KELLY CONTROLLERS junk no refund or replacement will be given

Hi Icalarea47, did you receive the controllers this way when they arrived?
If you did, they should refund your money back or give out another replacement, in exchange for the non-working one. (either way they should refund your money or exchange
the part(s). It depends on what kind of policy they have regarding this issue.

Many online retailers won't accept returns or refunds on electronic parts. Unfortunately, a controller is considered an electronic part. With parts, there's no way a manufacturer can determine if it was used in the correct environment. If you cross a wire and cook it, it's your money lost.

A few more things to think about:

Aren't Kelly Controllers located in China? Where are you located and how much is shipping from China to you?

From the website I found, there is no refund or return policy on the site - no policy posted usually means no refunds/returns accepted - you should've contacted them first.

Something tells me you're using this controller for something it was not designed for - a Jeep? Aren't these scooter controllers?

So the problem really isn't with Kelly Controllers in China, but the return policy of some "sales guy" in IL?

Who is this sales guy, and what website did you buy from?

Hello. I am NOT a Kelly dealer or an employee etc. I am however, a Kelly product consumer. I have 2 conversions using Kelly Controls. I will just share with you my experience. I hope it will be helpful. I need to state two important facts. I purchased my controllers directly from the Kelly website. I had the exact same problem you described TWICE. I used the same series controller you listed except mine is 96 Volt and 600 Amps (KDH09600).

What I discovered (the hard way) from Kelly Is that the Kelly high voltage controller is NOT isolated from the chassis ground. The contoller WILL short out and be damaged if you ground a battery to the frame with a wrench for example. Curtis and Alltrax ARE isolated, and are not affected by this type of short circuit. The Kelly low voltage controllers ARE ISOLATED. So I assumed the High voltage one was the same, and was uncaring about the installation proceedure. The ONLY hint or warning of this failure, is the one liner in the instruction manual about hooking up the B- connection on the controller FIRST. If you hook up any other of the high voltage side before hand, the controller is damaged. I have found using Kelly controls user manuals and the communication with e-mails suffer from language barrier problems. I have talked to Kelly via e-mail through BOTH failures, and ADMITTED that I shorted out terminals while the controller was tied in, and they STILL REPLACED BOTH MY CONTROLLERS UNDER WARRANTY. The only charges I had to cover were shipping the damaged controller back, and when they received my damaged controller, they shipped out a new one from China, and I had it in 5 days. They provided tracking info as well.
My contactor did the same thing. The 300 Ohm resistor got red hot, and the controller was shorted to full power on.
The first time, I don't recall exactly what happened as to how I fried the first one, but the second one I know I shorted a wrench to the frame when swapping out batteries. So in MY case, it was my error that the controller fried, and Kelly still replaced the controller.
Please take a minute to e-mail sales [at] kellycontrols.com, and very politely explain your problem. Steve is the gentlemen that worked with me, and he is based in Illinios I think. His english is very good, but some written translation is a little tough to follow (at least for me).
The "not isolated" type of controller is maybe not the perfered method to build controllers, like it or not, that is how Kelly's high voltage controllers are built. My replacements worked great right out of the box. It was me who destroyed them.
Your situation is different, because a Kelly dealer is involved. I don't know if Kelly can help you, but give them a try. I fully expected them to not cover my warranty. I specifically asked what the proceedure was for doing maintainence on the battery pack, and not hurting the controller. Their responce was, "disconnect the B+ connection from the controller before any work is started". I taped my connections up with electrical tape after disconnecting them just to be sure. The other instruction I did not follow was the part that says, "be sure to use properly insulated tools".
Kelly has been extremely patient with me. And I have thanked them many times for that. I will continue to do business with them, and I will continue to order parts directly from their website. I check the website frequently, because new high quality reasonably priced parts are listed all the time. Also, I have noticed the intruction manuals have been changed and updated many times. I suspect I was the reason for some of the updates.
I'm very sorry your have had difficulty with the controllers. I know EXACTLY how frustrating and scary that failure is. Please give Kelly a chance. Contact them directly.
Thanks for letting me babble. I hope some of it wil but usefull.

