Electric Conversion
excellent,
existing, environmentally essential,
electrically energy efficient,
emissions excluded, emotionally exciting
This
document contains the current level of the EPT2 design. It contains varying levels of detail.
Many
areas are still sketchy. As the
design progressed the document has been updated to reflect the changes. It
shows intentions up front and historical journal at the end. This information is offered without
warrantee.
The conversion of an automobile drive train
is not to be undertaken lightly. Do not
attempt to replicate this project unless you know what you are doing and are
willing to accept full responsibility for the outcome.
Although
this document can be viewed as a web page, it is best viewed as a word document.
Contents
1)
Design
2)
Preparation of
Base vehicle.
3)
Overall component
layout.
4)
Mechanical
assembly
5)
Motor Assembly
Installation
6)
Electrical Wiring
7)
Electrical
assembly
8)
Diary
9)
Statistics
10)
Credits
1) Design
Overview
Requirements
This vehicle is
configured for local driving. Typically
there will be one or two passengers with room for purchases, groceries, behind
the front seat. There are two jump
seats in the back, which can hold two more passengers occasionally.
The required range is
35 miles. The vehicle will be used in
Winter Haven Florida where the temperatures are moderate and the terrain is
flat. It should be capable of highway
speeds (65 mph). The objective is to achieve the expected range with 40% SOC
(state Of Charge) remaining. The range
of 35 miles is not expected at the maximum speed. Normal driving will be at speeds below 45 mph, with occasional trips
including short sprints of 5 or 10 miles at maximum speed.
The requirements are for a
two-passenger vehicle with minimal cargo capacity (100 lbs.), 35-mile range,
three to five year battery life, and carefree battery maintenance. The intention is to have a car that you plug
in and drive. No need to worry about
specific gravity, water levels, or how to get those low batteries back to the
level of the others.
Design Rationale
The car is a conversion of
a 1999 Ford Ranger Pickup Truck. This
base vehicle was chosen for ease of conversion, not because of a need for large
payload utility vehicle. The pickup
truck has the ability to carry the weight of the battery pack without further
modifications. The extended cab was
chosen to provide a secure area for the intended small payload.
Range
The battery pack design is
based on the following rule of thumb; 20 pounds of lead battery will carry you
1 mile if the battery pack is one third of the vehicle weight. Another rule of thumb to consider is that a
vehicle
consumes 4 times the power at 70 mph as it does at 35 mph.
|
Vehicle
|
my Ranger DC
|
|
ICE
Wt
|
3440
|
|
GVWR
|
4760
|
|
Pack
Volts
|
144
|
|
Unit
#
|
12
|
|
Unit V
|
12
|
|
Unit Weight
|
120
|
|
Unit Type
|
UB-4D AGM
|
|
Pack
Weight
|
1440
|
|
Saved
Weight
|
509
|
|
Additional Weight
|
931
|
|
Payload
|
398
|
|
EV
Wt
|
4371
|
|
Rule of Thumb Range
|
72
|
|
Expected
Range
|
35
|
|
Curb/pack Ratio
|
3
|
The objective is to assemble a vehicle that meets the GVWR of the
Manufacturer. The initial vehicle starting weight is 3440 lbs. The completed
vehicle weight is expected to be about 4370 lbs. These tables show the details.
|
Engine weight
|
350
|
|
Oil
|
37.5
|
|
Water
|
60
|
|
½ Tank Gas
|
61
|
|
Exhaust etc
|
100
|
|
Liner, Hitch, Spare
|
200
|
|
Total Removed
|
808.5
|
|
Less Kit Weight Added
|
300.00
|
|
Net Weight
|
508.50
|
The vehicle range, based
on the rule of thumb, is unrealistically high.
It is also based on exhausting the batteries to 0% State Of Charge
(SOC). The expected range takes into
account the need to meet the 35 mile range objective with a 40% SOC remaining.
Speed
The remaining major design
consideration is based on the tried and true typical DC conversion. To achieve highway speeds, a Netgain 9 inch
series wound motor is used with a Curtis 500 Amp controller at 144V DC.
|
Netgain
Warp 9 Data at 144V input
|
|
Time
On
|
Volts
|
Amps
|
RPM
|
HP
|
KW
|
|
5
min.
|
134
|
320
|
4200
|
48.8
|
36.8
|
|
1
hr.
|
138
|
185
|
5700
|
30.4
|
22.9
|
|
Continuous
|
139
|
170
|
6000
|
28.5
|
21.5
|
|
Peak
Horsepower
|
100
|
|
This
car is driven by a large electric motor rated between 28.5 HP continuous and 100 HP Peak) when the input voltage is 144 volts. The rating systems used
for rating HP in gas engines and electric motors are different. Gas engines are
rated at their peak HP; electric motors are rated at their continuous HP. The
peak HP of an electric motor can be as much as 8 to 10 times its continuous
rating.
|
Curtis
|
1231C-8601
|
|
INPUT VOLTAGE
|
96 - 144V
|
|
MAX CURRENT
|
500 AMPS
|
|
2-MIN RATING
|
500 AMPS
|
|
5-MIN RATING
|
375 AMPS
|
|
1-HR RATING
|
225 AMPS
|
|
UNDER VOLTAGE
|
CUTS BACK @ 64VDC
|
|
VOLTAGE DROP
|
<0.30VDC @ 100 AMPS
|
|
SWITCHING FREQ.
|
1.5 - 15 kHz
|
|
WEIGHT
|
19 lbs
|
|
DIMENSIONS
|
13.3" L x 8.6" W x
3.7" H
|
A good deal of
consideration was given to an AC system.
It was abandoned because of cost and availability. These systems have been used to great
advantage in production line vehicles, but have enjoyed limited acceptance
among home conversion, garage mechanics.
A higher voltage DC system was also considered. The typical Zillla controller requires a
six-month lead-time to order. This
combined with the complexity of a water-cooled controller prompted a simpler
less expensive Curtis system with a Netgain Warp 9 inch motor.
The Curtis controller is
able to handle the voltage and current requirements of normal driving
well. Quick starts and hills will
require 400 – 500 amps for a short period.
Cruising at 35 or 40 mph will require 150 to 200 amps for extended
periods. This is well within the
capability of the controller and the motor.
The table and graph in the section on the charger show battery capacity
in line with motor and controller.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratios
|
|
|
Type
|
Model
|
Code
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
5th
|
|
5-Speed
|
M5OD R2
|
M
|
3.72
|
2.254
|
1.50
|
1.00
|
0.79
|
|
Axle
|
open 7.5 inch
|
86
|
3.73
|
3.73
|
3.73
|
3.73
|
3.73
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Combined
|
|
13.88
|
8.39
|
5.60
|
3.73
|
2.95
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MPH
|
|
|
RPM
|
Amps
|
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
5th
|
|
4200
|
320
|
|
13
|
21
|
31
|
47
|
59
|
|
6000
|
170
|
|
18
|
29
|
45
|
67
|
83
|
People often ask about
gear ratios and RPM. It is a way of
testing the design.
This table takes all the
above data into account, combined with transmission ratios, axel ratios, tire
size and RPM. Second and third gear should
suffice for local driving. With fourth
gear being necessary to achieve highway speeds. The use of first gear, although not essential, may increase
range.
The green highlighting
shows a likely sequence of events under normal acceleration to highway speed.
Batteries
Batteries were chosen consistent with the requirements
of range, three to five year battery life, and carefree battery maintenance,
without the need to worry about specific gravity and water levels. Lead battery technology is mature and that
maturity is realized in AGM batteries.
AGM is an acronym for Absorbed Glass Mat. Also called sealed lead acid (SLA) by Universal. They are maintenance free, have a low
internal resistance, and for that reason can deliver high current for a short period
of time. Gel batteries are also
maintenance free. Gel is the older
technology and for that reason was not chosen.
