Kelly Controller Pron, and a Call for Help

That came from Kelly.

I never measured it.
 
I think mine was higher than that, but cant confirm till I get another one to torture..
 
Hello Steve

Hmm I was interested to see one of these things naked! are you testing these for Mark? or buying them in for yourself? they look beefy enough to me! I suspect they dont like the Puma though (not many controllers do) I have a theory after lots of messing about with the Pumas that a lot of the controller failures were down to the switching speed, when the Puma is running at 72V the rotor is spinning at twice the speed that it was designed to, I think the problem stems from the halls miss firing, I intend to test this theory out soon with a bit of lab work and an old controller, some of the controllers seem to work ok for a while though and I know that your Puma has been ok at the higher voltage since you modified the fets however I have seen problems with my modified controller at 80V on the Puma. I dont think the Xyltes have this problem as they are not spinning anywhere near as fast as the puma rotor, just a thought, those Kelly controllers look well made, also I think they are too much for the Puma Steve, you are going to start snapping things!! been there done that!!

Good luck with it and keep me posted, I am a little curious why you are running it on your KMX, isnt it fast enough?

Cheers

Knoxie
 
when the Puma is running at 72V the rotor is spinning at twice the speed that it was designed to, I think the problem stems from the halls miss firing

Just occured to me. I saw this on the specs for the kelly; "Up to 60000 electric RPM .electric RPM = actual RPM * motor poles" - Since this is a gear motor spinning at high RPM, could you be bumping up against this functional limit? I think the x5 has 15 poles, so this controller should be good for 4000 RPM for that motor, Knoxie do you know the poles/rpm on the puma?

I got everything nicely mounted on my Kelly build - but now it is flashing an error code (4,2) - and there is no code (4,2) in the manual. I need to finish wiring up my Cycleanalyst to see what is happening with the current - I had to clip the control cable to lengthen it for the xtracycle. I was able to run a 25' serial cable to the garage so I can reprogram the controller without bringing the bike in, messed with the settings but no joy. Disconnected everything, still no joy.

I guess I'll try writing them again and see if I can find out what that code means.

-JD
 
knoxie said:
Hello Steve

Hmm I was interested to see one of these things naked! are you testing these for Mark? or buying them in for yourself? they look beefy enough to me! I suspect they dont like the Puma though (not many controllers do) I have a theory after lots of messing about with the Pumas that a lot of the controller failures were down to the switching speed, when the Puma is running at 72V the rotor is spinning at twice the speed that it was designed to, I think the problem stems from the halls miss firing, I intend to test this theory out soon with a bit of lab work and an old controller, some of the controllers seem to work ok for a while though and I know that your Puma has been ok at the higher voltage since you modified the fets however I have seen problems with my modified controller at 80V on the Puma. I dont think the Xyltes have this problem as they are not spinning anywhere near as fast as the puma rotor, just a thought, those Kelly controllers look well made, also I think they are too much for the Puma Steve, you are going to start snapping things!! been there done that!!

Good luck with it and keep me posted, I am a little curious why you are running it on your KMX, isnt it fast enough?

Cheers

Knoxie
Hi Paul. They seem to like the Puma OK on one setting, so I think they should on the other (torque vs speed settings). I really dont think this controller blew because it was on the puma, there was no throttle applied even at the time. That said, the halls situation on the puma is well worth looking into. Richard suggested the same thing (though mainly because of the new x'lytes problems, and these are not only related to high voltages/speeds).
I am testing the Kelly brushless for mark indeed, though I am ordering from Kelly also for other projects.
You seem to think this controller is more powerfull than the x'lyte Paul, well, its not. After several rides my CA only showed a peak of 60A, and mostly when I looked down it showed no more than 45 or so. Since it is motor current limited, it actually feeds the motor far less current than a tricked up x'lyte controller.
I am a little worried that these MosFET arn't as good as the could be..
WHen things start snapping I'll know where the boundries are. So far nothing has snapped, except the frame of the KMX (check yours regularly for fatigue under the crosspiece and under the seat/rearstay join, the metal is very thin and rots from the inside). It is now welded solid underneath, and braced much much better than the original.

KMX is quite fast enough for an old man like me, best ride I've ever had tbh, i'm only testing Kelly's so everyone else can have a Puma :D
Are you doing any riding?

