Nice work man! Looks awesome!
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Nice board!
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Man, this looks awesome!!
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Thanks guys, So far I am pretty happy with how it turned out. @RunPlayBack I’ve picked up a pretty medium grit from a local skate shop. Cool feature is that it has small perforations every so often to make it easier to avoid air bubbles… So I think its MOB grip.
Unfortunately it looks like I’ve got a VESC issue. I’ve run BLDC for the first few tests but experienced some breaking dropouts. I did some research here on the forum and followed onloop’s directions to combat this problem here: http://www.electric-skateboard.builders/t/lost-of-brakes-when-going-full-speed-enertion-parts/6895 This thread suggests the default presets aren’t optimal.
It ran better but i still had one dropout and now less powerful breaking power. So after much consideration I switched over to FOC. The write-ups on FOC were compelling and sounded like the would suit me better. Well it lasted all of 5 min but it was wonderful! More torque and pickup and nicer to the ears! However as I was accelerating up a small incline it felt it skip a beat then continue fine. Then under acceleration again it skipped a moment and started coasting 
I’ve hooked up to the BLDC tool and I am now coming back with bad motor detection. I ran fault in terminal and it came back with “FAULT_CODE_DRV8302” Bugger.
So I decided to refreshing the firmware and starting from scratch. Unfortunately this hasn’t helped. I’ve removed the VESC and toughly inspected it under a magnifying glass and everything is clean and intact. I’ve run motor detection again and same “bad motor detection” This time I can’t get the terminal to spit out a fault code though.
Its a bugger because had I not had the breaking issue I probably wouldn’t have been altering the settings… it seemed to be great in most other ways. Is there any other trouble shooting that can be done, or is this VESC bricked?
Edit: This time it came back with the following fault report: The following faults were registered since start:
Fault : FAULT_CODE_DRV8302 Current : 0.7 Current filtered : -0.9 Voltage : 39.43 Duty : 0.00 RPM : 0.2 Tacho : 5 Cycles running : 1 TIM duty : 263 TIM val samp : 10 TIM current samp : 26384 TIM top : 52747 Comm step : 4 Temperature : 21.11
Fault : FAULT_CODE_DRV8302 Current : -0.3 Current filtered : -0.3 Voltage : 39.43 Duty : 0.00 RPM : 1.1 Tacho : 6 Cycles running : 0 TIM duty : 263 TIM val samp : 10 TIM current samp : 26384 TIM top : 52747 Comm step : 5 Temperature : 21.11
Fault : FAULT_CODE_DRV8302 Current : 1.8 Current filtered : -0.7 Voltage : 39.42 Duty : 0.03 RPM : 1.1 Tacho : 7 Cycles running : 5 TIM duty : 1160 TIM val samp : 609 TIM current samp : 21453 TIM top : 41687 Comm step : 6 Temperature : 21.26
Fault : FAULT_CODE_DRV8302 Current : 0.2 Current filtered : 0.4 Voltage : 39.37 Duty : 0.02 RPM : 2.0 Tacho : 9 Cycles running : 3 TIM duty : 991 TIM val samp : 523 TIM current samp : 22415 TIM top : 43784 Comm step : 2 Temperature : 21.31
Fault : FAULT_CODE_DRV8302 Current : -0.4 Current filtered : 0.5 Voltage : 39.42 Duty : 0.02 RPM : 1.9 Tacho : 10 Cycles running : 4 TIM duty : 991 TIM val samp : 523 TIM current samp : 22415 TIM top : 43784 Comm step : 3 Temperature : 21.43
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The problem of breaks cutting off when breaking very hard could be triggered by the VESC high temperature protection. Usually that will limit also the acceleration going uphill. To check if it’s that or not you need to do the hard braking test straight away before doing any hills and before doing your first km/mile so your vesc is still cool. Hope you get your vesc repaired soon, it really sucks when it breaks 
I am pretty sure the breaks weren’t related to temp issues as it happens on the very first ride after a few minutes on flat. I feel like it must be related to the settings, perhaps regen spiking currents too high for the vesc? Thanks for the condolences 
Oh damn sorry Ben 
Sorry about the VESC, I wish I could help but my settings are a little different because of my components. I think there’s a few recent threads about this exact failure. FOC has never failed me (knock on wood) but again it just might be my combo of components that seem to work together.
