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Curtis PMC 1204X/1205X/1209/1221 Manual

30

TROUBLESHOOTING & BENCH TESTING

C A U T I O N

3-C

While you have the potbox wires off the controller, use an ohmmeter to
check for shorts between these wires and the vehicle frame. You should see
a resistance of at least 1 megohm. If it is lower than that, inspect the wiring
for damaged insulation or contact with acid. If necessary, replace the potbox.

3-D

Push the wires back on the controller terminals. It doesn’t matter which wire
goes on which terminal.

3-E

Inspect the terminal area of the controller closely. Occasionally a buildup of
dirt or acid residue of a conductive nature causes electrical leakage between
the throttle input terminals and the B- or M- terminals, leading to faulty
controller operation. To check for this problem, measure the voltage at the
appropriate throttle input terminal (the upper terminal for 0–5k

 pots, the

lower terminal for 5k

–0 pots), by connecting the voltmeter (-) lead to the

controller’s B- terminal. The keyswitch must be on and a direction selected
for this test.

THROTTLE

 

INPUT

 

VOLTAGE

 

 

(in volts)

STANDARD

0–5k

 

POT

5k

–0 

POT

UPPER

 

TERMINAL

LOWER

 

TERMINAL

Pedal up:

2.7

3.1

Pedal down:

7.0

7.4

Compare your readings with these; if they are different by more than a few
tenths of a volt, contamination is probably the cause.

3-F

Carefully clean off the terminal area of the controller with a cotton swab or
clean rag moistened with water, and dry thoroughly.

Be sure to turn everything off
before cleaning.

Now test the controller to see if proper operation is restored. If so, take steps
to prevent this from happening again: dirt and water 

must

 be kept from

reaching the terminal area of the controller. If the voltages are still out of
range, the controller is at fault and should be replaced.

Summary of Contents for PMC 1204 Series

Page 1: ...S CONTROLLERS PROTECTED BY U S PATENT NO 4626750 1204X 1205X and 1209 1221 MOTOR CONTROLLERS 1204X 1205X 1209 1221 Manual p n 98796 Rev D May 1999 CURTIS PMC 235 East Airway Boulevard Livermore California 94568 USA Tel 925 961 1088 Fax 925 961 1099 www curtisinst com ...

Page 2: ... printed version published in May 1999 with the following exceptions Minor corrections were made to the dimensions shown in Figure 3 Bookmarks have been added to the electronic version to speed the process of going directly to a particular part of the document CURTIS INSTRUMENTS INC 200 KISCO AVENUE MOUNT KISCO NEW YORK 10549 USA 914 666 2971 FAX 914 666 2188 CURTIS PMC 235 EAST AIRWAY BOULEVARD L...

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Page 5: ...lectronic throttle ET series 7 FIG 7 Typical installation 1204X 1205X 1209 1221 controllers 8 FIG 8 Basic wiring configuration 1204X 1205X 1209 1221 controllers 13 FIG 9 Control wiring for inhibiting plug braking in order to allow freewheeling 14 FIG 10 Wiring for emergency reverse enhanced plug braking current 15 FIG 11 Standard throttle pot 0 5kΩ 16 FIG 12 Bi directional twist grip throttle with...

Page 6: ...ntroller having the optional 0 5V throttle input 18 FIG 16 Adjustment pots 23 FIG 17 Guide to troubleshooting procedures 27 FIG 18 Setup for bench testing 33 FIG A 1 Block diagram Curtis PMC 1204X 1205X 1209 1221 controllers A 1 FIG B 1 Pulse width modulation B 1 TABLES TABLE C1 Electrical specifications 1204X 1205X C 1 TABLE C2 Electrical specifications 1209 1221 C 2 ...

Page 7: ... brake control Power MOSFET design provides high efficiency for reduced motor and battery losses and silent operation High pedal disable HPD function monitors throttle status during turn on and prevents operation until throttle has been returned to neutral optional feature Thermal protection and compensation circuit provides both under temperature and overtemperature cutback as well as steady curr...

Page 8: ...eries Follow the battery manufacturer s safety recommendations Wear safety glasses C A U T I O N Fault detection circuitry monitors battery throttle connections output transistors bypass contactor etc to prevent runaway conditions Static return to off SRO function requires that forward or reverse selectors be returned to neutral before output is allowed optional feature Emergency reverse enhances ...

Page 9: ...flat metal surface that provides an adequate heat sink The mounting surface is an integral part of the overall heatsinking of the controller and affects its ability to dissipate heat The case outline and dimensions are shown in Figure 2 1204X and1205X controllers and in Figure 3 1209 and1221 controllers Fig 2 Mounting dimensions Curtis PMC 1204X 5X controllers 3 3 0 13 70 2 8 133 5 25 MODEL 1204X ...

