New batteries are installed...

Well, it took some pretty heavy lifting, but my weight training is complete. The new US-125 batteries are installed in Electro. I still have one new cable to make to complete the series string (remember, I now have 16 batteries instead of 15), but I should have the hardware for that today or tomorrow. As I expected, these units fit very well into the existing design, even though they are taller than the original Exide Orbitals.

The front before:

and after:
The rear before:

and after:

I will be wiring in the auxiliary battery soon, and then it's time for another test drive!

Hello my pretties

Picked them up this afternoon in Seattle. What a handsome bunch. Heavier than my Exides by ~23 lbs. each, this total pack weighs 1072 lbs. Let's hear it for lead baby!

New batteries are in

I got the call yesterday that my 16 US-125 XC 6V 242 Ah batteries are ready for pickup in Seattle.
Sweet! I'll be picking them up tomorrow.

Upon further review... US Batteries!

After discovering some issues with Dyno batteries in certain conversions of others, I am going with a tried and tested battery manufacturer - US Battery. The battery I have in mind is the US-125XC. I am talking with the regional sales rep about getting a reasonable quote for 16 of these.

US-125XC Battery Spec

The good news is, I can order these batteries with SAE automotive posts, which preserves most of my cabling.

A nice link to show how many different posts are available. Jeez.

Battery Post Roundup

DC/DC is in (again!)

The Belktronix DC/DC arrived this weekend, now configured to take 96VDC in instead of 192VDC. I reinstalled in without a hitch. The next challenging task is to reposition the cooling pump and radiator for the Zilla. Originally, the pump (a standard aquarium pump) and the mini-radiator that stores the cooling fluid were mounted in (yet another) poly cutting board section that was mounted to the battery rack. Since the batteries are now going to be taller, this may not work anymore.

Dyno Batteries

The rewiring is complete, and Electro is ready to receive the 16 6V batteries. The DC-DC is still at Belktronix, being reconfigured for 96V in, and I have been searching for a good vendor to buy my 6V deep-cycle batteries from. I found a local manufacturer, Dyno Batteries in Seattle, that will meet my needs. Here is the type of battery I am planning to purchase:

GC2b 6V Battery Spec

Retrofit progress: Going well!

This weekend I proceeded to:
1) remove the remaining batteries
2) reroute the under-car conduit to allow the rear battery box to store a full 8 batteries (bringing my total battery capacity up to 16 again)
3) temporarily remove the cooling and power brake booster modules
4) remove and begin to refactor the Hairball and LV fuseblock mounts, which will be condensed to make extra space for the taller 6V batteries

I talked with Bryan @ Belktronix, and he reports that I can in fact have the DC/DC I bought reworked to support an input voltage of 96V. Life is good!

Traction pack retrofit in progress: 12V to 6V

My calibration data point corroborates what I was afraid of: that my batteries don't contain enough energy for the range & speed that I want. Therefore, I am starting a process of replacing the 12V/55Ah batteries with 6V/232Ah batteries. Thankfully, things are modular and the storage areas (racks in the front, box in the back) will accommodate the 6V batteries just fine. I may need to move some items around in the front (the 6V batteries are taller).

Last night I proceeded to remove the batteries from the front racks in an hour - easy! The Belktronix DC/DC also needs to be modified as well for the new traction pack voltage range - I will be moving it from 180V (15 12V) to 96V (16 6V).

This new traction pack should give me a good deal more range - upwards to 40 miles I think.

Latest data - don't go below 400A motor current!

I haven't had much time to spend calibrating recently, but I did run Electro around yesterday on significantly lower settings for motor voltage and current. The settings do work, in fact, I managed to set the current TOO low! I had it at 400A max motor current to start, and as many know, current equates to motor torque. I have hills in my neighborhood, and I purposely wanted to see how Electro handled a steeper hill on lower current. It could not do it for lack of torque! It was pretty weird, changing settings via my laptop while stopped on a hill, and then starting up the hill again! Suffice it to say, it seems that ~500A is probably where the 'mild-mannered' max current should be set to allow reasonable hill travel. I also had max motor voltage down to 110V, and did notice that max speed was affected. No distance data yet, stay tuned.

With Fall upon us, I have been also working on weatherproofing Electro in the garage when I have time. Top priority: replace the leaky roof, which is in terrible shape!

Tradeoff: Range vs. Performance

While I was calibrating Electro for distance driving, I noticed that the Hairball warning was much earlier than I expected. Sure, I can spin the tires, but I would like to also drive farther than 10 miles on a charge. I currently have the Hairball/Zilla configured 'wide-open', i.e. I am delivering the maximum range of current to the motor. I will be tuning this value over the next few weeks to see what the tradeoff is between range and performance. Once I have a reasonable current limit set (one that will give me an acceptable driving range I can live with), I will program valet mode for this traveling mode.

