Geo Metro plug-in parallel hybrid EV - in progress

[Geebee]

Just check what the response of the speed controller is to an open circuit input, game joysticks have a reputation of failing in that manner sometimes.

[MPaulHolmes]

So, potentiometers can fail as open circuits? Oh dear. Thanks Geebee! I better go deal with that scenario. How about shut the controller off if a 5k pot reads over 6k or something. hmm... How consistent are those PB-6's? I think mine reads 0 to 4500 Ohms or something.

[Coyote X]

I am not sure how to attach the video but go here to watch it
Wired up and Test of Motor - MetroXFi.com If someone can edit the post and figure out how to embed the video then go for it.

I need to make a better limiting strap or just try and figure out how to shorten the strut. The strap broke from messing with the motor from giving it instant wide open throttle and that made the sprockets out of align enough that it jumps off easy now when the tire is jacked up. If the suspension didn't droop so much then it would just about be ready to hit the road in it.

I probably won't get much else done for the next two days, I have to do some other stuff

[MPaulHolmes]

That is awesome!!! Great job!

[Coyote X]

I dropped the car to the ground today to see what it would do. On level ground it cant move under electric only. Even if I drive it to something like 30mph it can't maintain that speed. The batteries are fully charged so it isn't running out of power. Another thing I noticed is it is supposed to be a ccw rotation motor so when I was planning it I figured I would just have the reverse switch upside down to make it right. I haven't wired up reverse yet so it is spinning backwards from what it is supposed to be doing.

If I jack the car up I can actually hold the tire still at full power so I figure something isn't quite right somewhere. It will spin it fine with no load though just backwards from what it is supposed to do. Under any kind of load at all it sounds like a baseball card in spokes so I figure the wiring on the motor is wrong. I will work on that next and see if I can figure out the wiring. There are only 6 wires so it can't be that many combinations to try

[Geebee]

Endless-sphere.com • Index page
Browse or ask about wiring here they have played with many of them.

[bennelson]

Brushed DC permanent magnet motors are super easy to work on. You literally just swap the two power cables going to the motor to make it spin the opposite direction.

AC and Brushless DC get a little more complicated than that real quick! Wish I knew more for you!

[MetroMPG]

It's possible you have a brush timing/wiring problem - could the noise you're hearing be arcing?

If the motor had the brushes advanced for rotation in one direction, in the "wrong" direction you'd be getting reduced torque, arcing (potentially damaging the commutator) and a funny noise. Ask me how I know this.

[Coyote X]

I checked the wiring and it matches the updated diagram on the kelly website. There are 3 hall wires and 3 power wires so if I just try every possible combination that is still only 36 attempts.

I will just make a chart with every possible combination and try that. First thing is to check the hall sensors and make sure they are all working. If one of them is bad it could make the motor run like it is doing.

I have a meter that can measure 20A so I will set the current limit to 10A in the controller and test it at no load. The motor should pull less than 2A at no load so that would be the best way to find out when I get the wiring right.

[MetroMPG]

Whoops - my bad. Forgot this is a brushless motor.