4qd 4QD-300-48 Instruction Manual - Page 5

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7 Controls

The feel, operation and safety of the vehicle will

depend not only on the controller but very much on

the controls you fit. This section discusses some of

the points.

Throttle.

The first decision is whether to use a joystick or a

straight speed throttle plus reverse switch. Joystick

has to be hand operated but a straight throttle can be a

hand or foot control. Mechanically also a straight

throttle will usually be simpler. From the electrical

point of view either is fine - the 4QD is electrically

safe even against direction changes at full speed.

Acceleration.

Unlike a car you will have no gear change, so full

speed is available almost from cold. The 4QD has a

lot of power available for a cold start so that a sudden

application of the throttle will cause a sudden surge

of power. You can alter this by increasing the

acceleration ramp on the board (at the expense of

reducing the responsiveness). A similar adjustment

controls the deceleration rate

Top Speed Adjust.

The facility is also available for an operator top speed

control. Human nature dictates that this will be left at

maximum so it may not be very useful. However it

can give almost the same effect as a gear change:

slow speed to start up, then switch to fast speed.

Electromechanical brake.

Electrical braking relies on the motor acting as a

generator. Therefore when the vehicle is stopped (or

at very low speeds) no electrical braking is possible

and vehicle is free to roll. An electromechanical

brake brakes the motor when no power is applied to it

so that, when the controller is switched off, the motor

cannot turn. The controller automatically applies

power to the brake (to disengage it) as acceleration is

applied and removes power a fraction of a second

after the motor stops rotating.

4QD series controller instructions.

Mechanical brake.

The electromechanical brake on the motor will only

come on when the motor is rotating very slowly.

Therefore, on steep hills the regenerative braking

works but the electromechanical braking won't come

on. This is normally what is required but it means

that stopping when going downhill is not possible,

unless a mechanical braking system is fitted. In

theory an emergency brake could be incorporated by

switching off the power to the motor brake, except

that this will place a heavy strain on the gearbox

which could damage it, so this is not desirable.

A mechanical brake also gives the rider confidence,

so that safety can be assured even if the controller

fails. Better to have a brake and not need it than to

need it and not have it!