Motor Controller Burning on Full Throttle

[nileshc]

I have cheap Chinese motor controller rated at 40amps and 36v that keeps catching on fire at full throttle. The motor is rated for 36v and 35.6 amps. I have three batteries at 12v and 13ah each wired in series. I don't know why it's catching fire and have gone through two controllers.

 

[BirdFanatic]

I have cheap Chinese motor controller rated at 40amps and 36v that keeps catching on fire at full throttle. The motor is rated for 36v and 35.6 amps. I have three batteries at 12v and 13ah each wired in series. I don't know why it's catching fire and have gone through two controllers.

Theres the problem (China made )

 

[nileshc]

What would you recommend? I can't find another options besides going to expensive golf cart motors

 

[itsid]

Well.. since ALL electronics you use are made in chine (I'm 85++% correct)
"chinese made" cannot be half as bad as Cameron made you believe

Yes, few "expensive stuff" was made in japan, but let's be honest.. not too long ago they had to fight the very same prejudice

Anyways, show us the motor and the controller, and we might be able to narrow down the problem you're facing.

generally, I can tell from here, that the controller you're having IS NOT designed for the motor you're running.
it will get hot (really hot alright) but it will not burn, all it does is.. it will not provide enough power to the motor.

Since whatever motor type you're running you should dial in on a controller with at least 60 (better 80Amps) of max power.

Why, since ALL controllers have a max rating that is meant for a VERY SHORT amount of time. (seconds, never longer than a minute)
running it a full throttle for longer than that... and there you go.. a properly heated controller.
Allow it to cool and you should be good again.
Oh .. even the cheapest chinese controllers are happy to run 24/7 on 55-60% of their max rating;
just like the most expensive curtis or kelly controllers you'll find (latter actually made in china )

'sid

 

[nileshc]

Here are the images. I believe that you are right. Also do you have any recommendations or is it worth it to spend the money for an expensive golf cart controller?


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[itsid]

to power a my1020?? nope.. Yiyun (yk yc) controller (20 -30 USD range) are very well suitable.

BUT make sure to buy the one that's big enough for the job.

As I thought.. the my1020 is rated with 36 Amps, and 1000W (that's the point of highest efficiency)
but it can draw much more than that I think it's max electrical power was 1700W
(that's almost 50 amps)

I can't find one ATM, but I think the YK31 or YK 43 Yiyun controller should work for you
(Yiyun is an affiliate of unitemotors and the recommended controller by the manufacturer of your motor )

make sure to buy one that's rated for 1000W motors (or 60Amps at least)
oh and that it's meant for brushed motors of course )


'sid

 

[nileshc]

Thanks for the advice and the jokes


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[nileshc]

The motor controller I am using is rated for a 1000W motor.


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[nileshc]

The motor controller I am using is rated for a 1000W motor.

I found some motor controllers. This is one is rated for 1200W:
http://www.monsterscooterparts.com/36v-1200w-controller.html

and this one is rated at 1000W but it was the max amps is 28 amps:
http://www.monsterscooterparts.com/36vocove1.html

 

[itsid]

No I'm afraid they're NOT!

none of them is in fact...

I give a flying shirt about what online shops say the controller is rated at;
and the reason for that you can find in the motor essence thread (pinned) or in short:

every motor/controller or whatnot has at least THREE power ratings.
1 the min power of input to see any effect (aka threshold)
2 the average power consumption
3 the max power

those shops tend to list the absolute max rating for each product, or whatever they think SELLS best!
(just as RC- shops)
or whatever number they can find on a product.

know the 1600W kickscooter for example?
it's exactly the same motor you have.. the additional watts are the max electrical power the scooter is able to draw from the batteries...
and that's nothing to do with motorpower

Anywhoo..
controllers are alike, at least when it comes to webshops (I know this IS SAD!)
they list the MAX power the controller is able to provide for any arbitrary short burst of time.
and that is WAAAY higher than what the controller is rated for.

take the "lower end" of the motorpower they list as 'compatible' and you get the idea of what the controller will happily provide for longer than 10 secs

so either buy from a seller you trust (and that is willing to take back the controller if it burns when you run an 1000 my1020 motor with it, or ask them for the max amperage rating of the controller, and do not go below 60Amps!

