Phaserunner
Grin Anchor Links Widget
Introduction
The Phaserunner is a compact state-of-the-art field oriented motor controller (FOC) from Grin Technologies based around the sophisticated control electronics from Accelerated Systems Inc. of Waterloo. It is ideally suited for running brushless motors for electric vehicles in the 500-2000 Watt power range, and once you have experienced the smooth response of a FOC with a torque throttle it's hard to go back to the setup you had before.
This controller was designed as a universal device that can fit on almost any bicycle frame and handle almost any motor system. You can power it from a 24V battery or a 72V battery, and run your phase current to peaks of 90 amps, though the continuous current capability without additional heatsinking is typically 45-50A. The wiring is pared down to the bare basics for a nice clutter-free installation with two models for different applications. The Phaserunner_L10 has a cable exit for compatibility with all the motors supplied by Grin with the L1019 connector, while the Phaserunner_MT is connectorized for separate cable harnesses between the controller and motor.
Features
- Remote on/off switch compatible
- Compatible with new CA3-WP display and control device
- Proportional regen available through throttle signal or stand-alone wire
- Works both sensored and sensorless, and even with very high eRPMs
- Waterproof, with 100% potted electronics and new waterproof connectors
- Fully programmable parameters (regen voltage, max phase and battery currents, etc.)
- Field Weakening allows you to run motors faster than normal back-emf limit
- Virtual Electronic Freewheeling allows you to experience zero drag with direct drive motors
- Higher motor efficiency than typical trapezoidal controllers
- Torque-based throttle command (no twitchy throttle with powerful systems)
- Wide operating voltage range from 20V to 90V (21S Li-Ion, 24s LiFe)
- Automatic thermal rollback to prevent controller overheating
- Demux chip to separate speed and temperature signals sent on the same signal line
Cables and Connectors
Both models of the Phaserunner V6 use the same connectors for the battery, Cycle Analyst, mains, PAS, and communication plugs, but they differ in how they hook up to the motor.
 |
Battery - XT60: The hookup for the battery pack is with an embedded XT60 style male bullet connector. Each Phaserunner includes an 80cm battery cable terminated with an XT60 female plug at one end and Anderson Powerpoles on the other for hookup to your battery pack. We recommend not using the XT60 plug for making a live connection to the battery as the inrush current spark to the controller capacitors can damage the gold-plated bullet plugs. |
 |
CA Display - WP8: The Phaserunner V6 uses the waterproof WP8 Cycle Analyst plug standard which includes motor temperature and on/off power lines to the CA3. Please use the WP8->JST adapter for use with older models of Cycle Analyst using the 6-pin JST-SM plug. |
 |
Mains Connector: A 9 pin plug provides all the signals needed for conventional ebike wiring harness strategies where the throttle and ebrake connect to the motor controller and a 3rd party display has the on/off power and communicates the assist level. For the controller to turn on, the key input on either the Mains or CA plugs must be shorted to V+. |
 |
PAS Connector: A 6 pin HiGo plug provides an input for the direct hookup of either PAS or Torque sensors to the motor controller. This is required for pedalec ebikes that don't use a Cycle Analyst. With a Cycle Analyst system this plug is not used as the PAS sensors, throttles, and all accessories plug into the CA3 instead. |
| Communications - TRRS: The Phaserunner V6 uses a TRRS jack to support communication to computers and smart phones using our USB->TTL adapter cable. As shipped there is a rubber plug to seal this jack from water. Unlike the V2 and earlier Phaserunners which had a similar looking TRS jack, the TRRS in the Phaseurnner V6 also has 5V present to support the future release of powered serial to Bluetooth adapters. |
L10 Particulars
The only additional wire on the Phaserunner_L10 is the motor cable, which is 53cm long and terminated with the female L1019 plug for a rugged connection to Grin motors that use this connector standard
 |
Motor - L1019: The motor connection on the Phaserunner_L10 is through the locking and waterproof Higo L1019 plug or the Cusmade equivalent. The cable uses 3mm^2 (12 AWG) wire for the 3 motor phase leads to support high amperage, and has a total of 7 smaller gauge signal connectors. Five of these are used for the hall signals and power, while the extra two serve for the motor temperature sensor (grey) and a wheel speed sensor (white). |
MT Particulars
On the Phaserunner_MT, the hookup between the motor and the controller is done via 3 separate plugs rather than through a single cable with an over-molded connector.
 |
Motor Phase - MT60: The 3 motor phases are terminated with a male MT60 bullet connector. This compact plug supports high phase amperages in a very small connector size. |
 |
Motor Hall - JST-SM: The hall plug is a 5 pin female JST connector using the same pinout standard we adopted in 2008. |
 |
Speed/Thermistor Pass Thru - JST-SM: If the motor has a temperature and/or wheel speed sensor, these signals can be passed to the controller via the 3-pin plug. Both of these signals must be referenced to the Hall ground pin. |
With the Phaserunner_MT, we provide the following optional motor cable harnesses for different motor applications. The Anderson terminated cable is compatible with our hub motors sold from 2019 and earlier and is recommended for 3rd party motors for which there isn't another compatible plug type.
 |
Battery Cable: Both Phaserunner models come stock with an 80cm long XT60 to Anderson battery cable for mating with batteries that use Anderson Powerpoles. |
 |
Stock Motor Harness: The standard motor cable has staggered MT60 and male JST-SM connectors on the controller end and Anderson and female JST-SM connectors for the motor. This is compatible with all of the medium to high power hub motors that Grin has sold since about 2009, and is available in both a short (45cm) and long (120cm) cable length option. Note that the Phaserunner is capable of delivering a high enough continuous phase current to melt the Anderson plugs, and we don't recommend using this connector in applications that will be sustaining more than 70 amps of phase current for extended periods. |
 |
HiGo Z910 Motor Harness: This cable harness terminates at the motor end with the 9 pin waterproof HiGo motor plug popular in many lower-power hub motors. We recommend limiting the phase current to no more than 50 amps with this connector harness and plug standard. Notice that if the motor has a speedometer sensor built in, that signal will not be connected to the Phaserunner's CA Plug and you will need to use a CA with an external speedo. |
 |
L1019 Motor Harness: This cable harness can be used to connect the Phaserunner_MT controller to hub motors that use the L1019 plug standard. In general, we recommend the Phaserunner_L10 model in this application, but we made this for customers who already have a Phaserunner_MT and now want to use it on a new motor with the L1019 connector. |
 |
BBSHD Motor Harness: *Discontinued* This cable harness was produced in 2019 and supported upgrading the stock internal controller in a BBSHD mid-drive system with an external Phaserunner and CA3-DPS for improved handling and higher power levels. It had motor and hall terminals that mate with the plugs present in the central motor and had a secondary cable harness to bring the PAS sensor and motor temperature signals up to the CA3-DPS on the handlebar, but has been discontinued for the reasons explained here. |
User Manual
Software Suite
Phaserunner Suite V2.0, Windows, Portable
Phaserunner Suite V2.0, Windows, Installer
Phaserunner Suite V2.0, macOS (Requires macOS 10.13 or newer)
If using a SuperHarness Kit, you must use Phaserunner Suite V2.0 or later.
Our now outdated Android app in the Google Playstore is no longer available until the app is updated and ready for re-release. Coming soon!
The drivers for the FTDI chipset inside the USB-TTL adapter can be found through FTDI here - https://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm