# GE EV-1 Controller



## Windy (Jun 27, 2008)

Hello Everyone, I have a question for some of you old-time EVers. Does anyone know what application the 84-144 volt EV-1 might have been used in? FSIP Flight Systems Industrial Products lists this control card in their catalog. They sell Repo. manuals as well as a rebuild exchange program for several kinds of controllers. I know these ar low tech by todays standards but it would be nice to be able to upgrade a low voltage EV-1 to 84-144. Thanks,Windy


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## Ioku (Sep 27, 2007)

I;m sort of confused on what you mean, it sounds like you what to upgrade an ev1 with some sort or ev1 controller, now you do know the ev1 is basically gone now right, all but a few of them have been crushed.


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## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

Ioku said:


> I;m sort of confused on what you mean, it sounds like you what to upgrade an ev1 with some sort or ev1 controller, now you do know the ev1 is basically gone now right, all but a few of them have been crushed.


The poster is referring to the GE EV-1, not the GM EV-1. The GE EV-1 is a SCR controller that was mainly used on forklifts and other large electric moving vehicles. It was a controller that was modular, and had different "cards" for different voltage ratings. I believe a few people have EVs with them in the EV Album, but the controller itself is not nearly as efficient as a modern PWM controller, but it will do the job.


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## Chris Sandberg (Sep 13, 2008)

Hello Windy and group, The General Electric EV-1 control is a early PWM (power with modulator) control from the info I have received and it came in voltages for the applied forklift or other DC mobile equipment. The control came in voltages of 24-36vdc, 36-48vdc and higher, but I only have data on the 48vdc controls. I am sure they are the same just larger in size for the higher currents and voltages. If you need a copy let me know and I can PM it to you. The challenge now is I have modified the drawing for my use and was wondering if anyone would give me input as to if this will still work. I have posted the images and and hope they are readable let me know if not
Thanks in advance  
Chris Sandberg
A newbie / beginner


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## jtmarten (Nov 14, 2008)

My 1980 Bradley GTE came with the GE EV-1 control system, with a 96v system. Just finishing up replacing it with a 1221C.


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## mamodbasher (Apr 22, 2009)

Chris Sandberg said:


> Hello Windy and group, The General Electric EV-1 control is a early PWM (power with modulator) control from the info I have received and it came in voltages for the applied forklift or other DC mobile equipment. The control came in voltages of 24-36vdc, 36-48vdc and higher, but I only have data on the 48vdc controls.
> 
> Does anyone have a photo of this actual controller? I think that I may hve one of these, but need to see a picture in order to verify it. Mine looks like a finned aluminum box about 12" square and maybe 3" deep and has the GE "meatball" up in the top left corner of the box - can this be an EV1 controller? Thanks, Ken.


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## jtmarten (Nov 14, 2008)

The EV-1 is not a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) controller, its a simple SCR forklift-type controller. I'll try uploading a pic of my original 96v system.


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## mamodbasher (Apr 22, 2009)

jtmarten said:


> The EV-1 is not a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) controller, its a simple SCR forklift-type controller. I'll try uploading a pic of my original 96v system.


Thanks for the info and the picture - wow, that's an impressive looking array! Mine does not look anything like that. I guess I will have to wait until next week (the guy is gutting it and all of the other parts out of the machine for me) and get some numbers off of it. I hope he can find the manual for it.  Ken


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## Dennis (Feb 25, 2008)

> The EV-1 is not a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) controller, its a simple SCR forklift-type controller. I'll try uploading a pic of my original 96v system.



*WRONG!* This IS a PWM controller that uses the GTO thyristor as a switch instead of a mosfet to do the chopping. You can hear the whine noise of the switching frequency at low speeds.


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## headrush (Jan 20, 2008)

I found I inherited one or actually two of these. I have no idea where to find information on them, what they are worth or if it would be better to get rid of them and get Kelly or Curtis controlers.









and this one


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## Zemmo (Sep 13, 2007)

That looks a lot like what is in my MCU of my TEVan. That same layout and everything.


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## order99 (Sep 8, 2008)

It was mentioned above that these controllers aren't as efficient as a modern Mosfet PWM-how are they for durability though? Better, worse, about the same?


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## headrush (Jan 20, 2008)

order99 said:


> It was mentioned above that these controllers aren't as efficient as a modern Mosfet PWM-how are they for durability though? Better, worse, about the same?


My question exactly. The high school made an electric car or 2 here, but I think they only ran on 72 Volts. The guy who got these replaced the old batteries and tried to run at 96v+. He said the car ran for a while and then stopped. 

I bought the car, everything in it, 2 GE motors, 2 Ev-1 controllers (One each are already in the car) for $350. I figured the Ge Motors made the deal sweet even if the controllers are crap.

Sounds like they are going to be a pain to work with, and it might be better to swap them out for a newer Curtis or Kelly.


