Whacky Infineon Controller

[chemosavi]

Got a 36V, 30 amp Infineon controller on a 15ah Ping with an Evtech BMC 400w hub and when I first turn it on it sounds like a sick frog and then cuts out to no power.

I crank on the throttle and it does it again. After doing that around fifteen or twenty times it stops malfunctioning and works perfectly and will continue to work fine for the rest of the ride, however long it is.

It sounds as if one of the phases is not getting power and it takes the controller a bit of time to warm up until it works.

It doesn't matter if the battery is fully charged or not; not voltage dependant IOWs. Took apart the BMC hub and everything looks perfect.

Anyone else have similar relationship with their machine?

Bought it from ComCycle who I have not had the best of luck with.

 

[tostino]

Does it do that with or without the motor connected?

 

[chemosavi]

Not sure what you mean. Yes, the motor is connected. There would be nothing to discuss unless it was.....

 

[tostino]

Ahh well it wasn't clear if it was only happening if the motor was spinning, or just if there was power to the controller.
Hmm, i'd say maybe it could be a hall problem too, it's worth checking to make sure they have a good connection. Open up the controller, and test the halls on the board (could be a bad solder joint or something).

 

[chemosavi]

OK, guess I'll open it up (for the second time to test for moisture). There's a component on the board (mosfets?) that's seriously glued/attached to the outside of the box (for heat reasons, I assume) that made me hesitate the first time. Guess you have to bite the bullet and re-glue it when you put it back together. (Ouch)

 

[tostino]

That isn't glue, it's thermal paste. Helps with heat transfer (like you thought). Snap some pictures and post them up while you have it open, maybe someone better with controllers than me will spot something.

 

[chemosavi]

Opened it up and found two places where the solder joint was loose and resoldered them. Now it works fine, however this is the condition the controller was in when I received it from ComCycle USA so I was most likely sent a defective unit someone else had returned to ComCycleUSA. In other words, be careful where you shop.

I've had other problems with ComCycleUSA like a defective 10ah lithium @$600 that went bad and horrible shipping delays and horrendous lack of support.

Lesson learned. Thanks for your help tostino.

 

[tostino]

Very glad to hear ya got it fixed! What was the part with the bad solder joint though?

 

[chemosavi]

It was where a throttle wire connected to the circuit board. It had just broken around the diameter of the wire. Also one of the leads you jump to get a 48V controller which didn't matter since mine is 36V. Curious that a throttle wire would cause a leg to go south, if that's what was actually happening. Anyways it starts up fine now.

 

[chemosavi]

It's still messed up, but not as bad. If I machine gun crank the throttle it starts working correctly. Something still whacky going on but livable I suppose. Kinda like my spouse.