// In progress · 2026–
Electric go-kart
An 81 V electric go-kart. A bought rolling chassis converted from gas to electric, with a 10 kW peak motor. The pack is 22s6p of Enepaq modules — 1.22 kWh, 9.8 kW continuous — with its busbars in manufacture.
Overview
An 81 V electric go-kart built on a bought rolling chassis converted from gas to electric. It uses a 10 kW peak PMSM, a FarDriver ND72450 traction controller, a 22s6p lithium-ion pack and a custom CAN vehicle control unit (VCU).
Done: chassis conversion and motor install, pack configuration, busbar design, controller bench test, VCU schematic and layout, and a 1/5 scale model.
Remaining: pack assembly and enclosure, precharge and shutdown board, VCU firmware, and the first powered run.
Powertrain
- Motor: 10 kW peak PMSM, used for bring-up. A QS138 is the planned upgrade once the system is proven.
- Controller: FarDriver ND72450, a 72 V sine-wave controller. Its vehicle functions are wired inputs on a low-voltage harness rather than CAN messages.
The controller and motor were bench tested at 60 V from a supply current-limited to 10 A, with a potentiometer standing in for the throttle. This confirmed commutation, hall feedback, throttle response and no-load current draw.
Battery
22s6p built from Enepaq 1s6p modules using Samsung INR18650-25R cells, 132 cells total.
| Quantity | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 15 Ah | 6p × 2.5 Ah |
| Voltage | 55 / 81.4 / 92.4 V | 22s × 2.5 / 3.7 / 4.2 V — empty, nominal, full |
| Energy | 1.22 kWh | 81.4 V × 15 Ah |
| Continuous current | 120 A | 6p × 20 A cell rating |
| Continuous power | 9.8 kW | 81.4 V × 120 A |
These are datasheet figures. The 25R will go through the cell characterization bench to get measured capacity, internal resistance and temperature rise at pack current.
- Busbars: connect the 22s stack, sized for the continuous current and waterjet cut from copper sheet.
- BMS: off-the-shelf with CAN and 1 A active balancing, on the same bus as the VCU.
- Thermal cutoff: 60 °C.
- HV isolation: the BMS switches the negative side; the positive side runs through a fuse, a precharge resistor and a contactor. With low voltage off, no high voltage leaves the enclosure. Designed, not yet built.
- Enclosure: TIG-welded aluminum, not yet designed.
Control electronics
VCU. Schematic and layout complete in Altium; it is the board in the background of the home page. The ND72450 expects physical switches for speed mode, reverse, boost, cruise, ignition, anti-theft and its two brake inputs (used for regen). The VCU drives all of these from the CAN bus, so mode logic and interlocks live in firmware instead of a switch panel. It also distributes 12 V to the brake light and headlights.
Precharge and shutdown board. Not yet designed. It will sequence precharge and the contactor at power-up and handle the e-stop. It is kept separate from the VCU so the circuit that opens the contactor does not depend on the board running mode logic.
1/5 scale model
Before the chassis was bought, the plan was a from-scratch frame. A 1/5 scale model was printed to check packaging, motor position and steering geometry: servo steering through printed knuckles, bearings in the hubs, foaming-TPU tires, and a brushless motor on a bidirectional ESC controlled by an ESP32 reading an Xbox controller.
Next steps
- Characterize the 25R on the cell bench.
- Assemble the pack and design the enclosure around the chassis.
- Design the precharge and shutdown board.
- Write the VCU firmware: CAN commands, mode handling and interlocks.
- First runs on a current-limited supply, then on the pack.