Massimo Electric UTV new Controller VOTOL EM-150 no power

[Minifreakmartin]

Hello Forum,

I'm happy to have found this community as I'm struggling to get the Massimo Buck 60E UTV running.

The original controller burned out, therefore I got the VOTOL EM 150. ( not sure if it was the right choice as the old controller looked much bigger)


The UTV looses power after a couple feet and cuts out completely. Motor controller seems hot to the touch but comes back after about 20 seconds and the same thing happens over and over...


Here are the specs. Please let me know if the controller or programming is wrong?

Massimo Buck 60EV
5x 100ah 12v Batteries Total 60V ( just got new batteries)

Motor: Shanghai E-Drive EM-40-60-18W
Voltage: 60VDC
Nominal Power: 4kw
Nominal Speed: 3000RPM
Peak Speed 5200RPM
Nominal Torque: 13 NM

Here are my settings in the Votol program

 

[amberwolf]

The UTV looses power after a couple feet and cuts out completely. Motor controller seems hot to the touch but comes back after about 20 seconds and the same thing happens over and over...

That sounds like the wrong phase/hall combination. If the system does not have an autodetect or autolearn for this function, then you will need to determine it manually by swapping pairs of the three phase wires until it runs smoothly and at the lowest possible no-load (offground) battery current. If it is not running forward, then you'll need to then swap pairs of the three hall signal wires until it runs forward, smoothly, and at the lowest possible battery current.

Another possibility: If the controller is FOC, then the motor properties (phase resistance, inductance, number of poles (magnets), kV (RPM/Volt)) may be required by it to operate correctly. If it has an autotune or similar procedure, it may correctly determine them, or at least get them close--but you may still have to tune each of these settings by hand; if you don't know the motor properties, they may be available from the manufacturer, but if not some of them can be determined manually with just a cheap multimeter (but resistance and inductance would need special equipment).


If by "cuts out completely" you mean that the battery actually shuts power to the entire system off, it means that it is overloaded and protecting itself against either overcurrent or undervoltage. The former could just be caused by the above two types of problems, but the latter may mean a problem with the battery itself (failed cells, interconnects, aging, etc).

 

[Minifreakmartin]

Hi Amberwolf

I really appreciate your detailed response!

The batteries are brand new!

I unfortunately do not know the motor properties and have a hard time contacting the manufacturer.

I just switched the hall wires all kinds of ways and it just makes the motor stutter in any other settings. (I switched the thick cables at the controller )

There is also the small cables from the motor that are labeled hall wires. Shall I try switching those as well?

Interestingly enough the rpm goes in the negative when going forward.

Do you have a base setting to input you recommend?

Attached again the current settings . Not sure if overvoltage etc on page 1 is correct ?

One more thing to note. The contact er gets incredibly hot.


-Martin

 

[amberwolf]

The batteries are brand new!

Unfortunately being brand new does not preclude them being the cause of a problem.

Unless you state otherwise, I will assume that since you answered in this fashion that power does not actually cut out or shut off, and that you have some indication power is still always present at all times while doing this testing (a voltmeter, controller display, etc).

If this is not the case, then a battery problem of some type is still a possibility, in addition to the other issues you've noted..

I unfortunately do not know the motor properties and have a hard time contacting the manufacturer.

That's unfortunately very common. If the controller cant' determine them itself, then you may need to test for them and then tune the controller a bit at a time to get it running smoothly.

I just switched the hall wires all kinds of ways and it just makes the motor stutter in any other settings. (I switched the thick cables at the controller )

There is also the small cables from the motor that are labeled hall wires. Shall I try switching those as well?

If you only switch the thick cables, you have not switched the halls (3 of the 5 thin wires). You have only switched the phases (3 thick wires).

There are a number of threads you can look around at regarding phase / hall wiring combos (combinations) that describe various procedures to find the right one, if my previously posted ones are inadequate. You'll need to monitor battery current with a wattmeter or ammeter during the procedure to find out when you have the right combination.

But first you should find out if your controller has an autolearn or similar procedure to do ths for you. If it does not, or you cannot tell if it does, or it doesn't work, then you can follow the manual procedure.

Note that if the controller has some form of angle-detect, etc., it may need to be re-run for every phase/hall combination before testing for no-load current, etc.

Interestingly enough the rpm goes in the negative when going forward.

My guess is that this means the speed sensor being used is setup in reverse of the way the controller expects to read it, or there is a setting in the controller for this, or the controller setup software or firmware is just not written correctly and reads the sensor wrong (poorly written software is not uncommon in any device of any kind anywhere).

Do you have a base setting to input you recommend?

I don't know anything specific about the Votols; just these types of controller in general, assuming it is an FOC controller (you'd need to determine that to know if my advice above was applicable or not). There are a number of threads regarding these that may have info you can use, however:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/search.php?keywords=votol*&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=titleonly&sr=topics&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search
most of them are probably not relevant, but it may be worth looking at them anyway.

One more thing to note. The contact er gets incredibly hot.

Which specific contact are you referring to?

Or are you referring to a "contactor" that is used to shut off battery connection to controller? If the latter, you'll need to verify your wiring to the contactor is correct for the coil drive, and that you're not using a higher voltage on the coil than it is supposed to have. (I can't tell from your schematic posted above what wiring goes to the coil or what voltages are present on it).

 

[j bjork]

There is a thread about your controller, you will find a lot of info there:

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=95969&start=2150

 

[Minifreakmartin]

Thank you for all your replies.

Ultimately changing the Hall Wires and setting the hall gift angle from 60 to 120 made it work very smooth going forward.

Last issue. When in reverse the motor goes very slow and the cuts out?

it shows its in reverse in the software