Has anyone here done a full motor and controller upgrade (not using an official kit)? My vehicle is a strange case in that it’s a not a 48V or a 70V … but a 60V!! My current motor is a 2.8Kw and I am looking to upgrade it to a 4Kw. I am also looking at swapping out my controller with one that gives me a little more control over it through programming. In the end I would like to have a hair more speed … but also a little more torque to go uphill.
There are quite a few cars coming out of China with a 4Kw motor in them. And I see some 60V motors on Alibaba. But I am worried about matching it up.
Some of the things I don’t know from my current motor are:
- Gear ratio? How would I find this out?
- Spindle count? I think once I take my motor out I can count the “teeth”. Although it’s a direct drive. So it will be a cylinder with reverse teeth.
- 60 or 120 degree? I have no idea how to find this. Is this something that I can program with the controller? Or do I need to know before I buy the motor.
- Measurements? My current motor screws onto a plate, which then bolts into my differential. While I see measurements of new motors … I don’t see the measurements of these screw/bolts. Is there a standard with these measurements?
- Space? When I spoke to the Zap engineers (nice guys, BTW) they said that they didn’t make a 4Kw version of their car, because the motor didn’t have enough space. But there seems to be a ton of surrounding space in my motor mounting area … and the motors appear to be roughly the same size visually.
I don’t expect to be able to slap everything together. It will be challenging … but fun! I might be in over my head, but I think it would make a fun summer project. 
Here is an example of the motors I am looking at:
4kw 60v Electric Car Ac Motor - Buy Electric Car Engine,Car Engines For Sale Smart Car,Radial Engines For Sale Product on Alibaba.com
And here is a pretty neat controller that you can program using your Android phone:
DC 60V/72V/96V/120V universal 4000W brushless controller/Top quality smart phone program controller G K070-in Motor Controller from Industry & Business on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
Oh, and here are some pictures of my car (there are some pictures of my motor near the bottom):
https://picasaweb.google.com/100430129794260842281/MyJonwayUrbee?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLSS8ZD567rmZQ&feat=directlink
IMHO the 60 amp controller would be light for the application. Our 5HP applications are normally supplied with a 300+ amp controller. For good acceleration you need 200 amps for a 5HP motor.
I would suggest your present controller might have enough capacity to support a 5HP motor.
Problem is, my present controller does not appear to be tune-able. 
Jim from Atomic thinks that it might be, but from what I can tell the 10 pin interface on the side is for diagnostics, etc. There is a TX and RX identified on the board, but it’s sunk under an inch of anti corrosive goop. And even if I could tap into that I would need software.
I think you might consider digging a little deeper into getting information on your controller. The controller surely is not a unit solely dedecated to your machine. I’m sure it is programable.
What is the brand?
What is the model?
What are the specifications?
Has it got a communication port?
Are there any clubs or forums dedicated to your brand of vehicle? Start searching the net. Your surely not the only one intereste in Hot Rodding your vehicle.
Well, I have been told that I may be the only guy who owns one of these things. It has been suggested that I own some sort of “test vehicle” that was assembled and sent to a dealer to see if they want to buy more of them (they didn’t). 
What is the brand/model? - It has only a serial number. No name (inside or outside). I have a lot of pictures here.
What are the specifications? - It’s anyone’s guess. To get the full story, I would need to do some reverse engineering (probably over my head).
Has it got a communication port? - It has “a port”. Whether it’s for programming is debatable. I would like to think that it’s a COMM port. Although I tried to map it using the methods that you would use to locate the TX / RX pins, and came up empty. Not to say it isn’t programmable. But it would need software … or a handheld programmer. Without even a name, that may be a lost cause!
Are there any clubs or forums dedicated to your brand of vehicle? Start searching the net. Your surely not the only one intereste in Hot Rodding your vehicle.
I have done some digging and found some interesting clues. But I haven’t found anything remotely close to what I have. Although - Jim Rices’s Atomics look fairly similar. He has sent me some pictures and I do see some similarities. He is going to try and make it out to see me in the coming weeks as he has family not far from me.
It appears that you have an orphan that was slated to be imported into this country but ended up not making the cut. JONWAY appears to be the people that tried to do the deal. Their site now states NOT AVAILABLE IN THE USA.
I strongly suggest you DO NOT modify this car. It will reduce any resale value the vehicle may have. I would try to sell it as it sets.
You moght consider a GEM which has a multiple support base. Performance products are also readily available.
If your bound and determined you might see if a DANA H12E axle and motor might fit. 60 volts might be a problem though. Can you fit another battery in some where. You might fit the car with all GEM equipment. All GEM parts are available from dismantlers.
I assume you are talking about the Zap Motors site. Funny thing, it has always said that. When I asked Zap about it, they referred me to Mullen Motors. So I am assuming that the Mullen’s are modified Zap cars.
I strongly suggest you DO NOT modify this car. It will reduce any resale value the vehicle may have. I would try to sell it as it sets.
I am not worried so much about resale. I knew what I was buying (an oddball vehicle) and I got a good deal on it.
You moght consider a GEM which has a multiple support base. Performance products are also readily available.
I looked at GEM’s but they were a little more than I wanted to pay (especially after all the options I need to drive it in the winter).
