OK, well, no giant fireball, as there was no gasoline involved.
I was stopped at a three-way stop sign. When I went to pull away from the stop sign, it didn't go and a giant plume of smoke puffed up from under the seat.
I hit all the power and disconnects and pushed it out of traffic.
I walked 2.5 miles home, stopping at the former Curtis controller guy's place.
He seemed to confirm that the problem was most likely the controller. I saw NO damage to the DC/DC converter or the main power contactor. I didn't see anything wrong with the motor, but it's hard to see anything without the cover off anyways.
Yep. I just walked in the door and the first thing I do is post a message about it! Haven't even had a glass of water left.
You let out the magic smoke. Everyone knows electronics don't work if you let the smoke out.
On the serious side, maybe you just blew out an electrolitic capacitor. The plates can short, the electrolyte boils out, lots of smoke.
If that is all, it should be an easy fix.
Bummer!! Maybe related or not - but did you have a pre-charge resistor in the circuit?
Got warranty?
Yes, I did. I believe the pre-charge resistor only effects the controller when turning the contactor on and off, which is only done manually at the start and end of a ride.
It sure was a lot of smoke.
Just got back with the cycle in the back of the S10. I lowered the back, but haven't had time to lower the front yet. Sure rides low with the blocks AND a cycle loaded in it!
The inside of the controller has epoxy filled in there so it's totally waterproof. When this thing went, it must have blasted a hole right through the end there!
That also means that you can't just get in and replace a single electronic part.
I am calling Alltrax customer service tommorow. Why do I have the feeling my one year warranty just expired.
The inside of the controller has epoxy filled in there so it's totally waterproof.
Also it makes it that much harder to reverse-engineer/check-for-patent-violations.
There are epoxy removers that claim to be "safe" but I think the PC board has epoxy in it.. http://www.fiber-tensioners.com/BIO-SAFE1025specs.htm
Actually, I did just dig up the original purchase date info.
Yep, if it was a one year warranty, it was up last week!
But was that date the order date, or the date it arrived and you had possesion? Because I would think the warranty would start when you got your hands on the part.
Ben - I wonder if it's a coincidence that this happened so shortly after you upgraded your pack voltage. I know it's rated for 48v, but what might the peak charging voltage be on your new charger? (Your controller probably isn't electrically connected when charging, is it?)
Preliminary good news.. I looked up and found that the Alltrax has a TWO YEAR WARRANTY!
I got a call back from the warranty guy at Alltrax, saying that the best thing might be for me to contact the company I purchased the controller from, because I might be able to get a new one faster that way.
I am still waiting on a call back from my original dealer.
