest don't really need to be replaced (they're screwing directly into plastic bosses or are holding the headlamp/power switch assembly)

Pedal Hangers: m6 x 15mm hex (I got button head, but cap head should work), I haven't actually installed these yet and won't until I need to change the tire

NOTES: the m3's are all going into brass colored threaded inserts in plastic... do NOT EVER use locktite or other threadlock because it WILL eat the plastic—I have seen the photos. I'm told that the pedal hanger screws require caution with torque because SS into AL can make them impossible to remove. I don't know what how hard you should torque them, but suggest seeing where they're torqued now and not going above that.

Because you don't want the shell screws pulling the inserts from the plastic, tighten them with care. I went back in a couple of times and snugged things up.

Last caution: the screws in the trolley handle are 'plugged' with the white goop, this is because they rattle out very easily. I haven't come up with a good alternative and did lose one, so I put a wadded up piece of gorilla tape in there to try to keep them from vibrating out. After the second one tried to escape I did resort to blue locktite in the handle, near as I can tell it's all metal to metal and if it's not a new handle is not terribly expensive. If you can live with a rattly trolly handle, these don't need to be replaced (I didn't like the slightly loose trolly handle but in retrospect would have left well enough alone, it won't fall apart)

This is great info and much appreciated!

[Brendan "nog3" Halliday]

7 hours ago, Tawpie said:

Shell screws: m3 x 8mm hex cap head, I bought 60 so there's spares. This covers all but ~16 of the small fasteners, the rest don't really need to be replaced (they're screwing directly into plastic bosses or are holding the headlamp/power switch assembly)

Pedal Hangers: m6 x 15mm hex (I got button head, but cap head should work), I haven't actually installed these yet and won't until I need to change the tire

NOTES: the m3's are all going into brass colored threaded inserts in plastic... do NOT EVER use locktite or other threadlock because it WILL eat the plastic—I have seen the photos. I'm told that the pedal hanger screws require caution with torque because SS into AL can make them impossible to remove. I don't know what how hard you should torque them, but suggest seeing where they're torqued now and not going above that.

Because you don't want the shell screws pulling the inserts from the plastic, tighten them with care. I went back in a couple of times and snugged things up.

Last caution: the screws in the trolley handle are 'plugged' with the white goop, this is because they rattle out very easily. I haven't come up with a good alternative and did lose one, so I put a wadded up piece of gorilla tape in there to try to keep them from vibrating out. After the second one tried to escape I did resort to blue locktite in the handle, near as I can tell it's all metal to metal and if it's not a new handle is not terribly expensive. If you can live with a rattly trolly handle, these don't need to be replaced (I didn't like the slightly loose trolly handle but in retrospect would have left well enough alone, it won't fall apart)

Just on this, as someone who has had to both drill several 16X pedal hanger to case bolts out and replace inner shells you only need to finger tighten them. The difficulty will be when you remove them, since the pedal hangers are aluminium and the bolts are stainless steel and the oxide on the aluminium can interact with the stainless steel to 'freeze' them in place. Before you even begin removing these bolts, place a PH2 screwdriver into the screw head and tap it with a hammer three times to 'unstick' the bolts.

Some will seem to be super tight from factory, just give them a few more taps and apply body weight to the screwdriver and apply slow, constant force until you hear the bolt 'snap' free.

[Rollin-on-1]

5 hours ago, Brendan "nog3" Halliday said:

Just on this, as someone who has had to both drill several 16X pedal hanger to case bolts out and replace inner shells you only need to finger tighten them. The difficulty will be when you remove them, since the pedal hangers are aluminium and the bolts are stainless steel and the oxide on the aluminium can interact with the stainless steel to 'freeze' them in place. Before you even begin removing these bolts, place a PH2 screwdriver into the screw head and tap it with a hammer three times to 'unstick' the bolts.

Some will seem to be super tight from factory, just give them a few more taps and apply body weight to the screwdriver and apply slow, constant force until you hear the bolt 'snap' free.

Thank you for this info.  I have loose pedal hanger screws now, which is why I am going inside.  I'll take your advise on taking out the originals.  

What are your thoughts on adding a flat washer and split washer under the new pedal hanger fasteners? Is there enough clearance to do this?  I'll add some antisieze on the threads when I reassemble and only tighten enough to compress the split washer.  May add a drop of blue loctite to the crevasse between the split washer and the head of the M6s.

Thank you for your assistance!

[SixteenX]

On 9/26/2020 at 9:11 PM, Tinkererboi said:

Anybody has had a more recent "waterproofed" power button panel and still had water intrusion? As we all know by know that's the biggest weak spot for water damage in the 16x.

My mod for waterproofing is straight and simple, I have in my back pocket a cut-to-the-16X-size transparent plastic bag with small duck tape pieces to hold the front. In case of heavy rain, I stop and dress my 16X 

[Tinkererboi]

Hey guys, my beeper and lift switch finally stopped working after 2 years of riding in torrential rain. Anybody got the part numbers for replacement? Hope I can avoid opening wheel just to check haha. 

[Tawpie]

@Tinkererboi I don't know about the beeper, but the lift switch was changed sometime between batches. They're probably burned up in the fire, but eWheels didn't know of or have the switches that fit my model. MyJuly 2020 wheel requires the part with the "thinner" PCB, it's marked '16X Up_On_Off_board v1.2'. The thicker PCB is marked '16X Up_On_Off_board v1.0' and its PCB is too thick to fit into the plastic slot. I believe that the v1.2 board was used when they added the balloon around the board to solve the water problem.

But, and I haven't done this yet, if your issue is that the little arm on the switch is broken off, it does appear possible to just remove the part that holds the arm and replace that so a v1.0 part should be able to supply parts for a v1.2.

https://i.postimg.cc/BvxFhR56/77517-F87-9-F43-447-E-A33-A-AAD046-AFBA63.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/3wMpF3vV/7-A06-E12-F-9-C34-4-A7-C-AD30-75-C28-F78-E10-B.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/nrLQhzyj/A94-D4783-1-EFA-43-F6-807-B-554830-BB67-D3.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/wvgmnFFk/E425993-E-6-D0-C-405-E-A67-E-CDF7-BE5-AE067.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/0QnwvmB1/F7-C6-CA5-F-2183-412-E-8-B7-D-8254-B9405-B15.jpg
 

Edited November 3, 2021 by Tawpie

[Uras]

On 10/2/2019 at 11:44 PM, Jeff Earl said:

Tire Pressure Monitoring for the 16X

 

I can feel if the wheel is too low. For example, I started learning on a ks14d @ 40psi - it felt too squirmy on concrete so I increased it to 42psi. It's perfect at 42. Because the valve stem is a pia to work with I haven't been checking pressure for over a month. I thought I'll know if it gets too low. I did check it yesterday and it was still good.

[Uras]

On 9/30/2020 at 11:22 PM, Dreygun said:

Is there any "armor" type 3d printed pieces available for the 16x like i see for the msp? 

I know it's 2.5 years ago, but someone new might find this helpful. I've just bought a 16x. I kind of like that this has all the fixes from kingsong (firmware etc), so I'm hoping it will be fairly stable.

I made up armour for the wheel. Not pretty but functional. I'm still learning. It's some sort of fairly dense foam rubber - the shiny looking stuff is tape over it, but not all of it is taped. I've used double sided high strength tape to hold it on. It's had a few spills and is holding up.