April 30, 2007 by Rob.

Here is a link to the ill-fated Windows CE release that was embedded into the BMW iDrive.

Posted in Computer | 1 Comment »

April 29, 2007 by Rob.

I got the final cuts and fitting for the boxes taken care of today.  I’m trying to coordinate a time to visit Paul’s house to get the last welds done.

One small surprise: I noticed that the front engine support was not bolted while I was marking the supports for the front box.  The transmission and engine were hanging from the back support!  I had to pully up the engine about 1″ to get the screws to mate.  It’s amazing to think how a couple of little screws really holds all these pieces together.

Posted in Storyline, Planning | 1 Comment »

April 29, 2007 by Rob.

If your an EV newbie, then you probably are wondering why an electric car with twelve 12 volt batteries needs a converter to create 12 volts DC electricity.
The answer is Zen: the main (aka traction) batteries need balance to have a long life.  When the traction batteries are in series and need to be discharged in an even way.  Performance of batteries in series is limited by the performance of the weakest cell.    Drawing more power from one battery to run the car electronics effectively degrades the entire pack.

The solution is to draw 12 volt auxiliary power (lights, wipers, radio, etc) from a supply that draws evenly from the full traction back.  The supply must convert from the 144 VDC traction pack down to 12 VDC: that is our DC-DC converter’s job.

Posted in EV Tech | 1 Comment »

April 28, 2007 by Rob.

I forgot to post about 2 items: supporting the front box and Astrodyne.

I’d been worried about supporting the front box because there are no pre-existing load supports for the rear edge of the box.  I’d been planning to drill holes into the frame at the edges of the box, but that did not see secure enough and was a pain to figure out.  I finally realized that I could construct a support that rests on the engine mount and supports the box from the middle.  I’ll take pictures when I cut the support out tomorrow.

I’ve been emailing w/ Bob at EV America about DC-DC supplies.  He recommends the new Astrodyne SD-350D because it is smaller and cheaper ($150 vs $500) than the traditional Zivan.  However, he also said that they have had problems running the unit at 144 VDC.  He did not have a work-around so I’m going to have to call Astrodyne and see about it.  I also posted to the EVDL list, but have heard nothing back.

Posted in Pictures | 1 Comment »

April 28, 2007 by Rob.

I’m nearly finished laying out & cutting steel for the battery boxes! This has been a long process even though the sparks are literally flying as I work.  You can see them as orange specs in the photo - they look like a sparkler while I cut.

I’ve got the p/s pump support holes drilled in the mid box. I had to work on the box upside down so took the picture upside down to re-orient the box. I’m not sure if it helps, but the bottom of the picture is the part that will bolt to the axle mount.  The near side goes to toward the back of the car.

The rear box is the squarest and least constrained of my 3 boxes. The picture shows how the basic frame will work: the bottom box will have 12″ uprights. The front top (left side of photo) will actually come over the batteries to help restrain them in an accident. The sides will be horizontal when they are welded.  And for the icing on the cake, I’ll put a sheet of wood over the top of the box for cargo.

Posted in Pictures, Planning | 1 Comment »

April 24, 2007 by Rob.

Thanks to Paul S’s welding, I’ve got the main frames for the boxes welded! He was low on gas so we just spot welded most of the joints for test fitting. Isaac had a good time playing with Paul’s steel tube supply. So far my measurements are looking very good.

The front box fit into place perfectly, but won’t be able to squeeze it into place with all the supports bands welded in place.

The mid box is looking fine too. An luckily, the axle supports aligned perfectly! Paul suggested adding some reinforcement onto the main support for this box.

The rear box is the simplest. I have to figure out the clearances with the back seat. The back seat angle is adjustable: if it is too tight then the rear passengers will get to practice good posture.

I still need to update the video w/ the dimensions just in case someone out there is crazy enough to do this too.  I want to write down the actuals, not my design numbers

Posted in Pictures, Planning | 1 Comment »

April 23, 2007 by Rob.

NY Times article about China’s big alternative fuel push is a good read.  It has the core facts right and puts them, IMHO, in the right perspective.  China may well leap-frog the US in next generation technology.

Posted in EV News | No Comments »

April 22, 2007 by Rob.

I think I’ve got the basic layout for the mid box ready for welding!  The picture shows the right engine mount with 2″ L that will support the box (perpendicular 2″ L)  and the motor (goes down from the mount).  I wanted to make sure the load for the mount was centered on the mount.

I also discovered that the old p/s pump has a second fitting that will make it easy to use the MR2 p/s pump - until today, I thought that I needed to buy some auto parts. Those bolts with the holes are the critical item for the fittings.

Posted in Pictures, Storyline | 1 Comment »

April 21, 2007 by Rob.

My MIL’s plane was delays so I had a couple of unexpected hours to futz with the battery boxes.  I managed to get the main structure for the front box cut out and ready to weld.  Getting the batteries in will be a tight fit because of the vertical clearance.  I drilled holes in the front L so it rests on the radiator supports.  The good news is that I should have room to put the original support back between the batteries.

I’m still working on the mid box.  I decided that the battery load on the engine mount should be centered.  That means that I have to create a “T” at the end of the box.  More good news: the axle support seems to be perfectly positioned so that I can put one battery to the right and two to the left.  That location is the critical dimension for the box.

Posted in EV Tech | 1 Comment »

April 17, 2007 by Rob.

Don’t believe me, Autopia makes the case.  Hydrogen as a fuel is a pet peeve for me.  Detroit & Big Oil have been promising it as a false alternative to gas for nearly my entire life!

Posted in EV News | 1 Comment »