# Bad performance with Kelly controller



## Garn (Nov 27, 2008)

Hey all,

I have been reading these forms for awhile now (Thanks for all the good advice and ideas). Unfortunately I need to ask for help rather than offering any assistance or ideas at this time….

I have an Impulse 9” motor by NetGain. My controller is a Kelly KDH14650B. I’m running 12 batteries at 12v each for 144v. My car is a 1999 VW Jetta 5 speed and I left the clutch in working order.

My problem is that I barely have any power! My car can only get up to about 25mph. I have replaced/upgraded the Kelly controller from a KDH14400B to the KDH14650. It was believed that the first controller was bad, and that was the reason it was not supplying enough amps. I was offered either a replacement or an upgrade from both Cloud EV and Kelly (Steven). I chose the upgrade because I need to be able to park in ramp parks for work, which will be my primary usage for the car. After many changes, higher costs and a lot of time involved mounting the new (Larger) controller, I see no improvement. Actually it responds exactly the same as the older, smaller, controller.

I have checked the voltage at the controller terminals and they are reading around 160v. I have taken voltage reading from the PB6 pot box and it is receiving 5v from the controller, at full throttle it is also putting 5v back to the controller. I have also check the amps going to the motor while driving and I am only getting 50amps. From the batteries I am seeing closer to 15amps while driving.

I have no errors being displayed on the Kelly controller. The temperatures here were in the 40’s when I did my testing, and I only drove the car once around the block, so over heating should not be an issue.

My charger is a QuickCharger and is saying the charge is complete and that I have around +160v at full charge.

Below is a list of all major parts I am using and the wiring diagram I followed

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might have

Conversion Kit 96-144V WarP Impulse Motor Kelly Controller
https://www.beepscom.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=KI-144-I-K

Battery Charger Quick Charge On Board 144V 10A With Select-A-Charge
https://www.beepscom.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=BC-QC-OB-144/10

Contactor Albright SW-200CW-3 12 VDC Coil On/Off
https://www.beepscom.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=CT-SW200CW-3

Controller Kelly 24-144V 650A Programmable High Power OPTO
https://www.beepscom.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=CO-KDH14650B

Motor WarP 9" "ImPulse" Double Shaft
https://www.beepscom.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MO-00-08259

Throttle PB-6 0-5K Lever
https://www.beepscom.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=TH-PB-6

This is what I followed for the wiring.
http://www.kellycontroller.com/mot/KellyKDHBUserManual.pdf
Figure 5:KDHB Series motor controller standard wiring without Reversing Contactor
page 10


----------



## PatricioIN (Jun 13, 2008)

I have the smaller Curtis controller (400amp max) and my car is 3200lbs converted. When I first test drove it, I found power to be dismal. Still, I was able to get it up to 70mph. After doing some research, I found that the current limit and accleration rate on the controller are both adjustable. After adjusting the current limit to the max 400amp, I find the car (while not earth moving) to be average acceleration and I have driven it daily.

Have you talked to Kelly about adjustments that can/should be made to the controller? It sounds like you have everything worked out right and perhaps it's something simple that needs to be addressed. Also, check the ohms that are being produced by the potbox.. It is my understanding that the ohms are what tell the controller how much current to put to the motor, not the voltage. I recall (double check this) that the ohms at full throttle should be between 4500-5500.

I AM NO EXPERT! Just suggestions from someone who just finished his conversion and had similar concerns.


----------



## frodus (Apr 12, 2008)

kelly high-power = not so high power.

Controller Kelly 24-144V 650A = 650Max current, 600 for one minute and 260A continuous.... I'd like to see graphs with an actual motor on their website. Real world, not ratings of the parts inside added together. 

Has anyone registered more than a few hundred amps from these?


----------



## ZenDaddy (Jul 22, 2008)

Tell us about (show pictures of if you can) :

Type of battery
type of battery connection (voltage drop, loose, low capacity?, etc,etc) crimp, bolt down, solder, clamp(!!)?
torque specs of connections, did you use hand tightened wing nuts?
rating of cutoff switch (if its there) what is its voltage drop?
what else is connected in series with the controller and batteries?
resistance in the main fuse, contactor,other did you check?
what size cable?
on and on and on and on and on

Most (I won't say all) major components in an ev are thoroughly tested under optimal conditions i.e; correctly installed, correctly matched to other components, proper wire and switch ratings, etc, etc, etc, etc.

