Replace controller w/ simple throttle / dimmer switch?

[thedarlington]

i purchased a simple brushed xtreme 600v scooter, i already have a battery pack from my bike, i was wondering if i could simply replace the non working control board with a throttle switch / dimmer, or maybe 3 sets of switches to get going since it doesnt have to have an ESC like a brushed motor

[amberwolf]

If you use an old-style theatrical stage light dimmer, whcih is a huge wirewound pot that is as large as a hubmotor and weighs more, then yes, you can use it instead of a controller. (I have one here, and it can be made to work, but unless you just want something EMP-proof, don't bother. ).

But you can't use the typical wall-switch dimmer becuase it requires AC to work (becuaes of the zero-crossings to turn off the conduction), and it also can't handle the continuous current that these motors use.

[sk8norcal]

i purchased a simple brushed xtreme 600v scooter, i already have a battery pack from my bike, i was wondering if i could simply replace the non working control board with a throttle switch / dimmer, or maybe 3 sets of switches to get going since it doesnt have to have an ESC like a brushed motor

you have the x-600 model, right?
fyi, they do sell replacement parts...
http://www.x-tremescooters.com/electric ... parts.html

or try these guys,
http://www.tncscooters.com (parts)
http://www.electricscooterparts.com (parts)
http://www.monsterscooterparts.com (parts)


btw, how do u know the controller is bad?
could be just the throttle..

[thedarlington]

hey guys, problem is i dont know whats wrong with it and its just a simple brushed motor so should b easier to just put some sort of dimmer or maybe 2 flipped switches to pass 24v each, possible?

[Kin]

Two problems, 1) switches might allow too much current to be delivered 2) It's been decreed that dimmer won't work.

How do you propose the two switches business? Having one power-no power switch can work. But, if you also had a 12v switch then you would be drawing from one battery pack [Supposing you had two 12v in series] and everything would get out of balance because part of the time you're only draining from one of the batteries. You could semi solve this using a bank of multiple combination switches and some cheap voltmeters, but everything will cost more or as much as a brushed controller and will be much less useful. Please correct me if I'm not thinking of some easy way that having a 12v and 24v switch would work, but this I can't think of any right now.

The other thing you might run into is that your motor might not be happy with how much power would be pumped in, in the event that you just had a 24v switch and some powerful batteries.


I would test the motor by applying some voltage across the leads. See that thats not working. Also, double check the connections everywhere, to make sure there aren't bad connections. From there you can try diagnosing if its the throttle or the controller. I would start by opening up the controller (hopefully its not the kind filled with epoxy) and trying to find any signs of damage.

Of four of these used brushed scooters i've "fixed" it's just been an issue with the batteries and/or connection in the system. Once it was also a throttle, but the motor would still spin (but signals from throttle were sent poorly.)

[thedarlington]

its a 48v pack with controller, anything then to just give me 24v juice? i figure the bms will do its job and draw 50% from each battery to give medium acceleration, plus acceleration is usually the hardest part to get going so 24v should actually be pretty smooth and then on to 48v

but you are right, so what would be the right way to go about this then? do these controllers have some sort of troubleshooting guide? or what controlelr could i install to provide the basic functions? not interested in charger or battery level etc

[Kin]

Hmm, well, the easiest thing if you're certain the controller is at fault, is to just buy a replacement controller. It will be <$40 from the right places. Second easiest place is salvaging from a broken scooter of similar power; frankly that's also probably ~$40 off of craigslist. + You'll have a bunch of other good parts. In either case, unless you get a perfect replacement, it will require figuring of the cables and maybe splicing a few. I assume you can use a soldering iron.

But, i would try to look up "troubleshooting brushed scooters" or something like that. It would be nice to increase your confidence that it's actually the controller, before splurging on any new parts.




And..yeah...the whole drawing 24v from the pack would not easily draw evenly. You would have to draw from one half of the pack, then draw from the other half for an equal amount of power, and then balance them all every time. Would be more complicated and pretty annoyingly useless.