Grin Technologies Main9 User manual

Superharness User Manual
Rev P3
The Main9
Superharness
User Manual – Rev P3
Grin Technologies Ltd.
Vancouver, BC, Canada
ph: (6 4) 569- 9 2
email: [email protected]
web: www.ebikes.ca
Copyright © 2024

Superharness User Manual
Rev P3
1 Introduction....................................................................1
2 Connectors......................................................................2
2.1 Front Signal Plugs...................................................................................2
2.2 DC Light Plugs........................................................................................3
2.3 Mains Signals Plug..................................................................................3
2.4 Programming Port..................................................................................3
3 Control Functionality....................................................4
3.1 Standard Throttle...................................................................................4
3.2 Bidirectional Throttle ............................................................................5
3.3 Digital brake Control...........................................................................5
3.4 Analog brake Control..........................................................................6
4 Display Options..............................................................7
5 DC Light Ports...............................................................
5.1 Front Port.................................................................................................8
5.2 Rear Port..................................................................................................9
6 Installation...................................................................10
7 Setup and Configuration Mode...................................11
7.1 ntering Setup Mode...........................................................................11
7.2 Configuring Front Light Port..............................................................11
7.3 Configuring Rear Light Port...............................................................11
7.4 Configuring Digital brake Behavior.................................................12
Additional Details.........................................................12
8.1 Minimum Throttle Current.................................................................12
8.2 Running Without a Throttle................................................................13
8.3 Regen with Dual Throttles...................................................................13
8.4 Multiple Regen Modes..........................................................................13
8.5 L D Fault Codes...................................................................................14
9 Specifications...............................................................15
9.1 lectrical...............................................................................................15
9.2 Mechanical............................................................................................15

Superharness User Manual
Rev P3
1 Introduction
Most generic ebike systems have some variation of a main cable harness.
This connects to a multi-pin plug on the motor controller on one end, and at
the other end splits out into separate throttle, ebrake, display and light ports
near the handlebars.
Grin’s Main Superharness is a device that looks similar to this for use with
our V6 Phaserunner/Baserunner controllers. Unlike conventional harnesses,
it contains an internal circuit board to provide extra functionality.
These features include:
Multiplexing various possible brake signals (digital, analog,
bidirectional throttle) into a unified regen command to the motor
controller.
Enabling high wattage front lights to be turned on and off via a
display console.
Enabling a port for the activation of rear brake lights.
Providing protection against faulty accessories.
-1-
Figure 1: Example of a Mains Harness (Green)
Figure 2: Superharness contains active circuitry

Superharness User Manual
Rev P3
2 Connectors
The Superharness uses overmolded Higo equivalent ebike connectors for all
signal lines. These plugs are waterproof and reliable when connected, but it
is possible to damage the pins by forcing them in the wrong way. Be sure to
align the arrows and double check that you are matching the same pin count
on the male and female sides.
Unlike the JST-SM and other standards, you cannot easily probe the signals
for troubleshooting.
2.1 Front Signal Plugs
The front signals are all of the female Higo MiniB standard. Not all cable
suppliers use the same colour-to-pin mapping or even the same signal
mapping. We have shown some alternate known colour standards in
brackets.
hrottle Plug (3P Higo MiniB)
The throttle hookup is a conventional 3
pin Higo standard and expects to see a
hall-effect throttle with a ~0. to 4.2V
command signal range.
Ebrake Plug (4P Higo MiniB)
The ebrake employs the seldom used 4
pin Higo plug. In addition to 5V and Gnd
pins, it has both digital and an analog
ebrake inputs for use with both
conventional cutoffs and proportional
brake levers.
-2-
Figure 3: he alignment arrows can be subtle and hard to see. Jamming
connector when missaligned can damage pins.

Superharness User Manual
Rev P3
Display Plug (5P Higo MiniB)
The display plug uses a 5 pin Higo
connection* wired in one of the more
common of several known pinout
standards.
*Note, some displays are using the same 5 pin
connector but with different choice of the pin
assignments. A wrong pinout can easily fry
things. Observe that Batt+ is black.
2.2 DC Light Plugs
5.5 x 2.1mm DC Plugs
The front and rear power ports use 5.5 x
2.1mm DC jacks and present full battery
voltage on the pins when enabled.
These use low side MOSFET switches, VBatt
remains connected when the power port is off.
2.3 Mains Signals Plug
9 Pin Mains (Male Cusmade 1109)
The pin main hookup to the
Phaserunner or Baserunner
controller uses a male Cusmade
110 connector. The Tx and Rx lines
pass through to the display.
The controller turns on when Key+ is
shorted to Batt+ via the display. Note
that the throttle output of the
Superharness goes to the blue wire
(called Analog Input 2/Brake1) of the
controller.
2.4 Programming Port
<Diagram>
RRS Programming port
Finally a TRRS jack is used for firmware
programming and debugging purposes during
development. This is a factory connection only.
-3-
1 - N/C (Grey)
2 - 5V (Brown)
3 - Rx (Purple)
4 - N/C (Green)
5 - Throttle (Blue)
6 - Batt+ (Red)
7 - Key+ (Orange)
8 - Gnd (Black)
- Tx (White)
1
23
4
5
6
7
8

Superharness User Manual
Rev P3
3 Control Functionality
The Superharness is able to combine the signals coming in from throttle and
ebrake devices into a single voltage output to the motor controller. That
output signal floats at 0. 5V, increasing to 3.6V for maximum power, and
decreasing to 0.0V for maximum regenerative braking.
3.1 Standard Throttle
A standard hall-effect ebike throttle plugs into the 3 pin yellow Higo
connector. This signal is expected to sit at around 0. V with throttle off and
increase to 4.1-4.2V at full throttle engagement.
-4-
Figure 4: Single throttle output voltage of Superharness controls both power
and regenerative braking in Phaserunner/Baserunner controllers.
Figure 5: Signal output of a typical throttle. Green LED increases in brightness
with throttle position. Pinout shows male throttle side Higo connector.

