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Motor Setup

Critical Safety Instructions

Installation or setup of the Accelerated Systems controller must be done by a trained technician. Failure to follow the warnings can damage the controller, computer, vehicle and/or can cause serious injury or death.

Before starting to connect, setup or run the Accelerated Systems controller READ THE FOLLOWING:

  • Make sure to wear appropriate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) when working with Batteries or moving parts.
  • Use Insulated Tools to protect from electric shock.
  • ALWAYS use the USB Isolator between the Computer and the Controller. If it is not used the computer and/or the Controller can be damaged! ASI is not responsible for any damage.
  • Make sure the Battery or Power Source is Disconnected or in the OFF position before making any connections. The area around the vehicle must be clear.
  • Keep all People, Children and Pets away from the vehicle when testing or running the system. The motor will rotate during setup and testing.
  • Before testing the Motor/Vehicle make sure the Wheels are off the ground and supported on an approved Bike Stand or Automotive Jack Stands.
  • Alternatively the Motor must be secured to a Workbench Vice or a Solid Stand to keep it in place for testing.
  • Make sure all moving parts (e.g. Pedals, Wheels) are clear to move in either direction.

Configuration

In order to control the motor, you must first input some of the rated parameters of the motor which can usually be found on the datasheet provided by the manufacturer. If you do not have this information, please contact your motor manufacturer.

Motor Profile Configuration

In this section, you will enter the rated motor parameters.

Navigate to the Peripheral Selection tab, select the Motor Nameplate Ratings page.

TIP

Set your Rated motor power to the Rated system voltage multiplied by your battery's peak rated current output, or lower, to avoid damaging your battery or tripping your battery's BMS.

  1. Enter the Rated motor power

  2. Enter the Rated motor current

  3. Enter the Rated motor speed

  4. Enter the # of motor pole pairs

  5. Enter the Gear ratio

Press Enter after every entry or press Write below this section after entering each parameter. Add any parameters if missing as necessary. See the image below for reference. Press Save to flash in the Parameter drop-down menu.

Motor Profile Configuration in BACDoor

Autotune

The autotuning process will measure the motor's inductance (Ls) and resistance (Rs) via a feature called Motor discover mode.

Danger

  • The motor will be spinning in the next steps for up to 20 seconds at 50% of the Rated motor speed (RPM) and high current.
  • Make sure all moving parts (e.g. Motor, Pedals, Wheels, etc.) are clear to move in either direction.
  • Make sure the motor is securely mounted and the wheels are off the ground.

To stop the motor:

  • In PC BACDoor®, enter 0 for Motor discover mode.
  • Or turn off the controller,
  • or disconnect the battery (could cause damage to the controller).

Warning

Make sure the system is connected to an adequate power source. This test will draw the full rated motor current and can damage the power source if it is inadequate.

Note

If the motor is not spinning in the intended "forward" direction:

  • Wait for the motor discovery to stop and motor to stop spinning
  • Enable Motor Features bit 0 to swap Phase A and C
  • Run the motor discovery again

  1. Set Motor Position Sensor Type to 0.

  2. In the Write (Temp) section, enter value 9 in Motor discover mode, and press Enter or click Write. The motor will now spin for about 20 seconds. The motor should spin up to half of the motor's rated speed that we entered earlier and run at this speed steadily. The motor should run in the expected/correct "forward" direction. Should an issue arise, to stop the test, you can enter 0 in the Motor discover mode.

  3. Once the motor has stopped spinning, press Read in the Display Only section. The autotune rated rpm value should be near enough to the value you entered in the Rated motor speed previously, if not, see the troubleshooting section below.

  4. Verify that the autotune Rs and autotune Ls values have been copied into the Rs and Ls parameters.

  5. Verify the autotune Hall sectors 0 through 7 forms a valid Hall table. A valid Hall table consists of 8 values; -1 can repeat twice, values 0 through 5 should not. A valid Hall table may look like [-1, 0, 4, 5, 2, 1, 3, -1] for example, where starting from the left we have autotune hall sector[0] = -1, autotune hall sector[2] = 4, etc.

