Through the website we accept all major cards as supported by Shopify.
We accept Paypal and in some cases, especially for orders over the phone, we can accept bank transfer. Although, please allow time to process your order as this is a more manual process where we have to check the payment came through.

As with standard buying, if you are unhappy with your purchase you can return it to us within 30 days. If you find that you use the equipment (motors, controllers) and they are defective we can issue replacements as deemed necessary. We do also offer a repair service if you want to send us your old equipment we can take a look. In some cases we can clone your configuration and use it to send you a replacement. These are just our guidelines so please contact us to explore the options.

If you find that the order you have placed has an error or you want to add something please call us as soon as possible during our working hours to amend the order. If you want to cancel this will also require you to contact us to understand why.

Yes! We can ship internationally. Given the intense changes on tarriffs and rules, sometimes we can "miss the boat" and it is more likely an issue with the shopify settings than we can't ship it. If you go to purchase something and an error message appears, please call us so we can check it is not a setting issue. We use DHL Express as standard.

Your order can be tracked through your account, but please feel free to call or email us at your convenience.

Well, if you have purchased a motor controller from us, chances are you also want to setup the accompanying software and tools to go with it. If you didn't receive it in your initial emails please contact us straight away and we will get that setup. You can also purchase support services through the website.

If you have an older controller, especially from the Sevcon range, chances are it will cost you twice as much to do a full clone and replacement hardware may not be available anymore. BorgWarner US acquired Sevcon in 2017 and the older prodcucts are not supported, or even if controllers are available, calibration tools or software are not available. The "newer" sevcon controllers are more reliable and will cost less than trying to get the old equipment. We can help you retrofit the solution, just give us a call.

If you already have DVT, you can open the software and it will provide you a code. If you need a license, send us the code and we can request it as a trusted, approved supplier for Sevcon (BorgWarner). Note you will need to purchase DVT if you don't have it already.

If you have purchased a kit with us, you can book a convenient slot with the engineering team by calling our UK office number (top of the page). Or you can use our purchasable services through our website. If you have come across an older controller or it is a replacement one, we can help you clone a working one and then copy to your new device. This may require specific tools and commands but we are happy to assist.

All products have the data sheets and related digital products on the product page under the description. There is a table of downloads. If you can see the datasheet is missing please contact us, so it can be corrected.

Invalid Hardware version 0x54411
Return to base |F51001 |

Sevcon Gen4 controllers perform a start up check to ensure the EEPROM contents contains values that are valid for the appropriate controller type. The fault is most likely to occur in the following situations:

• An EEPROM binary image has been copied to the controller from a different type of controller
• The controller has been used to perform Batch EDS Generation

If the controller has just been used for batch EDS generation, then the hardware version can be corrected by following the instructions on the page "Correcting Gen4 Hardware Version" - see Voltsport Engineers

If a new EEPROM image has just been copied to the controller, then the user should be aware that current sensor calibration information may have been overwritten. In such cases, the unit would have to be recalibrated. See calibration fault for more information.

The IXXAT CAN-to-USB compact is a CAN to USB interface, which is used extensively within Sevcon for interfacing to CAN networks. It is compatible with most configuration tools, such as DVT and SCwiz.

There are two versions of hardware available, but our recommendation is the V2 i.e. Version two of the interface, known as USB-to-CAN compact V2

Version one of the interface looks similar, but with older decals. The same drivers work with both pieces of hardware, although you need at least version 3.5.2 of the IXXAT CAN VCI to be compatible with the V2 hardware.

Also, the IXXAT CAN VCI abstracts away any differences in the hardware, meaning that most tools are also equally compatible with either piece of hardware. For more information, see the IXXAT CAN VCI page.

9 way D-type pin assignments

The following pins are used on the units with the 9 way D connector (these are according to CAN CiA DS102)

Pins Function
1 -
2 - CAN low
3 - CAN ground
4 -
5 - Optional shield
6 - Optional CAN ground
7 - CAN high
8 -
9 -

These are standard pin assignments, and are compatible with other CAN interfaces, such as Vector's CANcase XL. In fact, almost any CAN interface with a 9-pin D connector will use these pin assignments. 

Galvanic Isolation

Not all of the original style interfaces featured galvanic isolation. Some of the early devices that were purchased were not isolated. These were mostly removed from circulation, although some may remain. To check if a unit has isolation, check the part number on the back of the device. Those that are isolated will have a part number that ends .10200, while the part number for those that are not isolated ends with .10100. Take care when running with non-isolated devices, as these will not offer your PC or laptop any protection from high voltages on your test setup!

All of the IXXAT V2 interfaces are galvanically isolated.

Control via the DVT Software

For a master node:

• To go to the preoperational state, enter the command '''fpo 1 pre'''.
• To go to operational, enter the command '''fpo 1 op'''.
• To toggle the state, just use '''fpo <node_id>1'''.

Notes on the above commands:

• These commands assume you are controlling node 1. For other nodes, change the node ID accordingly.
• If the master node is expecting slave nodes to be present, but it isn't detecting any, then you won't be able to put the master into operational.

For slave nodes:

• Slave nodes always start in preoperational.
• Normally, the master node requests the slave nodes go to operational at startup.
• You can mimic the message that the master would send by entering the following command in the DVT: '''can send "0x000 0x01 0x00"'''
• This will make all slave nodes go to operational. If you just want one node to go to operational, change 0x00 to be the node ID.

The most accurate way to tell what operational state a CANopen node is in is to look at the heartbeat messages it is producing or a quick check on the LED.

Or if you are looking at your controller it will be a solid LED GREEN. If it's flashing there is a fault (or it's just sat in pre-operational).

Heartbeat messages have a COB-ID of 0x700 + the node ID. These messages contain a single byte. If the value is 0x05 it is operational, if the value is 0x7F it is preoperational. This method works for all CANopen devices, not just espACs.

If heartbeat messages are not being transmitted, an espAC will allow you to read the value from object 0x5110,0.

Using the DVT

If you are using the DVT, the get_operational_state function can be used. Just enter the command with a node ID.

dvt(103) %25 get_operational_state 1
preoperational
dvt(104) %25

If you suspect there may be problems with the motor connection, please first ensure the encoder is working.

Don't ignore this step - if the encoder isn't working, the motor controller doesn't have a chance.

A common question when wiring up a motor is "which way round are the M1, M2 and M3 terminals wired?". In truth, there are only 2 ways to wire up the motor, clockwise and anticlockwise. And you can switch between the two by swapping over any two of the motor connections. So, even if you aren't sure, you have a 50% chance of getting it right.

If you have ran through self characterisation, then the controller will have turned the motor in what it thinks is forward during the no load test. If the wheels turned in reverse during this test, you will need to swap any two of the motor connections to correct this.

If you haven't done self characterisation, then probably the best way is to put the controller into slave mode and try spinning it to see what happens:

If you're doing this on a vehicle, lift the drive wheels off the ground and release any mechanical brakes.

1. Put the controller into preoperational.
2. Clear any PDO or VPDO maps that will try to control the motor you are attempting to test. This procedure requires that you are able to control the motor manually yourself.
3. You will probably want the controller to close the line contactor though, so leave object dictionary entry 0x5800 set to master, and configure the necessary line contactor PDO or VPDO maps, and contactor chopping entries.

to see anymore, consider paying for professional support from Voltsport to keep you safe and minimise hardware damage.