Tell me about the REGEN Pulse

[mstang1988]

I haven't had my hands on a regen/IQ/Excel cart but I would love to have some of the features it provides. In the off chance that I buy a cart and take it on rough enough terrain that the motor would heat up I would like the ability to disable it. Today the options seem straight forward, change the programming (speed code 4) or magnet or motor mod and that only disables it.

I'm thinking there has to be another way to defeat this when wanted and get the benefits of it when wanted.

With my background in software development and dabbling with micro controllers I have been pondering a solution but need to understand how the pulses work.

My thought:
* Insert an ATMEGA 328 controller and supporting voltage reducer etc or similar in cart.
* Use ADC to convert pedal position (using 0-5K resistance reading or 5K - 0 resistance reading)
* Add method to read pulse from motor. Again this might be a ADC or "dumb" digital read<-- need help to describe profile of pulses
* Synthesize pulse personality to enable/disable regen or passthrough the original pulse using relay
* Enable toggle switch on dash to enable/disable regen
* Enable gas pedal to 2 meanings; no pedal press = regen on. Pedal press = regen off


Does anybody know what this pulse looks like? What is the voltage and amperage? At what frequency would we need to synthesize them?

[glassk]

Please Note: The SpeedyLink is for "IQ" carts only ("Q" in the serial #). It will not work on the newer excel i2 carts ("H" in the serial #)



http://www.digitaloverdrivesystems.com/


Reverse Engineer That with a on/off switch

[mstang1988]

Originally Posted by glassk

Please Note: The SpeedyLink is for "IQ" carts only ("Q" in the serial #). It will not work on the newer excel i2 carts ("H" in the serial #)



http://www.digitaloverdrivesystems.com/


Reverse Engineer That with a on/off switch

It does not seem to tie into the pedal etc. do you know if it disables regent or just slows the pulse?

[Sergio]

All of those devices work by changing the pulse count coming out of the speed sensor.

They are likely just a CMOS decade counter where You use the "divided by 2" output pin and the sensor pulses as the input clock.

There is another similar device by the same company that sells the "Speed Code 5" programmer that has a SPDT switch so You can change what signal You send to the controller (original or divided by 2).

You can easily do what You want with any of the ATMEGA microcontroller series, the signal is plain TTL and You can attach it directly to an Digital Input pin.

Here is a link to the Hall Effect device used so You can study how it operates.

http://www.allegromicro.com/~/media/...eet.ashx?la=en

There is no Club Car controller that Operates on 5k-0Ω throttle, the 3-wire throttles operate on a voltage divider principle (0-5v).

Care must be taken because when the controller output to the throttle is unloaded (no throttle connected) the voltage can be as high as 10v.

I am not sure what You can accomplish by using the throttle signal, having the pulses coming from the sensor switched from original to a divided by 2 based on throttle position will not make any sense.

Just go through the mental process of imagining how the controller would react as the pedal is being slowly released and the speed feedback suddenly doubles as You cross the threshold where the signal switches to original.

It is so easy on the IQ carts to use a 4-pole magnet that does not make sense to design a circuit for it, but as a hobby, it is a fun thing to do.

The real challenge is do that for the Excel carts.

[mstang1988]

This was super helpful. I might muck around with it. What is the challenge on the excel carts?

[Sergio]

The IQ controller uses the speed sensor as a means to regulate the maximum RPM for each speed code setting.

The Speed Code 3 limit is around 3,300rpm, the sensor with a stock magnet (8-poles) sends 4 pulses per revolution.

The controller reduces the PWM duty cycle to the motor or engages Regen if the sensor pulse rate is higher than 3,300rpm, and allows the PWM duty cycle to increase at rpms below the limit.

If You modify the magnet or create a system that sends 2-pulses per revolution, the controller will think the cart is going half as fast and it never triggers the speed code limit.

Perhaps Club Car was loosing too much money by not selling enough of those 100% profit Speed Code 4 unlock codes, so in the Excel controller they went out of their way to make sure just sending half of the pulses would not fool the controller.

The Excel controller uses a very simple but clever method of "checking" that the speed sensor loop has not been tampered with.

Since the Volts/Armature revolution is a know value for the motor (aka: Back EMF), once the controller Armature PWM is above 75% and the speed sensor feedback is outside the acceptable range, the controller will quickly turn the Motor into a generator (engage Regen brake).

The Voltage produced by the Armature will be directly proportional to the speed the motor is rotating regardless of what the speed sensor is signaling to the controller.

The controller will not operate right if it detects the speed loop has been tampered with.

The trick is figuring out where is the "acceptable range" so Your system modification can go undetected.