I just bought a used 2008 Vectrix that had some water in the motor encoder area. I'm really excited about this scooter. Everything works except the motor is "jumpy". It moves, but it's definitely not right. It feels like maybe it's only running on 2 of the 3 phases. I hope someone can help me diagnose and fix the problem. This group seems very knowledgeable and willing to help.
Things I've tried so far:
Physically checked the motor controller posts (3 phases), and they all look fine (no melting or burning). I've cleaned the encoder and encoder circuit card with air and some alcohol. There's still some corrosion in that area.
I tried the encoder calibration step (hold full throttle and right brake lever while turning on the ignition). That put the yellow wrench on the instrument panel and started the motor controller fan, but after leaving it sit for ~3 minutes I didn't see the wheel actually spin or do anything.
I've put an oscilloscope on some of the lines coming out of the encoder. Unfortunately, the wire colors on the schematic I have don't match the encoder wires on this particular scooter, so I can't figure out exactly which wire sets are Hall A, Hall B, Hall C, Encoder A, Encoder B, GND, and +5V. My scooter has 6 black wires plus a red, brown, yellow, blue, green, and white. I do get some ~5V square waves on some lines but not on others.
I'm guessing the issue is the encoder circuit board as it's not in the best of shape (see picture above). Does anyone have more insight on how to diagnose the encoder or other thoughts on what to try? Anyone have a source for a replacement encoder?
Thanks,
Gary
Gary
Try the same technique you used to calibrate the encoder, but use the left brake instead. The motor (wheel) should spin forward slowly and smoothly. This tests the phases of the MC w/o any encoder feedback. If this doesnt work, then the problem lies with the IGBT (or MC). If it does work, Then it is likely an encoder issue.
The fact that the wheel didnt spin during encoder calibration leads me to believe there is a phase problem. The test above will confirm.
BTW.. wheel must be off the ground.
I have had good experience cleaning similar items with WD-40 and a soft/medium toothbrush, then blowing the residue away with compressed air. WD-40 helps remove rust/corrosion. What city are you near?--Bob
Robert M. Curry
I tried the Left brake, full throttle turning on the ignition technique. The rear wheel does spin very slowly (~<1 degree/second). However, it doesn't rotate continuously. It rotates for maybe 1-2 seconds, then stops and pauses for ~0.5 seconds, then repeats. Afterward, I tried the right brake, full throttle encoder calibration again. This time it rotated the same as described above (rotate 1 to 2 seconds, then pause for ~0.5 seconds, then repeats). It continued this for ~10 minutes (rotating the wheel more than 1 full rotation) before I shut off the ignition b/c it didn't seem to be changing. During that entire time, the speedometer swept back and forth (not sure what that means).
Additionally, I got the pinout for the Renco encoder. Hooked up an oscilloscope. Channels B and V do not change at all while spinning the rear wheel. Channel A is a +/- 4V square wave with several hundred cycles per wheel rotation. Channels U and W are square waves with ~25 cycles per wheel rotation.
Thoughts?
BTW, I'm in State College, PA.
can you post a video of the problem?
cheers.
Gary
It sounds like a bad phase. When one of the phases is bad the motor can only spin so far before it hits a dead zone. While the wheel is up apply a little throttle and give the wheel a nudge and it will probably spin, but roughly. Once spinning the momentum gets it past the bad phase zone. The left brake trick should spin the motor regardless of the encoder functionality since the test does not use feedback. Altho it sounds like you have encoder problems too. Check the wires where they go into the connector. Sometimes these crimps are bad.
X-vectrix, this "techniques" are very useful. Are there more of them? many thanks!
Group,
Quick update on my non-running Vectrix issue.
I finally bit the bullet and called Vectrix for some help. I spoke with a GREAT guy at Vectrix, and he was more than helpful. After describing the scooter's symptoms, he said it was probably a bad encoder. $110 and a couple days later, I had the encoder. I installed it that night, did the calibration routine, and took it for a spin. It ran flawlessly for ~1 mile before I was frozen (it was like 7 deg F here in PA).
This was without a doubt the best experience I have ever had with a customer service/technical support person. I highly recommend these guys. They are awesome!
Hopefully it gets warmer here so I can take it for a full ride.
Thanks,
Gary
Good to hear that!
How did you align the encoder - did they send the alignment tools with the encoder?
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