VEC300 with 5kW motor

[Corchard]

Hello Forum,
     I just recently vector 300 w 5km Air cooled and am trying to desk test it before I install it in my sailboat.   I'm trying to determine how (if) I can use a ET-134 throttle controller instead of the rather large heavy one that Golden motors has for sailboats.

the et-134 has 48V input which I can get from batteries (switched and fused) and produces the  0-5V necessary Green-white throttle wire.  So far I haven't been able to get the motor to move.   What else is the controller expecting and on what wire? What signals are required to indicate reverse?   

In terms of shutting down the controller, is the e-lock (Orange wire) just a switch (closed/open circuit)? or is it expecting a signal of some sort?

Unfortunately the vector controllers don't have a proper schematic for the control wires that I have found so that I can plan my wiring harness.

Any help that anyone can provide would be useful.

[Bikemad]

Hi andto the forum.

That throttle should work fine with an output voltage is 0~5V.

The Orange e-lock wire simply requires battery voltage to be applied via a switch to activate the controller, opening the circuit disables the controller.

Reverse is achieved by switching the Reverse wire to ground.

The diagrams below will hopefully help you identify the connections required in order to plan your wiring harness:





Alan
 

[Corchard]

Thank you I've been studying those diagrams a lot to try and diagnose the issue.

The wires/connectors  that I will be using are:

• the Elock (orange)
• the Throttle (black/white), (green/white) and (red/white)
• Do I also need to use the forward/reverse (brown) and (black)?

and now for steps:

• To get the controller to accept signals for the time being I need to connect the elock to the battery and short it to bench test the unit until the switch comes in
• Then connect the ground (black/white) and 0-5V signal (green/white).  Do I need to do anything with the +5 V red/white or is that connected to the forward signal?  Can it be +48V?
• Now when I turn the throttle control the motor should spin
• For Reverse, am I reversing the Brown and black or the red/white and black/white? Again does it matter that the reverse voltage is 48V

Thank you again for your help.

[Bikemad]

Unfortunately I have no experience with the Curtis ET-135 throttle or Curtis controllers, so it is difficult for me to understand exactly how the (Forward) and (Reverse) connections on the throttle are supposed to be implemented.
Therefore, I would simply use a separate switch connected to the Brown and Black (Reverse) wires on the controller to select the reverse function (closing the switch contacts should engage Reverse).
Please Note: 48V must not be used to operate the Reverse function.

For the throttle connections you probably need to connect the Black/White wire to Pin 1 (Pot Lo) and the Green/White wire to Pin 8 (0-5V output).
Please Note: the +5V Red/White wire from the VEC300 controller must not be connected to the ET-135 throttle!

Hopefully this wiring diagram below is the same as the ET-135 throttle as the only difference between the two throttles appears to be a return spring fitted to the ET-126:



I suggest that you check the output voltage measured between the (PotLo) and the (0-5V output) connectors using a voltmeter to confirm it is working correctly (and stays within the expected 0-5V range).
This voltage should change progressively from 0V to 5V when the throttle is moved slowly from the OFF position to the FULL THROTTLE position.

If the maximum output voltage exceeds 4.8V then the motor may cut out at maximum throttle position due to the VEC300 controller's throttle protection function.
However, it should be possible to add a 10kOhm variable resistor (or physically limit the full movement of the throttle) to reduce the maximum output voltage to an acceptable value if necessary.

I suggest that you also make a note of the maximum and minimum voltage readings, as they will be very useful if you want to fine tune the throttle range voltages in the controller to closely match the available throttle movement. 

Alan
 

[Corchard]

Hello Alan and Thank you again.   We are getting there.

I've already done a bunch of the measurements with a voltmeter and know what the ET-134 outputs.  The 126 and the 134 for have the same pinout but what I need to determine is what signals need to be sent and/or switches closed to get on the vector 300 controller operate correctly.

From the ET 134:
Pin 1 signal ground  (Reads continuous 0.7V against common ground regardless of throttle position)
Pin 2 requires +48v (13V to 52 V -  tested down to 10V)
Pin 3 produces +52V against common (or signal) ground when dial is spun in reverse direction, 0V in forward direction
Pin 4 produces +52V against common (or signal) ground when dial is spun in forward direction, 0V in reverse direction
Pin 7 is common ground - of 48V
Pin 8 produces variable + 0-5V against common ground in either forwards or reverse depending on the amount of dial rotation (Max 5.3V stated but I haven't seen that high of a value yet, My unit maxes out at 5.02V for a second then stabilizes at 5.0V)

So now I know how to wire everything except for somehow I need to close the switch between Brown and Black for reverse.

Regards,
Charles