Lead Head Our EV Conversion

 

October 28, 2006

Day 1 of project EV.

For a paltry sum of 500. we acquired the 1990 Toyota Extended Cab Pickup.  In the EV conversion world the pickup is perfect for first time project car.  The suspension can handle the 1500 lbs of batteries and the truck bed is a great place to store the 24 6 volt batteries.  1990 vehicle is pre airbag and computerized controls.  The conversion is a bit less technical without these.  KISS (keep it simple stupid).

This truck was a good Craigslist.org find.  Located in Huntington Beach with a blown head gasket. Low miles and no rust. The truck had lived most of its life in Bakersfield, CA.  The blown head gasket required all of our quarters would be spent at the self-serve car wash.  We did this twice. 

We purchased a tow strap and headed over to pick up the truck.  Towing was not too much of a problem. Rolling it uphill into the garage was work.

The truck is in the garage and Larry was eager to start. He pulled his toolbox out and started to rip it apart.  As always he was wearing his best white pants and shirt.  When estimating the cost of the conversion I forgot to take into account the price of clothing Larry will ruin.  Sorry mom.

This is about the time I make my exit.  As we will see. Only one Schwartz can work on the conversion at a time.

October 29 - November 20

Larry removed most of the ICE (internal combustion engine) parts.  Engine, cooling system (radiator and hoses), fuel system (gas tank and fuel lines), exhaust system (exhaust manifold, pipe, catalytic converter, muffler), power steering system, air-conditioner, and engine related electrical (wires and alternator).  He also removed the 5 speed manual transmission and most of the cab interior.  The transmission will be reused and the interior will be replaced.

Since weight and aerodynamics will factor in our driving range Larry removed the tailgate and replaced it with a net.

We began work on the suspension by replacing the rear shocks.  The front shocks and brake will be next.  Auto parts store sent us the incorrect parts. 

We are reusing the flywheel and pressure plate. Both were taken into be balanced.  The motor will red line at a high rpm.  Best mileage will be seen at the highest rpm range.  This is why you want a perfectly balance flywheel.

My time was spent researching parts, ordering them and selling the old ICE parts on Craiglist.org.  It turns out we are not the only people converting an ICE to electric.  The controller I selected, Zilla Z1K with LV hairball, is on back order not to be available before mid February 2007.  The adapter kit will not be available before January 2007.  A few of the other parts have a 2 - 3 week lead time. 

After many hours of reading and emails I made the parts list.  The series wound DC motor is the first big purchase. Back ordered.

November 21

Larry and I drove out to the EV parts retailer KTA-Services located near Mt. Baldy, CA.  We picked up the motor, Advanced DC FB1-4001A, motor clamp and a potentiometer.

November 21 2006 - January 19, 2006

Power brake and power steering systems.  Once you remove the ICE you must replace the mechanism that pumps the power steering fluid and creates the vacuum boost for your brakes.

We purchase an electric brake vacuum kit from Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation.  The kit had many of the parts we would need except for the check valve and a vacuum reservoir.  We reused the check valve that came with our car.  We made the vacuum reservoir from a foot long 4-inch diameter piece of PVC drain pipe. The reservoir allows us to have some braking before the electric pumps turns on.

In order to get the new pump to work we had to adapt the high pressure line to work with this pump.  Since the truck and MR2 are both Toyota we were in luck.  Once we decided where the new pump would be placed, we cut the old line to fit.  Our local auto parts store put a new fitting on and flared the end.  I have some concerns about the tight curve in the line.  So far it works.  We added a relay and fuse.  Our final issue with the pump is not to have it running all of the time.  An electric pump running when not needed uses up power that could extend the daily range.  So we are reading other EV's solutions.  So far there is no leading design choice.  If I know Larry, he will cook up some crazy method to conserve power. 