I also have not wired up a switch to the hairball for moving between hotrod and valet mode - easy enough to do though.

Back in Action!

Thanks to Otmar and Cafe Electric for identifying and fixing my 'Quiet Zilla' problem so quickly!
After ~2weeks, it's back in Electro, and working like a champ. I went for another extended drive this weekend (around 8 miles), and no issues.

I will be taking Electro to a tranny shop tomorrow to get the tranmission seals replaced. Hopefully that will fix the annoying small tranny leak I have!

The 'Quiet Zilla' Problem

There is a theory that I have experienced the 'quiet Zilla' issue. Here is a link where Otmar describes it:

The 'Quiet Zilla' problem

Ruh-roh! Electro's first towing!

My EV journey would not be complete without having at least one towing back home. My first was today, but not for the reason I had expected. I was out gathering distance/state-of-charge data to calibrate how far I could travel on a charge, then after taking a nice easy Sunday morning drive, at a stop sign the hairball shut down the motor controller with an error. I still had significant charge on the batteries after only 8.5 miles traveled, but was still stranded.

I called AAA and got Electro a tow home, and am currently trying to decipher the controller error problem.

Stay tuned!

Journey to the center of the Transmission

I fixed the shifting at speeds problem - loose clutch cable (Thanks Evan, Roger & Mr. BrokeVW.com for helping me identify it!)

Now I am able to really crank into gears at high speed. I have noticed some minor leaking in the transmission, which I had drained and refilled with new transmission oil. It appears to have some seal issues around the drive axles. Here are some pics of the right drive axle:

And the left drive axle:
Consulting some folks about checking the seals here. Nothing of major concern, just don't want to start dripping oil everywhere I go!

Now that I am zipping around in Electro, I realize I need to tune my rear brakes. They work, but are a bit soft.

Some reading material

I was away from the project this last week on travel, but found some interesting articles on EV technology:

Slashdot report on DIY EV conversions

And an article on Project Better Place, a charging infrastructure building company that will be partnering with Nissan/Renault to set up a charging grid in Israel:

Project Better Place/Nissan Partnership

Distance drive #1

I drove the farthest yet in Electro - out 3 miles to the local Les Schwab for a steering alignment. Lots of curious looks and questions from the techs! No issues there or on the way back, but I do think I am using too much juice too quickly. Still investigating. I did discover a problem overall, and it is will the tranny - I am having some problems switching to higher gears when needed. This may be more of a transmission/shifter/clutch alignment issue, and actually might explain why I am using more current than expected. Stay tuned on this one.

I mounted the charger port yesterday. Looks pretty slick - check it out. Here it is closed -


And here it is open. The inlet is a marine-grade 110VAC/15A inlet, so the cover is a nice weatherproof touch.

Ladies and Gentlemen... The Charger Has Arrived

I picked up my PFC-20 today, and not too soon! My batteries were sagging badly after the jaunty test-drive weekend, so a nice long charge is exactly what they needed. The Manzanita Micro unit fits tidily on the rear battery box. Haven't bolted it down yet, just taped - bolting will be done this weekend.


I also plan on driving to a tire place this weekend for a steering alignment. Should be more test driving fun for me!

Layin' some tracks

I definitely do NOT have a hard time burning rubber. Check out the video!

Electro Acceleration Test #1

Out for a spin!

I took Electro out for it's maiden voyage yesterday. Works like a champ - it has some kick, let me tell you. I am trying to restrain my lead foot, because I still don't have charging capability. I did run Electro down to a friend's house 1/4 mile away. The funny thing is, besides the power brake booster motor I installed, it is really quiet - maybe I need to play an MP3 of something to let people know I am coming! Here's a candidate -> ElectroNoise

Video of the Maiden Voyage!

IT'S ALIVE!

After correcting a minor setting problem in the Hairball, I fired up the system for a test. The main contactor engaged, and after putting it into gear, I watched the wheels turn faster and faster as I depressed the Hall Effect pedal. It works, and man is it quiet. It looks like Electro's maiden voyage will be tomorrow! Pics and hopefully video of the main event will be posted.

Awesome!

Traction pack... Online

The HV fuse arrived this week, and I proceeded to install it and hook up the rest of the traction pack (again). I measured the potential across the HV+ and HV- posts -> 185VDC. Woo-hoo! Hopefully today I will be connecting the traction pack to the DC/DC and will run a controller test to see if everything comes up okay.