These batteries are often
over looked because of their weight (120 lbs.). The most common choice is 6 volt batteries at half the weight,
half the size, but double the number, and opportunity for unequal charge level.
Charging:
Universal Battery UB4D AGM
Cycle: Initial charging current less than 80A
Voltage 14.50 (174) – 14.9V (178.8V) Spec Sheet
Voltage 14.1 (169.2) – 14.4V (172.8V) Battery Label
Battery Management
The requirement to have a
car that you plug in and drive, without need to worry about how to get those
low batteries back to the level of the others.
This requires some sort of battery management system. The Power Cheq Equalizer system was chosen
for this purpose. By keeping the number
of batteries to a minimum, using 12V batteries, the problem is minimized and
facilitates using Power Cheq Equalizers.
Eleven will be used to maintain equal levels during idle, discharge and
charging.
Charging
The requirements of “plug
and drive” and “battery life” led to the selection of the Zivan NG3
charger. This is a three-stage charger
that will take the batteries through the charge process unattended. The model selected runs on 110V, so it can
be installed or carried in the vehicle for opportunity charging. A 230V version is available which will
charge faster. It was decided that this
would be less usable for opportunity charging and was not selected. This
charger has a temperature sensor which moderates charge if the batteries get
hot.
|
Led
|
Phase
|
Description
|
|
Red
|
Phase1 (T1) Max 12 hr
|
Power is held at the maximum Im:10.2A until voltage rises to U1:
171.6V or 14.3V/cell or
T1 max is reached
|
|
Blinking Red
|
Phase2 (T2) Max 3 hr
|
Voltage is held constant at U1: 171.6V while the current fades from
I1: 8.5A to
I5: 2.8A or
T2 max is reached
|
|
Yellow / Blinking Yellow
|
Phase3 (T3) Max 6 hr
|
Current pulses on and off at I2:
4.2A until the increase in V during 45 minutes is < 10mv (dV/dt < 10mv/el) or T3 max is reached
|
|
Green
|
Stop
|
Charge Finished
|
This table contains a description of the
charge stages.
|
Im
|
I1
|
I2
|
I5
|
U1:
|
|
|
83% Im
|
50% I1
|
66% I2
|
171.6V
|
|
10.2 A
|
8.5A
|
4.2A
|
2.8A
|
14.3V/Batt.
|
These
are the values for the points in the chart at the left.
Weekly restart is
triggered if pack voltage falls below 155.4 or 12.95 volts. per battery. The official charge is up to 172.8v or 14.4
per battery. Then the pulse mode pulses the pack up to 189.12 volts or 15.76
per battery. If this voltage is reached quickly the pulse mode will continue at
lower voltages. Typically, between 163.4 and 172.6. (or 13.6 and 14.4 per
battery)
The table and graph below show the
SOC for the UB4D batteries being charged.
It is intended that the pack will be kept in the green range, with only
occasional dips into the yellow or rarely in to the orange.
|
State of Charge
|
12 Volt Battery
|
144 Volt Pack
|
|
100% SOC
|
12.80 or greater
|
153.6
|
|
75% SOC
|
12.55
|
150.6
|
|
50% SOC
|
12.20
|
146.4
|
|
40% SOC
|
12.18
|
145.16
|
|
30% SOC
|
11.92
|
143.04
|
|
25% SOC
|
11.75
|
141
|
|
0% SOC
|
10.50
|
126
|
What follows is an
explanation of terminology.
Battery charging takes place
in 3 basic stages: Bulk, Absorption, and Float.
|
Bulk Charge - The first stage of 3-stage battery charging.
Current is sent to batteries at the maximum safe rate they will accept until
voltage rises to near (80-90%) full charge level. Voltages at this stage
typically range from 10.5 volts to 15 volts. There is no "correct"
voltage for bulk charging, but there may be limits on the maximum current
that the battery and/or wiring can take.
|
|
Absorption Charge: The 2nd stage of 3-stage battery charging.
Voltage remains constant and current gradually tapers off as internal
resistance increases during charging. It is during this stage that the
charger puts out maximum voltage. Voltages at this stage are typically around
14.2 to 15.5 volts.
|
|
Float Charge: The 3rd
stage of 3-stage battery charging. After batteries reach full charge,
charging voltage is reduced to a lower level (typically 12.8 to 13.2) to
reduce gassing and prolong battery life. This is often referred to as a
maintenance or trickle charge, since it's main purpose is to keep an already
charged battery from discharging. PWM, or "pulse width modulation"
accomplishes the same thing. In PWM, the controller or charger senses tiny
voltage drops in the battery and sends very short charging cycles (pulses) to
the battery. This may occur several hundred times per minute. It is called
"pulse width" because the width of the pulses may vary from a few
microseconds to several seconds. Note that for long term float
service, such as backup power systems that are seldom discharged, the float
voltage should be around 13.02 to 13.20 volts.
|
Accessory Power
Low voltage (12V) accessory circuits such as lighting
are powered from the original 12V battery.
This battery is kept charged by an Iota DLS-30, DC – DC converter. It uses the output from the high voltage
(144V) pack as input and produces 13.6V or 14.3 V output.
The interesting thing
about this device is that it is designed for 120V AC input. Because the first stage is a rectifier, it
functions equally well on either AC or DC input.
This device eliminates the
need for an alternator.
Power Brakes
An essential function in
any vehicle is breaking. The original
vehicle relies on vacuum from the ICE for power assist. In this conversion we will use a 12V
electric vacuum pump with an aluminum vacuum reservoir.
Mechanical
The most difficult part of
the conversion is the mating of the electric motor to the existing drive
train. This is a problem that has been
solved many times before in other conversions, upon which this one is based. Nevertheless, the problem is difficult
because of the variety of vehicles being converted and alternative approaches.
This design uses a base
vehicle with a 5 speed manual transmission.
The clutch and flywheel will be eliminated. The transmission drive shaft will be mated directly to the motor
shaft through an adapter plate and coupler.
The adapter plate and coupler were machined by Wayne Alexander of EV-Blue.
These precision parts were custom made for this vehicle.
Wayne Alexander was chosen as the EV machinist for
this project because of his experience, responsiveness and low cost. There are many places to get this work
done. My experience was that these
folks are overloaded with work. In many
cases they are doing fleet work. I
found it hard to get their attention.
The real test will come when
the parts are installed and working. At
this point, it is clear that everything fits together well.
Instrumentation
The only instruments
directly related to the electric conversion are the voltmeter and the
ammeter.
The range of
the voltmeter is 80 – 180 volts and the range of the ammeter is 0 – 500
amps.
Battery pack voltage will be used to help determine state of
charge. The fully ccharged voltage
should be about 154 volts. When it gets to 144 volts, you’re running on
empty.The trip odometer will also be a reminder of when it is time to recharge.
The ammeter will help the
driver learn how to adjust driving habits to conserve on battery power and
extend range. Both instruments will be
illuminated and mounted in a pod on the driver side winshield pillar.
It is a goal to make
maximum use of the existing instrument panel.
The water temperature sensor and temperature gauge will be used to
monitor motor temperature. The oil
pressure gauge, in combination with a vacuum switch, will be converted to a
vacuum gauge. The Battery Icon,
currently the charge indicator, will be the run indicator, showing that the
controller and throttle are enabled for driving.
Safty
An inertia switch will cut
off power on impact. The vehicle will remain
within the original GVWR of the manufacturer, while maintaining similar loaded
weight distribution. Vacuum assisted
power ABS braking will be retained functional.
A brake interlock will prevent throttle enable at startup unless the
break is depressed. The break will also
diable the throttle wile driving. Any
failure in the conttroller or throttle will be overridden by the break. Avacuum gauge on the dash will indicate the
state of the breaking system vacuum. An
emergency cable operated breaker is accessable from the driver position. Two lockout switches, for maintenance, will
be located one at each 144 volt terminal.
