Ready to go...

The completed component board install, minus the throttle cable. Time for the smoke test!

You see a wiring harness... I see a work of art

Here's the completed wiring harness for my component board. If all goes well I should have this all installed by the end of the day.

Hey all, it occurred to me (and I guess to a few other readers as well!) that it can be kinda hard to figure out exactly what's going on here without reading the blog from the very beginning. So for those of you who want some quick and dirty info, here's a couple links on my cars:

Mazda: http://www.evalbum.com/861

Toyota: http://www.evalbum.com/1445

They'll also be in my links section. I don't update them as often as my blog, but they should provide some good info.

I spent an hour or so this morning building a mount for the charger board up front. This is the test fit. I think it looks pretty good. I've also been spending some time on the front-to-rear wiring, mainly for the chargers. It's coming along pretty quickly, and the recent warm weather is really making things easier!

I got most of the high-voltage wiring on the component board done today. The pic shows the layout I ended up with. The most positive and most negative of the pack will be attached to the shunt and the fuse, and the motor wiring comes out the bottom of the board. Eventually, I'll put those big Anderson connectors on here to make it really easy to remove.

This is the finished throttle sensor setup. To disconnect it, I'll just loosen a wing nut on the cable and remove it. It should also be a lot easier to adjust than when it was mounted to the firewall.

This is for anybody that wants to see what's really inside a Raptor. I had mine apart today for a little while. I'm mounting throttle sensor to the case of the controller. It should be a lot more portable and reliable this way.

The beginnings of a removable component board. I should be able to transfer this between my truck and my Tercel, eliminating the need for a new controller, contactors, etc., at least initially.

I'm spending the afternoon today cleaning up in preparation for the Discovery Channel. They're coming over for an interview on Monday. My truck is getting a bit of a workout moving my dad's cars around.

Charger boards all wired up, and ready for a test fit.

One board, all wired up. Now I just have to add a connector and mount it in the car.

One down, two to go...

One of the charger boards. I'll have two of these in the trunk, and another with four chargers under the hood.

I'm spending a few hours today working on mounting the 14 chargers for my Tercel. I'll make sure to post more pics when I'm done.

Well, if I do say so myself, the Tercel is looking pretty good. Can you tell I like orange? Since the last post I've finished the component board mount and I have the battery racks mostly done. It's not perfect, but it'll get the job done. Since I'm going to be mounting batteries underneath the front crossmember, I had to remove the brace underneath it. I had to add a whole bunch of extra bracing to make up for it. You can see that in the pic below.
Below you can see the front battery rack. This is going to hold three batteries. I would have liked to have had four up here, but there isn't quite enough room on the left side. I can always modify it later on. Hopefully I'll eventually be able to cram one or two more in there to take some weight out of the back. There's actually quite a bit of room here- you just have to spend the time to figure out how to use it all. I'll also have to find room up here for the 12v accessory battery.
Here's a look at what I'm working on for the rear battery rack. It's really just temporary. I'm going to be stuffing 10 batteries back here. Once I get the car dialed in, and get the batteries all where I want them, I'll sink them into the floor. This should let me have almost all of the original trunk space.

I have a lot of work to do yet. I still have to run all of the wiring (something that I'm going to think through a little more with this car than I did with my truck), assemble the component board, set up the gauges, work out the vacuum system, and of course, purchase and install batteries, along with a bunch of other little stuff.

This is going a lot faster than my truck, though. It really helps to know the basics of how everything is going to go together. I'm hoping to have this car on the road by the end of the month- we'll see what happens. Now that I've gotten this far, I'm getting really anxious to get it rolling. It looks like it's going to be a really fun car. Stay tuned!

Well, it's been a little while since I last updated. And yes, I have cut my hair since the pic was taken! I've gotten quite a bit of work done. I now have the motor installed in my Tercel, and I'm working on battery racks and component layout. So far it's looking like I'll have 3 or 4 batteries up front (plus one for the 12v system) and then 9 or 10 more in the back. Although this is far from optimal as far as weight distribution goes, it'll get me on the road. I'll always be able to modify it later on.

