Control Tray Frame

I have completed the hardware part of the control tray and setup the electronics on it.

From right to left, I have the 12 Volt Thomas Vacuum Pump, Electronic Control Box, Curtis SW200 Contactor and Curtis 1400E 96 Volt DC-DC converter. I need to pick up some more bolts for mounting the components and I haven't wired up anything yet. I am redoing ALL the wiring to neaten it up and reconfigure a few components I now have like the DC/DC.

I am hoping to finish up the electrical parts of the tray this weekend and test it out. Now I don't have my motor yet, but I don't need it to test the low voltage systems. I am estimating an hour or two for the wiring so I am almost there. This weekend is going to have excellent weather so testing it out should be easy.

Some Motivation

Well this weather has giving me some more motivation to work on the EV! It was about 70F today and I got a lot done on the control tray.



I have one more mount to make for it, then I get down to installing the components. I also am going to to cut out some sheet metal to make a base for the components and for splash protection. This tray isn't complete yet, and it already looks really good. This engine compartment is going to be stuff, but hopefully it will look professional.

It looks like this weekend I will be finishing up this control tray. I will also be redoing the entire electrical setup. I have a new contactor that I want to use to replace the two parallel smaller ones I have. There are a few things in the engine compartment that can be removed and cleaned up a bit, like excess wiring brackets that aren't in use anymore.

Right now my wiring setup is rather difficult to follow and messy. Now that I have a DC/DC things will be changed around a bit.

My motor is still at the shop and will probably be there until mid May. When I do get it back it should be a matter of a day of installing it and making the motor mount.

April Update

It's been about a month since I last posted, and that's because I have been busy slacking. I haven't gotten a whole lot done, and I am still waiting for the new motor adapter plates. I talked to the machine shop last week, and they haven't started it yet, so it's still a ways off.

I did finally remove the Cruise Control Unit from the engine compartment and readjusted the PakTrakr wiring. I did receive the 96 volt Curtis DC/DC that I traded for and it looks really nice:Between weather, school work and holidays, I really haven't done anything with the EV. I have all the control systems on the work bench, but I haven't purchased the material to building the new control tray system yet. I was going to wait until the motor was in, but at this point I have just going to work on the tray when I get the time just to get something done.

Break Time

I am on Spring Break this week so I should be able to work on the little things on the EV. The FB1-4001A, transmission and related parts have been dropped off at the machine shop and I should be contacted this coming week with a quote on it. So I probably won't be installing the motor this week, but I have a load of other things to do. They include the following:

• Rebuild Control Board on steel plate
  
• Install DC/DC converter
• Wire LCD AMP Meter
• Make metal battery straps

Of course who knows how much I will actually get done. I have been setting goals, and to be realistic, my goal is about one of those a day. Instead of "getting it done" I will get little things done, one at a time, and eventually it will be "Done".

I have decided to use a DC/DC converter in my EV since the AUX 12 volt just isn't up to the task for very long. I actually got a DC/DC converter with my big lot of EV parts, but it was for 120/140 volt EVs. I actually tried to sell it, and instead got an offer to trade it for a similar DC/DC converter designed for a 96 volt system! PERFECT! It should arrive on Wednesday according to FEDEX, and then I will be able to actually drive my EV at night! The 12 volt battery isn't powerful enough to run everything, including headlights at night. Headlights were actually designed to run at 13.5-14.5 volts, not 12 volts. And they are VERY DIM at 12 volts.

Meanwhile, I have been cleaning up the basement and taking an inventory of EV parts left over. I have quite a substantial amount, almost enough for a full EV conversion, like a motorcycle, VW Bug or a Geo Metro. While the ADC K99-4007 worked in my EV, it would be much better in a Bug or Metro that is 1,000 lbs lighter and with a manual transmission to keep the RPMs higher.

Revisions

I just had to post this picture. I removed the K99-4007 today and decided to place it next to the FB1-4001A to see the difference. And WOW what a huge difference. When I first got the K99-4007 I thought it was huge and heavy. Well after a few weeks of moving around the FB1-4001A I picked up the K99 and found it to be light. This picture really doesn't do it justice.

When comparing these two together, it's amazing that the K99 pushed a Civic upwards of 40 MPH, so what is the FB1-4001A going to do? I really didn't think there was much of a difference when I had the two motors separated, mainly since my memory thought the K99 was bigger than it really is.

So the FB1-4001A, spare transmission and coupling will be going to the machine shop on Monday!

I am taking this opportunity to work on the gauges and the control board. Right now my AMP meter is a volt meter sitting on the passenger side floor so I want to install the real backlit meter I bought. My control board consists of all my high powered systems tie wrapped to an old closet shelf, so it looks tacky and unprofessional. I want to get a aluminum plate or a metal sheet to mount the control systems.

Motor Prep

While things have been busy, I have found the time to contact the machine shop and get ready for the new plates. This past weekend was spent finalizing the drawings for the new plates and prepping the motor for installation. I still have my spare transmission I used for making the first plates, so I will use that again. The machine shop will get the FB1-4001A, the spare A4RA Automatic Transmission and the coupling.

It's snowing like crazy now, but later in the week I will be removing the K99-4007 from the Civic and getting out the coupling to give to the machine shop. The Civic should only be off the road for 1 or 2 weeks while the new plates are being made, then I will install it during Spring break. I also plan on finalizing the hood section of the EV, with an aluminum mounting board and splash protection for the components.

Long Weekend Fun

This weekend I got a lot of things done that have been on my list. First I installed a charging port in the old gas cap location. Here it is, and the odd shape is for the special plug already connected to the charger.
I also configured the K&W BC-20 for 96 volts and tried it out. So far so good, but I need to make a water proof box because this charger is setup to be on off board charger. It was setup this way when I bought it, and I decided to keep it that way.

I also installed the PakTrakr into the dash. It previous sat on the passenger's seat, and it was always in the way when I took someone for a ride, or picked up someone.

I redid my battery pack wiring with the new 2/0 gauge cables I got with the lot I purchased that included the charger, motor, meters, etc. I cleaned up the connections and they fit perfectly. The battery pack is much cleaner now and is presentable.

The last thing I did was work on the FB1-4001A. I had to adjust the timing from CCW to CW. I also greased up the bearings and the next thing I need to do is check the brushes and use the brush stone to reseat them.
I haven't driven the EV this past weekend because of all the work I was doing on it. I probably won't be able to work on it until Friday or this weekend, but I intend to contact the machine shop about getting the new plates made for this motor.