07.25.09
Yip, Yip, Yipeeee!
The motor runs and it sounds like a fu#kin jet engine! Awsome
07.22.09
Gary Called…
Gary from Electro Automotive e-mailed me today and said he was going to send a follow up email to Azure. There is one person ahead of me apparently. I am going to go out on a limb here and give my theory.
This setup was originally designed to be run off of 18 8V Flooded Batteries.
I changed the battery configuration to 12 12V Gel filled batteries because of weight constraints and maintenance considerations.
The 18 8V Batteries have more current
The DMOC is programmed for the amperage provided by the 18 8V batteries and therefore expecting that amount of current
It just seems to make sense…to me…somehow.
07.18.09
Heard From Electro Automotive
Spin This
Today I received a phone call from Gary Snyder and he asked me to send another capture with an additional parameter. I did and also included a Quicktime Movie of the capture. Just click on “Spin This” and you can see the movie. I takes awhile to download so just hang in there. While your waiting you will be able to sample some of the feelings I am having while this thing gets solved. Now the Electro Automotive, and the Azure Team’s can scratch they’re collective heads as much as I have been scratching mine… The ball is in their court… again we wait…
06.26.09
Lets see what kind of a mechanic you really are…
Today I pulled the motor. It was amazingly simple to do, but I get ahead of myself. The day started out by me reenacting yesterdays chain of events and adding some variables. I Lifted the rear wheels off the ground, put the car in third gear, and spun the motor. This time the wheels seemed to grab every time I heard the clunk. It was becoming obvious to me that I had not installed the clutch properly. Based on this theory, I shut everything down, disconnected one of the jumpers from the traction pack, removed the pot box, harnessed the motor and removed the four bolts holding the motor to the trans axle assy. I pulled the motor and examined the inside of the bell housing. There was some indication of wear but, it also could have been the ring gear hitting the inside of the bell housing during the installation and, subsequent removal of the motor. I then turned the spline shaft of the transmission by hand to see if it was binding in any way. The spline turned freely. I put the car into third gear and Got Belia to spin one side while my neighbor Frank spun the other in the same direction and I listened and watched the spline move the way it is supposed to. Next I took the clutch off of the flywheel and discovered that unless one has ZERO concept as to how a clutch works or doesn’t pay any attention to whether something is being jammed, it is near impossible to assemble a VW clutch backwards. Alright! But what could it be? I thought, while I have this motor out of the car and just sitting here, why don’t I spin it.
Whirrr Clunk! That’s it! It was the motor. I called Electro Automotive and left a message. Within 10 minutes I received a phone call from Bill Lentfers. I explained the problem and he asked me to send him a capture from the DMOC. I did. Now it is being analyzed. Hopefully this will be something which can be resolved by adjusting some parameters. In the meantime I wait…
06.25.09
Whirrrrrrrr-Clunk!
Alright, for the last 6 days or so I have been running the full gamete of emotions from elated that the computer can talk to the DMOC, to Awww Sh#t!, then back to elated. I couldnt figure out why the computer wouldnt communicate with the DMOC even though I could call up whatever com ports I needed. After trying everything I could think of, I finally put in a call to Bill at electro Automotive and he forwarded a message to the team. It seems Mike has a whole team of experts in various fields working there now. The response time is phenomenal, and they really know they’re stuff, anyway I got a phone call from Gary Snyder at Electro Automotive, Gary talked me through the starting sequence for the AC24LS and, that day I realized the error of my ways. A battery charger alone will not supply the amount of current needed to activate the contacter inside the DMOC. With a 12V battery I was able to “hear the click” and the computer came to life and the showed me all kinds of parameters…ELATION! Gary stayed on the line with me as we finished the sequence and I heard the first whirrring sound of Evie’s motor. Elation!! then Clunck, whirrrrrrr, clunk, whirrr,clunk clunk, whirrr clunk. It sounded like something was trying to catch in the bellhousing like the clutch was out of adjustment or worse yet, installed backwards, or the ring gear was hitting on something. Awwww Sh*t! I shut everything down, a bitter sweet victory.
06.19.09
Communication Blues
Just so you know I am still at it, I have been trying to get the DMOC and my laptop to talk to one another. Let me explain, There I was… I have the Traction Pack hooked up to the DMOC (controller) and my 12Volt battery charger hooked up to the low voltage pin, she is properly grounded and I am ready to test her. I activate the relay, push forward on the accelerator and, Wallah!… Nothing, Zip, Nada. I rechecked all of my connections and tried again. This time I got nothing. I called Electro Automotive and Bill asked me to send him a capture of the DMOC by hooking up my laptop to it. I was to then send him the info. That sounded easy. I studied the DMOC and the cable I needed to plug into my laptop and went and got my laptop to plug it in and Lo… no serial port. I sent for an adapter RS232 to USB and when I received it I tried again. This time I got an error message which stated the target could not be found. I have been wrestling with this problem for the last 10 days. I have just one more thing to try when I get home from work tonight (anyone who has ever been a troubleshooter knows there is no such thing as just one more thing).
This isn’t that bad, I am OK with these little setbacks because I know when I am done I will have a very usable electric vehicle… Excuse me I’m late for my Viola’ lesson.
06.09.09
Didja’ miss me?
Today I have a day off from work and I started putting that time to use by wiring Evie with the replacement harness I received in the mail on the day I had to go back to work… Ah life… As you can see there are a few wires. Fortunately I also received the schematic and have a pretty good idea how this works. So here is the first draft of the install.
Not real sexy but definitely on the right track. Tomorrow I connect the keyswitch! Getting real close.
05.30.09
Oh Man! Just When It Looked Within Reach…
Check this out. The picture your looking at is of the plug which plugs into the DMOC (remember the one with all those wires), Notice pin 3 does not have a wire in it. Imagine my surprise when the schematic called for the wire from pin three! anyway we’ve come a very long way on the car since the 15th but I will not be able to reach my goal of being “operational” by the 31st. I sent the old one back today (wire harness) and should receive a replacement next week. At least we were able to hook up the high voltage system and check the voltages at my test points. I’ve also included a picture of the relay board we designed.
05.29.09
What a Goal, What a Day
Today and tonight we Tied up many loose ends. Jeff fabricated the lower rear body brace which will assist in keeping Evie’s butt from sagging. But we also hooked up the pack and got High voltage to the DMOC, In addition we fabricated a central control board and mounted it in the motor area behind and to the left of the DMOC. This control board has most of the relays. The Idea is to keep all of the wiring and relays in a location where, when it becomes necessary to change the pack, we will be able to do it without having to take the car apart again. The first and second pictures show the before and after hook-up of the DMOC. The next picture is Jeff displaying his newly fabricated “Anti Saggy Butt Bar” The fourth picture is of my girlfriend Belia, who came over and helped out with fabricating the jumpers used in the main battery pack. The last one I am checking the output voltage in the front pack. Tomorrow we see how the motor turns.
05.28.09
Wires Galore
So what do you expect from an electric vehicle, chopped liver? I was going to connect everything yesterday and suddenly realized I had the wrong map! The book I am using was written some years ago and has some very excellent information in it as to the basics of conversion, wiring, and safety, but it was targeted for a DC system and I am wiring an AC system. I spoke to the folks at Electro Automotive and they immediately responded by sending me a color schematic of how to wire an AC system. The color wires in the photos depict the wires coming out of the DMOC (controller) can you imagine trying to figure where these go without the proper map?
