I have used controllers on bikes more than a few times. I have never really had one act hinky lite this before, so I thought I would ask to see if anyone knows what the heck it is doing.
I have a bike with a rhino drive, my own build, it runs a 24v 600watt brush motor. I purchased a 36 v 800 watt controller. The controller does fine most of the time, then just shut down completely for no apparent reason. It acts as though it is over heating or something. If I give it a rest, the controller will start working again.
Most of the controllers I have seem limit the amps not shut down when they are under stress. It acts as thought the power circuit just goes open. I have no idea if I need a new controller or if I need to ride it differently to avoid the over demand for amps.
If you have any ideas let me know. It is a heavy duty controller from tnc so it shouldn't be doing this unless there is something I don't understand which is possible.
what battery chemistry are you using? Is there a BMS on the pack?
If your 24 volt motor has a continuous duty rating of 600 watts at 24 volts, it COULD demand over 2,000 watts for such things as rapid accelleration and hill climbing at 36 volts! If in doubt, MEASURE the maximum current, and multiply that by the battery voltage to see how many watts are ACTUALLY taken.(This measurement needs to be taken while actually RIDING the vehicle.)--My vehicle, with a 5,000 watt motor, regularly takes over 20,000 watts when accellerating.--Try a much bigger(more powerful) controller/battery arrangement.-Bob
Robert M. Curry
Thanks guys,
it seems to be working better now that I'm being more careful with the demand I put on the controller. I'm still running sla by the way and becoming really unhappy with them. Even thought the voltage is still high, the motor is starving for amps.
Even at 38volts left on the 36 volt pack it drags. I mean won't even help me climb a hill.
Let me get this straight..... You are running a 24V 600W MOTOR with a 36V 800W controller... correct????? It worked fine with the old 24V controller? If that is the case, I would have to say that the arrangement here is not a good one. Unless the motor is VERY under-rated that is more than likely the cause. It also could be the wiring between the controller and motor is not up to par. If the controller is trying to send too much power to the motor, and the wiring and/or the motor can not handle it, the controller will see far too much resistance in the circuit causing "feedback" and overheating. The other possibility is yes, the motor is requesting WAY more amps than the controller and wiring can handle. With the increased Voltage the amperage can shoot through the roof as other here have stated. It is possible you have damaged the controller as I have seen this happen before.
I feel as a normal setup, the controller should be rated even or lower than the motor to avoid problems. Now with my xb-600 it is another story as this motor has shown an ability to withstand quite a bit of abuse, thus allowing most users to go from 48V up to 72V with minor changes. All on a motor i suppose is rated at 48V and 600W.
My best advice would be to try this........
Set the bike up on a stand and test it with NO LOAD on the motor whatsoever! If it does not cut out and seems to work just fine, then that would mean that the load on the motor is too much causing too much current draw from the little 36V battery pack. SLA batteries can only supply so much current draw before possible damage or just simply starving the controller for any current. I would also charge and test each battery in the pack individually, as just 1 bad battery can cause many problems.
Dave ; Tennessee
XB-600.