There are so many places to lose voltage and current. Just because you read 160v at the controller AT REST doesn't mean that you are not losing significant power under load somewhere else.

I guess what I am suggesting is to check your entire circuit.

400 amps vs 650 amps will make a difference, but a 50 amp draw on a replacement controller (even the same amp rating) probably indicates a problem elswhere in the circuit.

Put the car up on jackstands (drive wheels (SAFELY)), put it in gear, pull and set the pot to a very low draw so the wheels turn slowly. then take your volt meter and check voltage drops across _every _component and connection in the system. You will find resistance where you least expected it and will probably identify your power robbing culprit. (my money is on battery cables/connections)

Forgive the amateur soapbox

ZD


----------



## ZenDaddy (Jul 22, 2008)

frodus said:


> kelly high-power = not so high power.
> 
> Controller Kelly 24-144V 650A = 650Max current, 600 for one minute and 260A continuous.... I'd like to see graphs with an actual motor on their website. Real world, not ratings of the parts inside added together.
> 
> Has anyone registered more than a few hundred amps from these?


Kelly kdhb12600b

the Mazda pulled 450+ amps when I stomped the pedal, smoked the tires dry even with 15 6v batteries over the rear axle! 

I left it at factory settings and my pot only pulled about 90%

Climbed hills like a pro. 75 on the freeway.

This is not graphed or dyno'd and is not presented by any sort of an engineer or affiliate of Kelly, however, on road performance speaks loudly to me.

respectfully

ZD


----------



## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

It is probably your controller settings. I too have a Kelly, but the 96 volt 400 AMP KDH09401 version for my Honda Civic. Yesterday I spent a long time adjusting settings until I found a good combo. 

I found that the Throttle Ramp was too "Slow" so the acceleration took long, so I slid that toward the Fast selection, my Low Voltage Shutdown was set too high for my batteries, so the controller would limit the current under voltage sag. 

There is also a selection called Control something, which had three selections, Torque, Balanced and Speed. I have mine set to Speed and so far it is working fine. I still have a ton of settings to go through before I settle on anything. 

Just for comparison, I started my test off with the controller set to Balanced, Throttle Ramp at 5, Low Voltage set to 82 volts, High Voltage set to 116 Volts, High Pedal Disable Active and REGEN disabled. I first started driving and I was only pulling 78 AMPs from the batteries with the pedal to the floor and was barely hitting 10 MPH. After fooling around with the settings, I could pull over 160 AMPs from the batteries with the pedal to the floor and I could get up the 25 MPH with the acceleration I was expecting from my little motor. I haven't driven any faster yet because my inspection sticker it out of date.


----------



## frodus (Apr 12, 2008)

ZenDaddy said:


> Kelly kdhb12600b
> 
> the Mazda pulled 450+ amps when I stomped the pedal, smoked the tires dry even with 15 6v batteries over the rear axle!
> 
> ...


well, maybe its a configuration issue with his controller... wonder if the default amp limit is low for his controller.

We need to know more about the bats... they could be sagging so low that the controller goes into limit.


----------



## ZenDaddy (Jul 22, 2008)

True. Definately more info needed

Garn,

have you hooked the controller up to a computer? Do you have info on what factory settings the box came with?


----------



## F16bmathis (Jun 6, 2008)

I had the same controller in my S-10 (KDH4650B) and was able to get 35-40 mph on a straight and level road. I sold that on E-bay and bought a Curtis 1231C and am getting up to 77 mph, though on a slight decline, but a good 70 straight and level. Kelly is selling a 200 amp controller as a 650, but Curtis's 500 amp 1231C is FAR better!


----------



## Garn (Nov 27, 2008)

First off…

Thank you everyone for the responses! I knew I came to the right place. Also thanks to Craig Dusing for all of his help, making my adapter plate, motor mount and leading me to these forms.

