[OMT]

i pciked up up 2 forklift motor controllers. series wound dc. now wait wait, their igbt, not the old clicking and clacking controllers lol.

their both the exact same, 24-48v, 1000amp peak, 350A cont.

heres the site that was written on it. its the TSE model. the green one.
http://www.navitastechnologies.com/Navitas/Series_Wound_DC_Motor_Controllers.html

i was wondering if somehow i could take it apart( very hard! no bolts!!!!) its press fit? and convert it from 24-48 to a higher voltage such as 144v?

thanks

 

[DawidvC]

If these controllers really uses IGBT's then the voltage limitations would be more from a power supply limitation than anything else. I see on their website that they also have a 72V controller. I would suggest trying to open it up, and see if you can identify the power supply section in the controller. Also, check to see if both the armature and the field uses igbt's, or if it is only the armature. This could also influence your decision about modding this controller.

If your only limitation is the power supply, run it at 24V and check what output voltages you see. You might be able to either change the supply, or else run it of a small 24V supply just for the control section.

Please let us know what you find. Good luck and good hunting .
Dawid

 

[OMT]

here are some photos, i have 2( i might get one more) of these conrtollers, the capacitors seem to be 80v rated., not ure i there are 1 or two igbts...

 

[DawidvC]

According to their installation manual, they use mosfets. Check the module numbers and find the specs on the internet. They may be a limitation, there is simply no way to tell without checking the specs.

Your power supply runs directly off the battery voltage. It will need to be changed as well. See if you can find the output voltages of the power supply module.

Your caps are rated for only 80V. If they are connected in series, that gives you only 160V. For 144V system you need at least 200V, preferably higher. This can be a straight replacement, but the important thing to get right with the caps is their resistance ( ESR ). This means you would need to look at datasheets for caps to find the correct values.

Remember, if the caps are all in parallel, you would need a 250V rating on the caps to run at 144V. This is all do-able, it would just take time to research everything. Try to get help from a friend well versed in electronics (like an EE).

Hopefully some of the whizzes on this forum will take pity on you and help

Regards
Dawid

 

[Tesseract]

Sorry, OMT, but unless you have access to the source code or can hack voltage monitoring circuit here you won't be able to appreciably change the voltage range it will tolerate. Indeed, you probably shouldn't do this even if you could do it because a controller designed for 48V maximum isn't going to have any isolation between the control and power sides - it simply wouldn't be safe if it faulted when operating at a higher voltage. I don't normally warn people off just because of safety reasons, though - it's really the code that the microcontroller runs that is the main obstacle here.

Is there a date code on the enclosure anywhere, because the all through-hole construction and the use of a PLCC socket, in particular, imply this thing dates back to the 90's.

 

[ASI guy]

That is a PSE hydraulic pump controller, not a TSE traction controller. I won't come right out and say it can't be converted to 144V, but I certainly wouldn't suggest it. Also, it doesn't have the built in fwd/rev contactor driver circuit like the TSE model that will turn off the PWM when changing directions to save the contactor tips. A 96V version of the TSE is available, but not 144V. Navitas was bought a few years back by Accelerated Systems Inc. and these units, while certainly a dated design, are still in production because they just keep working and customers keep wanting them. I know because I work there .