VEC300 Controller Stopped working

[Pcgayan]

I HAVE VEC300 with 5KW BLDC motor. I got a new battery with 56V 16A.

Hooked up yesterday. it started blinking then I plug into my laptop via USB port and changed the voltage from 24V to 48V. (i saw max voltage set to 70V).

After that, it started working for 30minsts or so with lot of fun and it stopped.

I disconnected and connected again but LED was not blinking. I checked the battery with my meter and is said 56V and I was able to load a filament bulb just fine.

Seems controller stopped working completely? external fuse is good and I checked the connections and all good. I had a point meter throttle config which worked with this.

Please advise what should I do next?

[Bikemad]

Hi Pcgayan andto the forum.

I would appear that everything must have been wired correctly if it was running well for 30 minutes, so it is difficult to say why it no longer runs.

Did it suddenly stop while the motor was under high load or during strong regen etc.?

What is the maximum current output available from the 48V (16A?) battery were you using?

If the maximum battery current setting in the controller was set higher than maximum continuous current output of the battery's BMS, then perhaps the controller could have been damaged if the BMS suddenly disconnected the battery power while the motor was running under high load. 

Assuming it is not a contactor problem or a poor battery connection (check that full battery voltage can still be measured across the controller's  B+ and B- terminals) try disconnecting the throttle or the Hall sensor connector to see if the controller's LED blinks.

If it still doesn't blink, then I suspect it will be a fault within the controller and you will have to contact your supplier if it is still under warranty.

Alan
 

[Pcgayan]

Thank you very much for the reply, appreciated.

Since controller shipping is costly and time-consuming I opened it up since nothing help. (Except via USB the LED blink was OK)

The Problem was the main power rail has a 1 Ohms fusable resistor for protection. Which I replaced since main capacitor was not charging.

Now working perfectly. almost it ran 1 hour. seems fine. The original issue is the SPAK! got some help from https://goldenmotor.com/SMF/index.php?topic=6620.0

I have to admit build quality of the controller is very professional.

Several questions
1. if my battery is 48V (16A?) what should I set as maximum continuous current on the controller?
2. High break does not work when connected ground but low break works fine. do I have to set anything?
3. Where cani find any documentation for how to utilize UART, CAN?
4. Can https://www.goldenmotor.com/apps/ use with VEC300?

[Bikemad]

The Problem was the main power rail has a 1 Ohms fusable resistor for protection. Which I replaced since main capacitor was not charging.

Now working perfectly. almost it ran 1 hour. seems fine.

It's good to hear that the controller is now working again after such a simple fix.

Several questions
1. if my battery is 48V (16A?) what should I set as maximum continuous current on the controller?
2. High break does not work when connected ground but low break works fine. do I have to set anything?
3. Where cani find any documentation for how to utilize UART, CAN?
4. Can https://www.goldenmotor.com/apps/ use with VEC300?

Several answers

• The maximum continuous current on the controller should be set slightly lower than the maximum current that your battery (or its BMS) can continuously supply.
  Without knowing the full details of the battery that you are using it is impossible to give exact figures.
  If the battery/BMS can deliver a maximum of 100A continuous and 150A burst, I would set the Battery Main Current(A) on the controller to 99A and the Boost Current(A) to 149A.
• The High brake input is only used when you are using a high voltage (e.g. a +12V brake light feed) to activate the regenerative braking.
  Unfortunately, the regenerative braking is not variable and is simply engaged by using either the high (+12V input) or low (Ground) option.
• Unfortunately, I have not seen any documentation released by GM explaining how to utilise UART or CAN bus communication.
• I have not seen any Bluetooth devices available for use with the VEC300 controller, so I doubt it could work with the Bluetooth App.
  Programming is usually accomplished using PC software and the PI400/VEC USB Programming lead.

I suggest you try emailing GM China (sales@goldenmotor.com) and see if they can provide further details on how the "Operating status can be monitored in real-time" and how to "Support UART (standard) or CAN bus (optional)" as clearly stated in the Controller Guide document.
 
As the CAN bus support is shown as "optional", perhaps this needs to be specified as a required option when ordering a controller. 

Alan
 

[Pcgayan]

Thank you very much for your fast reply and advice. I sent an email to support as your suggested.

On The High brake input should I give it to brake lever to the ground when braking? so that when high voltage it will get activated and breaked?

[Tommycat]

The high brake signal does not get shorted to ground.

One actuation is to take the 12vdc positive wire that is used to power a brake LIGHT. And tie that to the high brake signal wire.
Another would be to run 12vdc positive to the hand break N.O. (brake not actuated) switch or contact, with the switched side going to the high brake wire. Enabling 12vdc positive voltage at the high brake signal wire with brake actuation.

Bottom line... 12vdc positive is required AT the high brake signal wire for operation. This is why using the low brake, shorting to ground, is generally easier as logic voltage is already provided.


Regards,
T.C.

[Zero rebuild]

Hey, just wondering how hard it is to swap out that resistor?  Looks fairly straight forward, but I don't normally get a chance to do work on a circuit board.  I have a VEC300 that I think has the same issue.  Given that I only shorted out the eLock, it would make sense that I did not do it properly.  I'll set up a keyed situation and look to incorporate the contactor as well.  If I have a key in line with the elock, what side should I add the key if I use the contactor within the line of the elock???

Can you share where you picked up the 1 ohm resistor? 

Thanks so much in advance!

[Pcgayan]

@Tommycat, thank you very much for the reply. appreciated. I saw your post on Magic Pie V5 rear hub E-Bike some awesome stuff. I'll post mine once I am done. 

@Zero rebuild, First I would suggest you check the voltage across the main capacitor which is next to that 1 ohms resistor. It should have 48V. (Be very careful not short out when ur doing this). 1 ohms resistor was added in main voltage rail as protection.

Secondly I suggest you try without keylock or direct powering it via 48v and see if main capacitor get 48V or so.

you can buy 1ohms resistor fom ebay any I guess.

[Rusina]

Hello,
I have a VEC500 controller to manage a 10 kW GM motor on a boat for 3 years.
When returned to service, no more reaction.
I tested all of my connections, and ended up taking it apart.
Here is a photo of the upper circuit board.
But I do not have the same positioning of the components as on the VEC300.
Tested with a multimeter, the resistance before the condenser does not seem to be broken and no component seems to be burnt.
Anyone have an idea?

[Pcgayan]

Sorry for the delay reply, I don't get notifications from this forum anymore, not sure why.

I see two circuit boards in VEC500. I think main capacitor is on bottom layer. Try to measure the main voltage across capacitor terminals?

[Bikemad]

Sorry for the delay reply, I don't get notifications from this forum anymore, not sure why.

Notifications are not enabled by default.

You need to go to your profile and then click the "Notifications" link in the Modify Profile section on the left to set them up as you want them.

Don't forget to click the "Save settings" button when you've finished. 

Alan
 

[Morten DD]

hi did you ever find a solution fore getting "Operating status in real-time"  with ore without Blouetooth

best Morten