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## neonwarrior (May 8, 2009)

Hello 

Here is the manual for the General Electric EV-1

www.scribd.com/doc/4813697/EV1-SCR-Motor-Controller

And as you can see its a PWM controller with variable frequency (see fig. 7). 
The main SCR is not a GTO SCR because there it is explained that to turn off the main SCR ( 1 REC) they used two more SCR, a capacitor and a reactor, and with this additional circuit they provide a reverse voltage to the 1 REC's anode-cathode (this is another way to turn off an SCR).


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## Chris Sandberg (Sep 13, 2008)

Hello Group,
My project like some others here, has been put on hold for lack of funding and the need to keep the house budget a float. I will post a couple of pictures of my GE EV-1 control for you to see. I still would like it if anyone of you very knowledgeable long time members could say yea or nay that my modification to the drawing will still work as a controller.
Thanks 
Chris


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## headrush (Jan 20, 2008)

neonwarrior said:


> Hello
> 
> Here is the manual for the General Electric EV-1
> 
> ...


Okay I am a computer geek, not a electronics geek. Speak english please so I can climb out of my tree and understand.


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## neonwarrior (May 8, 2009)

headrush said:


> Okay I am a computer geek, not a electronics geek. Speak english please so I can climb out of my tree and understand.


Suppose you have a 48Volt motor mounted on an electric vehicle. If you connect the motor to a 12 V battery, the vehicle will accelerate and get to a final constant speed after a while. Now you increase the voltage suppose 24V, the vehicle will accelerate again to a greater speed.

But how u can vary the voltage of a battery??
Using electronics. 
Suppose you have a black box (or pink if you like ):
Input: - two wires for the battery
- 2 wires for the accelerator 
Output: two wires for the motor.

Inside the box:
The positive wire of the battery is connected to a switch and then to one wire of the motor ( they are connected in series) then the other wire of the motor is connected to battery negative.
To change the motor voltage the switch is closed a certain time Ton and opened a time Toff. So the switch is "switching" at a certain frequency. If you increase Ton the final voltage increases too. When the switch passes from opened to closed and then to opened, that is called a pulse. If you change the Ton you are changing the pulse width. This technique is called PWM (Pulse width modulation)
The EV-1 is a bit more complicated because the switching frequency is not constant.
Now the switch could be an SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier), a transistor (BJT, MOSFET, IGBT), etc.
The EV-1 uses an SCR. This device have three terminals: Gate, Cathode and Anode. Anode and cathode terminals are like the switch terminals and the gate will turn on the SCR (switch). 
Once the SCR is turned on in the EV-1, to turn it off the controller connects a voltage to cathode and anode (positive on cathode). Thats a reverse voltage.
The EV-1's SCR arent GTO (Gate turn off) SCRs. To turn off a GTO SCR you connect a negative pulse to gate and cathode. (Not anode to cathode).

Hope you like it. Now I m gonna sleep. Ask anything you want
See ya
Neon Warrior


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## Harold in CR (Sep 8, 2008)

Excellent description, Neon. Thank you.


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## headrush (Jan 20, 2008)

Thanks Neon, it makes sense now. I was wondering why the vehicle that has the EV-1 installes and the GE 5BT1346B50 motor did not have a pot box or any of the other electronics that I have noticed on the other builds. Basically the EV-1 takes care of it all itself. Correct?


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## mamodbasher (Apr 22, 2009)

Zemmo said:


> That looks a lot like what is in my MCU of my TEVan. That same layout and everything.


Speaking of GE EV-1 controllers, I just got my stuff from the Hyster forklift and the controller is a GE EV-100ZX - does anyone have a copy of the schematic or the manual for this? It looks similar to the EV-1 (I have a really crappy copy of the wiring diagram that is nearly unreadable). I would appreciate it if anyone has a readable version of it . Thanks! Ken.


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## mamodbasher (Apr 22, 2009)

mamodbasher said:


> Speaking of GE EV-1 controllers, I just got my stuff from the Hyster forklift and the controller is a GE EV-100ZX - does anyone have a copy of the schematic or the manual for this? It looks similar to the EV-1 (I have a really crappy copy of the wiring diagram that is nearly unreadable). I would appreciate it if anyone has a readable version of it . Thanks! Ken.


One problem resolved and several more created (isn't that how life really works? ) The controller that I was told was an EV-100ZX is actually an EV-100LX. It is a 600 amp MOSFET unit, made in 2002, with way too many safety interlocks on it if you ask me. I got a full manual for this controller from GE Electric Vehicle (I didn't even know we had an EV division - I work for GE too). Anyway, after several hours of frustrating testing and retesting what was a working unit in the Hyster truck it came from, I could not for the life of me get it to work. I have put together a request for some assistance from GE and hopefully it's just something dumb that I have overlooked on the wiring. BTW, if anyone wants a copy of the instruction book for this unit (it does not show any internal components, only how to connect it to a motor and peripherals, very methodic troubleshooting, and how to diagnose codes and program via the "handset" available for the unit. I also assume that you can do it via computer, as there is a DB-9 connector on the Hyster dashboard. If you have an interest in the manual, send an email to my personal email - mamodbasher(at)gmail(dot)com and I will forward it in pdf.  Ken.