The positive switch will be under the hood and the negative switc h will
be in the rear battery rack. Both the
positive and negative 144 volt terminals will be fused. There is a throttle (Main) contactor in the
positive 144 volt line and a Key On (Bypass) contactor in the negative 144 volt
line.
Climate Control
There will be no heater. It is a goal to have Air Conditioning. The most desireable solution is for an electric
motor/compressor. The Masterflux SIERRA
05-0982Y3 motor compressor is suitable for this application because it operates on 100 to 150 volts DC with R134a air conditioning
systems. Unfortunately availability is
a problem and the price is unknown.
A
belt driven compressor is also a possibility, but more complex. The car will start out without Air
conditioning. Until this problem is resolved.
.
2) Preparation
of Base vehicle.
For reference purposes the safety Tag for the vehicle
is shown here.
a) Measure the current ride height
Measured at top of wheel opening on fender.
Front Ride = 31 inches
Rear Ride = 33 Inches
b) Evacuate A/C refrigerant.
c) Remove fluids
i)
Drain oil from
Motor.
ii) Drain Gas tank
iii) Drain Coolant from radiator.
This, especially,
includes draining coolant from the engine block via the block drain plugs.
d) Remove the hood
e) Remove the bed
i)
Six torx bolts
ii) Wiring harness for tail lights
iii) Gas
cap
f)
Remove Battery
This battery will be used for the 12V accessory system.
g) Remove exhaust system, Discard.
h) Remove fuel system
i)
Gas Tank,
Discard.
ii) Fuel lines, Discard.
iii) Canister, Discard.
i)
Fabricate and install Transmission cross member
A
duplicate of the rear transmission cross member is being used as a starting point
for the fabrication of a front transmission
cross member. Sixteen inches
will be cut out of the center of the cross member. Hopefully this will fit on top of the front suspension mount on
each side of the frame.
The hole at the top of the slot in the suspension mount will be used to bolt
the new shortened cross member. Once
the cross member is in place, a pencil will be used to mark the cross member
for drilling. The cross member is
bolted with Grade 8, one inch 7/16-14 bolts with fender washer on each side and
lock washer on nut side.
j)
Remove the radiator
k)
Remove serpentine Belt Components
i)
Remove belt
Set the belt aside it is no longer needed.
ii)
Remove alternator
The
alternator will not be used in the electric vehicle. It will use a 30 amp DC –DC converter to charge the 12V Accessory
battery.
iii) Remove Power steering pump
The power steering will not be used initially. The delivery line from the pump to steering
gear box will be removed from the pump and connect back (on itself) to the return
on the steering gear box. In other
words, the hose will connect the delivery to the return on the steering gear
box. Make sure the gear box is full of
fluid. The pump and the return hose can
be set aside.
The steering gear box will perform as manual steering without the load
from the pump. At some later time an
electric pump may be added.
iv) Remove
A/C Compressor
This compressor will not be used for the A/C. At a later time either a v-belt compressor will be driven by the
electric motor or a high voltage (144V) electric motor/compressor will be used.
l)
Disconnect Wiring from motor
CAUTION: Do not start
hacking away at the wiring harnesses!
Only cutoff engine wires that you are sure you will not use later. Label
wires that you want to identify later, such as tachometer and temperature
sensor wires. Do not cut off any ground wires.
Simply move them from the engine to the firewall or chassis. If you lose a ground, something won’t work
right. All ground wires are
important. Don’t disturb wires that go
to the transmission – one set of transmission wires is for the speed sensor for
the speedometer and odometer and the other set is for the reverse switch that
activates your backup lights.
We will most likely have to keep the computer so your speedometer and
odometer still work. In
many new cars the speedometer, fuel gauges, tachometer, windshield wipers,
lights, etc. are programmed in such a way that they will not function if you
remove the IC engine or merely even tamper with the ECU
Make sure that all relevant hoses, cables,
linkages, mounts and stabilizers, electrical connectors, and other components
are properly disconnected at the simplest, most accessible points. If any of
these components are dangling or protruding into the removal path of the engine
assembly, they should be tied out of the way. Plastic cable ties work
excellently for this. It is very important that this is done before any
attempts are made to lift the engine assembly from its installed position.
i)
Remove and save temperature sending unit
ii) Remove
and save oil pressure sending unit
iii) Remove
the 12V line to the voltmeter on the dash
iv) Remove
and save the wire from the fuel gauge to the fuel gauge on the dash.
v) Leave
ABS break computer in place.
vi) Leave
the ECU in place so the speedometer/odometer works.
m)
Disconnect hoses from Motor
i)
Remove brake
vacuum lines
The power brake vacuum will be provided by an
electric vacuum pump and a vacuum reservoir.
The vacuum hose will be needed.
n)
Remove Motor
o)
Remove the clutch pedal
.
3)
Overall component layout.
Rear Battery Layout
The key components in
this conversion are the traction batteries and the Motor and the motor
controller. The problem of interfacing
the electric motor to the existing drive train, the problems of component
placement, particularly the batteries, and weight distribution, are all
important parts of a safe design.
The traction battery
pack weighs 1440 pounds. This load is
split in two parts, one quarter in the engine compartment and three quarters in
the pickup bed. Nine batteries will be located in the pickup bed . One row of five and one row of four. They will be located between front of the
box and the rear axle. The row of five
will fit in front of the wheel well.
The row of four will be between the wheel wells, with rear end of the
batteries just over the axle. The
entire pack will occupy about 41 inches at the front of the box.
Many
conversions put the batteries under the bed.
From a cargo space and appearance point of view this is appealing. The truck looks like a normal pickup
truck. Unfortunately the cargo space is
an illusion. The weight of the
batteries consumes so much of the payload capacity of the vehicle that the
value of the large cargo area is significantly reduced, but still, not
useless. The appearance is also
important in persuading neophytes of the advantages of an electric vehicle.
The above also
compromises the characteristics of the battery pack. Batteries must be chosen that will fit in the available nooks
under the bed.
This design gives up
the advantages of batteries under the bed for the following reasons. The under bed approach is expensive. It usually involves a tilt bed, expensive
custom battery racks and shock absorbers need to be relocated to make space for
batteries.
This design uses a
144V battery pack consisting of twelve, 12V AGM batteries. The minus cable going to the controller is
fused. The batteries are high capacity
batteries (200AH) for range. Each
battery is 20.5” long by 8.1” wide and weighs 120 lbs. Batteries are chosen to reduce their numbers
and thus simplify battery management (equalization). If 6 volt batteries were used, we would need 24 batteries. Their smaller size makes for easier
placement, but complicates battery management.
The sheer number of 6V batteries exacerbates the likelihood of unequal
charge in such a large umber (24) of batteries. With only 12 batteries, battery management is accomplished with
11 Power Cheq Equalizers.
The points favored in
this design are range, battery life, and carefree battery maintenance. The intention is to have a car that you plug
in and drive. No need to worry about
specific gravity, water levels, or how to get those low batteries back to the
level of the others. Battery life is
intended to be three to five years. It
is expected that the cost of more expensive 12V AGM batteries in a well managed
system will be no more expensive than poorly managed, high maintenance,
cheaper, flooded, 6V batteries.
It is often said that
placing batteries under the bed lowers the center of gravity and superior to
batteries in the bed. This may be true,
but if you modify the suspension and place a third of the batteries behind the
rear axle, you may loose some of the benefit.
The truck is designed to carry the payload in the bed. Using it for its’ intended purpose can’t be
a big problem. With this design the
load is well placed forward of the rear axle.
