# Just bought a used ev....now I have questions :)



## Guest (Jul 28, 2011)

Wildride,

Well you should not have to turn the com unless it is damaged. Just being dirty or darkened does not mean it's bad. Brushes last a good long time but you should check the connections and springs. Some springs break or rust and need replaced. Some brushes have the wire come out so they would then need replaced and if you replace the brushes you need to break them in first before you go blast around in your ev. Don't expect long distances with lead acid batteries and 96 or even 144 volts. But your speed should be doable if your cars small and light. My Ghia would do 80 mph with 96 volts. Most usually don't go that fast but you should get 65 anyway. I'd say if the car is junky go with lead to learn but don't expect much in distance unless your planning on going around 35 mph most of the time. If you do that what's the use of an EV anyway other than a nice NEV. If you want a real freeway capable EV and one that can do 80 miles at 60 mph then you need lithium and usually more voltage too. 120 volts would work. 

By the way, what did you buy. Kinda hard to determine much with such vague information. What works for a VW Ghia won't be the same for an S-10 Pickup. 

Pete


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## wildride3434 (Jun 2, 2008)

82 ford exp ( mini escort ) should have been more clear in the post.

thanks for the reply


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## madderscience (Jun 28, 2008)

Congrats on your purchase.

1) A 15 year old curtis 1231C should be considered suspect until proven otherwise. While reasonably reliable if treated right, curtis controllers are known to let out the magic smoke and can fail "ON" meaning full uncontrollable power to the wheels. If you don't know your controller is working, be very careful with it when first powering it up, and make sure there is plenty of clearance to the front and rear of the vehicle. Also make darn sure there is a working manual disconnect (a breaker or plug that can be pulled) in addition to appropriate fuses in the battery pack. This is especially important since you stated this is a clutchless conversion (the clutch can act as a final, last ditch motor disconnect though that guarantees motor death) 

Don't even try the controller if there is any evidence at all of damage, excessive heat, excessive corrosion of the case, water intrusion, or the end plugs are loose exposing the electronics to the elements; just be safe and replace it.

2) Not too familiar with K&W charger, but if it is working but you want to change voltages there are fairly economical chargers (quickcharge, etc) out there in addition to the nice but expensive ones (manzanita). The Line booster you are referring to is most likely just an autotransformer; if you can't find the original part chances are you can find a suitable clone from an industrial electronics supplier. Look for one that boosts line voltage by about 25% or so and can handle around 2KW. It will be heavy.

3) 96V with flooded golf cart batteries will give a maximum of 40 mile range under very ideal conditions at steady 50mph. However 25-30 miles is more realistic in a normal driving cycle. Top speed of the car is going to be about 60mph with a fully charged battery and that motor. If you want a voltage upgrade and you don't want to go to lithium, your best best is probably to install 8V golf cart batteries instead. This will get you to 144V which is probably the maximum controller voltage. (there is a 120V curtis 1231 and a 144V one, so make sure you have the 144v one if you try this route). The 8V batteries are physically the same size as the 6V ones, the only physical difference is the terminals are on the same side instead of opposite corners. The voltage upgrade won't help your range, but will help performance. Lithium is a much better long term solution but it sounds like you know that already.

Good luck.


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## Guest (Jul 28, 2011)

> Top speed of the car is going to be about 60mph with a fully charged battery and that motor


And Controller. The curtis is a weakling when it comes to amps to the motor. 500 peak amps is minimal. You would notice a huge difference with like 700 amps or more. Also the speed depends upon voltage in as well. There is a difference from 96 volts to 144 volts. I was happy with the difference from 72 volts and 550 amps to a jump to 96 volts and 700 amps. It was better yet with 120 volts. 144 volts and 700 amps would do you fine and you should get better than 65 mph and you will have decent acceleration. If you later decide to ditch the curtis you might look into the Synkromotive controller. Been running one for three years now.


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

you will save yourself MANY headaches, and get WAY better performance if you save up and go with 120v worth (38 cells) of lithium and a new charger to match. Your targets could be met comfortably with a pack of 100 ah cells, which will come to around $5k. An inexpensive charger like the Elcon 1500 is all you really need as long as you don't plan on changing the pack voltage later.


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## wildride3434 (Jun 2, 2008)

So, given the not-so-fuzzy feelings for the Curtis, is our money better spent on a rebuilt Curtis ($800-900 on cloud electric) or put that money towards another brand all together?

Best controllers for the money? Kelly, Alltrax, dare I say Zilla?

Are there controllers that don't have Wide Open Throttle as a failure mode?


Thanks for the reponses


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

Soliton is emerging as the new 'modern' gold standard intended and built for EVs rather than forklifts.  They have a 'Jr.' version with lower max output that is not too much more expensive considering what you get. If the Curtis dies, I would consider that direction versus getting another Curtis.


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## wildride3434 (Jun 2, 2008)

*82 Ford EXP EV Restoration....with questions.*

Back for more advice...

The more I look at the hand drawn 1990's diagram that was provided with this car the more doubts I have.

I see no pre-charge or coil suppression provisions. The car has 2 main contactors... one on the positive side of the traction battery and one on the negative. The one on the neg side is labeled primary and controlled by the keyswitch ( vehicle 12v system ) 

The keyswitch for the primary also provides power through a trans interlock to the control side of a 12v relay (labeled relay 1 )that controls the control side of the secondary main contactor(positive side of traction). The power side of relay 1 is also in series with a micro switch in the pot box.

Furthermore, keyswitch imput to the controller is the full traction battery voltage with its only disconnect being the mechanical emergency disconnect.

So, if I'm reading the diagram correctly the main contactors are opening and closing regularly with trans shift and open throttle and there is no way to eliminate power to the controller without pulling the emergency disconnect (that as of right now is seized and in need of repair).

I will try to get a copy of the diagram up for additional input but I guess my question is....Should I ditch the whole set up and reconfigure it per the Curtis manual or should I just add some sort of precharge set up and use it as is?


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

*Re: 82 Ford EXP EV Restoration....with questions.*



wildride3434 said:


> Back for more advice...
> 
> The more I look at the hand drawn 1990's diagram that was provided with this car the more doubts I have.


if you take a picture of your schematic, and post it, and perhaps a close-up of the contactor setup people might have some input for ya. A couple things I could comment on:

- there is nothing really 'wrong' with running full pack voltage to pot box ksi and thence to controller ksi, although a fuse would be recommended! Some chargers like Elcons put out pack voltage on a separate wire that has 0 volts when charging as an interlock

- your contactors MAY have a little resistor on the 12 v side, and no external 'pre-charge' is really needed. It means there is a little 'zap' on the contactor when you key-on, but thats not all bad to clean off the oxidation. You DON't want contactor open/close every time you lift off the throttle though...


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## wildride3434 (Jun 2, 2008)

not sure if this pic is clear enough to decipher but here it is.


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## wildride3434 (Jun 2, 2008)

no visible resistors on the contacts ( albright contactors...don't remember the p/n off hand ).

Any feedback on this set up would be helpful...does not match curtis manual at all.

Thanks


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