April 14, 2008 by Rob.

I drive the RAVolt nearly everyday, but not to work anymore.  It’s easy to run 10 to 15 miles just shuttling around the city on errands.  I drove 18.5 miles on a single charge this weekend and it’s obvious that I’d be running on my batteries’ edge to go over 20 miles right now.

I’ve known that I damaged the batteries when I abused them back in November.  It’s a shame to see just how much it cost me in range.  I’ve got some ideas about reconditioning, but it really hurts to lose the range.

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December 19, 2007 by Rob.

For our family, attending our friend’s solstice party is one of the highlights of the holiday season.  The party is a whimsical nod to the original pagan holiday that, according to some, is the reason for placing another increasingly secular religious holiday at this time of year.  Anyway, the party is fun and we have a good time.

The symbolic highlight of the evening is a bonfire in which we burn an offering to symbolize something that we want to change in the coming year.  Last year I threw in the engine maintenance pages from the RAV4’s repair manual.  It was a fitting way to start the project and is still a very powerful memory for me.
I have no idea what I’m going to offer/ask this year…maybe a picture of the damn sexy Pontiac Solstice would do!

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December 19, 2007 by Rob.

I took advantage of the warm weather to spend some quality time with the RAVolt.  Clearly the RAVolt was feeling neglected because we had a bit of a Christine moment.

On the way home from getting my trilunar haircut, the brakes turned to bricks.  That’s normal when the vacuum pump is not working: normal maybe, but definitely unwelcome.  The brakes still “work” as long as there is no one in front of you and you’re going up hill.  I pulled over quickly and discovered a loose wire.  Luckily, I was just cruising the neighborhood.

Lessons learned:

1. Avoid force the wrong age wire into a screw terminal
2. Include routine “pull test” for wire fitting.

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December 15, 2007 by Rob.

Someone asked me at a holiday party if I would do another conversion. It was not a simple question to answer now that I have a working EV. I would love the learning and discovery of converting another car, but I doubt that I will.

I’m am very glad to have an EV to drive and have gotten comfortable with it’s limitations. However, to repeat the experience, I would want to take it up a notch and go for an AC motor with lithium batteries. That type of system would run about $30k and I could not justify putting that into a beat-up glider. That means spending something like $20k (or more) for a nice car. I’m just not willing to spend $50k on a car no matter how green.

All this is subject to change since my 6 year old daughter has already informed me that we are building a car together when she is old enough to drive. How can I argue with that!

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December 7, 2007 by Rob.

I cautiously drove the RAVolt to work today AND back home too.  The batteries are still weaker than before, but there was enough charge to keep me from being a total embarrassment.  I have to admit that I’m still skittish after last week.

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November 29, 2007 by Rob.

The RAVolt turned 148k today!  That’s 1600 electric miles and 64 gallons of gas offset assuming the RAV4 got 25 MPG.  That’s exactly two Hummer gas tanks worth for those of you keeping score in the EV vs. Hummer smack down.

I checked the mileage on my gasser and I’ve also driven that car 1600 miles since the RAVolt conversion.  Coincidence?  Totally.

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November 29, 2007 by Rob.

RAVolt and sister EVs of the AustinEV group will be out in force at Saturday’s 12/1 Sustainable Shoppers’ Ball.  The ball held in conjunction with the weekly Sunset Valley Farmers’ Market at the Tony Berger Center (near 360/290 and Brodie Lane).

I know you want to come just to see me, but there is other Eco-friendly green feel-the-environment-love stuff there too.  We went (sans EV) last year and had a good time.

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November 28, 2007 by Rob.

Just a quick update…My buddy, Paul B, gave me a lift back to car and was prepared to tow it if needed.  With warmer temperatures the batteries had recovered enough to drive (slowly) all the way back home.  The RAVolt is now happily having an electron cocktail in its customary roost.

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November 28, 2007 by Rob.

Today was a very sad first for the RAVolt and I: my batteries died on my way home and I had to call Laura for a ride. I had a feeling when I left that I did not have a full charge, but pushed ahead anyway. I suspected that the batteries where not as strong on cold days (today was 40s)  and I ignored the warning signs.

An important note is that my homebound commute has a long stretch of up-up-and-more-up hill. By the time I hit the long hill, my batteries were already sagging hard. I ultimately had to pull over to the shoulder and crawl up the entire hill (from 360 Bridge up to Wild Basin). That was a long dark and slow trek with traffic whizzing by while the RAVolt was humming “I think I can, I think I can, Iiiiii thiiiiinnnnk Iiiii caaaaaaaaannnnnn.”

I’m hoping that the batteries are recovered enough that I can make it up the last hill and then coast home tomorrow. I’m going to grab a buddy at work and (if needed) use my gasser to give me a push. I’d though about towing the RAVolt, but I feel like I’m so close that a little patience and pushing will let me go the distance, since I’m not going for speed. Unfortunately, I doubt it will be a piece of Cake (listen to reference).

  A dark and lonely RAVolt waiting for daylight.

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November 26, 2007 by Rob.

I had a scary ride home in the rain, cold, and dark over the weekend.  My auxiliary battery was so weak that my DC-DC charger cut out.  That left me with very dim headlights, minimal wipers, and no defroster.  I jumper cabled in one of the traction batteries and recovered, but it was not very fun to be playing with the cables in the rain.

It turns out that the 10 amp fuse between my auxiliary charger and the auxiliary battery blew out a while back.  When the fuse is blown, the battery vent fans run off the auxiliary battery instead of the charger and eventually drain it during charging.  Unfortunately, I discovered it was the fuse only after replacing the charger.  What a waste of 2 hours on a Sunday!

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