Front battery
Layout
The remaining three
traction batteries will be placed under the hood. They will be placed directly behind the grill along with the 12V
accessory battery. The twelve volt
accessory battery will remain in its’ original location.
The accessory battery
is on the driver’s side. This location
is good because it is close to the twelve volt fuse box. The idea is to keep the 12Volt components on
the drivers side and the high voltage (144 volt) components on the passenger
side.
The traction batteries
under the hood will be installed vertically, three in a row, with the terminals
at the top on the side facing the rear of the vehicle. This a very compact installation of 360
pounds of lead in a space less than 26 inches wide, less than 22 inches high
and about 9 inches deep.
Here is the actual
battery placement under the hood. The
batteries turned out to be only 8.1 inches wide allowing three to fit between
frame rails. A superior solution to
other alternatives considered. This layout gives easier access to the accessory
battery, leaving it in its original factory location.
Motor Mount
The electric motor is
attached to the adapter plate, which is bolted to the transmission bell
housing. Typically a ring mount, around the motor, attached to the ICE mounts,
supports the motor. Ring mounts are
available that require a fabricated attachment to the original mount points.
This design will take
the unusual step of adding a removable front transmission cross member to
support the transmission while the motor is being installed. Torque is often a problem in these vehicles. The ring mount holds the motor by friction
only. It is not uncommon for the motor
and transmission to turn slightly under heavy acceleration. Some times the ring mount breaks. This design will anchor the transmission
bell housing and adapter plate to the removable front transmission cross member
on each side of the adapter plate. A
ring mount, bolted to the main front cross member, will also be used. I call
it the belt and suspenders approach
In addition to motor
and transmission support, we must deal with the drive train interface. The key component here is the coupler. This is a fabricated assembly that consists
of two parts, the coupler and the spline from the clutch friction disc. The clutch disc is cut down to about a
9-inch diameter by cutting off the friction surfaces. The clutch disc with the spine at the center is bolted to the
custom machined coupler.
The motor side of the
coupler slides on the motor shaft with a key.
Both the shaft and the coupler have a keyway. The key holds the coupler on the shaft in a fixed position. Setscrews are used on each side of the
coupler. On the key side the setscrew
holds the key in place. On the opposite
side the setscrew locks against the motor shaft. The setscrews are installed with Loctite 271. In addition a second setscrew is inserted
behind the first on both sides. This is
also installed with Loctite. Before the
final assembly of the coupler to the motor shaft with Loctite, a trial fit of
the motor to the transmission must be done.
This process starts by cutting the end of the transmission shaft. It is cut off up to the spline, leaving the
entire spline on the shaft. The result
is the leading end of the transmission shaft starts with the spline. The coupler mates directly to this spline.
In addition, the
clutch hydraulic line and slave cylinder need to be removed from the bell
housing.
At this point the
motor adapter plate and coupler assembly can be trial fit. It is expected that the adapter plate will
not reach the bell housing, there will be a 1/8 inch or so gap all the way
around. . Use spacers in the gap and bolt the adapter plate to the bell
housing. Now measure the gap. Use this measurement plus 1/16 of an inch as
the amount to cut off the spline.
For example if the gap
is 1/8 inch, cut 3/16 inch off the spline.
Now do one more trial fit. You
can observe the shaft through the side of the bell housing by removing a rubber
pad from the side of the bell housing.
When you are sure
everything is right, remove the setscrews on one side of the coupler and
reinstall them with Loctite 271. Do the
same with the setscrews on the other side.
It is now time for
final installation of the motor assembly.
Put the braces on the outside of the adapter plate down to the front
transmission cross member as you install the last two bolts. Fasten the ring mount assembly on the motor
to the original motor mounts.
Under Hood
Components
The under hood motor
compartment is 32 inches from the front of the adapter plate to the radiator
frame. It is 26.5 inches between the
frame rails at the radiator frame. The
frame rails are 2 5/8 inches wide so there is more room above the rails than
there is between the rails. The higher
up you go the wider the motor compartment is.
At the top it is 55 inches wide and 31 inches from the radiator frame to
the fire wall.
As has been mentioned
before, the components are mounted on a table top like platform in upper area
of the motor compartment behind the batteries and over the motor. The low voltage (12V) components will be on
the drivers’ side and the high voltage (144V) components will be on the
passenger side. The DC-DC converter is
a little troublesome because it has 144V input and 12V output. It will be placed on driver’s side near the
center.
Although the table top
looks like a single surface, it is actually two separate materials. An aluminum frame supporting a transparent
acrylic surface providing an insulating material so that components are
electrically isolated from each other.
Controller dimensions
are 13.3" L x 8.6" W x 3.7" H.
Here is the final
reality. The frame is made from
aluminum angle. The surface is two
pieces of transparent acrylic for thickness.
It is transparent so you can see through it to the motor below. Some of the original objectives are
achieved. The biggest compromise is the
location of the 12 volt relays. They
are on a blue card in front of the controller.
It just works out that this is where they fit. The aluminum frame is 12 volt grounded. Although the table was originally constructed with rivets, it was
welded for the final assembly.
4)
Mechanical
assembly
Permanently mount the adapter plate to the motor using
Grade 8, 3/8 - 16 plated hex head bolts, 2 inches long with solid 1 inch shank,
with lock washer against fender washer.
Use Loctite primer on the
threads and Loctite 271 permanent thread lock.
Use 45 ft/lbs torque to tighten.
Note the alignment in the
picture. The motor terminals should be
at 10 and 2 o’clock as you look at the top of the plate.
5)
Motor
Assembly Installation
a) Motor mount
The motor mount straps around the motor and
attaches to the existing motor mount on the frame. An interface needs to be fabricated to mate the ring mount to the
frame mount.
Also picture here are the Adaptor plate bolts used to attach it to the
Transmission Bell Housing. These are
four grade 8 half inch 13 bolts 3.5 inches long and three 7/16ths inch 14, same
length and grade bolts in the place
where the starter was. Two of the
original bolts are used to attach to the threaded holes in the bell
Housing. Bolts are installed with
fender washers and lock washers.
6)
Electrical
Wiring
a) 12V system
i)
Throttle
Below is an excerpt from the Curtis manual. I don’t believe the 1231C-8601 has this option. It is here for reference. In the design of the EPT2, the interlock
function is implemented in an interlock relay. See wring diagram. Regardless of the condition of the throttle
linkage and micro switch, turning the key off should turn off the controller.
High pedal disable (HPD) [OPTIONAL FEATURE]
By preventing
the vehicle from being turned on with the throttle applied, HPD ensures the
vehicle starts smoothly and safely. If the operator attempts to start the
vehicle when the throttle is already applied, the controller (and the vehicle)
will remain off. For the vehicle to start, the controller must receive an input
to KSI before receiving a throttle input. In addition to providing routine
smooth starts, HPD also protects against accidental sudden starts if problems
in the throttle linkage (e.g., bent parts, broken return spring) give a
throttle input signal to the controller even with the throttle released. The 1209B/1221B/1221C/1231C
controllers are available either with or without the HPD feature.
KSI
KSI (Key Switch
Input) provides power to the controller’s logic circuitry via both the key
switch and the throttle micro switch. KSI should be used to turn the controller
on and off. Seat switch interlock
ii)
Interlocks
All of these interlocks are useful to some
degree. The interlocks are listed in
priority order.
§
Throttle
interlock
Implementation planned
§
Break interlock
Implementation planned. The output of the of the throttle “interlock relay” is drawn through a break pedal
operated SPDT relay. The drivers first
instinct, if there is a problem with the throttle will be to apply the
break. Then the key switch.
§
Charger interlock
Not yet added to wiring diagram. Charger has an appropriate set of terminals.
§
Motor over
temperature interlock
Not yet added to wiring diagram. Motor has an appropriate set of terminals.