    Example

    A Hall table of all -1 is invalid (e.g. [-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1]), or a table with more than two -1 values (e.g. [-1, 0, 4, -1, 2, 1, 3, -1]) , or with a value between 0 and 5 inclusive that repeats (e.g. [-1, 0, 4, 5, 2, 2, 3, -1]). See troubleshooting below for more information.

  6. Verify that the autotune hall sectors have appropriately populated the Hall Sectors parameters.

  7. Verify that the autotune hall offset angle has populated the hall offset angle parameter.

  8. If you would like to use Hall Start and Sensorless Run you can change Motor Position Sensor Type to 1.

  9. Save to flash.

  1. Set Motor Position Sensor Type to 2.

  2. In the Write (Temp) section, enter value 9 in Motor discover mode, and press Enter or click Write. The motor will now spin for about 20 seconds. The motor should spin up to half of the motor's rated speed that we entered earlier and run at this speed steadily. The motor should run in the expected/correct "forward" direction. Should an issue arise, to stop the test, you can enter 0 in the Motor discover mode.

  3. Once the motor has stopped spinning, press Read in the Display Only section. The autotune rated rpm value should be near enough to the value you entered in the Rated motor speed previously, if not, see the troubleshooting section below.

  4. Verify that the autotune Rs and autotune Ls values have been copied into the Rs and Ls parameters.

  5. Save to flash.

Note

This feature is not capable of running at switching frequencies higher than 12 kHz. It is recommended to change the controller switching frequency to 10 kHz, save, and power cycle the controller prior to performing this process. Switching frequencies below 13 kHz will cause you to lose BT connectivity. Perform this action over TTL or CAN.

  1. Set Motor Position Sensor Type to 3.

  2. Set the Motor discover mode parameter to 1. This will discover the motor's Resistance (Rs) and Inductance (Ls). Copy the values discovered from autotune Rs and autotune Ls to the Rs and Ls parameters.

  3. Set the Motor discover mode parameter to 5.

  4. Read the encoder angle parameters and confirm that the autotune was successful. A successful autotune will have an autotune offset error (parameter 357) of less than 3 degrees.

  5. The following parameters will update as part of the discovery process:

    • Encoder Sine/Cos High/Low Voltage

    • Encoder offset

    • Encoder Sine/Cos V Source

  6. Save to flash.

Note

If the switching frequency was lowered to perform this process, raising the switching frequency again might require power cycling to reset the calculated runtime max switching frequency parameter.

Troubleshooting

The controller will not power on

The high-power controllers have larger capacitors that must be charged during initial power-up. This can cause the BMS of some batteries to trip due to overcurrent, and damage components within the controller. A precharge circuit is required to prevent damage to the controller and to the battery.

Connection/communication issues

Assuming the controller is powered on (solid or blinking light on the controller). Try the following:

PC BACDoor®:

  • Remove all peripherals connected to the controller (e.g. displays, throttle, etc.), if any. Ensure the controller is powered on, the LED should be lit. Ideally solid, or possibly it is flashing a code sequence.

  • If the controller LED is not solid, see the Faults and warnings troubleshooting troubleshooting for more information.

  • Remove all peripherals other than the basics from your computer to isolate which Port the controller is connected to.

  • Ensure the Network Baud rate in BACDoor® is set to 115200, our default value. If not, try 9600, as the Baud rate value on the controller may have been affected.

  • Once connected set Baud rate and Baud rate port2 set to 115200. Save to flash, and then power cycle the controller. Set the Network Baud Rate to 115200 now, and try to reconnect.

BACDoor® mobile:

  • Does the part number description have Bluetooth (BT)? (e.g. TTL-BT or CAN-BT)

  • Verify Bluetooth is ON on your device.

