Well, the number of poles (or pole pairs) should mean the number of magnets in the motor. Most of the autotune routines will use different signals on the phase wires to try to figure out the motor's characteristics, such as resistance, inductance, etc. Given the right sensors it can then spin the motor to count how many pulses it gets from a sensor per rotation, to see how many magnets there are (how many times the field changes direction). Some of them can probably also do this sensorlessly by reading the pulses generated in the coils as the magnets pass. How it knows when one rotation has happened so it can count, I don't know.
But if the number of poles it sees have changed, then something must have changed in the wiring or motor itself, between the time it worked and the time it didn't (it can't be in the controller if both controllers cause the same problem, unless both just happen to be damaged in the same way, which could happen if there is motor or wiring damage that has created a load on a controller signal or phase that caused controller damage..but the root cause would still be motor or wiring.
For instance, if the fardriver can supply a lot more phase current to the motor than the original, and it allowed the motor to heat up enough, it could've damaged the windings such that some of them are shorted to the stator or to each other, or it could've heated magnets enough to change their characteristics (which typically would cause the motor to spin faster, so it might draw more current trying to do the same job under the gearing ratio it still has from before).
Heat could also damage connections or wiring between motor and controller. Wiring that is inside a sheath or casing can be damaged invisibly, unless the casing is removed. Connections can be bad invisibly as well, either at the wire-contact interface or the contact-contact interface.
If there's no actual change in the system (unlikely since the original controller doesn't work any better): Did you use the same version of the same app connected to the controller in the same way to setup the fardriver the first time? If it is not exactly the same, the results might not be the same, if fardriver changed how it works...or it might give the same results inside the controller, but the app may not report them to you the same (which one is "right" I wouldn't know how to tell). So even if nothing changed in the system, a change in the app, etc., could change how the system works (or how it appears to work by differently reporting things).
I haven't seen any test results that tell you what the actual current draw of the system at the battery really is, both under riding load and off ground, or what the breaker rating is, or the BMS rating / trip point. If you haven't tested these, it may give you some useful info, at least to compare with previous usage info if you ever noted any down.
Have you checked the drivetrain or wheel / brake / etc for additional friction that could cause increased current draw?
Robinqueensland said:
Just had a quick look at cables/ plugs and took it for a spin. Does it even in Eco mode which is pretty slow.. there doesn't seem to be much info about the early model motors(2017) online was putting it out there see if anyone knows anything. My Fardriver app does an auto program and says it's only a 4 pole motor and won't allow me to change it. I'm trying to think back a few months and I'm sure the first time I auto tuned it was 5 poles. Maybe something has failed?
