Paul & Sabrina's cheap DIY 144v motor controller

[type2teach]

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

That's a good point. The controller will cut out if throttle goes out of range, or if 5v power or 12v power drops out of range.

Paul, I just got called out of town on an emergency, so I can't post the screenshot of the software, nor can I test the power to the throttle.
I'll do both once I get back.
Thanks!

[MPaulHolmes]

We just now got the 5 cubic yards of cement poured and leveled for the shop. PHEW!! That was a job. My wife was a huge help, dragging the 2x4 across to level it. Then I'll have a place to put the mill. Hurray!

[type2teach]

I'm attaching a file of a screenshot of RTD Explorer when I slowly accelerate and then loose all power. I take my foot off the accelerator when the van stops moving forward, that's why you see everything just DROP.
@227-228 is where the power drops, but my foot is still on the accelerator and a second later between 228-229 is where I take my foot off the accelerator.
Any ideas?

[64jeep]

Do you have a BMS that may be interacting with the control system (changing throttle signal or opening a contactor or something like that)?

It appears that when you say you lose power, PWM spikes from less than 20% to maxed at 100%. At the same time your current drops rapidly.

[type2teach]

Originally Posted by 64jeep

Do you have a BMS that may be interacting with the control system (changing throttle signal or opening a contactor or something like that)?

Nothing fancy, just 10 individual voltmeters attached to each pair of batteries.
Also an ammeter on the battery pack. V meters and A meter have been attached for at least 100 miles without any problem, I don't see why they would start something weird now.

[type2teach]

Here's another screenshot of two episodes. The first (2085) one I kept my foot on the accelerator longer (about 2 or 3 seconds) to make it clearer. The 2nd episode I started slowly accelerating @2094, the power went out and I tried feathering it back so it would "power up" again. You can see where I lost power at 2100, got it back, and lost it again between 2101 and 2102.
I should note that this whole time I'm in my driveway, with the emergency brake on a bit to keep me from moving far before I create the episodes. I can really only be in 1st and reverse. In 2nd, too much is being asked of the bus and it cuts out almost immediately. Normally, though, I drive in 2nd 95% of the time in the city where I rarely go above 40 mph
I really appreciate the help. I'd be lost without it.

[z_power]

Could you post screenshot of 'controller settings' area of rtdexplorer?

[type2teach]

Originally Posted by z_power

Could you post screenshot of 'controller settings' area of rtdexplorer?

Sure.
Um... how do I do that?

[z_power]

hm, IIRC if you type "config" in RTD you'll get list of all parameters, then use PrntScrn key to capture screenshot to your clipboard...

[roguethunder]

Originally Posted by z_power

hm, IIRC if you type "config" in RTD you'll get list of all parameters, then use PrntScrn key to capture screenshot to your clipboard...

;P better yet alt+PrntScrn will let you capture only the window in focus. (XD A random chime in, but hey, handy hotkeys are handy)