Page 10: ...DEL 1221 282 11 1 3 3 0 13 80 3 15 37 1 45 Dimensions in millimeters and inches MODEL 1209 152 6 0 MODEL 1221 203 8 0 180 7 1 165 6 5 143 5 6 8 4 0 33 dia 25 19 5 1 0 0 75 0 187 Be sure to mount the controller so as to allow access to the adjustment screws Although not usually necessary a thermal joint compound can be used to improve heat conduction from the case to the mounting surface ...

Page 11: ... spring is required to prevent an uncontrollable full on throttle input which could happen if there was a single spring and it broke If the self contained potbox spring is insufficient to return the pedal by itself two additional pedal return springs must be used It is also required that the accelerator pedal hit a mechanical stop at its full on position just before 1 mm 1 32 1 16 the potbox lever...

Page 12: ...HAND OPERATION LEFT HAND OPERATION COM N O N C N C N O COM WITH MICROSWITCH PB 6 WITHOUT MICROSWITCH PB 5 WITH MICROSWITCH PB 9 WITHOUT MICROSWITCH PB 10 42 1 65 52 2 06 Dimensions in millimeters and inches 15 244 9 6 112 4 4 112 4 4 1 8 m 6 ft WIRING BLACK throttle input BLUE switch common Note The green wire is not used with WHITE throttle input ORANGE switch normally open 1204X 1205X 1209 1221 ...

Page 13: ...referenced to B and must be capable of driving an input impedance of 5kΩ Curtis offers two bi directional wigwag electronic throttle assemblies de signed for use with the 0 5V input the ET series and the CH series The ET XXX throttle assembly provides a 0 5V output and forward reverse relay coil drivers Dimensions for the ET series electronic throttles are shown in Figure 6 The CH XXX is a complet...

Page 14: ... B B BYPASS CONTACTOR Pedal microswitch not used with SRO controllers See Figure 10 for emergency reverse COM N C Bypass cont output REV input Emergency reverse FWD input F R cont output KSI OTHER HARDWARE The recommended hardware for a typical 1204X 1205X 1209 1221 controller installation is shown in Figure 7 Contactors should be mounted in a clean dry location If such a location is unavailable a...

Page 15: ...s 1 amp Use of a changeover contactor set such as the Albright DC88 or DC182 available from Curtis is recommended Alternatively two single pole double throw 2 SPDT con tactors may be used Although inexpensive can type solenoids may be used their ratings are typically not sufficient for long life A coil suppression diode such as a Curtis PMC p n MP 1 which is rated at 100 volts 3 amps should be use...

Page 16: ...y used for this purpose An interlock device is necessary for implementation of SRO With the SRO option the vehicle cannot be started or operated without the designated SRO interlock activated Various other safety and convenience interlocks may also be used to prevent motor operation during certain conditions For example a battery charger interlock can be used to prevent operation during charging S...

Page 17: ...tional and forward and reverse inputs Several manufacturers make mating connectors that fit this connector The part numbers listed are for the recommended 0 75 mm2 18 AWG vinyl insulated stranded wire MFR PART NUMBER DESCRIPTION AMP 640426 7 locking insulation displacement terminals wires at right angle to connector Methode 3300 107 218 locking insulation displacement terminals Molex 09 50 3071 lo...

Page 18: ...the bus bars WIRING TYPICAL INSTALLATION Curtis PMC 1204X 1205X 1209 1221 controllers are designed to satisfy the requirements of material handling applications using series motors Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the installation shown in Figure 7 Wired this way the vehicle will plug brake if the direction is changed with the vehicle moving and the throttle applied Reversing is accomplished via...

Page 19: ...e keyswitch is off Interlocks seat switches battery charger interlocks etc should be wired in series so that they turn off the controller KSI and the contactors An SRO interlock a seat switch for example must be wired in order to implement the optional SRO feature Forward Reverse Wiring The forward reverse wiring schemes described here all assume the power wiring shown by the heavy lines in Figure...

Page 20: ... other is energized to select the direction desired The contactor coils should have suppres sion diodes connected across them to improve switch contact life Freewheeling Wiring to Inhibit Plug Braking If a non SRO controller has the HPD option this feature can be used to inhibit plug braking by briefly turning off the controller s KSI input when the forward reverse switch goes through neutral As s...