Let’s see if I can answer some of the questions and try to find the answers to the rest.

I have hooked my laptop up to the controller and played around with some of the settings, but not many. If I remember correctly the current limit is set to max. I tried changing the throttle setting from torque to balance but did not notice any change. I also tried changing the dead zones, just in case. I’ll make note of all the setting in the software and their default settings then post them.

I did speak with Kelly, and continue to work with them. With my old controller I sent them/him screen shots of all my controller setting and they told me they looked fine. That is when they said they thought there was something wrong with the controller perhaps. I did ohm the pot box before putting it into the car, and although it needed a slight adjustment, I was able to get it to go form 0 ohms to 5k. I’m not positive on this but; I believe the Curtis works off ohms while the Kelly works off voltage for the throttle control. That is why I had to add a 3rd wire to the pot box in order to make it work with the Kelly. The only thing in series with the batteries and controller is a shut for my meter, which wasn’t there with the first controller I tried, either was the cut off switch.

Unfortunately I keep hearing bad things about Kelly not living up to their claims of hi amps, and this seems to be my case (Maybe). Although I would think it would still, at a minimum, be putting out 200 amps which would move the car a lot better than 25 mph. I am glad to hear that ZD and TheSGC have had good results with their Kellys. Very promising!!!

I’m leaning towards it being a problem with wiring or the batteries as well, I just wasn’t sure exactly how to go about testing them. But now I think I have some ideas of how to get started. Thanks! But I am still not ruling out the controller. Does anyone know if it somehow could be my motor? I would assume that if it runs, and is not getting hot, or worse, smoking, then it is wired correctly and working fine.

Battery type: Trojan T-1275
Battery cable ends were all soldered.
All connections are only hand tightened, with a wrench. (Not wing nuts)
Cutoff switch has been tried both in series and out taken out of series with same results. It’s rated at 500 amps continuous and 5000 amps surge @ 12v.
I have not done any resistance checking yet, but I will now. I guess I just assumed that there wouldn’t be that much drop (resistance) with 144v created by 12-12v large batteries, to the point that it wouldn’t at least run better than it is, or get really hot and possibly smoke, at those high points of resistance.
Cable size is 2/0 for all battery cables and 4/0 form controller to motor.

I just went out and took screen shots of all setting with in the Kelly software… 
Here are the settings. Plus attached pictures of the controller.

Foot Switch = Disabled
Throttle Sensor Type = 0-5V
Throttle Low End Dead Zone = 10%
Throttle High End Dead Zone = 80%
Max Current = 100% 
Started Wait Time = 0.5 sec.
Control Mode = Balanced
Under Voltage = 18v
Over voltage = 168
Throttle Up/Down Rate = 80% (roughly, it’s a slider bar)
High Pedal Disable = Enable
Top Speed = 100%
Motor Temperature Sensor = Disable

Please let me know what I have missed in my reply.


----------



## ZenDaddy (Jul 22, 2008)

Garn said:


> I was able to get it to go form 0 ohms to 5k. I’m not positive on this but; I believe the Curtis works off ohms while the Kelly works off voltage for the throttle control. That is why I had to add a 3rd wire to the pot box in order to make it work with the Kelly. The only thing in series with the batteries and controller is a shut for my meter, which wasn’t there with the first controller I tried, either was the cut off switch.


Did you use this diagram for the pot? Did you use the version with the 1k resistor?

Is your contactor controlled by the controller or by the keyswitch (or equivilent)?
edit- nevermind, I see in your picture that you are using a Kelly pre assembly, so the controller is in charge of the contactor.