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## Aviator (Jul 3, 2009)

I just went forklift shopping and looked at a forklift with a GE EV-1. No numbers on the unit that I could see but it has a 36V battery pack driving it. The motor also appears to be a GE. Not sure where to get any data on it yet. I guess what I would be concerned about with using a forklift motor is the speed that it would produce at its operating voltage. Maybe not enough for a small car conversion? The car I have is a VW Rabbit.

What info do you guys have in the way of schematics etc. on the EV-1 that you could share? One of the questions I would have has been answered in that it sounds like there are different voltage versions based on the size of the electronics. Is the basic model adaptable by any kind of plug-in card or module? I would want to use it at a maybe 72V level. 

Anway I would like more info if any one of you have more to send to me.

Aviator
(email [email protected])


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## EV-propulsion.com (Jun 1, 2009)

Hi all,
These pictures look like an EV-1 controller, but *not* a 120 volt version. I actually have two in use in two different older conversions of mine. I will try to upload pictures in a few hours, and I will put some on my website also, www.EV-propulsion.com 
The only use that I have seen the high voltage controller used for on-road systems was used by a conversion company around 1979 called Solargen, who converted new shells of AMC Concord station wagons, one of which I owned, picture on my website. If someone really wanted one, I know of where there are a few new ones, cost I would have to find out. They were 350 amp controllers 120volts, had a lot of ancillary wiring and relays to add, and fit on a large heatsink about 18 x 20 inches.I will post pictures shortly, 
Mike


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## EV-propulsion.com (Jun 1, 2009)

here are some pictures of the ev-1 controller, as jtmarten has shown a picture of one. It was 84-144 volts and 300 amp, I previously stated 350 which was incorrect. There is a picture of some of the ancillary parts that had to be wired in.I also included a picture of an ad for the solargen which used this controller. Performance was actually pretty good used with a GE 11" motor.


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## painter007 (Aug 1, 2009)

I could use some help.I have this ev1 controller but I can not get it to close the 1a contactor. if I jump the driver 41 to ground it will run the motor.I did get some more driver units and tried them still the same thing.I will attach some photo's.the controller has power where it is suppose to but I do not here any humm from it when i turn the key on .not sure if my wires from the controller to the motor are right. thanks


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## painter007 (Aug 1, 2009)

here is the motor. thanks


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## jwilczek (Feb 24, 2009)

Hi, did you get some good wiring diagrams for your EV-1 yet? I have one working in a 2002 Focus its a 24-48v card but I am running @96v pack voltage and just supply the control card its 48v and all has been working great for about 1 month now.

Joe


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## painter007 (Aug 1, 2009)

No I did not get it working yet.every thing checks out fine but I can not get it to work .the forward and reverse contactors will engage when I push down on the accellator, but the 1a contactor will not.if I hold down the a1 contactor the motor will go but at full speed.I did change the driver for 1a and ran a new wire from the driver #1 to r8 on the board.do you get any sound from the ev1 controller when you turn on the key.thanks for your reply.


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## jwilczek (Feb 24, 2009)

No I do not get any sound with just the key on with mine, I'm assuming you must have the sequencing on the L side of things working since you are able to get your Fwd/Rev contacters to pull in. I get the typical SCR whine once i'm into the foot feed a bit and the motor starts turning, the only time that stops of coarse is if you get your 1A to pull in. If yours is not pulling in I would say that you either have a bad driver or the pots for the 1A are not set in a place that will work.

Joe


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## painter007 (Aug 1, 2009)

I did try some 4 other drivers that I got at my local wrecker.I do not think they would be all bad. so it sounds like I need to look at the way the pot controls it. thanks


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## Stunt Driver (May 14, 2009)

I am running similar one myself, and can't say it's too bad for the money  Have removed reversing and pump contractors (reused them for booster pack) and controller became of reasonable size. Not sure how un-efficient it is, but i'm able to get 7-8 miles by using 4 marine 12v batteries (not in picture), and wtih booster pack I get up to 40mph. I think it's a steal for $150 with motor.

I only wish I could bump up the voltage.

*jwilczek* - have you done much investigation? I guess rectifiers are the main power component - will they die because of higher currents?
While you keep control card at 48 volts - will it safely drive 96v power?


