nardcox said:
It should be fine to hookup the battery minus directly to the controller right? I'll connect everything and turn on the fuse last?
Yes, you will get a spark somewhere when the battery and controller gets connected. In the fuse or in the contacts. I dont think it will be a problem if it is a dc fuse, if it is ac it might be more sensitive. But my guess is that it will not be a problem anyway.
If no mosfets are shorted, but the bms think there is a problem it wont turn on. So to bypass the bms will be the easiest way to test if the controller works.