Electricfly - MyElectricfly.com




Electricfly History on the EV Dscussion List Sept/99


Quoted Below - from the person who Owned Electricfly after it left the School that did the Conversion:
Hello

I bought an already converted '89 Firefly with a GE EV 15 controller and a GE 20.9 HP motor. A month ago, I finally installed a new battery pack. I drove the car for perhaps 6 miles, then it died.

I am a lay person.

When stepping on the accelerator, there is short increase and fall in hum frequency. This rise and fall in pitch will occur twice and then remain at the base hum. If the battery pack is shut down and turned on again with accelerator pressure, the above sequence in repeated.
Two gentlemen, employed respectively in fork lift repair and medical X-ray equipment repair ( electrical engineering degree), have tested the controller in the car and suspect the problem is with the power supply transistor (functional block)

This a 3"X4"X1" black block located between the 3 contacters and the 3 blue capacitors.

When the accelerator is pressed the voltage varies between 50 and 96 volts (8X 12). The main chip looks fine visually. (no burn marks). The motor is fine. The controller was bypassed ; very dramatic!
I'm getting conflicting suggestions from local EV people , but none have actually looked at the complete car.

The students and teacher who converted the car originally are basically not responding to requests for help.

Needless to say I would never recommend for anyone to buy a non - operating highschool EV conversion without wiring diagrams.
Craig McCann from Pro Electric - Penn Valley California, quoted me a price of @ $350 for this item. However, he recommended that the controller be shipped to him for diagnosis .And said, that he is the only one in the world qualified to do this. Shipping there and back to Toronto is $100 - UPS-and not insurable. I'm also concerned about getting it back hassle free (re. Canada customs and the fact that it was originally a donation to the high school.

The # on the bottom (International Rectifier) I R 92 2014 4B12 9409 Electrosonic - Toronto says that this is not a part # and I don't see it listed on the manufacturers website www.irf.com

For this kind of money I could buy a used controller or spend a little more,buy new and get a warranty with manufacturers support.

I have entered this vehicle in 1 event already - Clean Air Cruise -and have been asked to supply the car next week for a TV drama about an EV company.

I'm anxious to get this car operating again. It's getting tired to haul and push this around and then not actually drive it.

Is anyone familiar with this controller or the symptoms that I have described ?

Suggestions ?

Thanks in advance
David MacFadyen
It can be seen in the above article some good reasons why getting old and unsupported equipment in or for an Electric Vehicle is just leading to dificulties and problems!

At a Bare Least - use modern control electronics and Battery Monitoring Instruments - they will offer more lasting value, detail, and information - both about the actual product, in terms of product documentation, and about the systems they are monitoring or controlling.
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