New MTEN 3 Board

[Rehab1]

I replaced my MTEN 3 board today but the new PCB’s female connectors were mounted in different locations from the old one. Thanks to @Jason McNeil I received an updated wiring diagram (below).

There have been a number of changes to the new board’s layout. I’m not sure when the changes were implemented but below are photos of the old board compared to the new. 

The old board’s dual fans are mounted underneath the Mosfets on the heat sink. 

The new board below incorporates a single cooling fan mounted directly above the Mosfets on the PCB.  

 

I’m almost done with the reassembly process so now is a good time to spruce up the shell with a new vinyl wrap.

[Arbolest]

It's fascinating for me to see this. This is the second example I've seen of Gotway repurposing one of the original Nikola-style boards (originally saw it on a spare MSuper V3S+ board I ordered). They flash the board with a different firmware, change out the original glue-gate style silicone thermal pads to the new large single piece, and stick everything on a more appropriate heatsink for the target wheel. On one hand I want to call them lazy and say that it is dangerous/negligent not to use a purpose-built control board in one of these wheels... But on the other hand I also think it's a great idea for a few reasons.

1) Gotway addressed the silicone pad and hot glue issues, and by all accounts once that was taken care of the boards have been plenty reliable for normal situations.

2) The boards themselves have better cooling (MOSFETs not stacked on top of each other), are more robust and allow for updated firmwares that can take advantage of the beefier electronics (beefier relative to the one- or two-generation old original boards they are replacing) to provide better power delivery and tweaked/optimized riding characteristics (example: my MSuper used to have pretty severe pedal dip during turns even after recalibrating, now it has none!!).

3) Finally, from a business standpoint it makes a ton of sense... Gotway must have made a whack-ton of those control boards, expecting to put them into all of the Nikolas originally, and now they have a surplus that is unsuitable for its original purpose but is perfectly capable of performing the job of acting as a backup/replacement in any wheel type they can physically cram it into. 

 

While at first it left a weird taste in my mouth that I had received a repurposed control board, I later realized that what I had actually been given was one of Gotway's signature "shadow upgrades". I think it's reasonable to just think of the situation as "receiving a free upgrade to more modern hardware".

Enjoy your new board, and I hope it works beautifully!

Edited November 20, 2019 by Arbolest

[Marty Backe]

Great to see that Gotway is still supporting the Mten3. Me wonders if 2020 will see the Mten4?

[Arbolest]

2 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Great to see that Gotway is still supporting the Mten3. Me wonders if 2020 will see the Mten4?

Now that would be something to look forward to! If so, I bet a lot of people would be hard pressed not to click that purchase button! (myself included )

[Rehab1]

10 hours ago, Arbolest said:

It's fascinating for me to see this. This is the second example I've seen of Gotway repurposing one of the original Nikola-style boards (originally saw it on a spare MSuper V3S+ board I ordered).

 

Many thanks for the clarification. I have no problem with a repurposed board that has been proven to be superior to it’s predecessor. 

There was one hiccup during the wiring harness swap. The buzzer wires were approximately 2” too short of reaching the PCB buzzer socket so I had to modify the length. I would think GW techs would realize this discrepancy and enclose a plug and play’ extension cable. 

 

4 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Great to see that Gotway is still supporting the Mten3. Me wonders if 2020 will see the Mten4?

 

1 hour ago, Arbolest said:

Now that would be something to look forward to! If so, I bet a lot of people would be hard pressed not to click that purchase button! (myself included )

I would definitely be hitting the purchase button. 

[Rehab1]

For all of those die hard wire management aficionadas “what’s troubling wrong with these two photos on my Mten 3?”

 

 

Edited November 20, 2019 by Rehab1

[Declan acoustic-unicyclist]

On 11/20/2019 at 2:28 AM, Marty Backe said:

Great to see that Gotway is still supporting the Mten3. Me wonders if 2020 will see the Mten4?

I would camp out to be first in line to purchase a 100volt Mten3

[Marty Backe]

22 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

For all of those die hard wire management aficionadas “what’s troubling wrong with these two photos on my Mten 3?”

 

 

If this is a test, I failed 

What's wrong with it?

[Rehab1]

5 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

If this is a test, I failed 

What's wrong with it?

Ah Marty I don’t issue failing grades.  

Ok..if you look closely at the first photo one of the motor wires is in direct contact with the sharp metal heat sink.

On the second photo the hall sensor wire bundle is stretched to capacity due to the new board‘s connector placements preventing me from routing the wires properly along the handle. The wires are also sitting directly on top of the sharp heat sink. Same thing goes with the + - battery wires. I’m concerned vibration will eventually abrade the wire’s insulation. 
 

The repurposed board may be superior to it’s predecessor but there are suboptimal wire management issues resulting from the new PCB connector placements. The strain on the wires and/or abrasion from contacting the heat sink could result in a major short circuit. 
 

I’ll need to further insulate/pad these wires before reassembly but I wanted to warn anyone else replacing their Mten3 board to be cognizant of these areas of concern. 

[Arbolest]

19 minutes ago, Rehab1 said:

The repurposed board may be superior to it’s predecessor but there are suboptimal wire management issues resulting from the new PCB connector placements...

I can certainly second this 

[Rehab1]

My Mten3 is finally back together. I decided to give it a new paint scheme. I had wrapped  2 brand new shells I received from Jason but it turned out both shells were identical (2 lefts I believe) so I chose the buzz bomb method.

There are a few addtional quirks in the board’s firmware that have come to light. First I can barely hear the buzzer unless my ear is buried on the shell  and secondly the ability to change the led light settings is not functioning.  Oh well. 

GW should have stuck with the original board until they had fully tested this repurposed version.
 

 

[Marty Backe]

1 hour ago, Rehab1 said:

My Mten3 is finally back together. I decided to give it a new paint scheme. I had wrapped  2 brand new shells I received from Jason but it turned out both shells were identical (2 lefts I believe) so I chose the buzz bomb method.

There are a few addtional quirks in the board’s firmware that have come to light. First I can barely hear the buzzer unless my ear is buried on the shell  and secondly the ability to change the led light settings is not functioning.  Oh well. 

GW should have stuck with the original board until they had fully tested this repurposed version.
 

 

I was never able to change the LED light settings on my Mten3. They were always on and a fixed pattern.

[Rehab1]

1 hour ago, Marty Backe said:

I was never able to change the LED light settings on my Mten3. They were always on and a fixed pattern.

So I can cross that off of the list. Thanks for the info. I’ve never played with lights up until now. I did install my custom silicone cover again to avoid any major hits that might blow the board again and to help protect the finish. 

 

 

[Ben Kim]

On 11/21/2019 at 11:16 AM, Declan acoustic-unicyclist said:

I would camp out to be first in line to purchase a 100volt Mten3

a 1230Wh 100V Mten3... even if it’s larger I’d buy it. Nothing a trolley can’t fix. My 512Wh has boosted levels of range at the speeds I ride it  

Edited December 13, 2019 by Ben Kim