This is directly from the Kelly website 1 minute ago:

Welcome to Kelly Controller Online Shop

All Kelly Controller products:
a. One month refundable.
b. One year warranty.
c. Free pre-charge resistor, recirculation diodes, and female aviation plugs.

Okay just out of curiosity, I took the liberty of emailing Kelly controls (the website).
This is what they said, and they emailed me back with a timely response.
Maybe this will help some of you, dunno?

I asked what their policy was on exchanges for broken products, or if they give refunds.
Here is what their answer was:

So far we have no problem with any customer about exchange or refund. The policy of refund is 1 month after received the controller. Actually it can be longer.
The exchange period is 1 year.

Thank you,
Steven

- Show quoted text -
On Sun, Jul 13, 2008 at 1:44 PM, ----------- > wrote:

Hello, I wanted to find out what your policy is for exchanging your products or if you give refunds for broken products??

Thank you,
-----

--
Kelly Controls,LLC
http://www.KellyController.com
(01) 224 637 5092

(I think this also depends on how you talk to a representative, for example;
If you say something like "well I now have a broken controller after I have tried using it, they may not give a refund or exchange it for you. If you tell them that you received a poorly packaged product with broken parts, then they will hopefully either exchange or refund your money.)

Alias I dissagree with your approach. The truth will always be best. I believe that attitude, respect and patience will get much farther that a lie.

Well we all have our own opinions. :?

Racermike39 wrote

Alias I dissagree with your approach. The truth will always be best. I believe that attitude, respect and patience will get much farther that a lie.

:?

First of all it wasn't a lie, I simply asked what their policy was regarding broken controllers, if you will.
So I think you misunderstood my approach, and it certainly wasn't a crime to do so.
If you want to find out what someone's policy is (especially if they don't display one for the public eye,which they should ) it's simply best to ask.

(I think this also depends on how you talk to a representative, for example;
If you say something like "well I now have a broken controller after I have tried using it, they may not give a refund or exchange it for you. If you tell them that you received a poorly packaged product with broken parts, then they will hopefully either exchange or refund your money.)

This part is of course what Racermike is talking about.

I agree, truth is best.

Whilst the quality of the cheaper scooters sold to the USA seems quite shocking, most vendors seem to at least replace parts under warranty even if people discuss in public how to repair and improve the problems.

I do however not agree with the overall tone of this thread including it's header.

To make such broad condemning comments about a vendor requires much more detail to back it up.

Mr. Mik

I do however not agree with the overall tone of this thread including it's header.

To make such broad condemning comments about a vendor requires much more detail to back it up.

I agree. For someone like "lcalarea47", who seems to have been into electric vehicles for a while, purposefully sign up here with the only intention of talking bad about someone, turns my stomach. It's people like this who keep things from moving forward in the world. I bet that vendor bent over backwards to help dozens of other customers, all whom we'll never hear from unless there's some sort of problem - then, gloves are off and they're posting BS all over the internet.

My vote:

Mik,

Sigh*

All I am saying is, when you talk to representatives and tell them exactly what is wrong with the product,
(which you should be doing) they may or may not give what you want, based on their policy, that's all.

-----> Going to the corner for now :?

Alias I dissagree with your approach. The truth will always be best. I believe that attitude, respect and patience will get much farther that a lie.

How is Alias's approach untruthful? You make it sound like they told some sort of lie.

What it looks like to me (correct me Alias) is a simple ruse to gather correct and first-quote information. If this sort of thing is beneath you, maybe your insult towards Alias would also be considered as such and shouldn't have been posted.

-----> 1692

Arctic Fox wrote

What it looks like to me (correct me Alias) is a simple ruse to gather correct and first-quote information

ArcticFox Kudos to you, and thank you for your positive response
This is exactly what I meant. I think some folks tend to take things the wrong way and look at things in a slanted way.

I certainly have a lot of patience and respect. First of all, I deal with people who I do not even know on a daily basis. Part of my description is patience and respect of the people who I work with. I am involved with communities constantly whether someone is asking for directions or help in general.
I think there are those who need to judge themselves before they go and judge other people.