In the spirit of doing things on the cheap, I'm working on a component shelf that will allow me to transfer all of the major components and wiring from my truck to my Tercel by simply unplugging a couple connectors and loosening a few wing nuts. This way, I won't have to buy new contactors and stuff while the Tercel is still in the test stages. It will contain the controller, both contactors, fuse, circuit breaker (maybe), current shunt, and a few other minor items. It will have one connector for 12v power and signal wires (power on, amp meter, volt meter, controller status lights, and a few other things), another connector (one of the big Anderson ones) for the motor, and another Anderson for main battery power.

It will also have a plug for the charger, which is only going to be used on my truck. I've purchased 14 6A 12v smart chargers to use in my Tercel. By using individual chargers, I'll get an automatic equalize charge, not to mention saving a bundle of dough. They will be mounted on-board (they're very small, maybe 8" long), and they will all be tied to one main charge plug. Since they're smart chargers, they'll automatically switch to a trickle charge when the batteries are topped off, taking better care of the batteries than any group charger ever could.

I've been working on my own homemade controller design, but I don't think it will be done in time (hence the reason why I'm working on the removable component board). My controller will be an IGBT controller, driven by a flash-programmed PIC, which will allow me to edit the firmware at any time just by plugging it into a computer serial port. I have a Powerex 600A 1200V IGBT that I purchased surplus off of ebay. This should provide more than enough current-handling capability. If I size the filter caps right, it should be able to handle at least 200V or more. I'm also working on an LCD interface using a 16x2 44780-controlled blue LCD, which is easily interfaced with the PIC.

Initially, it will probably be a pretty bare-bones setup, but later on I hope to add features like built in cruise control, current limiting, RPM limiting, throttle endpoint adjustment, and more. That's the great thing about building these things yourself- once you have the basic power stages and driver complete, you can add all kinds of crazy features for very little cost, often by just adding a few lines of code.

Anyway, I've got some more to report, but I think this post is long enough... I'll try to add some more updates ASAP.

I've gotten quite a bit of work done on the Tercel lately. The adaptor plate is back from the shop, and I'm currently in the process of drilling it for the transmission. The picture above shows (sort of) the setup for marking the holes. The motor is stood up on end, the adaptor plate, hub, clutch and flywheel are assembled onto it, and then the transmission is placed on top. The transmission centers itself by means of the shaft in the clutch disk. The holes are then marked with transfer punches, and any other necessary mods are also marked. I have to make a cut out for the clutch slave cylinder, and also one for the CV axle. Packaging is kind of tight in this thing!

And of course, check out the cool paint job I've applied to the motor. Rattle cans rock! Due to the transverse layout of this car, the motor is going to be a lot more visible than in my truck, so I might as well make it look cool!

The picture below shows the adaptor plate as received from the machine shop. You can see the countersunk holes for the motor mounting bolts, and the hub. The hub contains a bronze bearing stock insert that replaces the pilot bearing in the engine and centers the flywheel. A pretty slick setup, if I do say so myself!

I've been working on my truck, too. I've been trying all sorts of aerodynamic mods, with varying degrees of success. The current mod consists of a bumper cover that lowers the bottom edge of the car, deflecting a lot of air that would otherwise pass underneath to the sides and upward. I think I may have picked up a couple mph with this mod.

Anyway, that's about all for now. Stay tuned!

The new motor is here! And man, is it awesome. It's a Kostov 10.5" motor. It should provide plenty of power for my 2000 lb. Tercel! The downside of having a bigger motor is, well, it's bigger. In all respects. It's longer than my 9", making it harder to fit into a transverse mount situation. It's also heavier. Shipping weight on this thing was 230 lbs. My 9" shipped UPS at 120 lbs.! That means the new motor had to be shipped by truck. As in, big truck. I have to admit, it was cool to have a semi back up the driveway to deliver this thing.

