Paul & Sabrina's cheap DIY 144v motor controller

[jyanof]

Originally Posted by voltmatic automaton

i need some advice on the control board. I was wiring everything up for my install, had the power section in and wired up and went to wire in the control board.

The traction battery was connected to the power section? it may be best to complete the controller before applying traction voltage.

something went ZAP and now the control board won't light up on a 12 volt supply...nothing...at all.

the schematic shows an LED that's lit by the output of the cincon DCDC. It just stays lit if it's working. The other LED is driven by the micro. This one would blink if there was an error. Are they both out?

There's also a circuit to detect if the cincon DCDC isn't working, but I think that all it does is disable the PWM output so that the controller won't turn on the mosfets with low voltage from the DCDC.

so my question is which components should i start looking at for a failure if 120v somehow zapped the board?

Sounds like the cincon is dead. It should have a 12V output. Its output is isolated, but something inside may have shorted and taken out stuff on the input side. You can check the voltage on the 7805 regulator to see if you get 5V out.

just to clear the confusion, im using the power stage of a logisystems controller. just removed the lem and installed the revolt board. since there wasn't the space i decided to go with the zilla idea of making the power stage a seperate module to the control board stage...kinda like the hairball idea.

I dig the idea - are you planning to use the mosfet driver on the control board? It needs to be physically close to the mosfets that it is driving. You might consider making your own mosfet driver board that is in the power section. I think Adam did something like this?

[apowers]

http://home.cogeco.ca/~tkooistra/Cou...ematic_All.pdf


This is the link to the schematic. Start where you have voltage and follow it till you don't. Note the different ground for different parts.

[voltmatic automaton]

the broken part seemed TOO simple.

R1 had gone south, there was no visible damage but taking it out of the circuit and testing it proved it was dead. a quick swap and the blinking yellow and steady green were back...now i have the schematic also so that should help in future.

[LUCKY13]

I am building ten mutant electric shopping carts and need to shave some costs, in a big way. Yes, this is a Burning Man project. Yes, I always build crazy things.

They would need to be dual motor controllers, programmable & capable of 100 amps/motor. I can buy a super reliable off the shelf one for $400 but that is putting my overall project cost out of feasiblity. Multiplying everything by ten is expensive.

I have access to some smart people but no one who has experience & confidence in this area.

This is the first scalable electric vehicle project I am embarking on & need it to be a hit so I can leverage up to bigger vehicles & larger volume. My company, LUCKY13 design/build, provides Art Direction, Fabrication & Props mostly for the entertainment industry. I want to branch out into fun, alternative, & sustainable projects with HIGH IMPACT! The film biz throws too much stuff into landfills and long term storage. I want my creative machines on the street getting visibility.

Is it realistic to think I can find a company or individual to build me some UBER reliable, fully functional & tough controllers for around $200 each?

Your input will be valuable. Kick me in the balls if I am out of line or should post this elsewhere. Contact me immediately if you can help as this project is hinging on the controllers.

Cheers,

[tv:]

tomas verde

[LUCKY13]

I have access to large quantities of wheelchair motor controllers for cheap.

Is it possible to modify them to handle higher amperage? Up to 120a?

Again, I appreciate any feedback.

[mobby666]

There might be a way to give you what you want, but I would need to know more

Mobby

[LUCKY13]

Great, what do you need to know? Ask away.

[mobby666]

First talk to me here patcom1970(at)yahoo.co.uk If we can find a solution we'll bring it back to the board, OK?

[apowers]

Originally Posted by voltmatic automaton

the broken part seemed TOO simple.

R1 had gone south, there was no visible damage but taking it out of the circuit and testing it proved it was dead. a quick swap and the blinking yellow and steady green were back...now i have the schematic also so that should help in future.

Glad to hear that. Bad news is the blinking light means a fault. It could be
throttle position(high pedal lockout) or the LEM is not plugged in.

[Darxus]

Originally Posted by LUCKY13

I am building ten mutant electric shopping carts and need to shave some costs, in a big way. Yes, this is a Burning Man project. Yes, I always build crazy things.

You can do thinks like put a switch on each battery, and the more switches you turn on, the faster it goes. Real cheap.

If you don't care about efficiency you could use a variable resistor (functionally) like a lightbulb dimmer switch - you're still draining your batteries at the full rate, but the power not going to the wheels is going to heat.