Fuse/Charger almost here!

I've been doing more mundane tasks while waiting for my HV fuse and charger to arrive, i.e. putting in carpet. Packages are enroute from the vendor, so stay tuned!

Cooling system running - Start day approaching!

I filled the cooling system for the Zilla, and fired up the circulation pump for a test. No leaks, and the system seems to be running well!

The list of things now needed for me to drive Electro is getting really short - actually one item. I need a new 500A HV fuse for front battery pack (blew out the first one on a silly mistake - long story). One should be here in a day or so.

The PFC-20 charger is still not here from Manzanita Micro, but I don't need that to drive the car, just to charge the batteries. This also should be here shortly.

DC/DC is in

My Belktronix DC/DC converter arrived on 7/4, and I promptly installed it in its space on the driver side wall of the engine compartment. Here is a pic:
After this pic was taken, I also installed a 60A fuse between the DC/DC and the SLI battery, which protects the LV components from any surges.

My new euro bumpers also arrived from RPI Equipped during the week, so I proceeded to put those in as well. Installation was a snap.


Yesterday I connected to the data port on the HB2 with my laptop/Hyperterm connection, and it was alive! When I turned the key to start input, it returned an error code reporting that the traction battery pack being open, which is correct.

Greenwood Auto Show - EV pics

Fun in the sun at the Greenwood Auto Show in Seattle on June 28.
Lots of EVs!

Me with the Zombie-



The core of the White Zombie - the 'Original Siamese 8' - tandem motors. Also note the Z2K on the side - twice the length of my Z1K...


Me with Plasma Boy -
A pic of the Blue Meanie, another Plasma Boy project -

Zilla wiring/cabling in progress

The Zilla and Hairball have been *mostly* cabled and wired up. I am trying to keep wiring tidy as I go through this process - it can get messy in a hurry. Here is a pic of the Zilla mount:


And here is a picture of the Hairball mount:


The HEPI accelerator has been wired in as well. The only things missing are the key input and start input wires from the keyswitch. Today I also put work in on the Zilla water pump mount - yes, the Zilla is water-cooled. I made a mount shelf for the mini-reservoir and electric pump - picture pending. This mount will also contain the relays for the vaccuum and water pumps, which will also be wired to the key input. Still working on the cooling plumbing for the Zilla, which is about half-done and consists of coolant tubes running in and out of the Zilla. As I understand it, you can run the Zilla without such cooling, but it is recommended for longer life of the component. At the price I paid for the Zilla, I am a BIG fan of longer life for that thing.

I fixed the sheared bolt situation on the motor as well - by removing the lower nut. Still clearance for the cable lug, so I dodged a bullet there! So the motor is officially wired in as well.

This weekend I went with a friend to the Greenwood Auto Show, which reportedly has a pretty big EV contingent, which grows every year. Surprisingly, I met and had a nice chat with John Wayland and got to see his White Zombie EV up close for the first time, along with some other cool EV conversions! Pics forthcoming.

Christmas came early this year!

I completely expected the Zilla to show up in August, based on backorder estimates. I was completely floored when a package from Cafe Electric showed up on my doorstep today. Woo-hoo!
My EV may be running sooner than I thought! I unpacked the Z1K and HB2, and did a test fit on the mounts. Here is a pic of how the Zilla fits on the side (no cables yet):
And here is how the Hairball interface fits in the firewall mount:
It's all coming together! Next step is to wire these guys up properly.

Makin' Cables, part 3

Boy, I have never gotten so sore, or sick of making cables. The good news is I am almost done. The front was a cabling nightmare, routing stuff between the various HV components, both there and soon to be there. Here is a picture of most stuff laid out:Notice the batteries are in and the power brake booster has tubing! Also note the two main HV posts along the back wall. I found this was necessary to keep things in order, and also separating them by a significant amount made good safety sense.

I also cabled up the motor as much as I could, but suffered a (hopefully) minor setback with one of the motor bolts shearing. Ack! Hopefully I can replace the bolt or figure a workaround without taking the motor out!

The HV Side Module

Those poly cutting boards are a great resource. They cut easily, are drillable, durable, waterproof and are an electrical insulator material. I am using this material anywhere I need mounts, and this is usually in the engine compartment. I started on the HV side module, which will contain the Z1K, the contactor and the current shunt. Even though I don't have the Zilla, I do know the dimensions. This module will also be removable as a unit, allowing me to do work on it outside the engine compartment if I need to. Here is a pic of the HV module, complete with bolt holes that go through into the fender well.More mounts to follow. My wife thinks its a crime how I cut up perfectly good cutting boards!

Makin' Cables, part 2

I started crafting the battery cables. Still don't have a heat gun, so the heat shrink collars are still loose. I laid out the batteries and cables (without attaching) to see how the dimensions work:
Note the cable conduit. I have decided not to put an eighth battery back here, to allow room for the cables and conduit. So the back cabling is close to complete (still waiting for the charger)!

HV Plumbing Update

Sunday I tried using fish tape to pull three 2/0 cables through the 1.5" PVC plumbing network I had built under the EV. Ha! I found out the hard way that, even if the cable *is* flexible welding cable, three of them can't snake through more than two 45 degree turns without considerable elbow grease.

I had to rethink the PVC pipe to be essentially a straight shot back, engine compartment to the battery box. Just finished it tonight, with the only bend being a slight rise to get over the rear axle. I was able to keep the straight run with the bracket (the hardest part of the original install).

Pictures of the new undercarriage arrangement. Notice, hardly any turns, and straight into the box:


BTW, my 2/0 automotive battery clamps arrived today with protective hoods. So I can start making battery cables soon!

HV Wiring Conduit Installation

There will be three HV cables running between the rear and front of the car - the HV+, HV- and HV/2 cables. In order for these cables NOT to run through the passenger compartment, I decided to create an under-car 1.5" PVC conduit in the center channel where the exhaust pipe used to be. I started as near to the rear box as possible. Here is a picture of the rear inlet.
Cables will enter it from a center space under the reinforcing member. From there, they travel through the space formerly occupied by the fuel tank, over the rear axle and into the center channel...
Three brackets constructed of 1/16" steel are bolted in through bolts placed in the floor of the car.It resides well-protected in the center channel. Getting up into the engine compartment was a bit tricky, as I had to navigate around the steering rack.From here it's an easy route up through the passenger side corner of the engine compartment. I did a test run of one 2/0 cable, and although I purposely avoided many right angles in the route, the cable still wouldn't go on its own. Time for some fish tape to help with the cable pulling.

The new license plate arrives

Check it out...

I also did some work on the front battery racks. The Exide 34XCD batteries have posts that are very close to the edge, so there is a risk of a short with the retaining frames. So some quick work with the angle grinder cut-off wheel, and... voila. Not a problem anymore.


I also made up a plastic (cutting board material) floor for each of the front rack spaces, for proper support and protection of the batteries from underneath. Here is a picture of how all the front batteries look during the test fit. Note the gap below - still have to order battery #16.

Battery layout & wiring

Both racks are now completely bolted in, and the battery clamps are scheduled to arrive middle of this week. So it's time to start planning the layout of how the batteries will be wired together. Here are some diagrams I whipped up for the front:And for the rear:

Note the use of Anderson connectors to disconnect the battery packs from the rest of the HV circuit in the front and in the back. I have also come to the realization that, based on the type of DC/DC converter I am installing, I may not need an auxiliary battery at all. The DC/DC converter will be connected to the HV traction battery pack at all times, and does not pull much current in "idle" mode (on the order of mA). Plus, I have a nice spot for the DC/DC converter to be mounted - right where the auxiliary battery used to be! Serendipity!

Battery fun

Junior mechanic putting in some weight-lifting cross-training reps on the batteries. At 41 lbs. each, they are heavy!


Put the poly battery box into the rear rack, and put the new batteries in for a test fit. They fit great! The whole unit is pretty solid, and has a lid and two top lockdown brackets, so in the event of an accident, these things ain't going nowhere.

The rear rack/box is a bit exposed because the rear bumper is missing. Remember, I am replacing the clipper ("crapper") kit bumpers with new, smaller euro-style bumpers, still on order.

Happy Battery Day!

My Exide Orbitals arrived today! I picked them up at a local mom-n-pop auto parts store that is about a mile from my house and distributes them (thanks Edmonds Auto Parts! You saved me mucho $$$ on shipping).

It was a hoot picking them up! At first I got some quizzical looks that implied I had somehow over-ordered for my car or boat. How could I possibly need that many batteries? The look transformed after I started explaining the intended purpose. I get that a lot these days. I think with gas prices where they are, people want to see stuff like this on the road. I get comments like "I'd like to build one too", to "how can I buy one of these things?"

You may notice from the pic that I only have 15 batteries. I planned on 16 (192V), but waffled at the last minute because I considered one rack position for the DC-DC converter. Now that I know my Belktronix unit will fit elsewhere, I plan on ordering battery #16 soon to complete the set.