I attached a motor power diagram for the 24V 500W my1020...
since it's the only one I have handy atm...

read it carefully, and I guess you see that it (the 500W version) can draw more than 900W from the batteries.


Sorry, I really cannot find the yiyun controller I mentioned, *shrugs* maybe it's no longer made..
all I can find is the lb57 for 48V 1000W (just search yiyun on ebay for example)

Sorry, I can't tell you where to buy a new one, the 800W version might just cause the very same problems you're having right now.

So the only thing left for me..

http://sxt-scooters.de/Ersatzteile/Steuergeraet-36V-1000-Watt.html

sxt is a german company selling similar kickscooters.. the 1000W 36V version comes with the very same motor you have, so the controller should be a match.
(evo ok10s-3)

maybe shipping isn't an issue, maybe you can find it locally *shrugs*

'sid

 

[nileshc]

how about an Alltrax AXE4834 motor controller?

 

[itsid]

sure.

if you can get one for cheap, that'd be nice

'sid

 

[nileshc]

So after digging around, I found a controller that seems good.
Here's the link
http://kellycontroller.com/kds36100e100a24v-36v-mini-brushed-controller-p-270.html

Do you think it is a good controller for my setup even though it says it's for a brushed motor and my motor is PM and if it is correct what else do I need for example: fuses, etc...?
Also how would I charge the batteries?
Sorry about all these questions, I'm still new to this.

 

[drm]

I have the 48v version of that motor. I used that same series and size kelly at first. It quit working after a few weeks of use. The 100a rating is the max and not continuous. I would recommend spending a few more dollars and get a kdz 200a. Thats what I have now and has been a solid performer.

http://kellycontroller.com/kdz4820024v-48v200aseriespm-p-951.html

As for charging, I charge each battery with an individual charger and quick disconnect. 4 batteries = 4 chargers. I use the chargers for other toys and vehicles too.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0009...maintainer&dpPl=1&dpID=41FBr8dJiDL&ref=plSrch

 

[nileshc]

But my motor will probably draw at 60 amps max, it wouldn't reach 100 amps? Or am I just wrong? Also I already have a 36v 2amp charger and I was just going to use that to charge the batteries all together

 

[drm]

There's lots of info above; enough to make a sound decision. 100a max and not continuous. That Kelly 100a controller might be OK since it should be able to do 50-60a continuous. Try it and see.

 

[JoeKR]

Um, why has no one discussed gear ratio? A motor like that is basically a dead short @ 0rpm. If it's not spinning fast enough, there's no counter emf to keep the current down. So it's probably drawing too much current.

 

[itsid]

well, first that motor has a raising coil resistance as soon as it locks (due to heat).. and in fact it burns out internally long before it shorts out,
so that's not even a real risk.

induced emf does NOT reduce drawn currents, it can't in a PWM controller (and that's what it is) since the back emf occures in the "off phase" of the motor state where no current is drawn anyways.
Even in full throttle (and that's the problem here) where there is NO off phase,
back emf is filtered even in the cheapest controllers in the H-bridge that sits directly in front of the motor terminals.
So yeah.. the motor draws too much amps for that particular controller.. that's true;
but the motor rpm don't play any role in that dilemma at all

It's simply a missinterpretation of the motors nominal mechanical power (what's written on the motor)
and motor maximum electrical power (what's drawn from the controller)


'sid

 

[wesleyb82]

Are you sure you have not wired the controller incorrectly which is causing a short?? Can you provide a photo of the wire connections?

We use the Porter 5 4QD controllers, super super strong performers, insanely quick ramp up time. Seriously blows away all the cheap controllers and Kellys we have tested. Only thing that matches it in the lower price range that we have tested is Alltrax but that is three times the price.

Anyway cheapest is $60USD + sh
http://www.4qd.co.uk/prod/ptrMk2.html#buy