Page 21: ... EMERG REVERSE SWITCH EMERGENCY REVERSE 5kΩ 0 pot EMERGENCY REVERSE 0 5kΩ pot 5kΩ 0 0 5kΩ 5kΩ Emergency Reverse Enhanced Plug Braking Current To implement this type of emergency reverse the belly button switch is wired to a control relay that simultaneously selects reverse regardless of the vehicle s actual direction of movement and full speed as shown in Figure 10 by the dashed line The controlle...

Page 22: ...icroswitch built in you should add one Any suitable potentiometer of 5 kΩ nominal resistance will work with the standard throttle input of the 1204X 1205X and 1209 1221 controllers As shown in Figure 11 connection should be made to the wiper and to one outer terminal of the pot so that resistance increases as the throttle is applied Pots for Twist Grip Throttles Twist grip throttles either twist i...

Page 23: ...nput configu ration Contact the factory if you need this type of controller WARNING with the input circuit shown in Figure 13 potentiometerorwiringopencircuitsturnoffthecontroller s output However pot wiring shorts appear the same as a normal zero ohm signal to the controller and will produce full speed operation if the short occurs while the power is on Reduced Speed Operation Vehicle top speed c...

Page 24: ... Emergency reverse FWD input F R cont output KSI should determine by experiment the proper resistor value to give the desired speed reduction NOTE with reduced speed operation only top speed is reduced full power is maintained for starting at low speeds Unlike resistor controllers Curtis PMC controllers operate efficiently in the reduced speed mode because little power is lost through the controll...

Page 25: ...ional bypass feature The bypass option is available only on 12V and 24 36V controllers WIRING PM MOTORS Because of their M fault detect circuitry 1204X 1205X 1209 1221 controllers are not compatible with permanent magnet PM motor applications During deceleration the PM motor would act as a generator holding the M terminal low As the throttle demand is less than 80 the controller would interpret th...

Page 26: ...does not have a resistor connect one temporarily 100 to 200 ohms 5 watts or a 100 watt light bulb The voltage at the controller should rise to approximately 90 of full battery voltage C If A and B do not check out troubleshoot the wiring connections Do not proceed until the trouble is corrected and A and B check out D With the forward reverse switch in neutral turn on the keyswitch If the motor ru...

Page 27: ...ed and shifting into reverse without letting up on the throttle The vehicle should smoothly brake to a stop and accelerate in reverse J On vehicles that are intended to have plug braking inhibited verify that the maneuver in I produces freewheel coasting K Finally check your emergency reverse If your vehicle uses a belly button emergency reverse switch to enhance plug braking current depress the b...

Page 28: ...l help avoid putting stress on the bus bars which could crack the seals Always use insulated wrenches 2 Inspect all seals at the front and back of the controller If necessary use a moist rag to wipe these areas clean enough so that you can see the seals Look for cracks and other signs of seal damage If the seals are intact clean the controller thoroughly either by washing it off or by wiping it cl...

Page 29: ...socket head screw and nylon seal washer To prevent stripping do not over tighten POTBOX Maintenance Potbox maintenance is similar to controller maintenance inspect for integrity of connections and mounting and clean with a moist rag as required Adjustment Curtis PMC potboxes are factory set and rarely require user attention To test and adjust connect an ohmmeter to the potbox wires and use this pr...

Page 30: ...turb the adjustment Make sure that the lever is still seated down on the pot shaft below the slight bevel on the end of the shaft 3 Check the resistance with the lever pushed all the way to the other stop It should be between 4500 and 5500 ohms If it is outside this range the potbox is faulty and should be replaced 4 For potboxes equipped with a microswitch check for correct switch operation Use a...

Page 31: ...eration is normally silent with two exceptions A 1 kHz tone may be heard during plug braking This noise is normal and indicates that plugging is taking place The noise will stop when plug braking stops The same noise may indicate overtemperature The controller shifts fre quency during overtemperature from its normal 15 kHz to 1 kHz providing an audible tone to alert the operator to the overtempera...

Page 32: ...cannot be conducted away from its case or if other heat generating devices are nearby If thermal cutback occurs often during normal operation the controller is probably undersized and should be replaced with a higher current model IN VEHICLE DIAGNOSTIC TESTS TROUBLESHOOTING These tests require a general purpose volt ohmmeter You can use either a conventional V O M or an inexpensive digital voltmet...

Page 33: ...0 ohms with pedal UP and 4500 5500 ohms with pedal DOWN Check for shorts between potbox wires and vehicle frame Resistance should be at least 1 megohm Check voltage at upper throttle input terminal on controller Voltage should be 2 7 volts with pedal UP and 7 0 volts with pedal DOWN a few tenths of a volt if YES if YES TEST 4 Check for controller output if YES 4 A B C if NO if NO if NO Check volta...

