Need Torque

[teecro]

Originally Posted by thompson521dc

Ok, and please bear with me. I did some reading on plum quick.com It says the bandit motor eliminates regen braking. I seem to read a lot about bypassing regen braking. My first question is why is that desirable? I have some big hills and it really helps stop. My second question is can somebody give me a quick synopsis on how regen braking works?

Regen braking is allowing the motor to become a generator more or less and using it to put a little energy back into your batteries when you use it to control your "pedal up" or coasting speeds which is a good thing. But the problem with Regen braking is off-road or on slippery unpaved hills etc they can cause the cart to lose traction and/or control while going down hill to the same effect of locking up your brakes and skidding down hill. I can understand your thoughts on using Regen going down to control your decent verse the brakes as I to have lots of huge hills in our HOA and on some descents I'm all but standing on the brakes to keep a slow controlled descent. The best solution in this case is to improve on the brakes by way of AUSCO rear disk and/or Jakes front disk brakes..... The front disk while the hardest to install is the best thing for down hill braking as that is where your weight is transfered to...

[jjance]

I agree with Teecro. No regen. If there is any braking to be done I want to be the one doing it.

[teecro]

Originally Posted by jjance

I agree with Teecro. No regen. If there is any braking to be done I want to be the one doing it.

In the end I wish that I could have Regen Braking but I do not want it via the gas pedal if that is the only way to have it. Ideally if I could switch it ON/OFF via a switch and be able to "dial" it up or down like a hand brake on a motorcycle....

[Sergio]

I really like the Regen brake as a means to stop the cart, it is extremely effective on the hills around my neighborhood.

I have read folks posting about "loss of traction" with Regen brake, but I can only imagine that originated on the old Regen carts that mostly did "Dynamic" brake due to the simple design of those controller.

It would be extremely difficult to come across the conditions that could even trigger such an event, but even then, not only the motor needs to be "forced" to turn for the Regen brake effect to take place, but the controller can immediately detect if the motor is not turning and reduce the "braking" effect.

The Regen brake as implemented in most controllers however, is not a "life saving" device since the controller can disable it at any time to protect itself or the electrical system, but it is very effective.

Even Alltrax has finally implemented Regen brake in their new controllers and it apparently works really well.

I am not sure the Bandit motor is a good solution any longer for the latest generation of Sepex after-market controllers currently available. I would imagine they (PQ) have other motors that provide additional performance but are compatible with Regen controllers.

Edit: I just saw Your post after I finished typing, a feature I really like on the Kelly Controllers that would be neat for the Altrax folks to implement is the 0v-5v (or 0-5kΩ) proportional Regen brake input on the brake pedal.

[thompson521dc]

Originally Posted by teecro

In the end I wish that I could have Regen Braking but I do not want it via the gas pedal if that is the only way to have it. Ideally if I could switch it ON/OFF via a switch and be able to "dial" it up or down like a hand brake on a motorcycle....

That would be nice. In a semi-truck there is a switch that turns the engine brake on/off. You may be on to something.

[teecro]

Originally Posted by thompson521dc

That would be nice. In a semi-truck there is a switch that turns the engine brake on/off. You may be on to something.

One of the things that I really did not like about the Regen braking before I had it turned off with the install of a new large controller and motor was that when going down hill that you had to "match" the pedal height to the carts speed. There was no just letting off the pedal and allowing the cart to coast as fast as it was able to go like you can in your car.

[Sergio]

That is the difference, the semi-truck's "jake brake" is akin to the old electric "dynamic" brake that had a constant force on the drive shaft.

The modern Regen brake is more likely an anti-locking brake where the controller is constantly monitoring the speed from the motor sensor and adjusting the brake force.

[mrgolf]

Originally Posted by jjance

I agree with Teecro. No regen. If there is any braking to be done I want to be the one doing it.

At my golf course we have had several loose control of carts coming down steep hills with curves in cart path on wet blacktop. They usually just go straight over the hill and get stuck. Better than turning the cart over. I have the regen braking turned off on my cart and like it a whole lot better. I have never slid since.

[Sergio]

We have certainly come a long way since the days of Regen I, II and IQ controllers, I cannot comment on how well those worked, other than Regen (as a generator effect) was only at work at speeds above 11mph.

I guess so far I seem to be taking the minority position, but for any member reading this thread just remember that after many years without a new controller, the latest technology from Altrax for their Sepex controllers includes the addition of an effective Regen brake.

The technology required to effectively create a Regen system that operates at speeds close to 0mph is very complex and it does not seem plausible they would spend the time and money to implement if it had the shortcomings described here.

Of course everyone has a choice, just make sure You make an informed one.

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Thompson521dc,

The Alltrax XCT controllers are fully compatible with your Excel drive system. They are very easy to install and will be a huge upgrade for your cart. There are three different flavors. A 300, 400, and 500 amp. With more amperage comes the need to upgrade more components. The 300 amp can be used with no modification to the cart at all. The 400 requires a cable upgrade and a heavy duty solenoid. The 500 requires the same as the 400 plus a motor upgrade as well. Any of these three combinations would give you added torque and speed. The 300, even though it's the easiest and least expensive, may or may not be enough to make you happy. It would be an improvement over stock for sure, but the 400 with the factory motor is an excellent and somewhat affordable combination.