96 TXT DCS with Alltrax, no go. 5 Red in REVERSE (shudder backwards in FWD)

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by Volt_Ampere

S1 and S2 in a Series motor are in Series with the A1, A2 (Armature) The field is a very low resistance. Usually a Sepex motor has the field labeled F1, F2. Which motor do you have?

The field winding terminals on the SepEx motors used in DCS carts were labeled S1 & S2, which probably caused mixed marriages between Series and SepEx motors and controllers, so they were labeled F1 & F2 on the SepEx motors used in PDS carts.

The title of the thread states he has a 96 TXT DCS with an Alltrax controller, so his DCS motor is very likely labeled S1 & S2.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by yourflorida

Update...

Cleaned motor, inspected the S1/S2 cables.
Tested OHM again, and now I show a solid 2ohm....

Back to the starting point.

FWD - Green solid. Hit Accel and wheels run reverse (lifted now).
REV - 5 flash RED. Do not even have to hit the Accel

Help me understand the FIELD circuit: the controller provides juice to the coil (S1 - S2) to establish direction?

If that is the case, will the motor go wrong direction if S1/S2 are swapped?

Is there any value to attaching laptop and poking around in the controller software?

(I have an older '92 model with original controller/motor. Does that help any? )

The field circuit does four things.
1. Forward
2. Reverse
3. Dynamically alters motor's torque-speed curve
4. Part of regen braking process

A sepex controller is actually three controllers in one box. One high amp controller for the Armature and two low amp controllers for the Field. The output of both low amp (Field) controllers are connected to the same output terminals on the controller, The two low amp controllers are more or less mirror images, one make F1(S1) positive and F1(S2) negative, while the polarities of the output of other low amp controller is the opposite.

Since your cart runs when Forward is selected and you get an Open Field error in Reverse, the reverse low amp controller section is very likely blown.

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Typically, if the Armature current and Field current are in phase, the motor spins CW, if they are out of phase, the motor spins CCW. (See attached)

Yes, switching the S1 & S2 cables with make the cart go in the opposite direction it is now.

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If you already have the laptop and needed cable(s), taking a look wouldn't hurt, but if one of the low amp field controller portions is bad, the whole controller is bad, it isn't going to fix it.

[yourflorida]

Motor is labeled S1 S2.

When I swapped F1 F2 on the controller (F1-S2 and F2-S1) the motor still turned the wrong way in FWD with Accel pressed. (unit is lifted so I could not notice how strong or see and "shudder" that was visible when on the ground).

If I understand correctly, since I have different issue based upon FWD or REV, then 1/2 of the Field system in the controller is bad.

If the entire Field system in the controller were bad, then the 5-Red would be on both FWD and REV.


If I went and purchased another controller, and hopefully got this buggy up and running, is there any way the old (? bad Field system) controller could be used in any of my older carts? Like my old '92 with a stock controller at the moment?

[JohnnieB]

I'm not sure why switching the F1 & F2 cables didn't change the way the motor spins, it should have.

Your understanding is correct.

No, Your 92 cart has a series motor, so you need a series controller.

[Volt_Ampere]

Switching F1 and F2 should have reversed direction! It has to. The controller does not know what direction the motor is going - it only knows which way it is energizing the field.

[yourflorida]

Status:

Spoke with Alltrax and they said that the controller is toast.... no good....

Seems that the "open field" error should be on both FWD and REV... Therefore the "Field" circuit is bad.

Gonna get a new controller I guess.

I just poked around in my stable of carts to see if any are close to being put in the game, now that I have a battery pack just sitting around, and discovered that one my older units is a Melex and it has similar setup, S1/S2 on the motor and a serious looking controller. Time to hit the Google, I wonder if that machine is worth a little TLC.

Thanks all of you for the insight and info.

[yourflorida]

Update.

Purchased the Alltrax XCT controller. During installation, I discovered that the giant diode assemble that hangs on the solenoid had broken solders across the entire input tab bus (the metal strip that hangs off the solenoid). I wonder if that had any role in the failure?

Cart is fine now, works smoother at startup and strong top end.

There were some issues during install, I will list those.

1. The design asks you to move the TOW/RUN switch to a bracket at the solenoid, thus eliminating the cover and the labeling. I declined. Instead I just zip tied the cover as best as it would fit so the label is still displayed.

2. I had to flip over the solenoid to make the harness fit, the leads from the 10-pin to the solenoid post were just too short.

3. Unit failed at first. With the help of tech support, I was instructed to turn OFF the "High Pedal Disable" setting. Seams too much "noise" was confusing the controller. After that worked, the tech sent me a new throttle curve.

4. I decided to skip the mounting screws for the solenoid bracket that come from below the mounting skid for the controller. If I had used them, then the entire unit would have to be removed, everything removed, just to pull the solenoid bracket off.

I did not purchase the optional fan assembly.

Thanks everyone for the good tips/tricks.