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!