The First Run!

Last night I got in my first little test run! I just went up and down the driveway because it was rather dark out, but it works! There is a minor problem that I have to work on. There is a ticking sound coming from the motor adapter, and I believe it to be where the Torque Converter bolts hit the motor bolts. There was a little more than a 1/8 inch gap and it must have slipped back and now hits a little. Later this week I will dismantle the electrical system and fix up the adapter plates. I want to try a quick fix before I dismantle everything, and I will take a video to post.

Launch Prep

I have everything installed and I am ready to test this thing out! No, the car's not done, but I have enough strapped down and plugged in to try a 60 volt test again! I have to wait until someone else is home for safety reasons, but I went over the wiring about 20 times, tested the low voltage setup, got the Kelly Controller programmed and I am topping off the batteries before the first run.

This is the Kelly Controls KHD09401 almost installed and on a scrap piece of aluminum. It's not the best solution, but should suffice for a trip down the street. I am going to get a proper heatsink before I attempt any real road rage.

And this picture is of the batteries and their top off charge before the run. I measured all the voltages and they were pretty close except for battery #2, and it was 0.7 volts lower than the rest. The other batteries finished their top off charge in 30 minutes, but this battery is still going and it's almost been an hour and the charger says its 25% complete. So this battery is either my weakest link, or it hasn't been charged, and I actually don't remember actually fully charging this one battery EVER. It's only a month old, and has an August date on it.

Unexpected Surprises!

There are unexpected events and there are surprises. Then there are things that are unexpected surprises. Today was one of those days filled with unexpected surprises.

My plan for the day was to reorganize the hood and create battery trays. Instead I got a call from my old Audio Visual teacher from High School and spent the day in the high school's auditorium setting up for the school's fall play. I hadn't done any AV work since I graduated in 2007, so it was like old times. Usually the AV students hang the lights, focus and setup the stage, sound systems and set, but this time all the upper classman were not around and I was called in to help teach the new freshman and to get things going since they were a day behind. It was actually quite good (and free food!) so I didn't feel bad about not working on the EV.

And when I got home, I found my controller sitting there on the table! Not only was it here a week earlier than expected, it was the next model up than what I had ordered! So I now have the Kelly Controls 24-96 Volt 400 AMP with REGEN, worth about $200 more than what I paid. I had about 30 minutes of "Oh crap will this even work" and then I found on the EV Album that a few people have used the regen models on their series wound motor to no ill effect. Except regen doesn't work. I am perfectly fine with this since this is only a temporary controller until my PIC controller is done.

Now I have changed my plans for the rest of the weekend. I am now going to rewire the car and setup the Kelly Controller and try out a 60 volt test run. I hope to try it out tomorrow since it should take too long to reinstall my temporary chunk of plywood and control circuits. Once I have done a test run (or attempted it) I will go back to finish my battery racks. I know I am jumping around a lot, but I really want to see this thing move! (And so does my family and half the neighborhood!)

Tray Troubles

These are my template trays in the front compartment. There is a lot of clutter in the front and that is making the trays hard to implement.

So for this weekend my goal is to rearrange the wiring and try to make the battery rack as simple as possible. I am going to pull out the 12 volt aux battery, cut out that last gas line and adjust the trays some more.

Battery Trays

I have almost completed the template for the front battery trays. I have to buy the real materials, but I will post a picture once I have finished making the mounts that hold the trays to the sides of the engine compartment.

The engine compartment isn't organized too great. I can only get three batteries in the front, which is all I need. I was hoping to get four in, but the batteries were too large and the brake lines, motor adapter and transmission got in the way.When I post the picture tomorrow you can see the crazy battery setup I have. And in order to get the three batteries in the front, I might have to change the location of the 12 volt aux battery.

Controller Purchased!

I finally ordered up the controller! Instead of trying to get the bank/debit this sorted out (which they couldn't do anyways...) I used PayPal to purchase the controller. So now I just need to wait for it!

I started to plan out my front battery tray this afternoon. I have to clean up the engine compartment more, rearrange the wire harness and motor cables. It's going to be a tight fit, but I found a picture of another 95 Civic with 5 group 31 deep cycles batteries in the front, so it is definately possible. My card board battery model is taller than the real battery, so that is throwing my off a bit.

This weekend I am going to a family yard sale to sell off old stuff in the name of my EV. Hopefully I will make a few bucks to start paying back the cost of the controller. Then I will be getting to work modeling the front battery rack.

Small Snag

I finally get enough money to order the controller (from family donations) and I find out my freaking debit has a limit and the controller price is $15 over it because of shipping. So I head on down to the bank to get it lifted. I fill out the forms, sign away my soul and then I am told it might not be implemented until Saturday. And I wanted to order it today. Just peachy.

So while I wait for the forms to go through, I am going to get to work on the front battery rack. My dad found some old L metal peices I can use to create the template for the front rack. I am going to try and get 4 batteries in the front, but three will suffice. If I can get 4, I will replace the small car battery with another deep cycle.