berlingo wont go

[harry morris]

Well I thought, id'e give it another go after all that work and effort and everything, so I added another 24 volts to the battery pack which gave me a staggering 195 volts, even allowing for voltage dip when on load this must be the answer!!! No such luck i'm afraid I switch on get the reassuring clunk put it in D squeeze the accelerator motor spins up to 10 mph and CLUNK the controller cuts the motor off the ECO light comes on along with the charging light and just for good measure the electrical fault light appears as well.
I decided to inspect the motor brushes closely so removed all the gubbins undone the various bolts, marked the ring with a marker pen and proceeded to rotate the back plate when I came across the little timing mark or drilling and I thought this is out of place!!! so continued inspection and all was well, put the timing mark drilling where it should be and thought id'e found the fault! replaced the battery sensor with one from the working van and tried again, SAME FAULT am running out of ideas now and would welcome any suggestions as to why this vehicle WONT GO!!! cheers HARRY

[timpootle]

Did you try the battery temp sensor like GrumpyB suggested?

[harry morris]

Yes TIM, took the one off my working van and got the same result!!! cheers HARRY

[ChrisB]

replaced the battery sensor with one from the working van

I presume you mean the temp sensor

mmmmmm running out of ideas here, so at what terminal voltage is it cutting out at, also at what speed, is it exactly 10mph EVERY time regardless of how long it takes to get to 10mph, does it make a difference getting there more slowly or trying to get their faster, I'm wondering which it is speed/time/voltage/current dependant or a combo ?

From memory I think you said you changed the controller for a known good one and got the same problem, so we know its not controller issue, you've used a good Bat temp sensor so we know thats ok, the pumps are still running and in circuit so its not that, that leaves a potential motor problem "possible" as its the only bit thats not been changed
Has the van ever run in your hands ?

ChrisB

[harry morris]

Well thanks again CHRIS, thats another saturday wasted on this none starter,it doesent matter if I try to increase speed slowly or not as soon as it reaches 10 mph KLONK off goes the controller on comes the lights and back to square one! it cuts off with the terminal voltage showing 148.
I'me convinced its an external problem of some sort but its got me beat, as you say that just leaves the motor but apart from the brushes and commutator being sound and all the motor connections being ok don't know what else I can do and no I have never had this vehicle running and from what I can gather neither did the previous owner, the last time it was taxed was 13/11/2010
I have put the controller out of this van in my working van today and it's fine with no probs, cheers HARRY

[harry morris]

Well there we go, there seems to be NO answer to the problems im'e having with this van, just to refresh everything, this van has been converted to run on lead acid batteries as there are no Nicads available trouble is it won't go!!! I have put a lot of time, work, and money into this project only to be beaten by some glitch in the system.
I've got 185 volts at the controller terminals and 150 amps, I switch on get the usual clunk, put it into D and squeeze the accelerator, the motor spins up to 10 mph (the front wheels are off the ground) and then KLONK the controller cuts out the ECO light comes on and also the charging light, the red STOP light also comes on, I have tried changing the controller for one of out of my working van and put the one out of this van in my working van and it's fine, so not a controller problem.
I have been over every connection twice and found everything sound, the motor brushes and commutator are in sound condition, can someone tell me WHERE all the vehicles SENSORS are and what there function is and I will have yet another go at this vehicle before finally giving up!! we need answers here if this problem should reappear in another vehicle we will not be able to FIX it and another good van will go for scrap, cheers everyone HARRY

[ChrisB]

Must admit I'm at a bit of a loss, I wonder if its the VSS ( Vehcile Speed Sensor) causing the problem although I havent got a clue where it is located, it does appear to be speed related, but then as the speedo gets it information from this I would think its working correctly

Its odd so many fault lights come on when it drops out, do you know what the pack voltage is at on the exact time it drops out, I'm still wondering if its voltage sag, but then its odd that its speed related

Have you tried changing the small black plastic box thats on the right of the controller, cant remember what it actually does TBH but it does have a small fuse in it if I remember when you take the cover off.

Its all pointing to something the van doesnt want to do once its over 10mph I think, something somewhere is saying hold on we've got a problem time to stop, have you got a EVlite with the diagnostic option and see if there are any fault codes being stored ??

ChrisB

[harry morris]

Thanks CHRIS, I will try changing the little box on the right of the controller haven't got a clue what that's for either!!! the evLite shows faults E3 and E4 but iv'e only got E5 on my list which is WATER REQUIRED so no idea what they mean!!! I think there's a speed sensor of some description somewhere and this is causing the problem, trouble is I have no idea where it is, I have contacted EVAN to see what he thinks, cheers HARRY

[cianof]

I think E numbered faults are for electrical faults. A numbered faults are sensor faults (thermistors etc).

I think E4 =
Permanent fault: Automatic gearbox selector lever short-circuit to positive.

I don't know what E3 is.

[harry morris]

Thanks very much CIANOF, something to go on, cheers HARRY