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## jwilczek (Feb 24, 2009)

I haven't done any extensive research on the SCR but I know that my controller is rated for 350A. However I'm not sure how many minutes that is for ,but the way my car drives and with the number of stops I have on my drive to work the 1A contactor is pulled in about 50% of the time so the SCR isn't seeing any current during that time and I put a good sized heat sink and fan from an old baum paper folder on the bottem of it so it keeps well cooled and hasn't been a problem yet and I've been driving it for just over a month now everyday 14 miles @96v. Its still a work in progress though, so I haven't gotten around to putting an amp meter on it to see what it is pulled through the SCR but someday I will get there, along with power steering and brakes again, hahaha. Its too fun now that its working to drive it with all the looks people around here give you when you take off and the car just makes that annoying SCR whine for a couple of seconds and then is gone.

edit: I forgot to mention that I am using 8 12HX505 enersys 123Ah batterys and can go just over 50mph, I haven't totally ran it out to see on the range but I drove it to work and back 2 days once without a problem, it did get a bit slow on the way home the second day, so that would be ~28 miles total. The other thing that is holding my speed back I'm sure is that I have an automatic trans in my Focus, let me tell you making an electricly shifted trans work without an ICE in there took some doing lots of reading on motoralldata.com thats for sure. I still might switch to a stick but thats gonna open up a whole can of worms i'm sure to find the clutch assy, shifter and all that.

Joe


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## Stunt Driver (May 14, 2009)

Where are you located? Because in Oregon people don't seem to care, or turn heads at all  ...


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## jwilczek (Feb 24, 2009)

I'm in central Minnesota, just a small town of 8000 people so its kind of novel to have such an item I guess around here.


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## Stunt Driver (May 14, 2009)

I am happy with my almost_72v via contactors, but not sure if they will hold for too long when being switched that often, so I'm thinking about your setup:

Did I understand correct, that if i'll engage my contactors separately from 1A, in the same location as they are now (and controller board is getting 48v) - it should work?
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4337&d=1253135238

I am planning to take control voltage from a different point, so I would be able to switch contactors permanently for a longer time, as for higher speed driving - like that system will draw less amps, and so it will be easier for my main batteries. As for older booster pack - I'll just get the most of out if, and I don't care if it dies - it has only about 1/4 the capacity and is 14 years old


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## jwilczek (Feb 24, 2009)

I will try to find some time to draw a quick scat of my setup here sometime, but the contactor you have circled in red looks to me like a Fwd/Rev contactor location, the 1A contactor is in parallel with the A2 and T2 terminals of the EV1 (Main SCR path) and isn't pulled in until throttle has been maxed out for predetermined time set via pot adjustment. I am running my 96v's to the P and N terminals of the EV1. I'm not using the Plugging connected on A1 I just tied A1 and S1 on my motor via bus bar. I pulled 48v's off my pack and run all the controller card connections (L1-10 and R1-10) with that. My key switch is setup to pull some good old Bosch relays in to turn the controller on and off.
Joe


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## Stunt Driver (May 14, 2009)

If you'll get a chance - please make a sketch or so. I thought it was easy, but when i added 24 volts like on the picture attached, and engaged contactors - motor starts spinning slowly. Controller get's messed up. Maybe my controller is not able to pull that trick, but still I would appreciate more info.

I have indeed reused fw/rvs contqactor, but using it to insert two battery links in chain after 1A has engaged. It works perfect. But if I try to pull it before 1A contactor engages - controller goes nuts (even thou control board gets 48v)

edit: I plan to untie all those connections of control board to power, and try to route it to 48v while P and N points will receive higher voltage, which seems to be what you've done. Now, my controller isn't EV1, but seems to be very similar. Probably i should get spare one, in case I burn this one up


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## Forklift Guy (Apr 20, 2009)

Painter 007

I've been looking at your problem.

1) Terminal R8 on the card is a 1 volt gate signal to the driver relay. When the SCR control reaches 80 % speed and the internal timer ( 1A adjustment setting ) times out, the card will send a 1 volt signal on R8 to the driver on wire # 34.... Wire # 41 from the cantactor coil ( term 3 on the driver ) is then connected , by the driver, to wire # 13 ( term 2 on the driver ), thus closing the 1A contactor coil circuit.
A simple jumper from 41 to 13 ( term 3 to term 2 on the driver ) would close the 1A contactor. This simply puts full battery voltage across the motor, bypassing the entire SCR panel

2) First, if the direction contacts close normally, Check the voltage at term R5 at the card, to battery negative ( any wire # 13 is negative ). The voltage at R5 must be above 4 volts on startup, as the direction closes, and the voltage should decrease


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## Forklift Guy (Apr 20, 2009)

Forklift Guy said:


> Painter 007
> 
> I've been looking at your problem.
> 
> ...


 
The voltage should decrease to less the .5 volts or less in high speed range to close the 1A contactor, after the 1A time delay expires. If your voltage at creep speed is not correct ( above 4 volts ) check the speed pot setting, which should the above 5000 ohms before the accellerator start switch comes in. ( 5000 ohms measured open circuit, wires disconnnected ), down to less that 200 ohms in high speed.