Alias.
I DEFINITELY owe you an apology. After reading your responce again, I realized I totally missed the fact that your commnet was based on a question we do not have an answer to yet. ("Was it damaged when it arrived?").

I am very sorry for my responce, and I will be more careful in the future.

I know when it is time to apologize the damage is already done. Again I am deeply sorry.

I hope you can forgive me.
Mike.

My experience with Kelly has been excellent, both the product and the customer service. It worked great out of the box, so I did not get into an exchange situation. I installed a Kelly brushless controller into a scooter, documented here.

The EVTA OEM controller I replaces was junk IMO, the Kelly is in another league altogether and I've been very happy with it.

This really caught my eye as I just sent $301.00 to Kelly for a brushless controller. I haven't seen the instructions on this, but it looks like they should be emphasized or explained a little better. This guys misfortune is my education.
When saw the Jesus footnote, I thought not, oh no not another patronizing religious zealot, but I was wrong as it appears he has truly seen the light by asking forgiveness when he realized he made a mistake. Interesting ethics dance. But how ethical are the Chinese when it comes to returns, or refunds for parts made by companies owned in China? My limited exposure to dealings with the Chinese has made me somewhat apprehensive when it comes to ethical standards or lack of. I shouldn't paint with such a broad brush and two wrongs don't make a right. I'm a little jaded as I handled insurance claims professionally and about 50% of the people that filed a claim had no problem stretching the truth or telling outright lies about the facts of their claim to get coverage when a determining question arose. Most of the comments and things I've read on this site indicate the majority are straight shooters, but it just kinda sucks for those of us that feel that if I broke or abused a part, no coverage. If it's defective, the mgf replace it. If liability can't be determined, or if it is gray area, the mfg still replaces it so you will buy from them again. And a lie of omission is still a lie. Companies who do are the exception, not the rule.
Is Kelly just a name some guy in China? Ignorant me thought I was getting something from a company that was at least American owned.

Racermike

I appreciate you taking the time to look at my comment, thank you.

I also appreciate your apology, and please no worries.
I know that we all see things in a different way at first;
but when you take the time to look at things in a different view, you see things in a different light.
So again, thank you for the apology and no worries, honest. ;)

Well we had the same problems here with Kelly Controls, LLC. They have moved their website now to http://www.newkellycontroller.com. We have been finding more complaints about their products and how they will not honor any returns, only exchanges for more non-working products so after getting completely fed up with this reseller out of Illinois we are finally taking the time to post our concerns.

We bought the Kelly Controller KDH15600B model for a project we had here in the Dallas area. These controllers have a list of flaws and problems. They continue to overheat causing them to loose 80% of their power, sputter upon acceleration, cut out constantly, are over spec'd ( we took many current/voltage readings ) and do not work with most motors including the WarP9. We had no choice but to return this Chinese controller and ask for a refund.

We have been battling Kelly now for 6 months without any products in hand anymore because we returned it months ago and complained how they don't work as claimed or correctly. Beware, they will charge your credit card whenever they want by keeping your cards on file and not letting you know they are charging your credit card. Don't expect them to be honest and sell any kind of quality or really work with you to sell you a product that will work for your project or application. We hope that many will take this posting as a WARNING we told you so.

We also have experience working with the Etek motors Kelly is selling as well. Also junk. The first Etek we tried was a factory defective motor. We popped it open after it failed during a race and found out why the motors are failing. There is no doubt these motors are being manufactured with very little quality control and the failure could have been easily avoided.

Beware of resellers from China. The don't stand behind the product when it is defective or does not work. If you plan on buying something from Kelly Controls LLC and you don't have any problems with it then you are going to be one of the very very lucky ones.

We are not ones to spread bad things about companies but when you get screwed and then screwed again by a company it is time others should know and beware of what this company is importing. We have been building and racing EVs for several years now and we decided to give Kelly Controls, LLC a try. Bad mistake but we will recover and have found several other controllers that are superior to Kelly Controls, LLC products. They are out there and stand behind their products and have much better customer service. Most of the manufacturers we are finding are products made in the USA! We are glad to see some good business starting to evolve locally again. Its essential to see honest businesses start to grow in this market. Please beware of Kelly Controls, LLC. Buy at your own risk and make sure you are prepared to keep it even if it doesn't work right.

