Troubleshooting Converted 1972 Karmann-Ghia

Do It Yourself (DIY)
1

Hi Ecomodders,

My name is Charlotte and I’m undergraduate intern hoping to get some help debugging a problem we’ve been having with our recently converted car.

We have a 1972 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. We are using 24 Second Gen Nissan Leaf battery modules which produce 90 V nominal. The motor is a D&D ES-15-6 which runs 9HP at a continuous 72 V.

We have a CURTIS 1253-8002 (EVC255-8002) 80V Motor Controller (designed for a forklift) and have gotten it reprogrammed and inspected and supposedly has no faults.

The issues we are having are the following:

  • When starting the car in a high gear, there is significant shake to the motor.
  • When hitting a certain speed or trying to go uphill, the car’s power will shut off.
  • The motor controller box tends to get hot and has at times shut off.

We are trying to find the source of the problem and are wondering if the motor controller is the source of the problem.

We have tried replacing the motor and had the same results.

Does anyone have experience with this motor controller or the 600 AMP version?

Or can anyone recommend a place to start investigating based on the issues listed?

Any advice or opinions would be very appreciated!

Thanks in advance :slight_smile:

2

Seems the controller is on the small side. Is that the one that is recommended for the motor?
Recently I ordered a Curtis clone, PM1219-8406, from ebay.
600a and less than $300.
Do you have sw or handheld to monitor motor when driving?
I don’t know much about the Curtis dc series controllers. It might be that it shuts down on over current.
I would expect it to throw a code to help troubleshooting.

3

You might be a little light on the moter and the controller. Your being shut down for exceeding the amp limits of your system. (Temperature/ excess amp draw.)