Oatnet, I believe the high RPM of the Puma could indeed be a problem for some controllers, but if I had exceeded the speed limit for the controller I would expect to have trouble at higher speeds only, and that it wouldnt work on either of the software settings. I do wonder however if it backs off for some reason to do with current sensing? Most probably thats what changes between "torque" and "speed" settings as far as the motor sees, perhaps when the current limit is encountered it cuts power.....hmm..I wonder if the pulsing I feel is the throttle ramp after it cuts back in?

Hopefully i'll find out if the second controller ever gets here. :evil:
Are you sure the "4-2" error your getting isn't the "2-4" error you got last time, and you just are counting fromt he wrong place? :wink: I got a similar error code from when I fed it too low a voltage on the PWR, but cant be sure if it was 4-2 at this point. I too couldnt find the same code in the manual.. I hope kelly can sort this lot of gliches out!
 
Are you sure the "4-2" error your getting isn't the "2-4" error you got last time, and you just are counting fromt he wrong place? I got a similar error code from when I fed it too low a voltage on the PWR, but cant be sure if it was 4-2 at this point. I too couldnt find the same code in the manual.. I hope kelly can sort this lot of gliches out!

It is most-def (4,2). After startup. the red light blinks off for a second, then 4 blinks, pause 1/2 sec, 2 blinks, pause 2 seconds, repeat with 4 blinks etc. I measure 80v to B+/B- both with a Multimeter and the built-in Cycleanalyst. amd 40v from the fuse box to PWR. In case the wire to PWR was shorted in the connector I tried powering with no fuse in the PWR cable, and got no lights at all.

Now I sort of wonder if the loose J2 socket has shorted or pulled some pin. A shame as this is a beautiful build ready to fly.

-JD
 
Shiny, either of those look like they would work with over 60v input.

Now, I'm a bit confused. I just looked at the Kelly web site and for the Brushless controller, it states the PWR input should be 18v-90v, 150ma max and 50ma standby.

It also indicates a 4-2 error is a hall sensor fault.

Did they change that? or are we talking about a different controller?
 
fechter -

They keep changing the specs weekly :). The new version of the manual (v1.0) states 18-90V / 150ma. The previous version (v0.3) indirectly implied 24V. The previous version had two wiring diagrams for 48V and 72V setups (72V version providing separate 24V power). The new version still has two wiring diagrams but the one providing 24V is simply called preferred. So it is a work in progress :).

Maybe they use a linear regulator internally for PWR and it is dissipating quite a bit of waste heat when powered from 72V. But this is just a guess.
 
fechter said:
Now, I'm a bit confused. I just looked at the Kelly web site and for the Brushless controller, it states the PWR input should be 18v-90v, 150ma max and 50ma standby. It also indicates a 4-2 error is a hall sensor fault.

Wow, that's new. Thanks (yet again!) Fechter - I was on their site yesterday and unlikely to check for updates for a while. I tore down the wheel-side hall connector I had buit, found a broken lead, and whammo the error code cleared. I took it out for a spin (being very grateful that I finished the rest of the build out yesterday despite things looking grim) with my NiCds, pulled 60 amps and shut down the thermistors. Swapped in some LiFe, cyclanalyst showed it pulling 92 amps amd 4800 watts ffor a peak speed of 40.07mph on a 26" 5304. The long wheelbase of the xtracycle really helped with stability at speed. Ran out of testing time, but it is ALIVE! More pics to follow.

-JD
 
A good day for Kelly controllers then, my replacement turned up finally, and is working OK. Still pulsing on the torque setting, it seems to run into a current limit and cut back (Kelly suggests this is because of the low inductance of the Puma). However, it is possible to us it OK, as long as you dont give more than 10% throttle on takeoff. After 10mph or so it behaves well of full throttle, and pulls very smoothly indeed.
Not seen more than about 50A on the battery end here, I suspect (since its motor current limited) that the motor was getting its fulll whack tho, perhaps at full speed it would draw more battery current, but since the top speed of this motor is 60MPH at these volts I'll probably never find that out :twisted:


The dead controller has many blown chips, and because of the potting it is impossible to read part numbers, and very difficult to stage any kind of repair. THis I see as a badpoint....I like to be able to fix them after I blow them up! (otherwise it takes all the fun out of making them go bang!)
 
sorry if i am in the wrong forum but I am new to this whole forum thing.

I have just bought a Kmx St model and would like to put a rear crystalyte system on it with disk brakes. Has anyone done this yet? And does it fit the bike with out having to do modifactions?
 
That's a good report Jozzer.