If your bound and determined you might see if a DANA H12E axle and motor might fit. 60 volts might be a problem though. Can you fit another battery in some where. You might fit the car with all GEM equipment. All GEM parts are available from dismantlers.
That’s not a bad idea. I have considered it! I have a passenger seat that I could easily remove for an extra battery. For that matter, the “trunk” compartment can be removed and there is a ton of room in that area for another battery. I would need to weld in some additional structure for it through. I am trying to look at controllers that will handle a 60V or a 72V motor (most of the 60V controllers do).
But since the axle just bolts on with U-rings … and the motor/differential bolt directly to it … switching out that whole thing would not be much of a challenge.
Provide a running naritive and pictures (lots) when you do the project. A number of us eat this stuff up.
If you do the conversion make sure you go with the 10.35 axle and NOT the 12.44. (keeps the motor RPM in a better range. The 8.9 axles are real noisy.
Definitely! I love documenting my successes and failures!
If you do the conversion make sure you go with the 10.35 axle and NOT the 12.44. (keeps the motor RPM in a better range. The 8.9 axles are real noisy.
I need to do more research. I have no idea what size I have now. But I can tell you that it’s already pretty noisy back there as it is. If I upgrade the motor, I should probably do “the package job” (motor, differential, axle).
Look up Dana 12E Transaxle 5HP GE motors are available on Ebay as are GET1 or T2 controllers and Displays that are reasonable. Are you in a flat or hilly area?
It can get pretty hilly. I have mapped a nice route and from work where the grade is very gradual. But there are definitely a few places I shy away from when the traffic is heavy because I don’t want people getting stuck behind me.
What diameter are your tires?
With a 10.35 tranny you want a 5HP motor. If you want to Hot Rod it, get a 7 HP high RPM motor. Your turning close to 5000 RPM @ 30 MPH 7HP aftermarket motors handle 7000. A GE T2 controller will handle 7HP and wont break the bank.
ATOMIC is being sold in the Villages in Florida. 4 passenger has 4HP motor.
His EV2’s look VERY nice!! Great style too.
I was looking at electronic surplus sites today for parts, and I came across some motors. And it got me looking at surplus and government auctions sites for motors. There are some great deals to be had out there. Although nearly every motor I came across was AC.
Do I have a strange vehicle in that it uses a DC motor? I guess I assumed that they all charge DC batteries from AC, but then run directly from DC. Is it common to invert the DC battery into AC to run the motor?
Recent tech is brushless AC systems. Different anamal.
I am making progress on my controller upgrade project. I spent a couple hours with a multi-meter tracing the wiring. In some cases I just had to peel the tape off of the wire wraps to see what the colors were because the colors change as they make their way to the back of the vehicle. I have identified the three throttle wires, the motor hall cable (easy, because the colors are standard), two wires which seem to be connected to the shifter, and a two for the ignition.
That still leaves me with three unidentified connections, which I am hoping are feedback related that I don’t need.
I also ordered some nylon connectors from China to fit the connectors that came with the new controller. And since I used t-taps on the old wiring, I will be able to revert to the original controller without having cut into the original wiring.
Still waiting on a couple of parts to come in. A six pin nylon connector for my hall cable, and a high voltage wiring block. The old controller had the wiring block built into it, and the new one does not. Hopefully those parts come this week and I can get started on installing this. My new controller is also a bit bigger than the old one so I have a piece of sheet metal to bolt all the new stuff onto.
Oh, and I added two 12V fans to the top to keep my controller a bit cooler.
More to come soon!
Here is a picture: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-YndcQLWr6_E/VVn5qqc_YxI/AAAAAAAADG0/79LWcyDRN6E/w1140-h642-no/20150517_151815.jpg
I got the rest of my parts on Friday, and this afternoon I took to getting my new controller installed. Getting things to fit was a tad difficult as the new controller is a completely different size. Also, the old controller was itself “the platform” which bolted into the cars frame, and also contained the wire terminals. With that gone, I had to provide my own wire terminal and I had to fashion a new platform out of recycled sheet metal.
With everything connected, I turned the key and prayed that nothing would blow up. Thankfully, it didn’t explode, so I know I am on the right track.
However, with the ignition to on - I get nothing when I hit the throttle. There are still several wires that are unidentified from my old controller and I was not able to figure them out today. I did find that if I shorted the yellow/black and the purple/gray wires, I got a nice “ka-chunk” sound from the transformer that powers the motor. I get the impression that these make their way back to either the ignition, or the “emergency power switch” (that kills power to the car). Still, with these connected, I get nothing when I “hit the gas”.
Not sure where to go from here. It may be a long couple of days of cutting back some black tape and tubing and tracing these little wires from head to tail.
If anyone has a good guess - throw it out there. 
Here is what I have come up with as far as the colors of my old controller go.
EDIT: Updated the photo link (forgot to put the revised one in there).
I made a connection with a Chinese fellow at Jonway, and he provided me with a screenshot of the wiring diagram. Progress! It’s a long story, but if anyone wants to read about it - I posted some pictures and such in my blog …
My Zap Jonway Urbee Sightseeing Vehicle Thing: Controller Diagram / Schematic, nearly translated!