Page 34: ...se check out the controller is malfunctioning If you see full battery voltage at this point then the contactor has welded and must be replaced TEST 2 Check for main contactor operation and KSI 2 A Turn the key on place the forward reverse switch in forward or reverse and depress the footpedal until its microswitch operates In these procedures we assume the footpedal is equipped with the recommende...

Page 35: ...two wire rheostat 0 full off 5 kΩ full on and also to 5kΩ 0 configurations If your installation uses a controller with a throttle input other than 0 5kΩ or 5kΩ 0 find out what its range is and use a procedure comparable to the one below to make sure your pedal potbox is working correctly 3 A With the keyswitch off pull off the connectors going to the throttle input ofthecontroller Connectanohmmete...

Page 36: ... voltage at the appropriate throttle input terminal the upper terminal for 0 5kΩ pots the lower terminal for 5kΩ 0 pots by connecting the voltmeter lead to the controller s B terminal The keyswitch must be on and a direction selected for this test THROTTLE INPUT VOLTAGE in volts STANDARD 0 5kΩ POT 5kΩ 0 POT UPPER TERMINAL LOWER TERMINAL Pedal up 2 7 3 1 Pedal down 7 0 7 4 Compare your readings wit...

Page 37: ...ilable at auto parts stores and their accuracy is adequate for this test 4 E Turn on the keyswitch with the forward reverse switch in neutral and then select a direction and watch the ammeter while depressing the pedal 4 F If you see no current flowing in the M lead the problem is an open circuit in the motor or the wiring between the motor and the controller Check the forward reverse switch If yo...

Page 38: ... testing these controllers on the bench You will need a POWER SUPPLY with a voltage equal to the rating of the controller you want to test You can use either a string of batteries or a regulated line operated power supply Because only low power tests will be described a 10 amp fuse should be wired in series with the batteries to protect both operator and controller against accidental shorts A batt...

Page 39: ...50Ω RESISTOR REV input Bypass contactor output F R output KSI Pin detail for Fig 18 P1 KSI input P2 F R output P3 Bypass output P4 n c P5 FWD input P6 REV input FORWARD REVERSE CONTACTORS and a single pole center off FORWARD REVERSE SWITCH a BYPASS CONTACTOR if one is used in the vehicle a TEST LOAD consisting of incandescent light bulbs wired in series to get the same voltage as your power supply...

Page 40: ...should turn off quickly when the throttle is returned to full off E Repeat step D selecting reverse with the forward reverse switch F If the controller has the SRO option test it as follows 1 Turn off the keyswitch which will serve as the SRO interlock for this test 2 Select forward with the forward reverse switch The forward contactor should remain off 3 Turn on the keyswitch The forward contacto...

Page 41: ...controller has HPD test this feature as follows 1 Turn off the keyswitch 2 Select neutral 3 Move the throttle to about halfway 4 Turn the keyswitch switch on and select a direction Verify that the lamps do not come on until the throttle is moved most of the way toward OFF and then moved back up I Test the controller s throttle fault protection feature by pulling off one of the throttle s two conne...

Page 42: ...es smoothly at the set acceleration rate each time a new direction is selected As a result forward reverse switching is arcless Bypass contactor switching is also arcless provided the current being inter rupted is below the controller s current limit Bypass 1A OPTIONAL FEATURE If the throttle input is greater than 90 for more than one second the controller s bypass contactor output is turned on Th...

Page 43: ...celeration stress on the motor and batteries is reduced and their efficiency and service life are improved Similarly there is less wear and tear on the vehicle drivetrain as well as on the ground on which the vehicle rides an important consideration with golf courses and tennis courts for example The maximum motor current can be factory set to a lower value than the standard maximum if requested I...

Page 44: ...oil inputs These highcurrentcoildrivers whichareratedat2ampsratherthanthestandard1amp are necessary to accommodate contactors with rated coil currents above 1 amp The recommended Albright contactors do not require high current coil drivers High pedal disable HPD OPTIONAL FEATURE By preventing the vehicle from being turned on with the throttle applied HPD ensures the vehicle starts smoothly and saf...

Page 45: ...direction NOTE The controller may be unable to provide plug braking if the vehicle is moving too slowly for the motor to generate the necessary plug braking current The plug current limit is factory set to meet customer requirements In addition the plug current limit is adjustable via an externally accessible trimpot see Section 4 for adjustment instructions Two types of plug braking control are a...

