Pot-Box
A Pot-box is the short name for the potentiometer box in an EV. It’s the device that your accelerator cable is attached to in order to regulate how much power will be allowed to the motor.
A potentiometer acts as a three-terminal resistor in an EV that has a sliding or rotating contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. When the design of the EV allows for only two terminals to be used, which are the one end and the wiper, this potentiometer would be called the variable resistor or rheostat.
Being a measuring instrument, the potentiometer is an important component, too, because it serves as the mechanism that’s used for measuring electrical potential (voltage). These potentiometers are also composed of a resistive element and a sliding contact (the wiper), electrical terminals, a special mechanism for the wiper connection from each end, and a housing that contains the element and the wiper.
Some of the most commonly available pot-boxes today include the Curtis PB8 Pot Box, and the EZ-GO Marathon Pot Box. The Deadman Switch Emergency Disconnect (on DC systems) and the high-pedal lockout in these pot-boxes are designed to prevent unwanted unintentional acceleration. The Curtis PB8 Pot Box is unique in that it is a three-wire potbox that already has a micro-switch that’s made to work with various controllers on AC and DC vehicles.
What people love about this pot-box is that it has a sturdy stainless steel case for solid mounting, as well as a lever arm that’s drilled for various throw distances on cable. Some other features in this pot-box include: easy installation parts and a microswitch to ensure safety.
The E-Z-GO Marathon Pot Box (Years 1989-1994) is quite different because it has a 0-5K Ohm potentiometer throttle and a micro-switch that fits any unit from the 1989-94 E-Z-GO Marathon electric models with solid state speed control. In addition, the correct wiring and mounting of these pot-boxes should take in mind the instructions set by the manufacturer.
An important reminder for maintaining an EV is to remember that there are many types of potentiometers. One of them is the linear potentiometer. A linear potentiometer is the simplest and cheapest way to measure the displacement settings in the electric geomechanics applications. Being a simple variable resistance, this pot-box will typically consist also of a ceramic material that has an electric wire wound around it for better security.
It is with the use of a slider contact that will permit the smooth transfer movement between the pot-box’s measurement location in the EV. With the help of a constant voltage supplied across the resistor in these pot-boxes, a voltage drop between the contact and the reference will then easily be measured. These linear potentiometers have earned the reputation to be very inexpensive but have a sufficiently large, reliable and robust output, which means they don’t require any signal conditioning.
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