battery switch vs >40volt charging & Eteks

I just ruined an AX2550HE by accidentally disconnecting it from my battery string (36 volt) while my little electric vehicle was running. In my case, there's a big relay between the batteries and EVERYTHING else on the machine and the "ignition" switch controls that relay. I just hit the switch accidentally with my hand during extreme manoveurs...:) When I turned the switch back on, the controller smoked.<BR><BR>I am now considering a permanent connection between the AX2550HE and the batteries and using the yellow-black wires to turn the thing on and off. But a permanent connection to the batteries means the controller will see the full charging voltage, which runs around 42 volts with my present charger.<BR><BR>Is this OK? Just how high can I go? Does it help to have the controller "off" by shorting the yellow-black wires together? What happens when the voltage gets too high? More smoke? <BR><BR>BTW, on my remaining good controller, I notice that it draws about 2.6 mA in this "off" condition. That's not exactly "off", is it?....but, on the scale of things (tens of amps), I guess it's "pretty off"....<BR><BR>BTW, I'm driving two of the new Mars Electric ME0709's (the low-rpm version of the two Etek replacements that Mars now has) with this controller. So far so good...except for the above problem. My machine drives like a tank so I'm constantly reversing the motors, usually while they're still turning the other way. So far, none of that abuse has damaged anything. Am I living on borrowed time?<BR><BR>Scott<BR><BR>

There is no problem leaving your charger on with the controller connected.

The Etek motor can be very demanding. The problem is that it has an extremely high stall current (almost akin to the controller connected to a short circuit in the most extreme cases).

Current limiting has practically no effect in these cases because it limits the current flowing from the battery, which (however bizzare it may sound) can be much lower than what flows through the motor when it is stalled.

It is hard to tell if you are living on borrowed time. Many users have had no problem with the PERM motor which is of similar design to the Etek. In another instance, we had a user smoke two controllers in a row with real Etek's in a tank-steer design. This particular incident caused us to discourage the use of our controller with the Etek motor.

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