I don't think the motor really weighs that much- if I had to guess from lifting it, I would probably say about 180. Still a significant weight increase!

I made up a pattern for the adaptor plate yesterday and took it over to the machine shop. It should be done in a few days. It's definitely a lot easier this time around, now that I have one under my belt already. I'm currently working on the design for the hub. I'll probably be able to turn it in next week. So I should have the adaptor plate ready to go in a week or two.

I've also been doing some aerodynamic mods to my truck. For starters, I covered the grill (already blocked by batteries) with a lexan plate. Should smooth out airflow a little bit.

That's about all for now. I'll probably take some more pics later and post them, plus more info on the adaptor plate. Check back soon!

New look, new attitude!

After dropping the front a few inches and giving my truck a flat-black spray can trim job, my truck has an all-new "police cruiser" look. And it's not just to look cool, either (well, I guess the paint was...). I managed to pick up an extra 3-4 mph in third gear since the drop. Not to mention, it really does look awesome...

To go along with the whole "cool" thing, my truck also doesn't squeak anymore. Having replaced the u-joints, my truck is much more fun to drive. Plus I don't have people saying "I don't like EVs because they squeak."

And this is all just in time for my truck to tick over the magic 1000 mile mark. That's right, I now have 1000 gas-free, quiet miles on this machine. I have about 500 on it since the motor rebuild, as well. So far, that's 40 gallons of gas I didn't have to buy!

Now that I'm becoming more and more comfortable with it, I'll be driving it much more often too. It has no problems whatsoever in the rain, and cold weather doesn't seem to be much of a problem either. So that 2000 mile mark is coming up pretty quick...

I am, however, going to have to work out some sort of a heater... These 40 degree mornings are starting to get to me. I'll probably install an electric heater of some sort... I'll make sure and post about it when I figure something out.

I've also been doing a bit of work on motor cooling. Here's a pic (albeit a cryptic one) of my electric radiator fan:

So far, this has been doing an excellent job of keeping the motor cool. I've got it wired to turn on whenever the ignition is on, so even when I'm sitting at a stop light the motor is cooling down. I think that's very important. The original fan, attached to the motor shaft, only turned as fast as the motor. That meant that when I needed it most (low rpm situations) the fan wasn't doing anything! This one works much better.

The Tercel is coming right along. I'm currently working on eliminating the unnecessary engine wiring, which accounts for the majority of the underhood wiring. Should be a lot neater when I'm done. Plus I'm going to find some cool color of electrical tape to wrap it with!

The motor is scheduled to arrive later this week, so I'll be able to start working on the adaptor plate. It should be very simple. This transmission doesn't use a pilot shaft, so I don't have to incorporate the pilot bearing in the hub. This does mean, however, that I have to be extra careful with alignment.

Anyway, that's all for now. Make sure to check back soon!

I think I can sum up this post in two words: NEW CAR! My 1992 Toyota Tercel has been warmly welcomed to the garage, and is undergoing the conversion process. This great little car weighs right around 2000 lbs.- perfect for electric conversion. It came with a 5-speed and a 1.5L EFI engine (now no longer). The car is shown below in its current (disassembled) state:

Engine, exhaust, gas tank, etc. have all been removed. At this point I'm thinking I'll run a 144v system with 12v batteries. I may upgrade later on to 156 or higher- we'll see. I want to get "zippy" performance out of this thing. I'm currently waiting for the motor to arrive. Should be an impressive motor. It's another Kostov, only a little bit bigger. It's a 10.5" dia motor, vs. the 9" Kostov in my truck. It should be able to handle the amps a little better, not to mention putting out a lot more power!

My truck is running awesome. I'm approaching 1000 EV miles. Currently the driveshaft is in the shop getting new u-joints... I finally decided it's time to get rid of that obnoxious squeaking that's been plaguing my truck ever since conversion.

