sarcastrophe said:
hey all i have these 2 ebikeling controllers i use on my dual motor setup and i want to enable regen braking on both. in the larger controller if what i have read is correct i can connect ebs to ground and it should work? i have also read about abs to gnd as well and since mine has both im stuck.
First, keep in mind that pad names can be arbitrary, and not have anything to do with English words or spellings, and the same function can vary in name or abbreviation between controller brands, models, and even versions, even if they *have* that function in common.
Also, just because a function is labelled on a controller it doesn't mean it works--it may be disabled by the factory, not be supported by the controller's firmware version, or not have the parts installed on the board to support it, etc.
Makes it tough to say whether or not any particular controller does or doesn't support some function based on PCB labelling.
Doesn't mean you can't experiment to find out...but it means you usually *have* to experiment to find out.
The pad marked ABS on the included pics appears to be part of a communication or programming connector, so it is unlikely to be anything to do with the braking system (what it is, I don't know).
On some controllers with a pad marked EBS, grounding that pad (solder bridge, wire, switch, etc) enables whatever regen system the controller has. Then using the ebrake input (grounding the ebrake signal using a switch in your brake lever, etc) engages regen at whatever level the controller is designed and factory programmed to do, down to whatever speed it is designed/programmed to cease at. (there's usually no user-control over either of those).
I have a controller on my trike that has pads that on a nearly identical controller would allow regen, but don't work on mine. It does have an "antitheft" function that fights the wheel rotation, and isn't designed to be engaged while in motion, but it works as a rough brake (doesn't actually regen, instead *uses* extra power to force the wheel to stop, and is very hard on the motor, axle, frame, etc., mechanically, and hard on wires, motor, controller because of rapid high heating. I only use it in emergency stops, which are very rare...but it's there if I need it.
Note that most controllers do not have variable regen. So when you engage it, it's just on, at whatever level, until you disengage the ebrake. This means it is sudden, and often is limited in intensity simply so it won't break things and/or cause wheel skid.
Some controllers do have variable regen. For some this can be made more intense than non-variable regen, because you can apply it gradually as-needed in every situation.
There's two general ways they work. The most common has been to engage the brake which turns the throttle into a variable brake control. This can be disconcerting because you are using a control meant to vary acceleration / speed to instead vary braking force, instead of the control that is dedicated to varying braking force (your brake levers).
A less common method is to have a completely separate analog input for ebraking, which means you can use a brake lever to control something that outputs an analog voltage to that input to vary the braking level.
It is actually possible to do the latter for a system that uses the former method, but it requires a switching circuit that disconnects your throttle from the controller and connects the variable output brake lever; I have a thread that discusses this for my trike's specific setup (it will vary depending on exactly what you use).
