My boat conversion from diesel to el.

[BjornO]

Thank you.
The cable to the control box is rather thick, and soldered in each end, so there is no risk of breaking wires. The thin wires are those coming from the controller, but I can connect two of them to my thicker cable for safety.

[BjornO]

Hi, a new question:

If I use the ”Hyperbola” setting to achieve forward/back using a single lever, can I use the ”Reverse” function also?
For example, when going forward, just switch to reverse to reverse the motor at the same speed.
And using the reverse switch to reverse the forward/back function of the single lever?

/Björn

[Bikemad]

Hi Björn,

I don't know whether it will work or not, but you could always try it out and see what happens.
However, I would not recommend switching from forward to reverse while the motor was under load as I don't know if it would apply reverse power instantly while the motor was still spinning in the forward direction, or whether the controller would wait for the motor to stop rotating one direction before applying power in the opposite direction.

Alan
 

[BjornO]

Hi Alan,

Thank you,
I will borrow a programming cable and do some testing. Earlier, I tested switching a running motor from forward to reverse and it slowed down to stop, and after a second slowly accelerated in the opposit direction. However, this was without load.
Soft switching forward/reverse can be performed using the acceleration/deceleration setting?

Björn

[BjornO]

A question on fuses:
The ignition connector has very thin wires, and I connected to 48V. I also  have a 48V thin sense cable to the BMS. I think I must have a fuse on each of these wires as the fuse on the controller and the fuses on the batteries are 200A. If there is a short involving these wires, they may start a fire.

[Bikemad]

Battery balance wires are not typically fused as it could affect the balancing operation of the BMS unit, but if you are going to fit fuses on each balance wire, I would think a 5 Amp fuse will be low enough to blow if a short circuit occurs, and high enough to hopefully prevent any discernible voltage drop between the battery cells and the BMS.

If the ignition wires have to carry the full current required to energise the contactor, you will need to make sure that the fuse is big enough to handle the current. If you join the ignition wires through an ammeter, you can measure the actual current being passed through the wires and then make sure the fuse is rated slightly higher than the measured current. 

Alan
 

[BjornO]

Everything connected and tested at home. Now ready to be built-in in the boat.
See the film in my project blogg https://el-artella.blogspot.com/

[BjornO]

One more question - again:
My current setup has two ignition keys, one to the ignition input on the BMS, and one to the controller ignition input.
As the ignition input to the BMS controls the main contactor, it switches on the 48 V power to the controller.
Is it OK to omit the igntion switch to the controller and connect these two leads permanently?

Björn

[Bikemad]

Is it OK to omit the ignition switch to the controller and connect these two leads permanently?

Hi Björn,

As long as it doesn't interfere with the correct operation of the precharge function then it will probably be ok to bypass the controller's ignition switch.

I would check the battery voltage on the controller B+ terminal to make sure it still increases gradually before the main contactor operates when the single ignition switch is turned on.
If both contactors (precharge and main) energise at the same time, this could indicate a problem with the precharge function.

You will also need to make sure that the power is cut to the controller when the BMS switch is turned off.

Alan
 

[BjornO]

You will also need to make sure that the power is cut to the controller when the BMS switch is turned off.

Hi Alan,

There is about 2s delay between precharge and main contactor, making the voltage gradually increase. The precharge resistor is 100 ohm.

When the BMS is switched off by the ignition switch the main contactor drops.
However, the voltage to the controller is kept by the internal capacitance in the controller, making the controller stay on. Can this harm the controller?

(I may put a resistor across the B+/B- to discharge.)

Björn

[Bikemad]

Any residual voltage stored in the controller's capacitors will not cause any harm to the controller.
If your BMS is indirectly connected to the controller, make sure that the controller is not still able to draw power from the battery's BMS when the main contactor has disconnected the direct battery supply.

If the throttle stops working when the main contactor is off, then it is probably OK.

Alan
 

[BjornO]

Thank you, This is my connection diagram.

[Lucfer1501]

Hi Alan,

If I use the brake signal as Neutral switch anyway, do I risk to harm the controller? I think the beeping/flashing will cease when the switch is reset into its Run position.
(The controller will be mounted in the engine room and the beeping/flashing will not be noticed from the helm position.)

Björn

Hi,

I would be carefull doing that. I thought the same myself for a outboard motor of a boat. When I tested using the break switch as an on and off switch for the motor we realised if you have throttle on and releases the break it would start up (depending on the throttle position). This could be dangerous because a falty connection might start up the motor. It depends on how you install it though (pull up, pull down resistor). Just be careful and test it before.

[BjornO]

I would be carefull doing that. I thought the same myself for a outboard motor of a boat. When I tested using the break switch as an on and off switch for the motor we realised if you have throttle on and releases the break it would start up (depending on the throttle position). This could be dangerous because a falty connection might start up the motor. It depends on how you install it though (pull up, pull down resistor). Just be careful and test it before.

Yes, I noticed that, but I will only use it as a ”safety switch”. The centre position of the throttle lever is the normal neutral.

[BjornO]

However, I have another problem.
When running at a fixed position of the throttle lever, the speed is constant, but after a while the motor runs slower. It is just as if I should move the lever.
If I then move the throttle lever it works as it should.