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I am still trying to figure out (with my still elementary knowledge) what was causing my breaking issue and I found the “Choosing the right KVfor the VESC thread” which made for interesting reading. Choosing the right motor kv for the VESC - #171 by longhairedboy - ESK8 Electronics - Electric Skateboard Builders Forum | Learn How to Build your own E-board
Your post about @Photorph upset when bombing down a hill struck me as potentially being related to my issue. Do you think its possible that little old me (200lbs) travelling 30-35kph on flat, could trigger the same result under hard breaking? I really wouldn’t have expected it considering I am running all Enertion parts to spec, under default Enertion VESC settings. More than happy to work through the best settings in BLDC tool, just wanting to limit trial an error (since this error was at the cost of the VESC).
that board looks really great, nice and clean, also a great touch with the black evolve wheels! really great job 
sorry about your vesc, looks like its fried. I hope you didnt run into the bldc -> vesc switching bug of the BLDC gui. before jacob posted a fixed bldc tool, I kept uploading new firmware before setting either bldc or foc to be sure that nothing bad will happen.
running with FOC now for something around 1000km on my vanguard and I also set it up on my spud.
your vesc settings are very protective with 40 motor ampere and 25/-12A battery and the 42V battery max input voltage. if the vesc runs into any of these limits, it will shut down with a DRV error, red LED blinks a few times and then it will be back 3-4 seconds later (which is what you experienced).
I would suggest to:
- increase max voltage to 45+
- use 70/-70A motor limits
- use 50/-20A+ battery limit, maybe even more negative, like 50/-50A to completely be on the safe side under braking conditions
I would think, that you run into either -40 or -12A limits when braking and the vesc goes into DRV error. increasing these values (well, decreasing, making them more negative) will allow for more braking power. I set my limits quite high, because in the end, hard braking is a LOT more important than your cells … it could just safe your ass in a shitty situation. you wont have to brake hard under normal circumstances, but it sure is nice if you can rely on it when you need it. overall the hard off vesc behavior is really not what you want in those moments.
This board is a work of art, awesome work! 
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Thanks all for the kind words!
And thank you for the great post Simon, I appreciate your thoughts. Your explanation on what I was experiencing and why sounds pretty right on. You know it didn’t realise that there was a BLDC tool update as well! I was aware of the firmware update (which I installed), but I am still running the BLDC tool which I downloaded in July… I see there was an updated one released 2 weeks ago! Shit, I may have fallen victim to the switching bug. I assume you are referring to the max current ramp step issue? Or was there another?
Before I switched to FOC I did actually catch that issue in another post and change the value to .004, but when I when back in it looked like it switched back to 4.0
Your re-flashing certainly is a cautious way to go, but it sounds like this is the key. I didn’t do that and it may have cost me.
Again than you for your feedback on the settings. The below is the test settings that I believe you listed above^^ let me know if I am hearing you correctly?
What is your suggested order of operations for the first setup? My thinking is as follows:
- Connect to VESC
- Under BLDC tab > Run motor detection > Apply results
- Read configuration (motor) then set up motor config with preferred settings. 4.bSwitch motor type to FOC
- Write configuration
Is that about it, or should I be also switching any other settings?
I am getting there… I guess the first build is the hardest!
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screenshot are now pretty much exactly my settings 
about the order of things: no need for bldc motor detection if you want to run foc. for me the order of things has been:
general motor configuration:
-
read config
-
setting up all limits (my settings are 100% your screenshot values)
-
switching to FOC
-
write config
-
in FOC tab → run motor detection, write config
-
set up controller
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ah, nearly forgot, you got a space cell, so probably its better to run on 40A battery max so you wont blow the fuse (which was 40A I think?).
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You are a champion! 
i like how you routed those motor cables around the truck. looks verry clean. will be doing this to. it aslo gives the motor like 4mm more space under the deck!
I am curious how that board performs with a 200lb rider. I am 180-185lbs. I was under the impression dual motors is the way to go for this kind of weight.
Thats @cesargrimmelprez it took that shape as a result best path around the truck without stressing the wires. Simple plastic cable management clips hold it in place.
Mikey, I can honest;y say the “big boy” R spec has not left me wanting any additional power/torque. No doubt dual drive would offer a more robust drivetrain and torque up hills… however this set up hasn’t let me down yet. Full disclosure- I haven’t been able to get it back on the road and really push it since my vesc issue of 3 weeks ago (still waiting on the replacement from Enertion “platinum warranty”)
From my perspective, the big 6372 is a great option if you want to go a single motor set up. I wanted to go single to keep the cost down a bit, but also to keep it as light as possible.
Took the chariot out for the 3rd ride tonight on FOC tonight and I couldn’t be happier! This bad boy pulls so hard that I even let out a giddy little scream of delight! Moving from 20-25kmp to 38kph still has so much torque! Hill climbing is also impressive.
I had a little scare with a a couple cut outs in the acceleration, which I thought was a related to a vesc overload. Taking the board out again tonight, it showed nothing but perfection. For those interested the below settings are what I’ve setup (via @whitepony).
It even rolls perfectly under my work wingtips!
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Great organization of motor cables! Really neat!