There is a few more things to check after this, but see how this goes and let me know what voltages you have at R5. Just a note, an older analog volt/ohm meter seems to work better than the newer digital meters, with these old GE panels. the digitals will still work, but you cant see the sweep of the ohm meter as it sweeps from high resistance to low, as the accelerator moves

Brad
Forklift Guy


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## painter007 (Aug 1, 2009)

hey Brad thanks again for your help . when you say when the SCR control reaches 80% speed does that mean that the motor is running?. why I ask is that my motor does not go. when I push down on the pedal the forward contactor closes and thats it unless I connect wire 41 to 13 and it closes 1a the motor goes. I have to get some batteries,went to a battery store today but the guy there did not know much,the owner was away. the battery that was in this forklift was a 48volt 900amp.what would you think I should get for batteries. 6volt or 12 volt and what kind of amps.


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## Forklift Guy (Apr 20, 2009)

Hi Painter007

Yes, the motor has to reach atleast 80 % speed before the high speed contactor even begins to operate. You'll have to get the SCR speed working even before you worry about the high speed.


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## painter007 (Aug 1, 2009)

thanks .I am working on getting some new batteries and then I can start to test it out again.I will post back then.


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## painter007 (Aug 1, 2009)

Hey Brad: got some new batteries and started to test again. I do have 4.8 volts at R5. The pot switch seems to be ok when i test it i used a digital meter, I am going to borrow a analog from a friend.then i got checking voltage on the big connection of the SCR I have 49.7 volts at P with the red connector to meter and black connector to N . but I have 49.7 volts at the other connection to. I get 49.7 volts at all the termanals on the motor and even the casing of the motor i get 49.7 volts. and the motor will not run unless i short out wire 41 to 13 of the driver and goes full speed. if you can look at the photos i posted to see if it looks rite. is the motor suppose to be grounded,i have a ground wire from the motor to the plate the contactors are on and from there to the N on the SCR, from the N on the SCR to the negative of the battery. Thanks


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## Forklift Guy (Apr 20, 2009)

painter007 said:


> Hey Brad: got some new batteries and started to test again. I do have 4.8 volts at R5. The pot switch seems to be ok when i test it i used a digital meter, I am going to borrow a analog from a friend.then i got checking voltage on the big connection of the SCR I have 49.7 volts at P with the red connector to meter and black connector to N . but I have 49.7 volts at the other connection to. I get 49.7 volts at all the termanals on the motor and even the casing of the motor i get 49.7 volts. and the motor will not run unless i short out wire 41 to 13 of the driver and goes full speed. if you can look at the photos i posted to see if it looks rite. is the motor suppose to be grounded,i have a ground wire from the motor to the plate the contactors are on and from there to the N on the SCR, from the N on the SCR to the negative of the battery. Thanks


You'll have to think of the SCR speed and the 1A/high speed as two separate circuits. All the 1A contact does is bypass/short the #1 SCR giving full battery voltage to the field/armature, thus full speed/full motor torque. You'll have to get the SCR speed working b4 you worry about the high speed. On the bright side, it proves the battery, fuse, field, and armature are OK.

I assume you have the schematic or wiring diagram. Do you have the troubleshooting ( EV 1 SCR Control GEK-40724 ) ? If not, you can find it on line, or i can copy it for you.

Under No Motor Torque, 1C, Contactors close, No power, No scr hum :

1) voltage at #1 scr should be battery volts
2) voltage at T2 should be zero
3) voltage at R5 : should be 3 to 4 volts at creep speed
: should reduce to 0.2 volts at top speed
4) volts at R7 : should be 2 to 2.5 volt with key on
: when fwd or rev contact closes, and accelerator is 
depressed, voltage should increase to 6.2 volts 

Let me know what you find, and we can go from there. It might be better if you send me a Private Message, instead of cluttering up the board here with all the tech stuff.

Brad
Forklift Guy.


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## Forklift Guy (Apr 20, 2009)

painter007 said:


> Hey Brad: got some new batteries and started to test again. I do have 4.8 volts at R5. The pot switch seems to be ok when i test it i used a digital meter, I am going to borrow a analog from a friend.then i got checking voltage on the big connection of the SCR I have 49.7 volts at P with the red connector to meter and black connector to N . but I have 49.7 volts at the other connection to. I get 49.7 volts at all the termanals on the motor and even the casing of the motor i get 49.7 volts. and the motor will not run unless i short out wire 41 to 13 of the driver and goes full speed. if you can look at the photos i posted to see if it looks rite. is the motor suppose to be grounded,i have a ground wire from the motor to the plate the contactors are on and from there to the N on the SCR, from the N on the SCR to the negative of the battery. Thanks


After re reading it, it think your problem is at #2) voltage at T2 should be zero. Is that correct ? If the voltage at T2 is near battery voltage, check the voltage directly accross the # 1 scr's main terminals, it should be zero ( well, less than 50 % battery voltage will work). If this is correct, the primary wiring/cables. I can't see the cables in the two pics that you posted.

