On 1/9/2013 11:28 AM, Danpatgal wrote:
Thanks Lee ...
My Leopard has undergone a lithium diet, so it used to be 2660 with lead, is
now around 2000.
That's pretty impressive! Is that a guess, or the measured weight? I
don't think my LeCar would be that light even with *no* batteries. :-)
The off-charge is also a little less with lithium actually
(I stop at 3.4 x 38 [129v] vs. the 15x8.8 [132] I used to have).
3.4v is a pretty low end-of-charge voltage for lithiums. Are you sure
you never get them up to something like 3.7v each (140v total)?
That sounds good. A Curtis 120v controller has 160vdc rated capacitors.
But that what's they could withstand when new, at room temperature, and
only for a short time. As they age, their voltage rating goes down.
The 100amps is *battery* amps - and probably I was starting in 2nd gear (1st
is just way too short on the Leopard/LeCar.
Absolutely. I never use 1st. 2nd is used for all my driving around town
at under 40-45 mph. I use 3rd on the highway up to 70 mph or so, and
never use 4th gear.
Looking at the "spray" that came out of the end cap, which looks a little
bit like molasses, I'd guess it was a capacitor that blew.
OK; that's not hard to fix. My advice would be to remove the controller,
and rinse it out with distilled water, than dry it out with isopropyl
alcohol. Do this as soon as possible, as the caustic capacitor
electrolyte is corrosive and will cause further damage if it remains on
the parts.
When you rinse it out, see if any black bits of plastic come out. If
not, your MOSFETs are probably all OK. If this is the case, the only
repairs necessary are to remove and replace the bad capacitor. It will
be *obvious* which one failed!
When I fix them, I use parts with a higher voltage rating. Capacitor
sizes keep shrinking as technology improves, so the new higher-rated
part is the same size. If you are "up" for it, replace all of the
capacitors. I think your controller has 32 of them. They only cost $1 or
$2 each.
I've called a company near me that deals with Curtis controllers, and
they'll fix it for $749 or sell me a new one, with my old core exchanged,
for $872. In either case, they didn't indicate a higher price if the
controller was completely hosed vs. only slightly exploded.
That's a flat rate repair. Same price whether it need one part or a
hundred. They probably just replace the boards, regardless of what is
wrong. If yours is still working as you described, you can fix it for a
lot less than this!
But if Curtis is kind of wimpy, what would be a better one to go with?
Though I hate putting a bunch more money into it ... I'd rather have
something reliable and flexible.
If your LeCar really is 2000 lbs, and you drive it moderately, you can
get by the with the Curtis. Your batteries probably aren't good for high
current, and neither is your motor ready for the kind of torque you'd
get from a big powerful controller. It's not a sports car or drag racer,
ya know! :-)
--
If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood
and don't assign them tasks and work. Rather, teach them to long
for the endless immensity of the sea. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
--
Lee A. Hart, http://www.sunrise-ev.com/LeesEVs.htm
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