I wonder if Kelly would consider building some with no potting? Probably not.
Do they want the old one back?

The pulsating thing in current mode might be fixable with some changes in the software. It's sort of like programming the CA. You might try tweaking some of the parameters , like ramp up time, to see if it makes any improvement. It might need a change in the non-user-accessable part of the program. A change in the current sensor filtering might do it too.

The fact that it uses motor current sensing might really help on the motor heating and keep the motor happier, but it will make the takeoff a bit slower. Not as much fun IMO. :twisted:

Tigger, don't sweat it. I suggest putting that question in the E bike Technical section though.
 
I put forward via Mark that the potting made them very hard to repair, would they consider not using it. Perhaps they will be nice to us:)
I tried changing most things, Kelly themselves asked me to try lowering the current limit, which didnt help. About the only thing that did was very light throttle use. The takeoff feels promising on torque setting, but awfull on "speed" setting. It feels like the motor is being strangled. I suspect idd a software update is needed.
I've asked that we get one with irfb4110's, to see if that makes it bulletproof!
I understand that the next one will be a prototype of thier forthcoming ebike controller, i'll let you know more when I get it:)
 
As promised, I posted pictures of my current prototype equipped with a 72v100a Kelly:

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3514

42.7mph so far, 92amp peak draw.

Kelly tip: On my last run, I had left the throttle range at the factory default of 20%-80% - so every time throttle dipped below 20% current stalled, it was very disturning until I figured it out. I'd advise setting the range much lower, but I haven't felt out what the noise threshold is yet.

-JD
 
As promised, I posted pictures of my current prototype equipped with a 72v100a Kelly:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3514

42.7mph so far, 92amp peak draw.

That's a very nice looking bike.

Thank you oatnet, fechter, Jozzer, drewjet, curious, etc... for all the info. I also ordered a KBL72101 for the X5 5303. Can I use a Buckpuck led driver like this one to power the controller upto 32v??

http://www.luxeonstar.com/item.php?id=5184&link_str=240::241::1395&partno=3023-A-N-350

It will be connected from a 12v power source. It has a small form factor, compact enough to fit in the controller box I'm building.
 
Oatnet, that is a very nice looking bike. And FAST. I have not noticed any problem with my throttle control, but it may be due to my using it in combination with a Mars motor.

I do have this problem though, and I have not as of yet contacted Kelly. If I have my current limit set at 70% it is great. I can apply full throttle from a dead stop and all is good. If I set it higher I can notice a much stronger acceleration, but it hits cut-out. I don't think it is a voltage drop as I have my low voltage set very low (something I still need to work out) and my batteries are capable of 600 amps, and it will happen even if I ease into the throttle.

I have one of the new Cycle analysts coming and will have a much better idea as to what is going on then. But so far a big thumbs up to Kelly for a great product, and great customer service, at a good price.
 
Ahh Drew, you've got the same problem as I had on the Puma then. Seems the current limiting needs looking at Kelly!
Nice bike Oatnet, good work:)
 
Got my Kelly! nice looking piece...
How did you guys connect the wires to J2? What wire guage did you use?
 

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Jozzer said:
Ahh Drew, you've got the same problem as I had on the Puma then. Seems the current limiting needs looking at Kelly!
Nice bike Oatnet, good work:)

I would agree. This is the response I got from Kelly
"About cut out. It should be overcurrent cut out. There are two current limits: Software limit which is the current setting with GUI, and hardware limit set by factory.

Software limit is average current. Hardware limit is "peak" current or spike current. For low inductance motor, the spike current is much higher than average current. The spike may trigger the hardware protection even average current still isn't up to limit.

In the future, we will set hardware limit higher, to 150% per say.

The best strategy is to set hardware limit per motor characteristics, to get the best protection and max performance."
 
shinyballs said:
Got my Kelly! nice looking piece...
How did you guys connect the wires to J2? What wire guage did you use?

I used what I had laying around. It doesn't carry much current. 20 or 22 will do just fine. Could probably even use 24.
 
I haven't had a chance to work on the Kelly bike for a while, but today I found time to experiment with some new settings.

The jerky throttle issue I reported earlier was resolved by adjusting "Throttle Up/Down Rate" all the way down towards slow, "14". Note that this setting is on screen 2, not screen 1 with the other throttle settings.

