Curtis 1204-410 36-48 volt 225 amp Club Car golf cart controller


< prev. photo
(Click image for larger view.)
next photo >

Curtis 1204-410 36-48 volt 225 amp Club Car golf cart controller

Even after getting the EV-1 to work, we decided a "plug and play" golf cart controller would be easier for testing/development of the conversion. (It's not really plug and play, but far easier to set up than the EV-1.)

After haunting eBay auctions for a while, I got a great deal on a 225 amp Curtis controller from a Club Car golf cart.

It turned out that Curtis stayed in the car well past the "testing" phase, even though it's an understatement to say it wasn't a very powerful controller, even a small car like a Geo Metro.

Let's do the math: 48 volts x 225 amps = 10,800 watts. 746 watts per horsepower gives us 14.5 hp. (For comparison, the Geo's gasoline engine was rated for 55 hp.) Account for overall system efficency of about 75%, and that figure becomes 10.9 hp.

With the ForkenSwift weighing in at 2070 lbs post-conversion, you start to get a picture of the kind of driving "performance" 225 amps represents! How about 0-50 km/h (30 mph) in 36 seconds, flat out?

On top of that, 225 amps is the peak rating. The controller will only deliver that much juice when it's cool. Once it has been on for a while, it progressively ramps down peak power output to prolong the life of its electronic guts.

View all ForkenSwift galleries > DC motor controller ...

Curtis 1204-412 motor controller
That green box is the controller that's in the car now: a rebuilt Curtis 36-48 volt 400 amp DC motor controller original...
GE EV-1 control panel
Here's the brains of the forklift.

This control panel includes all the circuitry, fuses and contactors (big relays)...
GE EV-1 DC motor controller
The EV-1 SCR (silicon controlled resistance) type of controller actually has decent features: including adjustable accel...
The GE EV-1 controller on the "test bench"
We knew that the EV-1 worked: we had dropped 3 marine batteries in the Baker forklift and moved it under its own power f...
GE EV-1 controller in action (light test)
For testing, instead of controlling a DC motor, the EV-1 was hooked up to one of the 36 volt spotlights from the forklif...
Curtis 1204-410 36-48 volt 225 amp Club Car golf cart controller
Even after getting the EV-1 to work, we decided a "plug and play" golf cart controller would be easier for testing/devel...
Finned aluminum heat sink
(Inset: controller mounted on the heatsink)

Controllers can get pretty hot when they're worked hard or for a long tim...
Precharge resistor
Most controllers have banks of capacitors inside that help to smooth current flow. The capacitors gradually discharge w...
Curtis 1204-412: adjustable features
Note the adjustable current limiting (CL) and acceleration rate (ACC). Plug braking (PLUG) mode isn't used.

For maxi...