# Testing a Synkromotive controller



## deftcoyote (Jul 4, 2019)

I'm trying to get an electric car that's been sitting for years going again. It has the Synkromotive DC700LV in it. I've gone over the wiring and tested that it is getting power on the pins it's supposed to be. However, other than a short that would occasionally spin it up, (which went away when I cleaned up the corrosion in the fuse box) I can not get it to start.


Most things work on the car, but I'm at a loss as to how to test that the controller is still usable. For testing, I only have about 96V in the pack, and the DC to DC converter has been giving around 9V rather than 12V. Could this be the problem?


What's the simplest way to test it? Will it start up if I give it 12V on pins 14 and 21, or does it also need the pack on pin 16?
Thank you all for the help.


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## onegreenev (May 18, 2012)

Did you get this resolved? Do you have the manual?


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## deftcoyote (Jul 4, 2019)

Wow. I never got a notification of this reply. Thanks for the response. The car is still sitting. I've gone through every system and the only possible issues are that the main contactor has failed or the synkromotive controller is misreading the battery. (I'd just replace the contactor, but don't want to spend the money if possible)



The synkro software gives correct values for everything, but always gives a battery pack fault. I've verified that the motor spins with voltage and all the surrounding electronics have the correct voltages/etc.


I'm not really familiar with testing whether a contactor has failed, so that's my next step. If you're familiar with a diagnostic feature on the controller, I'd appreciate the help. I finally have some decent time to dedicate to the car now that we're all working from home.


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## onegreenev (May 18, 2012)

deftcoyote said:


> Wow. I never got a notification of this reply. Thanks for the response. The car is still sitting. I've gone through every system and the only possible issues are that the main contactor has failed or the synkromotive controller is misreading the battery. (I'd just replace the contactor, but don't want to spend the money if possible)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not sure what is happening. I re-read the first posting. Pin 16 is pack voltage. It says it is 0-200 volts but I believe it should be at least 18 volts. You should be able to get the contactor to shut or open. Could be a throttle issue too. Be sure the throttle is set properly. Re-Read the manual very very very carefully. Do you have a diagram of how you have it all connected? That would help.


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## deftcoyote (Jul 4, 2019)

If the weather is tolerable, I'll get out and make sure the contactor is opening/closing tomorrow. I have good diagrams of most of the systems. The car was running well, and then was left to sit for 5 years until I bought it. So I've mostly been checking and replacing parts that were corroded/etc. This is finished, and everything reports fine, but no power is ever sent to the motor.



I've tested the throttle and it seems fine. The Synkro software also correctly reports the throttle changes. It just shows a battery fault, but I'm hoping it's the contactor stuck open. I'm not sure if that's the error the controller would show in that case.


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## deftcoyote (Jul 4, 2019)

Looks like the contactor is stuck open. I'm ordering a new one. I'll let you know if that doesn't fix it. Thanks.


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## deftcoyote (Jul 4, 2019)

The new contactor didn't change anything. The controller software still shows a battery fault. I have a 120v 45ah pack hooked up for testing and the software shows the controller voltage at 80 and the battery at 0. I don't know where the 80 comes from.

It looks like the contactor is never opened. I monitored the control wires and no voltage is ever sent over them.

Any ideas? I'm just hoping the motor controller is good, and I'm not sure what else to test.


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## onegreenev (May 18, 2012)

deftcoyote said:


> The new contactor didn't change anything. The controller software still shows a battery fault. I have a 120v 45ah pack hooked up for testing and the software shows the controller voltage at 80 and the battery at 0. I don't know where the 80 comes from.
> 
> It looks like the contactor is never opened. I monitored the control wires and no voltage is ever sent over them.
> 
> Any ideas? I'm just hoping the motor controller is good, and I'm not sure what else to test.


Send me a diagram of how you have the controller connected up and also a picture. What kind of throttle are you using? I need to know the wiring numbers as well. I'll then go look through some stuff I have here. Diagnosing blind is hard to do. So do a good sketch out of your wiring and where each goes on your harness and your battery and contactor and all that sort of stuff. Every part you have connected for testing.


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