Bench testing the GE EV-1 Controller

3376 Views 2 Replies 1 Participant Last post by EVDL List, Jul 30, 2007

EVDL List

Discussion Starter · Jul 30, 2007

As I wrote last week, I am selling off my old parts
that are just laying around in the garage. Before I
sell any of them, I need to be sure they still work.

In the past, I tested these EV-1's outside the car,
but I had trouble. Without a series wound motor
connected to it, it is difficult. Also, you can't
free spin a series wound motor, even if I had a spare
lying around. So, just connecting it to any old
series motor (unloaded) is a recipe for disaster.

What I did is just put a load between A1 and A2.
Then, I jumpered from T2 to A1. But, I think the
device is trying to read a voltage across T2 and A1 to
calculate how much current is flowing. With the
jumper, it is reading 0 volts = 0 current. It runs up
to about 20% duty cycle and then faults. Actually, it
starts pulsing the load at maybe 2 Hz. I believe that
is some type of fault condition.

I am testing with 36 V (3 x 12 V batteies). The load
I am using is a perm mag motor.

This is the exact same thing that happened last time I
tried to test outside the car. In the car it worked
fine then. I just want a way to test it outside the
car without having to uninstall / reinstall each of
them.

I'd appreciate any help. Thoughts on how to properly
bench test one of these.

Thanks,

Steve

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EVDL List

Discussion Starter · #2 · Jul 30, 2007

I'm not sure about an SCR controller, but I know a good way to test newer
controllers is with a light bulb. It won't pull much current, but you
should see the light bulb brighten as you ramp the throttle up.

damon

>From: Steve Powers <[email protected]>
>Reply-To: [email protected]
>To: ev <[email protected]>
>Subject: Bench testing the GE EV-1 Controller
>Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:18:10 -0700 (PDT)
>
>As I wrote last week, I am selling off my old parts
>that are just laying around in the garage. Before I
>sell any of them, I need to be sure they still work.
>
>In the past, I tested these EV-1's outside the car,
>but I had trouble. Without a series wound motor
>connected to it, it is difficult. Also, you can't
>free spin a series wound motor, even if I had a spare
>lying around. So, just connecting it to any old
>series motor (unloaded) is a recipe for disaster.
>
>What I did is just put a load between A1 and A2.
>Then, I jumpered from T2 to A1. But, I think the
>device is trying to read a voltage across T2 and A1 to
>calculate how much current is flowing. With the
>jumper, it is reading 0 volts = 0 current. It runs up
>to about 20% duty cycle and then faults. Actually, it
>starts pulsing the load at maybe 2 Hz. I believe that
>is some type of fault condition.
>
>I am testing with 36 V (3 x 12 V batteies). The load
>I am using is a perm mag motor.
>
>This is the exact same thing that happened last time I
>tried to test outside the car. In the car it worked
>fine then. I just want a way to test it outside the
>car without having to uninstall / reinstall each of
>them.
>
>I'd appreciate any help. Thoughts on how to properly
>bench test one of these.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Steve
>
>
>
>____________________________________________________________________________________
>Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who
>knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.
>http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545433
>

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http://im.live.com/messenger/im/home/?source=hmtextlinkjuly07

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EVDL List

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 30, 2007

Steve Powers wrote:

> In the past, I tested these EV-1's outside the car,
> but I had trouble. Without a series wound motor
> connected to it, it is difficult. Also, you can't
> free spin a series wound motor, even if I had a spare
> lying around. So, just connecting it to any old
> series motor (unloaded) is a recipe for disaster.

Not necessarily; you can apply just a bit of throttle and spin the motor
without overreving it, however, if you aren't sure the controller works,
best not to risk it applying too much voltage to the motor as it will
overspeed quickly if there is a fault.

> What I did is just put a load between A1 and A2.
> Then, I jumpered from T2 to A1. But, I think the
> device is trying to read a voltage across T2 and A1 to
> calculate how much current is flowing.

You've connected it fine. The controller doesn't measure anything
between T2 and A1 (or A1 and anything). The current sensor is between
A2 and N (bat -ve). The A1 connection is not actually required (it just
connects a diode across the armature).

> I am testing with 36 V (3 x 12 V batteies). The load
> I am using is a perm mag motor.

Probably your PM motor offers too little inductance for the controller
to function properly.

If you've got a big inductor laying around, connect it in series with
the load and see if that doesn't make the controller happier. If you
don't have an inductor, you could wire the field of a series motor in
series with the load. Without the armature powered, the series motor
won't spin up and acts just as an inductor. You should be able to
replace the PM motor with a light bulb in series with a big
inductor/motor field for bench testing.

Cheers,

Roger.

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