The Battery negative should go throught the current sensor ( small strap connector at the terminals, with the small green and yellow wire ), throught A2 at the motor armature term, from A1 motor to the A1 terminal on the panel AND the fixed/normaly closed side of the direction contactors. Check the schematic and see if that makes sense.

The fused battery positive should go to the pos terminal on the scr panel AND the 1A contactor. The other side of the 1A contactor goes to T2 on the scr panel AND the fixed/normaly open side of the direction contactors.

Brad
Forklift Guy

Brad
Forklift Guy


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## fugdabug (Jul 14, 2008)

headrush said:


> I found I inherited one or actually two of these. I have no idea where to find information on them, what they are worth or if it would be better to get rid of them and get Kelly or Curtis controlers.



Uh, just a word of advice: Curtis 'yes' Kelly, take your chances... 'NO'.
This is just my thinking.

If you can do it go for the gold right up! Because Kelly is not a company I would buy from EVER again. And Curtis is an 'old standby' but just think... I am waiting now three months for my $1590.00 investment to be repaired and sent back to me....

but that is me. 

So do what you will but please make sure you RESEARCH it thoroughly for support and NO ADDED CHARGES. Kelly does not warranty their work with a money back promise... it is always, 'well for a couple hundred dollars more...'
all I can say in the end is maybe you will get a good one and maybe you won't but it's your money...


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## painter007 (Aug 1, 2009)

this a drawing of how i have my EV1 ,


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## Forklift Guy (Apr 20, 2009)

painter007 said:


> this a drawing of how i have my EV1 ,


.

Hi Don

From your drawing, it looks like the Battery Negative is wired to the motor frame ? With all GE panels, the negative wiring is done with wiring and cables. The frame of the chassis and motor isn't wired to either positive or negative. I'll attach a couple of schematics i found from a previous post.

Can you also identify the motor terminals ? The armature terminals, A1 & A2, will be near the end of motor, near the brushes, and you can probably see them wired to the brush holder inside. The field terminals, F1 & F2, will be on the main case ( mid section ) of the motor. Can you identify these terminals, as it applies to your drawing ?

I'll pick up a wiring diagram for a Hyster or Yale forlift, at the shop, after the weekend. It might help.

Brad
Forklift Guy.


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## painter007 (Aug 1, 2009)

on the motor it is stamped in the casing beside the posts the numbers 5 and 6 at the end where the bushes are .3 and 4 are on the sides.It would have been great if it was stamped A1,A2 now from what you say I now know where A1 and A2 are. 5 & 6 lol .thanks


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## Forklift Guy (Apr 20, 2009)

painter007 said:


> on the motor it is stamped in the casing beside the posts the numbers 5 and 6 at the end where the bushes are .3 and 4 are on the sides.It would have been great if it was stamped A1,A2 now from what you say I now know where A1 and A2 are. 5 & 6 lol .thanks


Here is the wiring diagram and wiring draft for EV 1. Note that it has field weakening and an accelerator card which you can ignor, but the primary wiring to the motor and panel might help.
I did notice, for your sketch, that you have the field and armature wired backwards, meaning than the contacts are switching the armature, instead of switching the field. It will work, but it tends to burn up the contactors because the armature current is alot higher than field current when switching.


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## Forklift Guy (Apr 20, 2009)

Sorry but the wiring diagram and wiring draft are in PDF format. If you have any problem with them, Private Message me and i can e mail it directly to you.

Brad
Forklift Guy


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## painter007 (Aug 1, 2009)

Hi Brad .did you get the PM I sent.I did some more testing ,at R7 I get 1.7 volts. is there supposed to be a wire on R7 becuase I don't.


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## Forklift Guy (Apr 20, 2009)

Hi Don,

I sent you a long PM. about the wiring, but yes, the voltage spec at R7 should be 2 to 2.5 volts when the key switch is closed ( power on ) and the accelerator is depressed AND a direction contactor is closed.

This only applies when the direction contact closes, but the SCR system isn't working. Ckeck the private message for the sequence of operation that i sent you.

Brad
Forklift Guy.


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## Forklift Guy (Apr 20, 2009)

No Don, there isn't a wire on R7, it's just the terminal that is used for the referance voltage


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## Chris Sandberg (Sep 13, 2008)

Hello forklift guy,
I have been away for a while but see you have looked at the drawings I posted with modifications, could you give me any input as to if this change will work for the EV-1 controller?
I also would like to here how you guys are running higher voltages with 48v controllers. I don't read any detailed explanations or see any diagrams if you could provide detail that would really be great.
TX Chris


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## Forklift Guy (Apr 20, 2009)

Hi Chris

From a quick look at the diagram, you will have to use at least 1 direction contactor and a start switch. EV1 uses a " static return to off" ( SRO) circuit and a " pulse monitor trip " ( PMT) circuit.

