Help on controller

[ken]

HI Icheck my motor and the cable is hook to S1 to A1, and B+ goes to A2 and S2 goes to the controller M-. How do I fine out if there a shot in the motor? Do I try it again when I get the new controller, or do I need the motor check frist? What do I do to keep my batteries good over winter, so they don`t go bad?. THANKS ken

[TomEV]

You can check for shorts to the motor case by measuring between the armature posts and the case, and the field posts and the case. You may have some amount of resistance due to dirt, carbon dust, etc, but you shouldn't see a dead short (with all cables disconnected).

While the cables are disconnected, check for continuity between A1 and A2, and also between S1 and S2 to see if something has come loose inside. Sometimes its just a matter of moving brush leads inside the motor a bit to eliminate a short.

If these checks are OK, you can test the motor operation using a coule of jumper cables by connecting 12 to 24 volts (part of the pack - just a couple of batteries) where the B+ and controller M- connect to the motor (S2 and A2 on your setup). This will turn the motor enough to show it works, but won't overspeed the motor as long as you use low voltage. Make sure the cable is also connected between S1 and A1 to complete the 'series'.

Here is an example video I made a while back -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2LQGPN0CN4

Make sure the trans is in neutral, or jack the rear end off the ground to be safe.

As far as the batteries go, use your regular battery charger and give them 30 minutes on charge once a week - but don't boil the water out of them.

[ken]

I checked out the motor, it seams to be ok, I didn`t get anything back on the meter. The motor runs fine on 12 volt. It moved the truck forward about 3 inch. and backward 3 inch. So I think I have things hooked up right. I think the switch in the pot box is bad. What kind of switch do I get to replace it? Or do I just buy a new pot box? And still waiting on parts for the controller. And I`M supose to get some one to look at it before I turn it on this time my wife said. or it all goes to junk. Does anyone live near LOUISVILLE,KY.That can look at it for me??? THANK AND EVERYONE HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A GOOD NEW YEAR. KEN

[Weisheimer]

Originally Posted by ken

...And I`M soppse to get some one to look at it befor I turn it on this time my wife said. or it all goes to junk...

hmmmm.......
She might be related to my wife.

I live in Columbus and can check it out with you.

PM me with your phone number if you want to chat it over.

Mark Weisheimer

[MPaulHolmes]

Hi Ken! Your completed controller will ship by next tuesday. Don't worry.

-Paul

[ken]

[quote=weisheimer;209980]hmmmm.......
She might be related to my wife.

I live in columbus and can check it out with you.

Pm me with your phone number if you want to chat it over.

Mark weisheimer[/q

[TomEV]

Originally Posted by ken

I think the switch in the pot box is bad. What kind of switch do I get to replace it? Or do I just buy a new pot box?

Here are a couple of things to check - May be a bit basic, but sometimes the simple stuff gets overlooked.

* The pot box switch probably is a DPST switch, with one common, one normally open, and one normally closed terminal. With the throttle in the off position, the terminals you want to use are the ones that are open (off). These will close (turn on) when you press the pedal, allowing the controller to turn on, and the main contactor to close. (typical setup)

If the wires are on the wrong terminals, the controller could be on when the throttle is off, and turn off when you apply throttle. If the switch is wired to the NC and NO, and not attached to the common terminal, nothing will happen.

* The switch does not connect in series with the pot leads. The pot leads go directly to the controller, and are not switched on/off.

* Some pots have dual potentiometers, or four leads coming out of the pot. One pair will be the 0-5000k, (or whatever your controller needs) and the other will be something completely different. You can verify that you are using the correct pot by simply connecting a meter to the pot wires and running the throttle from off to full throttle. If it is a 0-5000 ohm pot, it won't be exactly 5000 ohms (could range 4,500 - 7,000 at the top end) but it will be in the ballpark.

* Another item to check is the rigging of the pot compared to the switch. If the switch closes while there is some resistance on the pot (generally more than 50 ohms), the controller may not turn on. This is because some controllers have a safety system that won't allow the controller to turn on with throttle applied so the vehicle doesn't leap forward unexpectedly.

To prevent this problem, it is a good idea to setup the pot box with a bit of dead band that allows the throttle pedal to move a bit after the switch comes on, but before the pot gets into control range. If this dead band is too small, the controller may not have enough time to boot before the pot box kicks in, triggering the high pedal disable safety.

If you have a bad wire or corroded connection, the wire from pot to controller may have enough resistance by itself to make the controller not work.

* Aside from the large HV cables, many controllers work with three small wires to the controller - processor power, and two pot box wires. These usually operate at the same voltage as the HV pack.

Your controller appears to have five wires - Are these connected to the proper component/source? Putting power or grounding one of the pot box controller leads may cause problems. Since your controller has five small wires, (two of which appear to be processor + and processor -) it may have a controller processor that doesn't use the same voltage as the main pack. Are you feeding the controller processor with 48 volts, when it is only rated 18-24v? Or conversely, are you feeding it with 12 volts when it needs 48?

[Weisheimer]

OK, got the number. You might want to edit it away now...Don't need a spam-bot putting you on a gazillion auto-dialers!

[Weisheimer]

Originally Posted by TomEV

Here are a couple of things to check - May be a bit basic, but sometimes the simple stuff gets overlooked...

That is a pretty good list.

I called Ken and we talked about a couple of the things that we are going to look over.

With this controller, the electronics are powered by the 12v aux battery.
The electronics MUST be turned on first, and off last.
So, we'll confirm that the the electronics get their +12vdc and after that, the pre-charge is enabled, and finally, the main contactor.
For shut-down, we'll make sure that the contactor is turned Off first, that the pre-charge is off, followed by the electronics.
We're going to go over as much of the total wiring as possible too.
I believe he is running a prestolite motor, and I am familiar with that motor
as I have one in an old school Honda Civic wagon.
So, we'll run down the list as we go along and see if we find anything that needs done prior to installing another controller.
We'll be doing this mid-week, and we'll update to the post after we're done.

[Weisheimer]

I went to Ken's yesterday. We had waited until he had obtained a DC-DC converter to keep
The Aux battery charged. At the end of the day, Ken was driving his truck in his drive way.

We found a bad pot in his pot box, so he replaced it and we adjusted it for full range
via the pedal.
Then he added a 75 watt household bulb for pre-charging.
Last, he installed the controller and we tested it good.

Looks like there is another EV on the road now!