I had set the Low battery voltage limit too high at 152V (2.9V/cell under load) on the hairball computer yesterday, which did not account for pack voltage sag under load and hence resulted in overall sluggishness in acceleration or up hills. After dropping this limit to a more reasonable 130V (2.5V/cell under load), I could (and did) peel out from a standstill. HUGE EV grin!
I don't want to do this too much, but it is fun to have that torque when I need it.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Maiden Voyage today!
Matt and I took a fully-charged Electro, satellite radio blaring, on a 12 mile jaunt through Edmonds. Not too far, just enough to ease the batteries in and check how the newly set parameters in the motor controller are working out with the new pack.
In general, things are working well. The float voltage did not appear to drop at all from ~170V (3.27V/cell) during the whole 12 miles. I know the discharge curve is relatively flat, but this is encouraging for range!
As usual, I think my initial battery current limit or voltage limit is too constraining on the Zilla - up hills are sluggish. More tuning required there.
A few more (and longer) trips before I start going to work with this puppy!
In general, things are working well. The float voltage did not appear to drop at all from ~170V (3.27V/cell) during the whole 12 miles. I know the discharge curve is relatively flat, but this is encouraging for range!
As usual, I think my initial battery current limit or voltage limit is too constraining on the Zilla - up hills are sluggish. More tuning required there.
A few more (and longer) trips before I start going to work with this puppy!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Traction pack goes LIVE
Over the weekend I made the last of the battery connects, hooked up the DC/DC, and started the first charge. My pack voltage started at ~166V (3.2V/cell), and I was tuning the charger to push the pack to ~176-187V (3.4V-3.6V/cell).
The last thing I need to work on before maiden voyage is the instrumentation, which hopefully will be tonight. Pics soon!
The last thing I need to work on before maiden voyage is the instrumentation, which hopefully will be tonight. Pics soon!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Cells installed, interconnects in process
I wasted no time in getting the cells into the front and rear battery boxes. Since they don't fit exactly (I knew this in advance), I spent the first part of the day crafting some pieces of lumber to tighten up the cell packs in each box. Here you can see the front box:
and the cells in the rear battery box:
Once the cells were packed in pretty tight, I set about working on the interconnects in the front. This includes the interconnects themselves, and sandwiching cell monitors on the cells. Pretty close work, so I purposely worked on broken series sets of cells. Here is how it looks so far:
Notice the painters tape over the connects not made yet - safety first! This is where the 'light show' is going to start to become evident. Each cell monitor has a green and red LED. Green indicates the cell is in the correct voltage range. Check out the way it looks with the lights out...
Work tomorrow on the rear pack, which has twice as many cells!
and the cells in the rear battery box:
Once the cells were packed in pretty tight, I set about working on the interconnects in the front. This includes the interconnects themselves, and sandwiching cell monitors on the cells. Pretty close work, so I purposely worked on broken series sets of cells. Here is how it looks so far:
Notice the painters tape over the connects not made yet - safety first! This is where the 'light show' is going to start to become evident. Each cell monitor has a green and red LED. Green indicates the cell is in the correct voltage range. Check out the way it looks with the lights out...
Work tomorrow on the rear pack, which has twice as many cells!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Hello my pretties!
Went down to Lacey, WA today to pick up my 53 SE100AHAs. Here's a picture:
The cells came with interconnect hardware, check out this pile of copper and steel:
The interconnects are stacked sets of solid copper, with a shrink-wrap middle for insulation. Here's a side view of one of them:
I will be doing a test fit in the battery boxes this weekend. Stay tuned!
The cells came with interconnect hardware, check out this pile of copper and steel:
The interconnects are stacked sets of solid copper, with a shrink-wrap middle for insulation. Here's a side view of one of them:
I will be doing a test fit in the battery boxes this weekend. Stay tuned!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Bad Timing
I got the voicemail that my batteries are ready to be picked up, starting Monday! I am traveling on business this week, so it will have to wait until Friday. Doh! So Battery Day is now 3/5. Can't wait!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
DC/DC Converter arrived
The refactored DC/DC converter arrived from Belktronix today. This DC/DC can take inputs of between 150V - 200V input, right around the projected traction pack voltage of 166V. Installation this weekend!
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