Page 46: ...n more detail in Appendix B Smooth stepless operation Like all Curtis PMC 1200 Series controllers 1204X 1205X 1209 1221 models allow superior operator control of the vehicle s drive motor speed The amount of current delivered to the motor is set by varying the on time duty cycle of thecontroller spowerMOSFETtransistors Thistechnique pulsewidthmodu lation PWM permits silent stepless operation Stati...

Page 47: ...gh this action is not damaging to the controller it does suggest a mismatch If thermal cutback occurs often in normal vehicle operation the controller is probably undersized for the application and a higher current model should be used The controller is similarly protected from undertemperature Should its internal temperature fall below 25 C 13 F the current limit decreases to approximately one ha...

Page 48: ...level Cutback voltages for the various models are listed in the specifications Appendix C Reducing the output to the motor allows the battery voltage to recover and an equilibrium is established in which the battery supplies as much current as it can without falling below the cutback voltage ...

Page 49: ...IC SECTION B A2 M B FREEWHEEL DIODE S1 S2 FIELD FILTER CAPACITORS OSCILLATOR MOSFETs A1 A2 ACCELERATION RATE ADJUST 14 VOLTS TO ALL CIRCUITS ARM THROTTLE POT THROTTLE INPUT SHADED AREA REPRESENTS CONTROLLER CURRENT LIMIT ADJUST AUXILIARY SECTION PLUG CURRENT LIMIT REFERENCE PLUG CURRENT ADJUST FIXED PLUG VARIABLE PLUG PULSE DISABLE SIGNAL CONDITIONING BYPASS CONTACTOR DRIVER F R CONTACTOR DRIVER C...

Page 50: ...The acceleration rate is set by a resistance and is adjustable via a user accessible trimpot acceleration ramp adjust The output of the throttle input scaling also goes to a pot fault circuit which turns the controller output off in the event of inputs e g broken wires that would otherwise cause a runaway An optional protective feature high pedal disable HPD inhibits controller output if the contr...

Page 51: ...ack the current limit at temperatures above 75 C or below 25 C overtemp undertemp The controller s operating frequency shifts to 1 kHz during overtemperature operation producing an audible tone to alert the operator 3 During plug braking operation the current limit is reduced to give an appropriate motor braking torque The plug braking current is set during manufacture it is also user adjustable b...

Page 52: ...gic section failures therefore do not affect the ability of the auxiliary section to detect faults Power on reset initializes the control logic when B is connected to the controller Controllers with SRO static return to off must have the proper sequencing of KSI and forward reverse input as determined by the control logic to enable the controller and allow it to operate KSI must turn on before for...

Page 53: ...d sensing a false fault when the bypass contactor turns on at 90 throttle input bypass looks like full speed at M The inhibit release timer keeps fault detect inhibited for about 50 ms after the throttle request decreases below 80 duty cycle to allow time for the bypass contactor to drop out This delay avoids detecting a slowly releasing bypass contactor as a fault The emergency reverse input caus...

Page 54: ...oring energy in the motor s magnetic field When the transistors are off the stored energy causes the motor current to continue to flow through the freewheel diode The control current ramps up and down as the switch turns on and off Average current which determines motor torque is controlled by the ratio of on off times Smooth stepless control of the power delivered to the motor is achieved with al...

Page 55: ...NOMINAL VOLTAGE UNDER MAX TOTAL BATTERY CURRENT 2 MIN 5 MIN 1 HOUR DROP VOLTAGE F R 1A MODEL VOLTAGE LIMIT RATING RATING RATING 100 AMPS CUTBACK CURRENT NUMBER volts amps amps amps amps volts volts amps 1204X 12XX 12 275 275 200 125 0 35 9 2 14XX 12 400 300 210 135 0 25 9 2 42XX 24 36 275 275 200 125 0 35 16 2 44XX 24 36 400 300 210 135 0 25 16 2 52XX 36 48 275 275 200 125 0 35 21 1 1205X 14XX 12 ...

Page 56: ...0 5kΩ 10 others available NOMINAL VOLTAGE UNDER MAX TOTAL BATTERY CURRENT 2 MIN 5 MIN 1 HOUR DROP VOLTAGE F R 1A MODEL VOLTAGE LIMIT RATING RATING RATING 100 AMPS CUTBACK CURRENT NUMBER volts amps amps amps amps volts volts amps 1209 46XX 24 36 500 500 350 225 0 15 16 2 55XX 36 48 450 450 300 200 0 30 21 1 64XX 48 72 400 400 275 175 0 30 32 1 6A5XX 48 80 450 450 300 200 0 25 32 1 72XX 72 120 275 2...

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