Low voltage test a success!
I think I'm going to cry! OK, well it was actually a super low voltage test, like 5 volts or something, but everything works perfectly with the WHOLE DANG CONTROLLER!! I haven't tested the current limiting or the temperature cutback. I'll need to put it into the car to get anywhere near 500 amps.
I almost passed multiple kidney stones as I first plugged it in. I almost forgot to connect the power section ground to the control ground. I had a coding error that made the controller do nothing! I thought there was something catastrophically wrong with it. Then I had the stupid dang hall effect current sensor plugged in backwards into the control board! They have it numbered 4 3 2 1 instead of 1 2 3 4! Dorks!
I had gotten an awesome new fancy breadboard that is BIG from Chris, the Electrical Engineer!!! He also sent a bunch of other awesome stuff (electrical components that I will find very useful!). I want to take a picture of the controller, and the power section and weenie board section, but my betteries are dead, and I can't find the dang battery charger!
I already tested the circuit as best I could (sort of) on the breadboard (no bad connections! Take that you commies! hahaha!). Then I METICULOUSLY removed each piece from the breadboard and SOLDERED it to the permanent radio shack ghetto PCB (2 of them actually, since the circuit was too big). I mean METICULOUSLY!!!!!!! I checked each coordinate like 5 or 10 times, and spoke out loud everything I did. I had never made a permanent soldered circuit before. I thought for sure that when nothing worked that I had done something terribly wrong! But it was just a coding error and the backwards plug in thing!
3 months culminating in one moment, and it not working for like 30 minutes is sort of stressful.
Next (tonight??? CRAP!!! i HAVE TO GO WORK AT SYLVAN TONIGHT! dANG RICH PUNKS!) I'll hook up a 12v battery to test it that way, and then skip all that crap and go right to the car. Then I'll go get a ticket from the cops, come right back, do a few more tests over the coming week or 2, making sure the coding is pretty good, and then ship it to Ben! Go Ben, it's your birthday, light a candle, throw a party!
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