§
Inertia switch
interlock
§
Neutral start
interlock
b) 144V system
8)
Diary
January 31, 2007 Considered Solectria Force in Newark, NY for $13,500. Would have been a mistake.
February 6, 2007 Considered US Electricar Chevrolet S-10 in Texas,
Sold for $8500, a bargain. Was worried
about shipping.
February 6, 2007 Test drove 2003 and 2004 Prius for $15,000 + in Wesley
Chapel, expensive conversion to plug-in.
February 14, 2007 Purchase 1999 Ford Ranger Pickup truck extended cab and 5
speed manual as a base vehicle for conversion.
February 20, 2007 Start email dialog with Electro
Automotive on DC package.
February 26, 2007 Electro Automotive recommends an AC
conversion
March 4, 2007 Spoke
with Ken Watkins in Lake Mary about doing the conversion for me. He wants $6,000 plus parts to do the
job. It is a lot to add to and already
expensive project.
March 13, 2007 Sent
email to Elctro Automotive about Air Conditioning Kit price and availability.
No response. Decided to go with my own
DC design using parts from various suppliers based on price and availability.
March 17, 2007 Met
Mike Moore from Ampmobile in Crawfordville, FL. Was considering letting Mike do the conversion in SC. He quoted a figure of $10,000 - $12,000 to
do the job. Came back convinced I would
do the job here in Winter Haven myself.
Mike was very knowledgeable and helpful. I decided, in the end, he is just too far away for me to have
much input to the process.
April 1, 2007 Ordered adapter plate and
coupler
May 10, 2007 Placed
order for major components from Electric Vehicles USA, Motor, Controller,
Charger etc.
May 21, 2007 31
lbs Electric Vehicles USA
May 22, 2007 DHL 15 lbs Elton Electric Vehicles USA charger
May 22, 2007 FedEx
Freight Motor arrived on big tractor
trailer
May 23, 2007 Adapter
plate and coupler arrive
June 7, 2007 FedEx summit Vacuum Pump and reservoir arrive
June 8, 2007 PO EV source Power
Cheq equalizers etc. arrive
June 9, 2007 EV
parts Fuse, breaker, meters and emblems arrive
June 15, 2007 Cut duplicate cross member and
remove pickup bed with Dave, Mike and Ben
June 16, 2007 Removed fuel tank
June 18, 2007 Disconnected
Exhaust system from cross over pipe to tailpipe. Remains to be untangled from chassis. Received Curtis controller and parts from MCM including precharge
resister.
June 19, 2007 Finished
removing exhaust system, removed fuel lines and hood with Mikes’ help.
June 21, 2007 Removed
radiator and shroud. Found heat sink
and asked for price. Ordered wire,
an additional SW-200 contactor.
Anderson connectors, and another 500 amp fuse from EV Source. Still waiting for EV Parts to send SW-200
and shunt.
June 22, 2007 Removed
serpentine belt and alternator. Have
compressor free. Ordered copper buss
bar.
June 23, 2007 Remove
Compressor, and high and low pressure lines.
Removed fan with Dave’s help.
June 24, 2007 Removed
pulley from Power steering pump with puller from Auto Zone. Removed Power
Steering.
June 26, 2007 Worked
on figuring out how the charger works.
Stage 2 ends with I5 and Stage 3 pulses at I2. Made graph to show the curve.
June 28, 2007 Cut
fitting off high pressure delivery line leaving nipple. Attached return line to pressure line on
power steering. The rest of the EV
Parts order finally arrived. Forty
eight inch copper buss bar arrived..
Had trouble with crossover pipe.
Dave came over and got things moving.
He removed both exhaust manifolds , the oil filter, and the starter, but
still couldn’t slide it all out until he jacked the car up. Once removed as a unit, he cut the four
bolts holding it all together. He then
proceeded to remove the intake manifold, fuel injectors and everything
else remaining in the way of engine removal.
Tomorrow the motor comes out.
The answer to charger weekly restart finally arrived from tech support.
It checks once a week, if battery voltage is less than 12.95 volts at end of
charge and restarts if it is lower.
June 29, 2007 Dave removed the motor in two hours with some help from
Mike and me. Later I finished
fabricating the front transmission cross member. Had to cut and shape the ends for flush fit. Installed and it fits and functions
well. Will remove and have seams welded
shut later.
June 30, 2007 Removed hydraulic line from clutch slave cylinder. Removed slave cylinder assembly from
transmission drive shaft. Measured
pilot shaft and spline and adjusted motor coupler assembly to fit.
July 1, 2007 Cut pilot shaft off transmission drive shaft. Disconnected clutch master cylinder push rod
from pedal, removed clutch position switch and clutch pedal.
July 2, 2007 Removed cross member and took it to the welder.
July 3, 2007 Picked up cross member and painted it blue. Cleaned and painted suspension struts and
main front cross member. Reinstalled
the fabricated cross member to support transmission.
July 4, 2007 Sort out wring harness. Identified unlabeled connectors.
July 5, 2007 Connected clutch fluid reservoir to steering gear
box lines using a “T” connector.
Unraveled motor harness, removing fuel injector connectors, etc. Removed high current starter cables from the
battery harness.
July 6, 2007 Ignition key test.
All functions working after trimming harness. Washer, wiper, lights, blower and radio all working fine.
July 7, 2007 Initial placement of PVC pipe. Will be use as conduit for high current
cables and other wiring. Further
refinements on wiring harness. Taped up
electrical connector attached to fuel line interlock and secured. Removed exhaust Oxygen sensor from
transmission leg of harness. Reinstalled cutch position switch with bolt
through center to compress spring so it looks like clutch is pressed. This enables the ignition key start
function. Heated up water temperature
sensor to see if temperature gauge still works. Key test shows start position on key switch and temperature gauge
working.
July 8, 2007 Install motor for trial fit. Motor is in place with a few bolts. Needs further alignment. Photo of coupler inside transmission. Shows degree of overlap between coupler and
spline. Marked spline with pencil so I
can measure overlap after removal for Loctite application. One hole missing from plate on right
side. Will drill after removal.
July 9, 2007 Had trouble with starter bolts. The original starter bolts go through, but
the new bolts have trouble with slight misalignment. After refining alignment of transmission and motor was able to
get two of them in. Missing one half
inch bolt. All bolts are too short to
use washers. Took measurements for
remaining functions such batteries, parts table and compressor. Did spin test in neutral. No problems.
July 10, 2007 Removed motor.
Checked hole alignment using sheet metal bell housing cover from ICE.
Drilled missing hole at the 3 o’clock position realigned hole at 9 o’clock
position. Inspected spline on
transmission. Overlap with spline on
coupler is .96 inches based on pencil mark mad yesterday. Removed setscrews and reinstalled with
Loctite.
Reinstalled motor using same bolts. Will replace with longer ones later.
July 11, 2007 Purchased Bolts and aluminum Stock. Reorganized garage now that electric motor
is off the floor. Folded up engine
hoist.
July 12, 2007 Motor mount arrived.
July 13, 2007 Heat sink arrived for use with
controller. Shown on bottom of
controller (upside-down).
July 19, 2007 Made
the cable for the converter and connected to the 12 Volt accessory
battery. It works well and charges the
battery.
July 20, 2007 Replaced
the three inch bolts holding the motor to the transmission bell housing with
3.5 inch bolts with my Grandson Fio. He
learned all about mechanical advantage today.
July 21, 2007 Removed
ICE motor mount on drivers side. Was in
the way of the ring mount. Did trial
fit of ring mount. Fits well.
Fabricated plywood extension of the foot as a pattern for the
welder. Will bolt into existing holes
in front cross member. Drilled hole in
top of ring mount for over heating wires.
July 22, 2007 Fabricated
a mount from 1 inch aluminum angle to attach the heat sink to the Curtis
controller. Assembled the parts for a trial fit. Need to fabricate two end pieces, disassemble and apply heat sink compound and reassemble.
