June 14, 2007 by Rob.

I asked Larry how he turned off the check engine light for his RAV4 ‘97.  He answer was “cut the wire.”  Unfortunately, I’m trying to avoid pulling the dash board so that is a last choice option.

He also suggested that I “go to ahdol.com and for $12 you get a complete and accurate set of the entire car as a pdf.”

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April 2, 2007 by Rob.

You have the banjo fitting which is the pressure and you have the 5/8″ nipple hose that is the return. There were two vacuum hoses that were used with the ICE which you won’t need but that’s it.I think 96 and 97 are exactly the same. See photo of my original and compare.

Added other photos if you want them. I can supply you with some details on the heater and a schematic for the dirt cheap thermo control. Uses just on FET and a pot and lets you control the water temp to +/- 5 degrees of the ideal 190 F.You can get the original heater switch like mine at Toyota. It’s just the same one now used for your rear window defogger. Nice thing is you can set it up so that the internal light comes on to tell you heater function is on and then add an LED like I did that let’s you see when the heater element is actually drawing current. Don’t need it but it’s still nice to know when your actually heating water. BTW the ceramic heaters that you must remove the dash to install are only for masochists and those who don’t really need heat.

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April 2, 2007 by Rob.

This is a great introduction (with pictures!) of Larry’s conversion.  I have some extra pictures that I am not posting.  Comment here if you want to see something else and I’ll look for it.

P/S Pump: I used the MR2 power steering pump. Only mod I had to make was cutting off the banjo fitting from the original PS line and silver solder my own custom metric on. Not hard to do. Just go to the junk yard and find the fitting (not sure what the Japanese metric designation is)that screws into the MR2 and then machine a coupler and silver solder on. Works great. I have a switch on the dash to turn it on and off.

AC Motor: As for fitting the AC55 I did not follow Mike Browns [of ElectroAuto about AC motors].  All I had to do was a little homework in the junk yards with a caliper and tape measure to feel sure it would fit. I did have to remove a tiny bit of motor cooling fin to get clearance but that’s all. Yes it’s tight but not bad at all.I can remove the motor in less than 20 minutes.

Battery Box: My bat box is constructed to be under 35lbs total. All 6063 and riveted to create a stressed beam with Hexcell floor plates. Comes out with 8 bolts and a floor jack in about 5 minutes. I used Unistrut (3000 series)down the center of the drive shaft tunnel, secured using the unused 4WD mount hardware,a T beam in front secured to the unibody hard points and unistrut secured to the rear swing arm frame. I can send you some photo details if you like. My plan is to convert to AltairNano or A123 as soon as I can afford it and keep exactly the same box since it has more than enough room for 27kwh by my calcs. Less than 450 lbs though.

Range: My first trip out on the freeway at 65 got me a range of 37 miles before running out totally. Not too bad at about 300watt-hr/mile. 990 lbs of batts. At that weight and with the new springs and regen I hardly even know there is any extra weight at all.

Springs: I did order and install RAV4EV springs.It was under $400 and cheap insurance. Not a safe vehicle without them. I can get you the part number if your Toyota dealer can’t find them.I can give you some tips on a real cheap and effective solution to AC if you want to go there.

Brakes: Also don’t get ripped on the Vac pumps for your power brakes. I found a real good and cheap source and I’ll send you the link when I find it.

DC-DC: Also forget the Sevcon DC-DC. Go Vicor and save money.

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April 2, 2007 by Rob.

Note: Larry’s EV blog has been linked from my site for a while.  He has a ton of EV experience!  I hope that one day I’ve got the his level of chops; until then, I’m glad to include some of his insights on this blog.

I just completed a conversion on a 1997 RAV4. Used the Azure AC55 motor and inverter with 312 vdc [he used AGM yellow tops].  Mounted the bats under the car and I’ve got power steering and AC as well as heater etc. Thought you might like to see some photos and exchange some tips.

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