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We finally had some nice weather again - got up to 46℉ today. Sure beats the -13℉ we had a few weeks back and the teens we have had in general.
That means I could actually get outside and tinker with the car.
I shuffled around some of the wiring that was still on the floor on the passenger side and dug through my Curtis Controller manual.
On the side of the controller are three screws. You pull them out with a Allen Wrench, and then there are tiny potentiometer screws hidden inside.
The three are for plug braking, throttle response time, and amperage.
I always figured amperage was turned all the way up, but NOPE, there was a little more in there!
I turned the amperage all the way up, and the throttle response speed all the way down.
Then I went for a ride down the street on the 45 mph main road.
POWER!!! Enough to push me back into the seat, well, at least a little. My 300 amp ammeter just maxes out. (It's a 400 amp controller)
Pulling away in second, and then shifting to 3rd, I was able to get up to 40 mph pretty quick. With the throttle speed turned all the way down, it takes almost 3 seconds between slamming on the gas pedal, and feeling it's full power.
You know what that means. Pulling back into my driveway, I parked the car and turned the throttle ramping all the way UP, while leaving the amperage setting maxed out as well.
The gas pedal is now pretty touchy. Just tapping the gas pedal instantly makes the motor spin. Not good for a smooth pulling away from a stop. (Especially since the stop right at the end of the driveway is a little uphill)
However, it IS really good for acceleration!!!!
Since I am now blinded by the shear power of the FULL fury of my 72 volt system, you know what I have to do...... Find the new top speed.
I head north on the main road, over the hill and into the 55 mph zone.
The speedometer reaches 47 MPH. Not really much faster than I have gone before, but SOOO much easier to get there.
Out on the main road, NOBODY passed me. I pulled a U-turn on a side road and headed back home. Of course just before getting back, going 40 mph (uphill) in the 45 zone, I STILL have an F-350 grill in the rearview. I wish those guys knew what they looked like to the driver in front of them.
I threw a volt meter on the batteries when I got back. Dang they were low! High amps really sucks them dry fast!!!!!
The controller was dead cold, as was the motor (including the bearing end)
I did feel all the power cables. They are a mix of sizes, ranging from 1 gauge to 1 ought. The 1 gauge at the rear batteries was very slightly warm when I wrapped my hand around it.
This entire project is sort of "tinker and test" the whole way.
Running a 144V system would cut the amps in half for the same power/speed.
In case you were wondering, I was at 250 amps in 4th gear on a 72V system to go 47 mph. My batteries would be much happier at 100 amps though!!!
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