----------



## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

Try setting the Control Mode to Speed. I tried Balanced and I couldn't get anymore than 78 AMPs from the pack, up hill with the pedal to the floor. My controller is Rated at 160 AMPs continuous, and that is what I got from the batteries after these settings and the Throttle Up/Down set to 3 for faster acceleration:


Foot Switch = Disabled
 Throttle Sensor Type = 0-5V
 Throttle Low End Dead Zone = 10%
 Throttle High End Dead Zone = 90%
 Max Current = 100% 
 Started Wait Time = 0.5 sec.
 Control Mode = Speed
 Under Voltage = 77v
 Over voltage = 116
 Throttle Up/Down Rate = 3
 High Pedal Disable = Enable
 Top Speed = 100%
REGEN = Disable
 Motor Temperature Sensor = Disable


----------



## ZenDaddy (Jul 22, 2008)

I just skimmed the manual from Kelly; since I bought mine, they have added a warning in bright red regarding precharge resistors across any breaker in the high voltage circuit. I wish that warning had been there before I blew up my first Kelly.

Take that warning very seriously Garn. I can say from experience that the Kelly is very vulnerable to poor or no precharge and dangerous situations have been created (runaway motor, flames, welded contactor)


----------



## ZenDaddy (Jul 22, 2008)

TheSGC said:


> Try setting the Control Mode to Speed. I tried Balanced and I couldn't get anymore than 78 AMPs from the pack, up hill with the pedal to the floor. My controller is Rated at 160 AMPs continuous, and that is what I got from the batteries after these settings and the Throttle Up/Down set to 3 for faster acceleration:


 
SGC, 

Just curious; did you use a pre assembly? Or did you wire it in yourself?


----------



## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

ZenDaddy said:


> SGC,
> 
> Just curious; did you use a pre assembly? Or did you wire it in yourself?


Wired that sucker myself. Did the three wire PB5 myself too. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ighXUBbIRfk/SSjMhp20oaI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/fBN8JaJmreE/s1600-h/S5001627.JPG


----------



## ZenDaddy (Jul 22, 2008)

Very nice!

I love your drill pattern on the sink! Takes me back to a few hours of hell in the garage!

I am wondering about the pre assemblies from Kelly. In fact I think I would have a hard time trusting one. I did not use one either. I do own one now (I didn't order it, it came with a partial conversion that I bought), but intend to dissasemble it and wire it myself in the same manner that I did the first one.

Garn, I really am curious as to which diagram you followed for your pot box. 
I used a CURTIS-PMC #PB-6 5k ohm pot and followed the diagram with the 1k resister per Kelly instructions. As I mentioned before, performance is good.

ZD


----------



## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

I didn't get a preassembly because I couldn't afford it. The assembly itself looks great, but I really don't know if that is enough aluminum to keep it cool. My aluminum plate was the center of my transmission adapter plates (again, did it myself!) and so far it keeps the controller stone cold, tho I haven't gone more than a 1.1 miles at a time before adjusting more settings.

I also didn't use the Kelly PB5/6 resistor setup. I just rewired my Curtis PB5 to use a triple wire. I did, however, bench test that resistor setup and found that it only has 84% output because of that extra resistor.


----------



## gerd1022 (Jun 9, 2008)

i recently installed my kelly 144V 500A, and did not use the 1k resistor. I am fairly certain that you should only use it if you use the motor thermister... since the controller outputs 5V, and the potentiometer is a voltage divider setup (wikipedia voltage divider) with the equivalent of two adjustable resistors and the wiper in between. 

see attached picture for a simple test with a 9V battery and your throttle setup

The green is the pot, and measure voltage from the wiper (middle) lead to the - terminal of the battery. the reading should go from 0V to the battery voltage as you turn the pot. This is how you want to set up the kelly except the plus battery lead is the 5 volt source, the wiper goes to the throttle input and the minus battery is ground.

see how that goes


----------



## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

gerd1022 said:


> i recently installed my kelly 144V 500A, and did not use the 1k resistor. I am fairly certain that you should only use it if you use the motor thermister... since the controller outputs 5V, and the potentiometer is a voltage divider setup (wikipedia voltage divider) with the equivalent of two adjustable resistors and the wiper in between.
> 
> see attached picture for a simple test with a 9V battery and your throttle setup
> 
> ...


I used a 5v regulator and did exactly what the Kelly diagrams shows and I got 1v to 5v. Never 0 volts.


