⚡ Wiring Guide #3: Full Electric Motorcycle Wiring — What Connects to What
Got an electric motorcycle project and want to understand how everything hooks up? Here's the big picture, wire by wire:
- Battery pack — the high-voltage heart. Battery+ and battery− feed the controller. Exact terminal names vary by controller — check its label.
- Contactor — the heavy-duty on/off switch between the pack and the controller, triggered by the ignition switch.
- DC-DC converter — steps the pack voltage down to 12V to run lights, horn, and switches.
- Motor phases — phase A/B/C from the controller to the motor. Motor spinning backwards on some setups? Swap any two phase wires.
- Hall sensors — 5V, ground, and signal lines between motor and controller.
- Throttle — 5V, ground, and signal to the controller.
- Brake cut-offs — tell the controller to cut motor power when you grab the levers.
- Display — power and signal lines for speed and battery readings.
- 12V system — lights, horn, turn signals, and brake-light switch all run off the DC-DC converter output.
The graphic labels connections by FUNCTION, not your specific controller's pinout — always check your controller's label before connecting anything, and disconnect the battery before wiring work.
Questions about your build? Swing by the shop — happy to talk wiring. ⚡