You should use atleast 1 direction contact to allow the PMT to work. This is the safety circuit that monitors the voltage at T2. If the high speed ( 1A ) contacts weld, or # 1 SCR shorts/stays on, the PMT will not let the direction contact to close. The PMTD ( pulse monitor trip driver )will not close the negative side of the direction contactor. If you consider what kinds on load we are using and the conditions that the panel is going to endure, the safety of the PMT would be nice, even if it's just a simple SPST contactor thats closed with the PMTD relay.

As for the start switch, you have a SRO problem, meaning static return to off, which is a GE'S fancy way of saying neutal. If L5 gets voltage at the same time as L3,4,AND 7, the card will not allow travel. You have to momentarily open L5 ( start switch ) before the card will allow the PMT check, then it will close the PMT driver relay, closing the direction contact.

As for voltage, i wanted to use 144 volts but couldn't find anything available in forklifts, so i had to buy one rated at 144 volts. I have seen many EV1's useing 72 volts in Hyster and Yale forklifts but thats the highest voltage that i have seen. The SCR's would breakdown at a higher voltage/amperage and the frequency is very limited. Even the MOSFET panels wern't that good under higher voltage, so the only option, if we needed higher voltage, was IGBT transistor panels.

I've been " experimenting" with a 144 volt / 800 amp IGBT panel for ElectroCraft but i've had a few problems, it's a long story. Hopefully i'll be up and running soon. What voltage were you thinking of using ? 

Brad
Forklift Guy


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## Forklift Guy (Apr 20, 2009)

Hi Chris

I also noticed that the SRO also needs a direction switch to open L9 and L10. If they get voltage at start, it will not operate. You have to open L5 AND L9 and L10 on start up ( ie : neutal ) to pass the SRO check.

Brad
Forklift Guy


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## Chris Sandberg (Sep 13, 2008)

Hello Brad, 
Thanks for the response on the wiring drawings. I will try and digest the info you have passed along as to how it figures into my project. I have been thinking of using the 48vdc GE EV-1 control with a separate tap and running 96v for total pack power. I haven't figured this all out yet but there are some other people here in the forum that have done similar projects so I will keep reading and asking questions. The motor I have is big, and is rated for 120vdc series wound so I hope between this information you have passed on and other forum people, I will figure out a complete system.
TX Chris A newbie on a budget & still learning


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## Lee Hart (Oct 16, 2009)

headrush wrote:
> I found I inherited one or actually two of these...

No, these aren't GE EV-1 controllers.

"EV-1" was actually a family of controllers, with different voltage and current ratings. Each is a very thick slab of aluminum, with all the parts bolted to it, and an "oscillator card" on top (a black plastic box with the control circuit board in it). There are no contactors; they are on a separate panel. The main panel has a big black transformer about 4"x5"x6", one to four big metal can capacitors. some big stud mount diodes, and a few big SCRs in black molded cases.

The EV-1 is indeed a PWM controller, just like modern ones. But it switches at a much lower frequency, which makes the motor act a bit like a loudspeaker. You'll hear a sound ranging from a growl to a whistle when it's operating.

Their efficiency is actually pretty good; notice they have no fans or heatsinks! However, they have no input filter capacitors, and so draw a pulsating current from the battery. This doesn't matter with huge thousand amphour forklift batteries, but it lowers the apparent amphour capacity of the small (under 100ah) batteries often used in hobby EVs.

EV-1's have lots of optional features rarely found in modern series DC motor controllers. They control the main contactor, and support forward/reverse, plug braking, field weakening, and bypass contactors.

It's not too hard to find information to hook them up. They are still a reasonable way to make a low-budget conversion.


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## sparkswb6nov (Mar 17, 2011)

I would not waste money or time on SCR controllers, EV-1, they are not very eff. and take up too much waste battery power make a IGBT or Mosfet controoler


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## Lee Hart (Oct 16, 2009)

sparkswb6nov said:


> I would not waste money or time on SCR controllers, EV-1, they are not very eff. and take up too much waste battery power make a IGBT or Mosfet controoler


I presume you are not familiar with the EV-1 controllers. They are big and heavy and noisy and old and crude; but efficiency is actually pretty good. Note that they have no cooling system; that's because they are efficient enough not to need one.

First, the on-state voltage drop of SCRs is 1/2 to 1/3 that of IGBTs. Second, they operate at a lower frequency, which lowers losses (but means you can hear them operating). Third, they have bypass contactors to improve full-power efficiency to essentially 100%.