----------



## gerd1022 (Jun 9, 2008)

i am using the diagram on page 10 of this manual: http://www.kellycontroller.com/mot/KellyKDHBUserManual.pdf

it uses a three wire pot to produce a 0-5V signal. I am not using the thermister or the 1K resistor shown inside the drawing of the motor.

the three wire pot setup is a voltage divider that should be outputting 0-5V. If the pot linearly varies R1 and R2 from 5k-0k and 0K-5k respectively then the voltage goes from 0k/(5k+0K)*5V = 0V to 5K/(5K+0K) = 5V. R1 is the top internal potentiometer resistor in the sketch in my last post and R2 is the bottom one.


----------



## fugdabug (Jul 14, 2008)

reset your throttle rate and your dead zone both to 90%... and your lower end to 5%... try that.

Also, don't expect to get a full go out of the Kelly... Sorry, it is just a crappy controller due to quality of parts and quality control during production. 

IF this controller goes bad, take my advice (with a grain of salt 'cause sure as hell I am gonna get flamed for this!) and DO NOT UPGRADE to another Kelly v. no matter what!!!... go with a Curtis... or whatever, anything but another Kelly... it is money down the toilet to keep 'upgrading' when all is said and done all you do is keep throwing more money at a bad product! So that is my two cents.


----------



## Garn (Nov 27, 2008)

ZD,

Actually I wired mine myself, I did not use the pre assembly from Kelly. The contactor is controlled by the keyswitch.

SGC,

I see in your picture that you are only using 5 wires. Are two of them to power the controller and the other 3 for the PB? If so, did you have to add the 3rd wire or was it already in the PB5? Are those the only five wires you had to use? (that is of course besides the high voltage wires 

ZD,

I did not follow the diagram you are showing, but it would basically be the same as the middle option in your picture. I'll try to attach a picture of the exact diagram I used. It can be found at:
http://www.kellycontroller.com/mot/KellyKDHBUserManual.pdf
Figure 5:KDHB Series motor controller standard wiring without Reversing Contactor
page 10
Did I follow the wrong diagram?
I assume this is the Curtis PB-6 5k?
https://www.beepscom.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=TH-PB-6
I was told by Kelly to add a 3rd wire…
Quote from Steven at Kelly: (Is Steven really just one guy? Or do they all sign Steven??? It seems like anyone that has spoken with Kelly, spoke with Steven. 
" You pot box should have third terminal hiding inside potbox. You may solder it out. So you have 3 wire pot. One end terminal to GND, middle wiper terminal to Throttle Input, and other end terminal to 5V."
That makes me wonder if I should go back to the 2 wire and try the 1k resister like you did…?

Gerd,

If I am following along correctly, that is exactly how I set mine up.
As I mentioned above that is the exact diagram I used as well. (The one you linked to.)

Fugdabug,

After all I have read I do not expect to get full power from the Kelly. Sadly… But I would think I would get slightly better than only 50 amps when it's rated 200 continuous. Thanks for the suggestions for the setting, I will try those! I have already spoken with Cloud EV and they are suggesting I speak with Kelly about a refund on my controller and then purchasing another brand. I'm going to give the Kelly a few more tries before giving up. Maybe they aren't the best and most powerful controllers but I would expect they would at least power my car faster than 20 mph. God I hope so anyway.


----------



## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

I added the Third wire to the PB5 myself. I actually removed the existing two wire and sleeve and installed a three wire sleeve to make it look good. 

I only needed those 5 wires for the controller, and so far so good. 

I guess my next question is what are you using for a heatsink?


----------



## gerd1022 (Jun 9, 2008)

ok... that does dound like it is set up right then...

if it is not too much of a hassle, if you take out the potbox and try the simple test circuit i outlined above, you can know for sure that at least that setup is correct.

i havent gone very fast in my spitfire conversion yet, considering it has no roof, doors, rugs, attached seats, proper throttle setup (i was turning the pot by hand), or good brakes, however, i was very impressed with the acceleration that i felt tooling around the parking lot with the factory settings.

Of course my spit probably weighs about 2300 lbs right now with all of the batteries, so it doesnt take much to get it going... I'm going to play with all of the programming details once im set up with everything else... 

one of my next projects is to make a fiberglass hardtop!


