Jon "Sheer" Pullen wrote:

> The reason you can't tow a FWD long distances with the tires on the
> ground is that the lubricant isn't being circulated around the
> differential and output shaft, which is still being spun.

I towed my Renault LeCar EV 1700 miles from Seattle WA to Sartell MN. I
had the front end alignment checked to be sure there was positive
caster, left it in neutral, and unplugged the motor from the controller.
No problems at all. Note that this car has a transaxle, with all the
gears in a single case.

> One solution to this problem, by the way, is just to leave the car in
> gear. Then the lube gets circulated. Make sure you pick a high gear
> (4th or 5th) or bad things will happen to your motor when it gets
> spun to 20,000 rpm. ;-)  Also, with certain types of DC drive, you
> must not back up while towing - doing so can result in plugging the
> motor through the freewheel diodes, potentially damaging either
> diodes or motor or both.

Excellent advice!
-- 
Lee A. Hart                Ring the bells that still can ring
814 8th Ave. N.            Forget your perfect offering
Sartell, MN 56377 USA      There is a crack in everything
leeahart_at_earthlink.net  That's how the light gets in - Leonard Cohen

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