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## soon2bEV (Mar 14, 2011)

AAnd, there's so many forklifts that are waiting to give them up!

Here's my question, what are the differences between EV 100 and EV1?
I have one of each, both 36/48v, both from forklifts I dismantled and I'm really excited about them now after reading this thread. I also got 2 curtis batt controller (little silver box), can you tell me how that plays in? Is it a dc to dc converter? and the throttle pots, safety sw.'s, lights etc..
Tell me what you know.
cheers
-DAniel


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## major (Apr 4, 2008)

soon2bEV said:


> I also got 2 curtis batt controller (little silver box), can you tell me how that plays in? Is it a dc to dc converter?


Hi soon,

That would be a battery SOC (state of charge) meter. And I think the EV100 went to transistors instead of SCRs.

major


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## soon2bEV (Mar 14, 2011)

Would that make the whining noise on the EV100 less than the EV1 due to a higher pulse frequency? I found the diagrams and info from this thread most useful to my understanding what I have with the EV-1, does anyone have similar documents for the EV 100 connections?
Also, is there some sort of dc converter within the EV1 controllers? Maybe I missed this, but if the controller uses lower voltage components to trigger the contactors and solenoids carrying the higher V to the motor. Not to mention running lights and horn prolly aren't 36 or 48v on a forklift. Are they? Where is the dc converter if there is?
thanks again
-Daniel


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## ev1 dude (Jan 5, 2015)

That is an EV1B panel. If you want the best card to pair with that panel I would suggest the 5E9 card it has 1A and Field weakening and a voltage range of 24 to 84 Volts which covers the entire voltage range of that particular panel. The 5E9 can also be converted to a 5H9 (without field weakening ) by flipping internal dip switches. It does require an external negative jumper to R4 for the accelerator because earlier cards like the 1E3 blew up the internal ground jumper to the accelerator. You can find all of the GE Tech manuals at FSIP.biz in pdf format. Here is a link to the GE tech manuals page.http://fsip.biz/GEManualsDownload.html


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## ev1 dude (Jan 5, 2015)

soon2bEV said:


> AAnd, there's so many forklifts that are waiting to give them up!
> 
> Here's my question, what are the differences between EV 100 and EV1?
> I have one of each, both 36/48v, both from forklifts I dismantled and I'm really excited about them now after reading this thread. I also got 2 curtis batt controller (little silver box), can you tell me how that plays in? Is it a dc to dc converter? and the throttle pots, safety sw.'s, lights etc..
> ...


The EV 1 line and the EV 100/200 line are both scr controllers. The EV1 is an older less feature capable product line but all of the control cards for the EV1 line have manually adjusted settings. Some of the EV100 cards require programmed settings that can be entered with a handset or in some cases with software from a computer.


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## cricketo (Oct 4, 2018)

bump! Any ev-1 scr experts around these days ? Struggling with a 1980's forklift that refuses to drive, could use some assistance


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## Forklift Guy (Apr 20, 2009)

cricketo said:


> bump! Any ev-1 scr experts around these days ? Struggling with a 1980's forklift that refuses to drive, could use some assistance


 Just wondering if you’ve had any luck with your EV-1 system ? I’ll post a link from Flight Systems Industrial Products for the General Electric EV-1 manual. It’s just the generic manual for the G.E. panel itself. The Make and Model of the forklift would help though. 

A few questions:
Do the direction contacts close when a direction is selected and the accelerator is push pushed ?

Does the direction contact close and open twice ( sometimes the truck jumps, contact sparks too) then the key switch must be turned off and on again ?

With the drive wheels jacked up off the floor, and if you manually close a direction contact AND the high speed ( or 1A they call it ), do the wheels spin ?

Note, it’s important that the drive wheels are off the floor for that test. There will also might be a spark from the contacts as you manually push the BOTH contacts in. This puts the truck in high speed, direct battery across the motor. It’s a quick test of the fuse, cables and drive motor brushes. If the wheels turn, then we start looking at the EV-1 control.

It’s worth noting again, with SCR trucks, always make sure the drive wheels are off the floor. There are multiple scenarios that can cause the truck to take off in high speed when working on these systems. It’s just a safety tip and it’s probably the first thing listed in every service manual out there.

Here’s a link for a GE EV-1 manual :
https://shop.fsip.biz/Image/GetDocument/en/87

Brad


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## cricketo (Oct 4, 2018)

Brad,

Thanks for the follow up! I indeed managed to track it down just the other day, and it's a bit nuts. Here is a picture of what caused the issue :










That's 2 REC I believe. Basically there was a bit of corrosion on the crimp (skinny white wire, Gate) that must have weakened it over time, plus some mechanical stresses and when the crazy weather came in with large temp swings, it must have broken the contact. I.e. it was likely broken, held in place by the heat shrink, but still conducting, and then it just stopped on its own.


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