----------



## fugdabug (Jul 14, 2008)

Garn said:


> ZD,
> Fugdabug,
> After all I have read I do not expect to get full power from the Kelly. Sadly… But I would think I would get slightly better than only 50 amps when it's rated 200 continuous. Thanks for the suggestions for the setting, I will try those! I have already spoken with Cloud EV and they are suggesting I speak with Kelly about a refund on my controller and then purchasing another brand. I'm going to give the Kelly a few more tries before giving up. Maybe they aren't the best and most powerful controllers but I would expect they would at least power my car faster than 20 mph. God I hope so anyway.


UH... you should look over some of the threads about Kelly Controllers... I do not know of ONE person, myself included... that was able to receive a cash refund from Kelly Controllers... The guys name is Steven Li, (actually Wen Li) and you will get an offer to 'upgrade' for some more bucks... or even a 'down-grade' like he tried with me!... but good luck on getting your money back... it is in somebody's pocket in China by now...


----------



## Garn (Nov 27, 2008)

SGC,

My heatsink is a 3/8 inch thick by about 8x14 aluminum plate. I have two large computer heatsink attached to the bottom of it with two large computer fans attached to those. But it shouldn't be getting hot because it runs this way directly out of the drive way.
I started making a new connector for the controller last night. I only attached 6 wires and thought I would take it one step at a time and only hook up what is absolutely necessary. Meaning, if you can get away with only 5 wires total I will start there and see how things run.

Can anyone think of any way to put about a 100 amp load @ 144v on my batteries just to see if they are able to supply more than 50 amps? That would help me know that my battery connections are not too bad, and can supply 100 amp or better, and that it is the controller that is not supplying more than 50 amps. 

Gerd1022,

When I wired the PB for 3 wires I did the same thing as you, replace the other two wires as well. I also did some testing by ohm'ing the pot and everything tested out good at that time.


----------



## fugdabug (Jul 14, 2008)

Garn said:


> SGC,
> 
> My heatsink is a 3/8 inch thick by about 8x14 aluminum plate. I have two large computer heatsink attached to the bottom of it with two large computer fans attached to those. But it shouldn't be getting hot because it runs this way directly out of the drive way.
> I started making a new connector for the controller last night. I only attached 6 wires and thought I would take it one step at a time and only hook up what is absolutely necessary. Meaning, if you can get away with only 5 wires total I will start there and see how things run.
> ...


What is you Amp/Hr rating of each battery? That should tell you something...


----------



## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

fugdabug said:


> What is you Amp/Hr rating of each battery? That should tell you something...


That's a good point. Here is my setup for comparison:

Kelly KDH09401 
96 Volts System
125 Ah Walmart MAXX29 Batteries
Homemade cable connections

And I can pull 160 AMPs from them without any problem with my current setup. Since my batteries are worn in yet, I am betting that voltage sag is preventing me from pulling anymore.


----------



## Taztech (Dec 5, 2008)

Garn said:


> SGC,
> 
> Can anyone think of any way to put about a 100 amp load @ 144v on my batteries just to see if they are able to supply more than 50 amps? That would help me know that my battery connections are not too bad, and can supply 100 amp or better, and that it is the controller that is not supplying more than 50 amps.


Garn,
The best way to check and see if you have connections problems, is connect your volt meter to the B+ and B- connections at the controller and tape the meter to your windshield and drive around the block. if your voltage drops substantially then you have a poor connection.

another quick check is to feel of all your wiring after you get back you should not have any warm wires or connections.


----------



## fugdabug (Jul 14, 2008)

TheSGC said:


> That's a good point. Here is my setup for comparison:
> 
> Kelly KDH09401
> 96 Volts System
> ...


next question, at the chance of sounding stupid... are they deep cycle?


----------



## Garn (Nov 27, 2008)

The Amp/Hr rating for the T-1275 is 150 @ 20Hr Rate.