July 23, 2007 Drop off ring mount at welders
for extension to front of foot.
July 23, 2007 Cut end pieces for Heat sink and
riveted in place.
July 25, 2007 Picked up ring mount. Did trial fit. No way to get bolt and nut to work.
July 26, 2007 Had
welder tap 9/16ths hole for bolt. Got 8
inch 9/16 NC Grade 8 bolt from hardware store.
July 27, 2007 Had
to cut bolt one inch shorter to fit. Installed base to cross member. Inserted bolt from under cross member up
into threaded foot.
July 28, 2007 Worked
with top of ring. Added heat shrink to
Thermocouple wires and inserted grommet
to protect wires passing through ring.
August 3, 2007 Made
cardboard mockup of UB4D battery to help determine battery placement under
hood. Looks like two batteries
vertically up against radiator frame works with one over and perpendicular to
motor. Assembled the throttle linkage
with the pot box on an “L” bracket.
Tested accelerator pedal and linkage seems to work.
August 3, 2007 Pulled
out one of the SW-200 contactors and tested it. Top two 12 volt coil contacts
are common and bottom two are common.
Finished up the throttle linkage and mounted it on driver side hood
hinge. Mounted contactor on passenger
side hood hinge. Temporarily wired up
with jumpers using the 12 volt battery.
Tested in reverse and backed halfway out of garage. Tested in First gear and drove to lip at end
of garage floor. Wouldn’t go over
bump. My wife drove it in and I gave it
a little push over the hump. Runs dead
quiet without any controller. All you
hear is the contactor.
August 10, 2007 Fabricated and installed straps from
transmission to cross member.
Cut straps
to length and marked cross member.
Removed
cross member.
Drilled 7/16th
holes in cross member.
Reinstall
cross member.
Drill top
hole in straps.
Bolt straps
to transmission.
Mark holes
on straps with pencil through cross member holes.
Drill holes
in straps and attach to cross member.
August 14, 2007 Ordered second ring mount from EV
Parts to use as base for third battery under hood.
August 16, 2007 Purchased angle iron for battery
racks.
August 20, 2007 Second ring mount arrived from EV
Parts. Will be used as base for third
battery.
August 22,
2007 My son Ed helped me
reinstall pickup bed on frame. We had
some trouble and My wife and Daughter in law June helped us just in time. Ed tightened everything up.
September 13, 2007 Ordered 12 - UB4D AGM batteries. Price went up $45.00 since originally price last spring.
September 17, 2007 Batteries arrived today.
Driver put entire palette of 12 right in the garage using his hand
truck.
September 20, 2007 Brought
plan and three 6’ pieces of angle to the welder to fabricate front battery
rack.
September 24, 2007 Soldered illumination wires in
instrument pod for ammeter and voltmeter.
September 25, 2007 Went to Tractor Supply Company in Lakeland to buy ¾”
x 4’ x 6’ stall mat for use as base for battery box. My brother John came up with this idea. This should reduce shock and vibration of batteries. It will also isolate the batteries from the
frame electrically. This material will
be used under batteries and in small strip between batteries.
September 26, 2007 Soldered cable into Gauge pod. Extension cable is six wire cable, with 12V
illumination Red/White, 144V voltmeter Brown/Blue, Ammeter Yellow/Green, in +/-
pairs.
Started to remove dash panel because half of the illumination bulbs are
out. Had trouble with last two
fasteners at bottom of panel.
Ordered 36 Cable lugs for 2/0 cable in response to Wayne’s suggestion
not to use copper buss bars to connect batteries. He says battery movement will stress and damage terminals.
September 28, 2007 Found that you need to remove metal plate behind
knee panel to get at last two screws. Finished removing dash panel. Replaced six illumination bulbs.
September 29, 2007 Started
to put instrument panel back together.
Removed red/blue wire from instrument panel dimmer knob. Used tiny screw driver to pull wire and
contact from plastic plug. Soldered
short jumper lead to back of contact and reinstalled in plug. Put plugs back on head light switch and
dimmer knob and finished install of upper dash panel. Installed Pod on pillar.
Fished cable through and under dash.
Cut shield on cable and pulled out red wire. Put spade type connecter on red wire and short jumper lead from
dimmer switch. Pod cable can be seen at
upper left and yellow spade connecter at lower center.
Tested by grounding white wire and turning on headlights. Pod lights and dims with instrument panel.
October 3, 2007 Welder called and said battery rack
was ready for trial fit. Sadly, it was
a little too wide to drop all the way down between frame rails. Rails apparently are thicker at center than
at top or bottom edge. Even tried
sliding it up from the bottom. It’s
just slightly too big. Tighter at rear
closer to motor. Also tried battery for
fit. Battery is slightly too big to
drop all the way in at center. Won’t go
in at all at ends. Back to the welder
for some minor adjustments followed by another trial fit. Better luck next time.
October 4, 2007 Welder removed ¼ inch from both length
and width. Second trial fit and
although batteries now fit with no problem, rack slides in between bulges in
frame, but can’t slide it forward up against condenser. Cut one inch square piece of wood stock to
fit snug at tightest point between frame rails. Ed, at Brown’s Repair, will shorten again one more time.
October 8, 2007 My wife gave me a surprise today. While she was out shopping, she stopped at
the welders and picked up the battery rack, brought home and dropped in place
in the truck by her self. She then
called me out into the garage. Finally
it fits. Like a glove. Boy am I happy. I rushed it back to the welder after taking some pictures.
October 15, 2007 Picked up Battery rack from welder. Looks good.
We had a communication problem though.
I guess I didn’t make it clear that the crosspiece at the front by the
Condenser should be flat stock. He used
angle. There was also some confusion
about back and front.
I decided to fix it myself. I cut the welded cross piece off wit the air cutter. It came off pretty clean. I bolted a cross piece made from flat stock
on the other side and it fits great.
October 16, 2007 Decided to use existing holes in frame
to bolt rack down. Enlarged holes to
accept 7/16 grade 8 bolt. Access hole
in frame is nicely placed to access underside of top surface. Did a trial fit with bolt on top using only
tapped hole.
October 17, 2007 Bought Flat stock for battery hold down
and battery gate at back of rack. Also
got 1.25” stainless steel bolts for battery connections. The one inch bolts that came with the batteries
are too short for the Power Cheq Equalizers.
I want them on a separate nut from the high current connectors. Got 4” all thread bolts for the battery hold
down. Also, got red paint for the battery rack.
Cut and drilled flat stock. Put the battery rack hold
down bolts in place from bottom waiting for battery rack to be installed. The hole was threaded so that the bolt can
hang in place. The nut end of the bolt
has a slot cut in it so a screwdriver can be used to raise it up when it is
time to put the washer and nut on.
Sorted out battery bolts into 12 packages, one per battery.
October 18, 2007 Drilled last two holes in flat
stock. Primed and put first coat of red
on Battery rack. Painted frame under
Rack blue.
October 19, 2007 Installed Battery Rack.
October 21, 2007 Put the compressor on top of
two 2x4 and measured distance to underside of hood (11”). Decided to set the table top about eight
inches below underside of hood. Used a
short piece of ¼” tubing over drill bit to limit depth of plunge. Held my breath and drilled the
firewall. Solid plastic duct right up
against firewall. Set the depth of
plunge a ¼” deeper, held my breath and drilled again. Have a hole that comes out inside duct. Seems to be in the clear.
Did the same on the other side.
Hit much more solid material around steering column. Mounted hinges on Aluminum angle. Drilled holes to attach to fire wall.
October 22, 2007 Started cutting Acrylic for table top.
October 23, 2007 Considered alternative component layouts
for table top.
