Current Sensor

Current is probably the most useful data to have on a greenpower car as it gives the best indication of how quickly the batteries are being discharged.

The current sensor needs two 47nF capacitors and one 4.7nf capacitor soldered to it, as close to the pins as possible as shown in the datasheet diagram below:

Solder the wires and the capacitors directly to the current sensor pins. It is advisable to add some form of stress relief so that if the wires are pulled, the solder joints don't take the force. This can be achieved with some hot glue around the connections, cable ties (as shown below) or tape etc.

This sensor needs to be placed around the main 24V cable from the battery. A convenient location is often next to the circuit breaker. The orientation of this sensor is important; if it is the wrong way around it will not read a current. The correct orientation is shown below - note the lip around the right hand side of the sensor aperture.

Now connect the 5V, 0V, Output and Vref to the eChook board as described in the table at the start of this section.

From Kit version 1.4 a PCB breakout board for the current sensor is included to carry the LEM sensor, three capacitors, and a connection to the vehicle harness.