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.
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.
05.27.09
Battery Guy’s Here!!
Today I got my batteries. The whole idea of an electric vehicle became very real. The pictures show the placement of the components and the Batteries. I also placed the accelerator actuator and hooked it up to the accelerator pedal.
05.26.09
No Pics Today Too Hot
It is blistering in the valley. I have done some work on the battery Boxes and the shelf to mount the Controller we decided not to paint until later. The goal is to make her operational. I can make her pretty later.
05.25.09
Battery Boxes and a Surprise
Since the batteries will be here the day after tomorrow, I decided to create a place for them so I don’t spend days tripping over them. The previous boxes were a good idea if the body was off of the chassis but with those boxes secured to the chassis, there was no way of placing the batteries into the boxes. This is what I came up with, sort of a Chinese puzzle. Since the batteries are Gel filled I do not have to worry about acid spills. I thought about setting the batteries on there side before but now the practicallity of that idea is real. I built these boxes in two parts. Part A. is the base and holds two batteries (on they’re sides) Part B. is the lid to part A and has a battery box on top of it. The idea is to be able to load the batteries as easily as possible and yet have them contained in a firm manner. The surprise is, I started placing all of the equipment in “Evie” to see how it all fits. Surprisingly, there are only three major items to place. They are The AC controller, the on board charger, and the DC to DC converter. The AC controller is the big box in the first and second pictures.