  • Verify you are attempting to connect to the correct device, generally it is "e-Bike" or "ASI devices" for example. Placing the phone as close as possible to the controller and refreshing the Channel page helps identify the correct controller to connect to as it should have the highest strength %.

  • Disconnect any peripherals if any are connected, e.g. Displays.

Counting motor pole pairs

Contact ASI support.

Ls and/or Rs are negative

If you get negative values, the problem may be the wiring or it may be internal to the motor. Possible causes include:

  • The battery does not supply sufficient current for the test. Try lowering your Rated motor current and try again.

  • There may be insufficient current, try increasing Rated motor current.

  • The Rated motor rpm may be set too high, try lowering it.

  • Verify your phase wires are not shorting anywhere. This may be internal to the motor.

  • Two or more phases may be shorted together. Verify your phases haven't shorted together, as it may be an internal issue.

  • A phase may be unplugged.

The motor/wheel does not spin

  • The controller may have faulted, check the controller faults or check if the controller LED is flashing and record this value. See the Faults and warnings troubleshooting for more information.

  • The motor may have loose phase wires, verify all connections.

  • If it is a freewheeling motor, the motor may be spinning backwards and thus not engaging. Correct this by swapping the phases as explained below.

  • Your brakes may be enabled and enabling motor cutoff. Verify if eBike flags bit 0 (Brake) and eBike flags bit 1 (cut-out) are 1 (enabled). If they are both enabled, your brakes are enabled and it is cutting off the motor current. If only the cut-out is enabled, something else is cutting current to the motor. Verify you have no peripherals connected, and possibly restart from your previously saved default parameter file.

  • eBike flags:bits 0 & 1, click poll to see the live flag values.

  • eBike Flags or controller flags enabled bits appear in the right column, disabled bits do not.

  • Rated motor power or Rated motor current set too low to overcome the initially required motor torque to spin.

  • Correct/increase Rated motor current and Rated motor power (all 4 motor power values)

  • For mobile, correct/increase Rated Motor Current and Rated Motor Power (all 4 motor power values)

  • Try setting the Sensorless closed loop enable frequency to 10% of the rated electrical frequency.

  • Set Sensorless closed loop enable frequency to 10% of rated electrical frequency (click Read to see value)

  • EN controllers require pedal input when motor is driven, per legislation.

The motor spins in the wrong direction

If your motor is spinning in reverse, the most likely cause is the phase wiring. Whether internally in the motor, or your connection to the controller. You can swap the phases physically (option 1) or in the controller digitally (option 2).

  • Option 1 - Physically swap phase wires A (Green) and C (Blue)

  • Option 2 - In BACDoor®, enable Motor features bit 0.

  • Set Motor features: Bit 0] to 1,

The motor does not spin as quickly as expected

  • If the actual motor speed appears too slow. Check your motor nameplate ratings; if the Rated motor speed is an estimate and the motor is running stably at a constant speed during analysis, use the autotune Rated rpm value as the Rated motor speed.

  • In 6.016 and higher firmware versions, motor discovery occurs at ~20% of the calculated motor electrical frequency. Previously it was ~50%.

  • If the indicated or autotune Rated rpm is wildly off, verify your # of motor pole pairs is set correctly.

  • Correct # of motor pole pairs

  • Try setting the Sensorless closed loop enable frequency to 10% of the rated electrical frequency.

The motor speed is unsteady during the rated motor speed analysis

  • A phase wire could be disconnected

  • Rated motor speed may be set too far from the correct value. Double or halve the Rated motor speed parameter value, then use the motor discovery again to analyze the motor speed.

  • Verify your pole pairs are correct. See above if you need to manually count the pole pairs. To change the value # of motor pole pairs

  • Try setting the Sensorless closed loop enable frequency to 10% of the rated electrical frequency.

Hall vs Sensorless position Fault

Your Motor position sensor type is set to 0 (Hall based) or 1 (Hall start and sensorless run) and it is throwing an error as a result. Set this value to 2 (sensorless) for the motor speed autotune.

  • Set Motor position sensor type to 2