Chris,
I just went out and checked my charger timer. It goes 360 degrees, plus, with no stop. Can be turned either way. It should shut off in the "OFF" position. You should hear a "microswitch" click at the off position. I've never been into it, so I'm not sure there is a microswitch, but the sound is like one.
The brake triggers the safety shutdown circuit, when the foot accelerator is still down. The accellerator has to return to the off position before the circuit will reset. That's why I would find mine sitting in the driveway when I came home from work. The family didn't know to (couldn't remember) pull up on the accelerator pedal to stop it. I tried cleaning it with everything allowable, using dryslide/molylube on it,different springs, rubberbands(they worked best but didn't last) and everything else. Finally retired it for that reason, because I didn't have time to mess with it anymore. Sometime I'll go at it again........
Yes, Chris, It's always that much fun to drive it around! You'll be surprised at how fast it'll move, also, when you get the batteries fully charged! I sent you a note, that never got to you, about the weight box that you got with it. I had 3 or 4 things that didn't get to their destination, a week ago. I'll research it and send it again in a day or so. In the mean time, have fun! I just got two 12 volt group 3ET batteries at our local CT Farm store that is going out of business. They're going into the "saddle bags" of a Honda 90 motorcycle that has a 3 3/4 hp aircraft hydraulic pump motor on it for the drive motor. No transmission. No variable speed. Just a starter solenoid for on/off !
If someone can suggest a simple variable speed circuit that will handle 24 volts and 250+ amps, that I can build from locally available components as a starting point for experimenting, I'd appreciate it! This motor has been on go carts (and flexed the frame so much that the chain slipped on take off), mini bikes and now this little motor cycle. I played with it some years ago and just cleaned out the barn and got to it again. Got the batteries for $40 each instead of the $66 normal, so I thought I could play a little again. Also can use the batteries to run my 300 watt inverter in the old shed with no electric that's 200 feet from power. I can run some fluorescent lights. All I need is to come across some solar panels and I'll be on the way to a project like you've got going!
Christopher Zach <czach computer org> wrote:
What a day!
Went over to Eric's house this morning and picked up a set of batteries for
the E20. Drove them back to the house (8 6 volt batteries will make your van
tail-heavy) and unloaded them into the trailer.
The manual pages for the E20 showed the layout of the batteries and what
goes where for the connections. Had to guess on the lights and the PTO
though; my plan was to fire the PTO first (to see if it was slow or fast)
and that would tell me if the lights were safe.
Got the batteries in (tough job with the plastic bag thing and all) and
fixed the molex connector for the power supply. Wired everything up, closed
the lid, put it in reverse and hit the switch....
Nothing. Replaced the 30amp interlock fuse.
Nothing. Wiggled the accel pedal to make sure the speed was at the top
(zero). Hit the pedal...
*WHUMP*
Backwards the tractor went. Whee!!!
Let off on the pedal, still went backwards. Hmmmm.... Hit the brake, tractor
stopped instantly.
Looks like the pedal is sticking. Need to work on that.
Put it in forward and proceeded to drive it around the yard. The batteries
were low (they were stress-tested prior to my buying them) so I didn't go
far. Replaced the 20 amp light fuse, and the lights came on. Wow, they are
bright!
Drove it up to the front of the house and plugged it in. The thing doesn't
seem to turn off when I turn the knob back to zero, is this normal? The
needle went to the top of the green, barely into the white. Just checked it
now 30 minutes later, and it's about 3/4 the way up the white.
Questions:
1) Is the charger supposed to turn off when you twist the knob back to off?
Is it supposed to be able to spin all the way around (more than 360 degrees)
in either direction?
2) How do you know if the charger timer motor is working?
3) Should I leave it plugged in all night? Can it blow up the batteries
(they are low now) by charging overnight?
4) I read a voltage of 42 volts when the batteries were disconnected at the
charger. Is this good, too high, or too low?
5) Is it always this much fun to drive it around the yard :-)
Thanks for all the help. The thing that amazes me the most is that after god
knows how many years, the tractor just started right up. Even the lights
work. Truly a high quality job on the part of GE....
Chris