How does reverse work?

[GarageMahal]

Do the motors spin the other way or is there a mechanical gear change?

I hope it is done by reversing the motors but realized I have no idea how it really is implemented.

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[dothedew]

No mechanical gear. Think about your cordless drill. It goes both clockwise and counterclockwise with the flick of a switch. Same concept.

 

[Silenze]

No mechanical gear. Think about your cordless drill. It goes both clockwise and counterclockwise with the flick of a switch. Same concept.

Can we go 80mph in reverse?

 

[GarageMahal]

No mechanical gear. Think about your cordless drill. It goes both clockwise and counterclockwise with the flick of a switch. Same concept.

Actually i think my cordless drill is a mechanical reverse but never really dug into it...

 

[lightspeed]

Electric motors don't care about the direction they spin. It just depends on the polarity of the charge to the windings.

 

[GarageMahal]

Electric motors don't care about the direction they spin. It just depends on the polarity of the charge to the windings.

True for DC motors but per Ford documents the motors are AC so there is no polarity. It is certainly possible to configure an AC motor to spin either way but what I don't know is if that is what Ford chose to do or if they implemented a mechanical solution.

I suspect (and hope) they are using an electronic solution but am looking for information from anyone with actual first hand knowledge.

Thanks

Edit: I need to clarify that they are 3 phase AC motors which appear easier to change the direction of rotation. This does suggest that a mechanical solution is not needed but I have seen stranger things in vehicle design.

 

[HaroldCal]

I suspect as the teardown at Munro proceeds, we'll be able to gain some insight on this.

 

[Maquis]

Can we go 80mph in reverse?

Probably not more than once!

 

[lightspeed]

True for DC motors but per Ford documents the motors are AC so there is no polarity. It is certainly possible to configure an AC motor to spin either way but what I don't know is if that is what Ford chose to do or if they implemented a mechanical solution.

I suspect (and hope) they are using an electronic solution but am looking for information from anyone with actual first hand knowledge.

Thanks

Edit: I need to clarify that they are 3 phase AC motors which appear easier to change the direction of rotation. This does suggest that a mechanical solution is not needed but I have seen stranger things in vehicle design.

You just switch two of the phases with each other to make a PMAC motor turn the other way. So ABC becomes ACB in relation to the 3 phase input power.

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