Pack Voltage Increase!

After installing the front and rear battery racks, I did some measurements and more analysis on how many Exide Orbital 34XCD batteries I would be able to fit. To my surprise, I am able to fit up to 4 more, increasing the ultimate pack voltage from 144V to 192V. Most of the HV components can handle this increase, with the exception of the DC/DC converter. This is the unit that is effectively replacing the alternator in the car as the 12v auxiliary battery charge source, for lights and other LV items in the car. My current one was rated only up to 180V, and it would have been marginal at that high end.

As it turns out, 192V is a difficult pack voltage to get a converter for! It rests between the lower voltage range (72-170V) and upper voltage range (200-400V). I did end up finding a couple of candidates though:

Belktronix 675W Wide Range Converter (50A):
http://www.belktronix.com/isodcdc.html

EV Power's 486W Wide Range Converter (36A):
http://www.ev-power.com.au/-EV-DC-DC-CONVERTER-.html

I went with the Belktronix - a bit more expensive, but higher power. Should be here in a couple of weeks.

Batteries will be here Friday!

My current back-order component list:
1) Z1k-HV motor controller with HB2
2) Manzanita Micro PFC20 battery charger
3) Belktronix DC/DC converter

The battery racks arrive!

It was like Christmas Friday! The big package from Electro Auto arrived, containing front & rear battery racks, and the rear poly battery box that fits into the rear rack. I immediately checked the rear hole dimensions against the dimensions of the rear rack. You guessed it - the hole was too small. Better than too big, I guess. I trimmed the hole to fit with the grinder, and after some significant "persuasion", The rack moved into the hole. I haven't bolted it in yet, but I need to add some reinforcement pieces of steel for the side lips first - they came with the rack.
I also performed a test fit on the front rack - fit well. It also isn't bolted in yet, but I will do that soon.

I had been periodically removing the cabriolet body "clipper kit" over the last week or so while I was waiting for the parts to arrive. The plastic clipper kit pieces, including bumpers, are pretty thrashed, and I planned on replacing these bumpers with lighter weight and less obnoxious euro-style bumpers anyway. During the test fit in the front, I had to remove the bolts holding the front bumper on the vehicle. So here is the first look at the vehicle and its new form...

Also, the mount plate for the brake booster system arrived, so I installed that as well. It basically mounts the electric vacuum motor and vacuum reservoir for the power brake system (since the engine is gone, I need a new vacuum source for the brakes, and this is it). The motor mounted nicely, and now I have to attach the reservoir on top with some tightening hold-downs.
Exide Orbital (34XCD) batteries have been ordered (12 of them). I should be able to pick them up next week! The project is starting to speed up again!

Routing HV cables front to back

I've been working out an approach to safely and securely route the HV cables from the rear of the car to the engine compartment. The cables should not go through the passenger compartment, and although they are insulated should be protected from each other and weather, road kick-up, etc. After closer examination at the underside of the car, it looks like the best candidate location is the center channel underneath the car. This channel is where the exhaust pipe was routed, and has readily accessible mounting bolts attached to the underside of the frame. The channel is also obviously recessed, so it should protect the cables better.

I am also planning on sheathing each of the cables in schedule 40 PVC pipe. I considered putting them into the same pipe, but again, I want to isolate them as much as possible from each other in the event something does pierce one of the pipes. This way, the chances of an electrical short are minimized.

EV Expense List

Converting an EV can be inexpensive, if you are not going for performance as well. My goal is a little different, and therefore I have been spending a bit more for better parts. I have also been updating the donor car with new brakes, shocks, etc. The previous owner drove the car into the ground before he sold it. Anyway, for those of you who are interested in specific costs, here are mine to date. I have budgeted $3K for the batteries (my last major expense), but anticipate it will be closer to $2.5K since I have found a local distributor and will not have to pay shipping.

Wiring Diagrams, Take 3 (Simplification)

You can tell I don't have all the components yet, because I am still mucking around with the wiring diagrams! My Z1K-HV is on back-order, and the charger (Manzanita Micro PFC-20) is also on back-order, although probably not as severe. Anyway, I think I am honing in on the final design here (famous last words). Of note are the repositioning of the contactor, circuit breaker and shunt. This simplifies things a bit.

Wiring Diagrams, Take 2

Some review feedback on my earlier diagrams has led to me revising them slightly. Here is the latest version of the front:

and the back of the car:

The waiting is almost over (part 1)

I received word from Electro Auto that my battery racks will be shipped out in a couple of days. Boy, that was a long wait - about 2 months. Now I can finally fill this hole in the back with something.