Taz,

Glad to see your suggestion for testing my connections. That is exactly what I was going to last night but it is just way to cold here right now. (it was around 10 above when I got home from work)

I have been checking the wiring for hot spots after every run, and so far nothing has even felt warm. Ok the controller felt pretty warm after driving around for about 20 min. But everything else was cool to the touch. 

I'm going to head out to Harbor Freight tonight and pick up a battery load tester. I figure I can test each battery and all the cabling with it. It will simulate 100amp load. If I hook it to one post on the battery and the end of the cable on the other post that should test both my battery and that one cable.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90636


----------



## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

fugdabug said:


> next question, at the chance of sounding stupid... are they deep cycle?


Yes they are deep cycle. Mine are manufactured by Johnson Controls and have are 125Ah with a reserve capacity of 210 Minutes.


----------



## ZenDaddy (Jul 22, 2008)

gerd1022 said:


> i recently installed my kelly 144V 500A, and did not use the 1k resistor. I am fairly certain that you should only use it if you use the motor thermister... since the controller outputs 5V, and the potentiometer is a voltage divider setup (wikipedia voltage divider) with the equivalent of two adjustable resistors and the wiper in between.


I had already purchase the pot box without having recieved my controller. The pot box is 0-5k ohm instead of 0-5v, which is what the Kelly diagram I initially recieved called for. Kelly supplied me with the diagram in order to make the 5kohm pot work. And it does.

Kelly has updated their manual quite a bit since I recieved mine and I am glad. I do wish that mine had been more complete when I started, it would have saved a few headaches.


----------



## evpvteam (Aug 24, 2009)

Yup finally some are seeing what Kelly Controls LLC or now www.newkellycontroller.com is all about. I wouldn't call any of their stuff new. We had multiple problems getting Kelly controllers to even take our vehicle up a hill and they over heat like no ones business causing them to bring the car to a crawl. Oh and don't get caught up in their warranties because they won't honor them and they sure don't sell you anything that works to begin with so whats a warranty really worth if the product doesn't work from the start.

Lots of experience on our team. It was not the pot box, not the wiring, not the motor, not the programming and not the battery pack. Simply put Kelly is not being anywhere near honest about their specifications and their controllers are being marketed to compete with Logisystems and other much better brands. We have experience using several controllers and their is no excuse for Kelly. Plain wrong exaggerated specifications. Even though Kelly has an interface which is quite primitive I might add its useless if the controller does not work right and can barely deliver half of its claims in current. Simple analog acceleration and power control is all you need for reliability. Zilla is the only one that has mastered all the bells and whistle extra control features.

We warned people months ago on forums but still so many are out there saying we are bashing without any proof. Well the proof will develop just give it time as more people buy these cheap controllers and complain on forums. Please complain if you have problems with Kelly Controls LLC, its the only way to bring some of the very high quality US controllers back into the market. Their is no comparison unless Kelly does one thing. Re-design their controllers and start telling customers the truth and if the controller does not work right REFUND your customers. As far as we are concerned they messed up already and are on their way to many more complaints. Not unusual to expect this kind of business behavior from Chinese manufacturing. Shame on Kelly Controls LLC and yes our team got burned by them but we recovered and found some great EV control systems.


Best Regards,
From the EVPVteam in Texas


----------



## F16bmathis (Jun 6, 2008)

Wow has it been a long time since I used a Kelly Controller. Its like when you get your first car. You buy the cheap one, find out its a piece of *** and finally go out and buy something that works. I lucked out and got one of the last Zilla's and WOW! I also have a Curtis 1231C 500amp in my Ford Probe. Even the 500 amp Curtis is so much better than a kelly, its worth the extra few $$$. www.evalbum.com/1752


----------



## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

My Kelly has held up *but* the hills suck and I now have a Synkromotive controller on order.

I am hoping to see a difference of night and day between the Kelly and the Synkromotive, and I hope to find out late September.


----------



## Guest (Aug 24, 2009)

TheSGC said:


> My Kelly has held up *but* the hills suck and I now have a Synkromotive controller on order.
> 
> I am hoping to see a difference of night and day between the Kelly and the Synkromotive, and I hope to find out late September.


