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ESD protection
06/22/2024 at 17:01 • 0 commentsApparently the Curtis motor ecu is not ESD safe, so they recommend that all cables are insulated to avoid potential ESD damage. So have set about insulating everything.
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Control system
06/22/2024 at 16:39 • 0 commentsMade up a new motor control system with two SSR relays. One is an AC ssr that is used as a latching relay, and one DC ssr to switch the motor ecu on and off.
A big part of this project, is to use recycled materials as much as possible, hence the wooden platform in the photo below. The wood was discarded stock picked up for free and coated in acrylic varnish. The two bus bars are the 12v bus bars that all other 12v electrics on the bike will derive from (lights, horn, indicators etc).
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Batteries in
06/22/2024 at 16:36 • 0 commentsGot the traction batteries in their final positions, made sure that the bodywork will indeed fit over the new batteries.
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Charger
05/26/2024 at 12:10 • 0 commentsThe old charger was a 25 volt 50 amp unit (!! 50 amps !!), but I am going to use an external 24 volt 40 amp unit for the LFP battery. There will be a charging port under the seat, not decided what plug / socket to use yet. Maybe a waterproof design?
There is a possibility of modifying the old charger to put out the right voltage, and having a cutoff mechanism to stop charging. I'm assuming that it's a CV / CC unit.
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Field winding cables
05/26/2024 at 12:05 • 0 commentsThe motor in this scooter is a separate field excited DC brushed motor. The old motor ECU only had the 1 field connection, I've rewired the motor to bring both field connections out to the Curtis Sepex controller. Have terminated the field windings with 90 degree spade connectors because of lack of space in the motor eco box.
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Stripped body panels off
05/26/2024 at 08:52 • 0 commentsAs you can see, the scooter has had its bodywork taken off, this is currently stored close by, and will be restored by my two friends. Being more of a 'get it working' restoration rather than a 'better than factory restoration'.
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Probing the wires.
05/26/2024 at 08:49 • 0 commentsIn removing the old motor ECU, I've had to cut the old plug for ECU off. I've been working out what wires go where and labelling them.
The 12v power for the controls (motor start, emergency motor cutoff / horn / lights switch) all used to be produced from the motor ECU. So I have designed a new power system using the original wiring plus a 12v Lipo battery.
Also have designed a circuit for controlling the motor and ECU, which will be posted after I've tried it out. I am avoiding using any microprocessors in this bike I'm no programmer, and am doing everything with relay logic so it will be easy to repair and maintain without having a Github!