I'm also playing around a little with the suspension. Turns out that it's really easy to adjust height with torsion bars! Just turn a couple bolts underneath, and you can raise and lower it to your heart's content. Fun! I've got the front lowered an inch or two right now- I'm going to remove the bumpstops today and drop it a little further. Fun to play with, albeit not very productive... Looks cool, anyhow. I'll post a pic when I'm happy with the height.

Well, that's all for now. Make sure to check back for updates. Also check my photobucket- username is greenflightev. I've got some more pics of the Tercel up there now.

EVing at the Cruise!

Make sure to check out my photobucket: http://www.photobucket.com/albums/cc52/greenflightev

Click on "Mazda EV." More pics of the Cruise, the truck, and the motor rebuild.

I took my EV to the Woodward Dream Cruise in August. Man, talk about weird! An electric vehicle cruising around at an event dedicated to engines, and it still managed to get attention! Who knows how many video cameras and cell phones I'm in. It's amazing. There is definitely interest in this technology, you can't deny that! I drove it for 7 hours at the dream cruise without a recharge, and I still had plenty of voltage left! In fact, the 12 volt accessory battery started running low, when there was plenty of juice left in the traction pack. It was awesome! The Cruise is great for this kind of car. Stick it in first gear and cruise all day! It draws a crowd wherever it goes, especially with my shiny new lettering:

Yeah, nothing garners the public eye quite like LIME GREEN signs on a red truck. The pic doesn't do them justice- they're quite eye-catching.

Anyway, while I'm at it here, I should probably mention a rather important incident: the motor blew up. Well, it didn't exactly blow up, but it went out with quite a bang. I had just pulled out of work when I heard a BANG and the tires started squealing. My first thought was a flat tire, since my truck's not exactly the lightest car on the planet. So I pulled over and got out, looked at everything, kicked all the tires, and found nothing wrong. So, like anyone who fails to use his head would do, I fired it back up. This time, it gets me up to about 25 and then does the same thing. And it wouldn't restart. So after an embarrassing half hour parked in a driveway with the hood up staring blankly at the motor, my dad showed up with a tow strap and pulled me home.

Turns out the insulation (class F- 311 degrees F, if I recall correctly) had melted off the field magnets, and one had shorted to the motor case. Actually, two, and in the worst possible locations- they caused the voltage to bypass almost all of the field coils and interpoles. I believe the insulation melted during the initial test phase, when I was having difficulty with the controller. I tried shifting earlier to get the truck up to speed. Turns out I was just heating up the motor. So- to all you new EV drivers out there- wind it out! I believe the vibration eventually caused the coils to contact the case. I guess that's what I get for buying a cheap motor.

After getting a quote of $1000 to rewind the motor, I decided I wasn't feeling so flush after all. I decided to try and rewind it myself. It's not too difficult- just takes time:

Hopefully in the future I'll be able to write up a detailed description of how this is done. The bottom line, though, is that it worked, and the motor runs great. Not to mention, it now has class H insulation- good through 356 degrees F. I also installed a 12v CPU cooling fan in the endbell to help with cooling- the original fan was near worthless.

I'm currently in the process of installing an electric radiator fan in its place. The motor still gets warm with the CPU fan. Should allow me to push a few more amps through the motor, and get more top speed. I'll try to add some pics to my photobucket later.

Speaking of fans, I now have one installed in my homemade bed cover to vent the batteries. This way I don't have to prop up the bed cover to allow hydrogen to escape. I also have a 12v charger hardwired in under the hood to charge my accessory battery- this thing just gets easier and easier!

Anyway, I have about 700 EV miles on my truck so far, and all I can say is- I LOVE IT! The cost of electricity is nearly negligible, and it is awesome as a commuter and errand-runner. Range has not presented any issues for me. I do notice that I tend to plan a little better, trying to get more things done on one trip, but hey- that's a good thing!