I first tried to fix the throttle issue by adjusting the "Throttle Low End Dead Zone". This setting was limited to 4 choices: 10% 20%-30%-40%. SInce I couldn't choose zero I chose 10%, but the controller gave a 2-4 error code (throttle overvoltage). This is the inverse of the 4-2 pattern I saw before, damn near threw me into a dyslexic tizzy. Set it back to 20%, and have the "Throttle High End Dead Zone" at 100%

Today I ran it with a 72v LiFePO4 pack, 88.8v off the charger, 12ah 5c=60a . I connected the first 36v pack to my switchbox, powered it up/down no problem. Powered up with the second pack attached, I watched my drainbrain start to boot and I heard a boiliing/bubbling sound coming from the direction of the controller, cut power. Back to 36v (which only powers the controller, the main power circuit is not complete without a 2nd pack, and the controller appears to boot normally! Put on the 2nd 36v pack, no boiling sound, no problem whatsoever. Maybe this is similar to what happened to Jozzer, I just got to shut it off in time?

Anyhow, I set it to "Control Mode: Torque" to see if extra current would quiet down the xlyte at launch (ah, the silent TidalForce!). I set "Max Current" to 60%, as this is a 100a controller I want to limit to 60a for the batteries. For the most part, it kept under 60ah for a whole range of conditions. However, at one point (and I think it was a steep hill) I noticed amps were holding in the low 70s :( . I did a bunch of flatland speed runs, best being 38.1mph both ways, earning a "Wow-Nice Job!" from a pedestrian. I was too tucked to reduce drag to watch the cycleanylst. Lots of drags from the battery packs, which weren't built with the xtracycle in mind and bulged out the freeloaders. When I get that squared away I might be able to clear 40mph flatland. I hit 44.1mph on my favorite hill on the way home.

Despite 4wk currents, the Kelly controller was ice cold every step of the way to the very end, so I continue to have high hopes for it. After 6 miles the 5304 motor was HOT enough to make me remove my hand in 4-5 seconds. The LiFe batteries, they were warm at 60% DOD :cry: I am sure I wasted cycles today. My CA says I was using 80wh/mile, so at that draw this 72v12ah pack at 100% DOD would ONLY do 10 miles!

Since "Control Mode: Torque" didn't quiet the motor, I'll go back to "Control Mode: Speed" to see if that helps keep it under 60a - it was climbing a hill I saw the amps surge to a peak of 74.1. If that doesn't do it, then I'll set "Max Current" back to 50% or whatever it takes. I really want to be under 40wh/mile, so I am curious wind I get in regular riding conditions: ie sub 20-25mph. I keep thinking about a fairing, and some kind of aerodynamics for the xtracycle too <grin>.

-JD
 
Lots of great info, thanks Oatnet.

Do you think the controller should get power first, and boot up prior to adding power.

I had mine go up in magic smoke last week. All I did was turn on the power. My batteries fully charged are 75 volts. When I turn the key it simultaneously get 24 volts to the controller and 75 volts through the contactor.

I just got my replacement in the mail yesterday, but haven't hooked it up yet. It would be easy enough to rewire and add a switch to allow the controller to boot prior to the power relay closing.

Thankfully Kelly is standing behing there product.
 
Thanks for the info Oatnet! Just spoked to Steven from Kelly, according to him...

* It doesn't matter which one is switched first, "B+" or J2 P1. B- is always connected.
* To use Brake Regen, use a switch between J2 P2 to J2 P10. Regen current is dependent on how much power is supplied to the 5v pin(not sure what pin# it is). For 0v, Regen current can be set to 5-50%, for 5v its 20-100%.

Haven't tried this yet... . There is an "Under voltage" setting in the program, for me I will use it to automatically cut-off the power so the batteries won't be over discharged.
 
Started hot off the charger at 88.8v, no boiling/bubbling sounds.

Today i ran two tests. First test I changed to "Control Mode: Speed" and set "Max Current" to 50%. During my test loop current did not exceed 40ah, accelleration was lackluster, and top speed was 31.8mph. Reset "Max haedro... er Current" to 60%, and got 51amps on the CA. So I am guessing the "Max Current" is just a rough guideline, and Speed/Torque really determines the amps used.

Anyhow, at 60% I had a nice ride @47wh/mile, the batteries and motor stayed cool, a decent compromise of torque/economy, so I might leave these settings as is for a while. Oh, I also changed the "Throttle Up/Down Rate" to 12, so it responds slightly faster but still not jerky.

Regen is coming up - I need to wire up an old Tidalforce sensor and see how it does!

-JD
 
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