Hi evpvteam,

you mention you have found other controllers.
are these 3-phase controllers for perm magnet motors (BLDC)? or just more DC motor controllers?

If they are 3-phase controllers, can you post links to them?

though in my application my kelly controllers have been brilliant, i need a controller with more power than any of the kelly offerings (biggest 3-ph kelly is 120v 400A, where as im more after 144v+ 800A)

Matt

I have bought a couple of Kelly controllers, and I have used one in the US TTXGP, where it worked great. I have had one fail on me, and it did take a bit of communication with them, but they did replace it for me. It can be frustrating when you spend a large amount of money, and then you have to go back and forth to get a replacement, however, we also need to look at it from their side. They can't go and send out new ones for everyone at the drop of a hat. They need to weed through the false claims and stuff too. I think most companies that deal with electronic parts will do that. And a lot wont replace them after use. I have heard a ton of great stories about Kellys, with people that have had absolutely no problems with them at all, and I have heard a few stories where the units failed, and honestly, most of those stories ended up being positive ones.
All in all, I feel that Kelly is a pretty stand up company and Steven from Kelly is a stand up guy. I have had him talk me through some wiring issues on the phone.

Steven Li from Kelly Controls LLC has always been very helpful in my experience. He has honored warranties in my case. I had a problem because I had no precharge resistor he upgraded me to a better controller so I wouldn't have to wait. He even came to my house to help me install. He lives about 7 miles away. I think he sells product to allot of people who are amateurs (like me) and has to deal with people doing dumb things, in his defense. I would like to hear more feedback on various controllers though. The regen braking on the kelly is nice and smooth. The programing options are also nice. Does curtis offer this?

I'd like to also chime-in for the defense of Kelly. We use their KBL controllers and have had excellent support from Kelly and have been very satisfied with their controllers.

I think the controller should be KDH09600.
It is designed with opto-isolated technology.
The power supply must be separated from the main battery pack.Don't wire B- to chassis or RTN.Otherwise the controller may be damaged.We add a 220Kohm resistor between the case of the controller and B-,which is used for static protection.We also can remove it according to customers' request.

Usually the controller could be damaged due to lacking the understanding for Kelly controller.

We can send you a new controller for you trial if possible.
Please let us know your thoughts.
By the way,we have published our new controller KDHD,more reliable and more stable.KDH12800D is the best choose to drive Warp 9 " series wound motor.

I have 3 Kelly controllers and my actual experience with Kelly is as follows:
KDHA12400 It works, but it does not put out 400 amps, I measured about 350 max.
KDZ12400 I damaged it after powering it from 12 volts, when it runs on 18-136 (I was used to the kdha, which is powered by 12 volts).
I explained everything to them, expressed my disappointment in the poorly written instructions, which was partly to blame. Kelly sent me back a replacement, which I tested and, though it functioned, did not put out 400 amps (about 350 amps max). I raised hell and they sent me the KDC12602 controller, saying that it's rated at 400 amps, but their website shows that this KDC model does not come in the 400 amp version, only 600 and 800.
KDC12602 I tested it and it put out less current than either controller before (331 amps max).

I am about to raise hell again, because 350 amps is not enough for a car. Even 400 is on the slow side for a 1800 pound car.
I suppose some will wonder about my conversion and how relevant my post is.

1974 Super Beetle with recently adjusted brakes and the transaxle fluid recently replaced, all stock except for EV parts.
Motor: ADC L91-4003 Adapter: CAN EV air cooled VW Controller: 3 different Kelly controllers have been tried, see above.
Batteries: I 1st installed 30-40Ah Thunder-sky cells, performance was too poor, I upgraded to 36-40Ah CALB cells.
All battery connections were cleaned and connected with super thick bus bars and 2/0 welding cable.
I would not recommend dealing with people who lie like Kelly, but to be fair, their controllers are dirt cheap (not inexpensive)and not all people have a choice. I will never again purchase from them. The connectors for the controller's j1 and j2 plugs are very poorly made, don't make contact very well and break easily. If you do buy kelly, buy an extra j2 connector when you order or they will charge you shipping for a replacement.