After my inquiry, HPEVS got right back to me to answer these questions.
Works pretty much like I thought, even though the Curtis Manual doesn't
really describe it:
The regen does automatically engage when the accelerator is released back to
idle.
The brake pot can simply be hand-controlled to
An induction motor generates whenever the angular velocity of the rotor is
greater than the angular velocity of the mmf (magnetomotive force) wave of
the stator, so in that sense it is automatic. In a traction application
these relative velocities are determined by the angular velocity of the
Thanks for explaining. What I though would work best for me is to have the
brake pot mounted near the steering wheel, allowing manual adjustment of the
braking force that would kick in automatically once the accelerator pedal
was released. One could then easily dial in less for level ground
I have at HPEV AC-50 motor with a Curtis 1238 controller. I am using the
regen feature (a brake pot is wired into the controller). I've read the
controller manual but still have a couple of questions about how the regen
works:
1. First and foremost, how does the controller know when to kick in