Superharness User Manual
Rev P3
When the throttle is activated, the green LED will change in brightness from
a low dim colour to full intensity allowing you to verify correct throttle
operation.
3.2 Bidirectional Throttle
The bidirectional throttles (sometimes called wig-wag throttles) also plug into
the yellow 3pin Higo plug. These throttles supplied by Grin sit at 0. V by
default, increasing to 4.1V in the forwards direction and dropping down to
0.0V in the regen direction.
With forwards motion the green LED will increase in brightness just like a
standard throttle. In the regen direction, the yellow LED will glow as well.
*Note: Other vendors of bidirectional throttles will often sit at 2.5V at rest
instead of 0. V. These throttles naturally will not work as their resting
voltage is indistinguishable from a valid throttle. Contact Grin about potential
modification options for compatibility.
3.3 Digital E rake Control
Almost all ebrake sensors currently on the market are digital, either with a
magnet and reed switch, a mechanical limit switch, or a powered hall sensor
switch. The digital ebrake is activated by shorting pins 1 (Digital Signal -
Yellow) and 2 (Gnd - Black) of the 4 pin ebrake plug.
-5-
Figure 6: Bidirectional throttles have mid point, allowing both forward and backward
twisting. In neutral position signal should sit at ~0.9V. wo-way throttles with 2.5V
midpoint are not compatible.

Superharness User Manual
Rev P3
The red LED will illuminate at full brightness whenever the digital ebrake is
pressed, and the output behaviour can be customized (see section 7.4). By
default it is shipped so that when the ebrake is active, the superharness
outputs 0.6V to the motor controller, equivalent to 25% regen. If the throttle
is engaged at the same time, green LED will light up with increasing intensity
and the output signal will decrease all the way to 0.0V to provide maximum
regen.
3.4 Analog E rake Control
The analog ebrake is also hooked up to the 4 pin Higo plug but uses the pin
3 (blue) to provide a ~1V - 4V proportional braking signal. When the analog
brake is engaged, the red LED will light up and increase in brightness as the
lever is depressed.
As the brake signal increases from 1V to 4V, the throttle output to the
controller decreases in proportion from 0.8V down to 0.0V, providing 0 to
100% regen control from initial movement of the brake lever. Continued
application of the brake lever will engage the mechanical brakes while regen
remains at 100%.
-6-
Figure 7: Most Ebrakes are switches that connect the ebrake signal line to ground when
the brake lever is pressed. Pinout shown is from male connector perspective.
Figure 8: When throttle is engaged at the same time as digital brake cutoff, it controls the
regen intensity by modulating output down to 0.0V

Superharness User Manual
Rev P3
We recommend having just one analog brake lever hooked up to the
harness. That way it is possible to employ the mechanical brakes without
any regen as well by using the other lever.
4 Display Options
An ebike display is required on the 5 pin plug both to turn the system on and
off, and to regulate the assist level from the motor. Grin offers several vetted
display models to choose from of different sizes and form factors.
These displays all operate on the KM5s protocol and the Superharness
monitors the controller to display communication.
KM5s is one of several limited function UART protocols that has spread in
the world of generic Chinese ebike systems, and a number of potential
displays can work in some capacity. However there is no simple way to
-7-
Figure 9: he analog brake lever has the same 1V - 4V nominal ouput as a throttle. he
Superharness remaps this into a 0.8V - 0.0V regen command.
Figure 10: Small displays are available with integrated buttons (left), while larger central
displays have separate handlebar switch. Male side display pinout shown. System only
powers on when Key+ is switched to Batt+.

Superharness User Manual
Rev P3
know what communication protocol is programmed on a given device and
Grin cannot offer any assistance for hooking up and troubleshooting other
displays beyond what is documented in this manual.
Our system prominently features regenerative braking which results in
negative current and negative wattage on the display, and our displays have
been customized to handle signed values and show this properly.
5 DC Light Ports
The two 5.5 x 2.1mm DC jacks are
primarily intended to power front and rear
bike lights, but they can also be used
more generally to run other accessories
like USB phone chargers, sound
systems, handgrip heaters etc.
Each port has self resetting short circuit
and overcurrent protections and can
handle 1.5 amps - about 50 watts with a
36V battery pack. Internal polyfuses
inside the controller will limit the total
combined draw.
The devices plugged into this port must
be rated to run at the full ebike battery
voltage. 12V devices will need to be run
from a DC-DC converter.
The functionality of these DC power jacks can be customized depending on
the usage needs.
5.1 Front Port
The front light port is configurable in one of two modes
1. Always On: Power to the front light port is activated whenever the
Superharness is turned on. This would be the typical mode for
running accessories or front lights that have their own on/off switch.
2. Controlled by Display: Power to the front light port is activated by
the display. The display light function is activated by holding the “up”
assist button for several seconds. This mode is ideal for front lights
or other accessories that don’t have an on/off switch.
-8-
Figure 11: 5.5 x 2.1mm jacks provide
convenient access to DC battery power
for accessories.