You will like synkromotive controller. Mine is working real nice at 96 volts with the floodies. 

Pete


----------



## TheSGC (Nov 15, 2007)

gottdi said:


> You will like synkromotive controller. Mine is working real nice at 96 volts with the floodies.
> 
> Pete


Oh goodie! My Civic is 96 volts of MAXX29 floodies matched with a FB1-4001A.


----------



## kittydog42 (Sep 18, 2007)

> I have already spoken with Cloud EV and they are suggesting I speak with Kelly about a refund on my controller and then purchasing another brand.


I love this...a dealer suggesting the customer contact the manufacturer for a refund. What exactly do they do to earn their money?

When I sold Logisystems controllers, I did not do this - I spent time on the phone with the company until I was able to get a refund for my customer (after two blown controllers). It may have been the only refund they ever issued! Just because this is a niche market does not mean customers should put up with non-service.


----------



## Guest (Aug 25, 2009)

Cloud EV's reputation precedes them. Poor business practice and you are correct. It is up to the company you purchased it from to give you the refund and if they can not secure a refund from the manufacturer they they must eat it since they are the ones offering a guarantee. This is not the first time I have heard of Cloud EV doing that. My opinion is to stay very very far away from this company. There are plenty of others who play by the rules. I'd hammer Cloud EV about giving you the refund. I'd never send a customer to the manufacturer unless I only stated that the guarantee was from the manufacturer. I'd still try to get that refund as customer service to my very important customers. Grrrrrr. I hate hearing about things like this. 


Pete 

PS. Kelly is very good about and are prompt and will honor a refund but I think since Cloud EV purchased it the ball is in their court and the refund is due them and then they pay you from that. I think in the legal department that would be exactly how it plays out.


----------



## kittydog42 (Sep 18, 2007)

Even if the product is out of warranty, or if the warranty is with the manufacturer, the dealer has to at least try to help the customer as the liaison. That's my opinion, anyway. The dealer is the one with leverage when it comes to dealing with the manufacturers, after all.


----------



## Bowser330 (Jun 15, 2008)

kittydog42 said:


> Even if the product is out of warranty, or if the warranty is with the manufacturer, the dealer has to at least try to help the customer as the liaison. That's my opinion, anyway. The dealer is the one with leverage when it comes to dealing with the manufacturers, after all.


But the dealer's leverage is proportional to their sales volume and how much the manufacturer relies on them for those sales...e.g. Walmart.

DIY EV parts are not selling in volumes that can provide the dealers with leverage...

Maybe later....when the community and EV industry grows a bit more...and the leaders amongst the dealers start to emerge...


----------



## Guest (Aug 26, 2009)

Well he has a business and sells the items and as a business however small they should try to bend over backwards for their customers. I sure would and did. As a business I would not be in business if it were not for the customers buying products. As such I should treat everyone with full respect and I as a customer would expect that. If we continue to not expect that kind of service then we are in grave danger of being taken over! Oh, Wait, that has already happened and is still happening. Oooop's. 

You must bust your hump if you want to remain in business with a good reputation. 

Pete


----------



## Guest (Aug 26, 2009)

Cloud EV in my opinion must take the steps required to secure a refund. If it were me I'd have honored the refund and then I'd have taken it up with Kelly to refund me. 

That is how it should be and if you can't honor a guarantee then be clear up front that the guarantee is with the manufacturer. Be sure that the manufacturer will honor the customers refund request first. If not then don't sell the product. 


Pete


----------



## Bowser330 (Jun 15, 2008)

gottdi said:


> Cloud EV in my opinion must take the steps required to secure a refund. If it were me I'd have honored the refund and then I'd have taken it up with Kelly to refund me.
> 
> That is how it should be and if you can't honor a guarantee then be clear up front that the guarantee is with the manufacturer. Be sure that the manufacturer will honor the customers refund request first. If not then don't sell the product.
> 
> ...


Right on..+1

The dealer should be very clear that they do not guarantee the products from these manufacturers and that any warranty claims must be pursued with them. They are simply a distributer of the products and cannot endorse their quality...with that its buyer beware...


----------