October 24, 2007 Purchased Aluminum for table Top frame,
assorted bolts, a 12V ground buss And some 2” conduit 90 and 45 degree angles.
October 25, 2007 Installed conduit at rear of truck. Used the muffler path most of the way, then
diverted up through the floor of the pickup bed. Used a 90 and a 45 degree bend.
Shortened 90 degree piece because it came up inside body panel. The shortened version came up close to the
outside edge of the floor in front of the wheel well.
October 26, 2007 Finished Conduit at front under hood.
Used a 90 and a 45 degree bend.
Shortened 90 degree piece because it brought the 45 degree piece up to
high, hitting the table. Marked the
table top for hinge location. Worked a
bolt in from the passenger compartment by the accelerator pedal to hold the hinge
rail. That eliminates one self tapping
screw. Added second hole on passenger side which will have two self
tapping screws on the hinge rail. Trimmed the table Top down for a better
fit. Pulled the throttle linkage
apart. Trimmed the cable mount down for
a better fit. Also painted it blue for
appearance.
October 27, 2007 Did
plunge cuts in the table top making a rectangular hole for the
Controller heat sink. Cut Aluminum
angle for rear of table. Made a few
other frame pieces for the table top.
October 28, 2007 Installed the hinges on the table
top. Beefed up the top and bottom
surfaces with flat stock. Did a trial
fit, bolting hinge rail to firewall.
Fit is not bad. Range of motion
is limited. Passenger side leading edge
hits A/C high pressure line. Have to
decide if I want more range or can I live with what I have.
October 30, 2007 Frame is almost finished. The longest piece, the front leading edge is
yet to be cut. All pieces are riveted
in place. Surface is nice and rigid. Also, very transparent as protective film is
removed.
November 2, 2007 The last rivet went into the table top
today. Three significant design
improvements include the addition of a
vertical support on the left side of the table, removal of the hinge pins and the addition of a stop under the
hinge rail to keep the table in position while lining up the hinges. The right side of the table is supported by
the accessory battery rack. The table
slides quickly into place and is well supported by the stop while the hinges
are aligned. Two nails are currently
being used as hinge pins. Required
improvements include a hold down system so the table doesn’t bounce on the two
forward support points. Also, a
retaining system for the hinge pins is required. The next step is to drill holes for component mounting, starting
with the controller.
November 3, 2007 Shortened the throttle cable so the
assembly takes up less space on the
table. Painted the knob on the
emergency shut off cable red and the throttle assembly blue. Started working on the controller
mount. Can’t get bolts with head on
underside of table. They are too close
to aluminum angle. Picked up some ¼ 20 thumb screws. The flat head rests nicely up against the angle.
Cut the throttle cable at pedal. What a nightmare. Once cut, the cable would not fit in retaining clamp. Re-cut the cable several time trying to get
a cleaner cut. Finally enlarged the
hole in the retaining clamp and got it done.
Found some clear vinyl sleeves in the junk box that fit snugly over the
nails I’m using for hinge pins.
November 5, 2007 Have been refining the component
layout. Have settled on the following
layout.
The Throttle is on the far right. To the left of that is the DC-DC
Converter. In the center is the 144 V
Circuit breaker. Behind the components
are the Vacuum Pump on the left and the Vacuum Reservoir.
To the left of these two components is the controller on
the left.
In front of the controller are the two high current
contactors. The main contactor is on
the right and the Bypass Contactor on the left with the three low current
relays in between. Of the three, the
break relay is on the right with the Interlock relay in the center and the KSI
relay on the left.
To the left of the Bypass Contactor is the shunt. Not shown to the left of the Bypass
Contactor and in front of the shunt is
the 144V DC outlet supplying the power
for the DC-DC Converter.
November 13, 2007 Have spent the last several days wiring the
relay panel. The brake, interlock relay
and the KSI relay. Diodes were
installed on the coil of each relay.
The two contactors were also set up with diodes and the main contactor
pre-charge resistor was installed. The
power connection for the DC – DC converter was setup. The ground buss for all
the relays was also installed on this panel.
The connections to the throttle were set up, including TC and TD. The Key-On and Break Switch connections were also setup.
The two short white bundle and black wires go to the
Main Throttle contactor coil. The short
red wire on the right supplies 144 V to the KSI relay common. The short red wire on the left goes to the
KSI contact on the controller. The two
short green and black wires on the left go to the Key On Bypass contactor.
The long bundle on the right has the black Throttle
common, the white throttle down, the green key on and the red Break
switch. The red and green go to an off
board connector.
November 14, 2007 Cleaned up and reorganized garage. Added a 144 V outlet to the left of the
shunt and the bypass contactor for the DC-DC converter input. Removed table top from under hood for
drilling holes for components. Asked Ed
at Browns repair if he could weld the corners of the table top. He said not without removing the
acrylic. He also told me he would do
the whole A/C Compressor installation, hoses and charging. Will bring the truck in the Monday after
thanksgiving.
November 15, 2007 Have been mounting components on the Table
Top and wiring them together. Measured
the current draw on the vacuum pump at 5 amps under load.
The
following pictures show the use of copper bar to mount circuit breaker to Main
Contactor and shunt to Key On Bypass Contactor.
November 19, 2007 Have been working on the table Top on the
bench. Bench tests show proof of
concept. Key On brings up Key On Bypass
Contactor and vacuum Pump and hopefully converter (Not tested yet, 144V). At the same time the pre-charge resistor
should charge up capacitors in Controller (Also, not tested yet, 144V).
Key start doses nothing unless the break is
pressed. If the break is pressed it
brings up Interlock Relay which holds if the break is released. The throttle then works bringing up the Main
Throttle contactor and the KSI Relay.
If the break is pressed with the throttle down the Main Throrrle
Contactor and the KSI relay drop as planned.
The only problem was that one diode was plugged in
backwards on the main contactor, causing the throttle not to work. This blew two diodes. One on the KSI Relay
and the other on the Main Contactor.
Remounted the hinges on the table top to keep the
aluminum frame above Chassis ground.
Used two layers of bicycle inner tube under the hinge insulation around
the shank of the bolt going through the hinge. No longer have continuity
between hinge and frame.
November 20, 2007 Worked on the connecter between the car and
the table Top. The purple connecter
from one of the oxygen sensors was salvaged and used for this purpose. The Key On and Key Start wires had been
identified at the time of engine removal but the brake pedal position switch
wire is yet to be located.
Between
fuse panel layout and wiring diagrams it had always seemed to be a simple
problem. It was fairly clear that fuse
position 13 in the driver side passenger compartment fuse panel was a good
possibility. It turns out that it is
hard to make use of this point because this supplies power to the switch. This is not helpful if you want to know when
the pedal is down.
Looking
at the switch mounted at the brake pedal itself is a more logical but still a
mystery. The Switch has five wires and
the wiring diagram explains only two.
Both are the ones coming from the fuse panel at position 13 and the
other position 9. At position 13, the
wire is Light Green with a red stripe and the one at position 9 is Brown.
I
removed the Brake Position Switch from the brake Pedal/Push Rod and then
removed the harness from the switch.
While doing this, a black plastic bushing fell down. This was my undoing. I tested the switch to understand how it
worked. It has five contacts. I could see a button operated by the brake
push rod. I could see that there are
two sets of contacts, one NO, C pair and one NO, NC, C set. There are two heavy gauge wires and three lighter
wires.
On
reinstall, I was puzzled about what to do with the black plastic bushing. I put it over the pivot pin and put
everything back together. Well, the
brake lights no longer worked. It was a
late night, checking fuses, OBD II diagnostic codes and several disassembly and
re-assembly rounds. In the end it was
the black plastic top hat shaped bushing.
It goes on the passenger side of the pivot pin with the bushing flange
closest to the passenger side.
I
went to bed happy that the brake lights worked, but still had not found the
brake wire.
