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Duke of Earl · 01-07-2009, 07:54 PM

hey, new here, i got an 8 hp dc electric motor, a curtis 36 volt speed controller but I don't have the Pot thing. Potentiator? Got out bid at the last second on E-bay. Now the controller had four large lugs comeing out of the end, two on top laying horizontal, two on bottom standing vertical, then there are three small lugs on the left side, setting horizontal, stacked, 1,2,3. I know the large lugs are the power in from batterys to motor, and I know the three small lugs are for the potentiator. Since the Pots that I have priced from EZ-GO are in the range of $187, I wonder can I use a Pot, like one of those knob switches that you turn to the right and it goes faster, left and it goes slower, I saw one at Radio Shack. It is like $5. it has three pins on it also, Question???? Which way do I wire it up? I am putting this all in a 1986 Toyota MR2. I will use the transmition but not the clutch. I know that 8 h.p. electric is different than gasoline. They say it only takes 12 h.p. to push a aireodynamic car 55 m.p.h. so I think I will have enough power. I have a ten horsepower gasoline engine which will sit up front and drive a 14 volt alternator at a constant speed to keep putting power in the 6, six volt batterys. I just don't know how to wire the pot up. I know how to build a pot, from my old toy race car sets, I took apart the speed controllers and saw they were just a long winding of copper wire with the side that the wiper contacted with insulation free. The wiper was the positive , and the slidder was the negative, that made two wires I don't know about the third wire, that is what messes with me building one for this curtis controller. Any Ideas? Like I sed I am new to this forum but I have been building stuff along time, I have a brown gas generator that puts out two liter per min. I built a resonating jet engine, non valved, it screams so loud it makes your ears hurt. I have a scooter made from this and that, powered by an old McCuloch chain saw motor and a swinn three speed transmition, it runs about fifty and gets bochoo gas mileage. Course I blew up a few things also, but that is just part of all this I guess, gotta blow something up once in a while or it ain't no fun. Any help?

01-07-2009, 07:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
Duke of Earl EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Arkansas Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Help with curtis controller hey, new here, i got an 8 hp dc electric motor, a curtis 36 volt speed controller but I don't have the Pot thing. Potentiator? Got out bid at the last second on E-bay. Now the controller had four large lugs comeing out of the end, two on top laying horizontal, two on bottom standing vertical, then there are three small lugs on the left side, setting horizontal, stacked, 1,2,3. I know the large lugs are the power in from batterys to motor, and I know the three small lugs are for the potentiator. Since the Pots that I have priced from EZ-GO are in the range of $187, I wonder can I use a Pot, like one of those knob switches that you turn to the right and it goes faster, left and it goes slower, I saw one at Radio Shack. It is like $5. it has three pins on it also, Question???? Which way do I wire it up? I am putting this all in a 1986 Toyota MR2. I will use the transmition but not the clutch. I know that 8 h.p. electric is different than gasoline. They say it only takes 12 h.p. to push a aireodynamic car 55 m.p.h. so I think I will have enough power. I have a ten horsepower gasoline engine which will sit up front and drive a 14 volt alternator at a constant speed to keep putting power in the 6, six volt batterys. I just don't know how to wire the pot up. I know how to build a pot, from my old toy race car sets, I took apart the speed controllers and saw they were just a long winding of copper wire with the side that the wiper contacted with insulation free. The wiper was the positive , and the slidder was the negative, that made two wires I don't know about the third wire, that is what messes with me building one for this curtis controller. Any Ideas? Like I sed I am new to this forum but I have been building stuff along time, I have a brown gas generator that puts out two liter per min. I built a resonating jet engine, non valved, it screams so loud it makes your ears hurt. I have a scooter made from this and that, powered by an old McCuloch chain saw motor and a swinn three speed transmition, it runs about fifty and gets bochoo gas mileage. Course I blew up a few things also, but that is just part of all this I guess, gotta blow something up once in a while or it ain't no fun. Any help?