June 30, 2007 by Rob.

I was able to wire the charging “AC on” relay to the controller’s KSI relay.  The relay is setup so that the battery voltage is on when the AC is off (not plugged in).  This means that the controller won’t go until the car is unplugged as a safety interlock.

When the AC is plugged in, the power goes to the battery vent fans via another relay.  That relay is on when the pack is charging, but off during the maintenance (”trickle”) phase.

Posted in Improvements, Planning | 1 Comment »

June 30, 2007 by Rob.

We took a little shopping trip south to Sunset Valley today.  The trip included about 9 miles of highway driving at 60 MPH!  Very fun.  The RAVolt did fine: it takes a constant drain of juice to maintain 60 MPH and climbing hills pulls down the pack pretty hard.  Overall, it was a great trip.

Posted in Storyline | 1 Comment »

June 29, 2007 by Rob.

Here are some pictures that I took during the marathon work session last Saturday. Pictures include:

• an icy mocha helping make the work go quickly.
• getting the final connections made in the batteries,
• plugging in the control board (red Anderson)
• showing 144 VDC on the gauge.

I also have a video of the contactor test.

Posted in Pictures, Storyline, Conversion | 1 Comment »

June 29, 2007 by Rob.

My rear batteries are in the cabin and need to be vented while they charge to prevent hydrogen gas (h2) build up. I’ve also heard that the sulfuric acid in the flooded batteries can produce a sulfur smell and venting helps keep it out of the car.

I’d hooked up 2 fans to blow air through the box, but wanted them to only run during the battery charge cycle. To do this, I used the Zivan NG3 charger’s 2 built-in relays. Aux 1 is “on” when the charger is plugged in and Aux 2 is “off” while the charger has finished pumping electrons into the batteries. I had to use both relays to run the fans: the fan power uses the normally closed aux1 circuit (on when plugged) and the normally closed aux2 circuit (so its on when charging). The result is a wiring mess behind the charger.

I also tapped an extra plug from the charging plug to run the 1000 mA, 15VDC charger.

Note: I’m using the normally open part of the Aux1 to interlock the controller. This *should * prevent driving off while plugged in.

Posted in Parts, Pictures, Conversion, Planning | 1 Comment »

June 28, 2007 by Rob.

My 250 Amp DC breaker (just $225) came last week and I had some time tonight to get it installed. The purpose of the breaker is the interrupt the traction circuit before the 500 amp fuse blows.  The breaker fit perfectly in the space behind the seat and in front of rear box.

I also tied a string (not shown) to the switch so that I can quickly turn off the breaker without moving the seats.

Posted in Parts, Pictures, Conversion, Planning | No Comments »

June 28, 2007 by Rob.

Leo came over yesterday to checkout and drive the RAVolt. For safety, I wanted someone who knows something about cars to check out the brakes and suspension. I was also hearing a “thumping” sound when I turned that could have been coming from my CV joints.

After driving the RAVolt, Leo agreed that there was something funny. He could not find any problems when he checked the joints, suspension, and axle mounts. He was pretty amused when he found the actual problem: Alex and I had forgotten to tighten the front lug nuts after we put the axle’s back in!

Luckily, we caught the problem early before the car was damaged. The road performance of the RAVolt improved dramatically (surprise) once the tires were attached to the car.

Posted in Improvements, Storyline, Conversion | No Comments »

June 28, 2007 by Rob.

Chris R from AustinEV brought over some ammeter shunts so we could measure the auxiliary circuits. Here is what we found:

• Vacuum pump = 6 amps (rated at 7)
• Brake lights = 5 amps
• Head lights = 20 amps
• Control board = 1.5 amps

The Astrodyne DC-DC controller is *supposed to be* rated at 30 amps. It runs happily until the pump starts up and then it dies.

We pulled out the Astrodyne and put the old 12V battery back in place.  I’m working to find a new home for the P.O.S. so it can trickle charge the battery while the car is on.

I have a 1000 mA (aka 1 Amp) power supply that goes on when I plug in for charging.

Posted in Parts, Improvements, AustinEV, Conversion | 3 Comments »

June 28, 2007 by Rob.

It may be an EV cliche, but using the gas door for the plug is pretty much required.

Posted in Pictures, Conversion | 1 Comment »

June 28, 2007 by Rob.

Under the title “Wire Tapping,” my work on the RAVolt project was covered by the Westlake Picayune on 6/28/2007 page 9. There is no online content so I can’t post a link

I’m really happy with the article, I think that the author, Ed Allen, did a great job covering the background and challenges for the project. It was in the People section of the paper and Ed’s focus was on what led me to take on the project and my feelings about it. He also included a lot of Alex’s input and comments.

I’ll see about getting an online copy.

One interesting (but unsurprising) note: the project name RAVolt and that I’ve blogged the conversion were not mentioned in any way in the article.

Posted in EV News, Storyline, AustinEV | 1 Comment »

June 28, 2007 by Rob.

After seeing the power draw from the brakes, I decided to order some LEDs bulb replacements.  I keep imagining the batteries leaking electrons whenever I press on the brakes.
I hope they arrive in time for the parade!  The parade will be 95% hitting the brakes, 5% crawling at least possible speed.  Sounds like a normal day in the office.

Posted in Parts, Conversion | No Comments »