November 21, 2007 The next morning started with some picture
taking.
This picture shows the brake position switch center left
and the five wires center right. It
looks like a Brown wire on the left and the Light Green with the Red stripe
next to it. Next wire moving to the
right is a Red wire with a Violet stripe.
Next an un-striped Light Green and last Gray wire.
I don’t like guessing games, so I did some more
research. I found a simplified wiring
diagram on the Auto Zone web site that shows the brake switch supplied by a
Light Green wire with a Red stripe and an un-striped Light Green wire coming
out of it. Further evidence is the fact
that the two light green wires are of a heavier gauge than the others. I tapped the un-striped Light Green with
success. I had to pull the wire bundle
open and separate it from the switch to get the picture and access to the wire for
the tap.
I used a diode to make sure no 12V signals from the
table Top find their way into the brake control system. A few tests showed that the wire was
providing 12 Volts to the coil of the brake relay on the Table Top.
After testing, the wire was routed through the firewall
with the wires from the instrument pod through the hole previously used by the
Clutch Push Rod.. A harness was wrapped
with these wires and the Key O and Key Start wires. The third wire was now added to the Purple connecter to the table
top, giving us Key On, Key Start and Brake Down in the connecter.
November 23, 2007 Continuing to finish up details under table
in preparation for A/C compressor install and subsequent battery and table Top
final installation. Fabricated copper
strap to mount temperature sensor on motor from copper pipe. Connector has only one wire although sensor
has two terminals. Used distributor
connector by filing nub off sensor so it would match key pattern on distributor
connector which has two wires. Tested
Temperature gauge with this combination using heat gun. Works well.
Worked
on routing wires and fabricating harness.
November 24, 2007 Painted temperature sensor and mounting
hardware blue. Installed and soldered
wires for temperature gauge, Temperature safety switch in motor. These two wires will be wired in series with
the Key On wire before it goes to the Table Top. The Inertia Switch will be part of this series sequence when it
arrives. A severe impact or motor over
heating will interrupt Key On.
A bundle was created including the A/C cable, the Motor
Temperature Safety Switch and the motor temperature sensor. These wires were included in a harness that
terminates near the fuse box. The wires
for the A/C sensor in the high pressure line were included in a separate
harness.
November 25, 2007 Continuing to finish up details related to
connecting table top to car wiring in preparation for A/C compressor
install. There are still a few wires
left hanging over the fender not planed for anything. The big one is a very heavy stranded wire which was disconnected
from the back of the alternator. The
original plan was to connect the converter directly to the battery. After some research, it was decided to use
this as the positive lead to the battery.
It goes through a fuse in the fuse panel
Also wired the green 4 pin connector used to connect the
ammeter and voltmeter to the table top.
This was also salvaged from one of the oxygen sensors.
November 26, 2007 The Vacuum pressure switch arrived. I am very happy that it has three contacts,
C, NO, and NC. I will use the NC to
drive the oil pressure gauge. The oil
pressure sensor worked the same way.
The needle had only two positions, up (normal) and down (low) pressure. The Gauge will now indicate normal vacuum
(up) and loss of vacuum (down).
The switch is adjustable. I found it to be reasonable without any changes. I may fiddle with it later.
The problem with the switch is that it has a plastic
hose connector. The diameter is much
smaller than the rest of the vacuum lines.
I had a brass Tee that came with the pump. It has two nozzles to attach hoses. I need one more to attach the switch. A quick trip to Auto Zone and I had a reduction nozzle, to
complete the Tee, along with a small
piece of hose and some clamps. A quick
test shows the pressure gauge drop just prior to the pump coming on and popping
back up when the vacuum is restored.
There is some weight to the idea of having the needle
down for normal vacuum and up for loss of vacuum. I like it the other way.
The vacuum switch is capable of being wired either way, if I change my
mind.
November 27, 2007 Wired the table top with the cable and the
other half of the green connector for the traction battery gauges in the
pod. Blue and Green are attached to the
outboard side of the shunt. Yellow is
connected to the inboard side of the shunt and the brown wire is connected to
the positive post on the outlet that powers the converter.
Worked on the vacuum system finalizing all the
connections now that we know everything works.
Used red Loctite on all the brass fittings and installed hose clamps on
all the hose connections. Put spade
connectors on the C and NC contact wires for the vacuum switch that works the
pressure gauge. Haven’t found the final
location for the ground wire yet.
Tested the vacuum system with everything buttoned
down. No more pump coming on and
off. The system holds vacuum
nicely. Although you can hear the pump,
the vacuum gauge is a “visual plus” in knowing that you have brake capacity.
November 28, 2007 Had a problem with no break lights
again. After a lot of searching it
turned out to be the mechanical connector used to tap the brake wire. I removed it and soldered my wire in. I tested the New Run Indicator (previously
the Charge indicator) wire from the alternator harness. I was able to make it light. Connected this wire to the table top through
the fourth contact in the purple connector.
Unwound the remaining wires in the alternator harness
and cleaned up the last of the wires hanging over the fender. Saved the Yellow/White wire from the back of
the alternator in a bundle with the block temperature sender connector. Took the Black/Orange (looks like pink to
me) wire that came from the back of the alternator and soldered it to the red
wire output from the converter.
November 29, 2007 Used a relay to turn on the charge
indicator (an icon of a battery) as a Run Indicator. Can’t wire it backwards because the Air Bags are on the same
fuse. Mounted the relay on top of the
Bypass contactor. It gets picked when
the interlock relay closes. I tapped
the NO terminal of the Throttle Interlock relay. The new Run indicator, previously charge indicator, is grounded
through the NO contact on the new Run Indicator relay. This indicates that the car is on ( ready to
drive, throttle enabled).
On
the left is the Fuel Gauge, I know how to move the needle but I don’t know how
to make practical use of it yet. I have
a 47 ohm resistor between the yellow/white wire and the Black/Orange wire in
the fuel tank harness. It is indicating
one quarter full. Full is145 ohms and
empty is 22 ohms. Without a resister it
indicates way over full.
Next
is the temperature gauge, which works to indicate motor temperature.. To the right of the speedometer is the
vacuum gauge ( formerly the oil pressure).
This works nicely to show the state of the power brake system
vacuum. You can see it drop when the
brake is used and recover when the pump comes on. On the far right is the accessory battery voltage. The pod, see photo page 51, shows the traction
battery voltage and amperage.
The panel is pictured in the run state. The key is on and the Key Start was
activated while the brake was pressed.
The throttle is ready for use. I
don’t know what to do about the check engine indicator. I guess it indicates that the key is
on. The battery Icon, the new Run
Indicator, formerly the charge
indicator, indicates the run state.
The battery Icon and the vacuum gauge are very helpful
and take some of the mystery out of what is going on in the silent EV
environment. Yes, I know, the vacuum
pump is not so silent. But, when it is
not running, it is silent and it is nice to know that you have vacuum and it
doesn’t need to run right now.
The Inertia Switch arrived today. I have located factory switch on the
firewall under the glove box, but have not demystified the wiring yet. It looks like it may be integrated in the
fuel tank harness. I spent a lot of
time today looking under the hood. I
had the whole harness unwrapped with no luck. I may just use the new one or
maybe both if I can figure out the factory one.
November 30, 2007 Research on the Gas gauge led to the fact
that the inertia switch Pink/Black wire is in the Fuel Tank harness. Further research shows that the Green/Yellow
input to the inertia switch is from the fuel pump relay which is located in the
fuse box under the hood. Relay number 5
on the far right is the one. The NO
contact is the lower of the two horizontal contacts just above the row of three
smaller vertical contacts. A wire with a spade connector was inserted here. The
Pink/Black wire in the Fuel
500
amp, 250 VDC Littlefuse Safety Fuse L25S-500 