Update: the adapter plate kit ordered from Randy at www.canev.com has yet to be fabricated.  Randy has been dealing with winter power outages and the numerous orders he has been receiving for conversions.  At this point it's not an issue since there are so many small issues to deal with.

We also placed our orders for a Manzanita Micro PFC-30 charger.  To be delivered in 30 days or so.  An order was placed for the AVCON charging station power adapter box.  Avcon makes the charging equipment found at many of the updated or newer charging stations.  The adapter box will allow us to charge at these stations.  Many of the tourist areas, Costco stores, Fry's, the airports, as well as some hotels have charging stations.  The adapter box will be quite useful once the EV is completed.

For more information about the box check out www.evnut.com website. Charger adpter section is super complete. To purchase go to www.eaaev.org.  It takes one month for your box to me built and shipped.

 

Feb. 23 07

So many small and large advances on the EV over the past several weeks.

Starting from the rear of the car we can say: Larry installed the air ride kit. The kit consist of an airbladder for each of the rear wheels along with the air filler tube/ valve.  The airbladders when pressurized will level the truck after we place the 1500 lbs of batteries in the bed.  Should also give it a better ride.

Sticking with suspension, we installed new front shocks. Again a better ride.  We also replaced the 17 year old steering stabilizer / damper.  After receiving the incorrect one we attempted to remove the old.  17 years gave the old bolt a chance to weld itself to the crossbar.  time for the power tools and hammer.  after several hours the old damper and bolt were removed and the new installed.  There is an idea that when the power steering pump is in the off position and we are driving a new damper will keep the steering wheel from turning if we hit road kill.

Having some time before the next important part arrives we decided to repair a few of the minor non working items on the car. Starting with the drivers side window.

The motor rpm sensor arrived.  Larry worked out the design and offset for the mounting bracket.  Glen (our next door neighbor) happen to have the perfect piece of aluminum and was willing to donate it to the cause.  Thanks.  With that Schwartz went to work to make a beautiful work of art.  When complete the rpm sensor will connect to the Zilla.  The Zilla will use the data to cut off if over revving occurs as well giving us an rpm read.  Speed Controller information

As I said the adapter kit arrived and wow is it desired by all.  One look at it and I know we made the correct choice of having EV specialist make the thing.  Our home made adapter would not have looked as impressive.  Not to say home made won't work, but we have some vanity.  Since I was in NYC when it arrived Larry took to it alone.  He studied all the parts and read the installation guide.  The adapter plate went on. the adapter hub required some drilling and several steps.  The flywheel was bolted on along with the pressure plate with clutch disc. Connecting up the motor with the transmission was too great for iron Larry so he placed the transmission and motor into the back of the Jeep.  Drove down to the local transmission shop for a little help.  The men there were very interested in the project and excited to help.  They went above and beyond what was asked of them.  They took the clutch assembly apart, cleaned, adjusted and reassembled.  They looked the trany over, greased fittings, adjusted the throwout bearing and everything else they could think of.  Once the motor and trany were mated an inspection of free play were made and larry was back to his garage.

Mark (a neighbor) happens to own his own motor hoist.  With the help of the motor hoist and Svala the traction system was set in place.  The drive shaft was attached and all measurements were made.  The motor is sitting on a brick waiting for Tony to fabricate the mounting bracket that will mate the motor clamp with the truck frame. Theres been some discussion as to the need for some sort of rubber damper.  If the motor is hard mounted to the frame will there be any noise / vibration / unforeseen sensation that would be eliminated by inserting a soft material between the motor  clamp and mounting bracket? Our belief is to hard mount.  Our sissy side tells us why take a chance.  You got this quite EV keep it quite as possible. 
To test it out, Larry connected a power source to the motor, engaged the transmission and cried.  His baby took its first step.  Break out the grog.

March 20

Now that the motor and transmission are in place we start the assembly of the electrical system. We are going to start with the mess on in dash wires. we pulled the engine wiring harness and engine computer.  This has left us with a few connectorts from the main harness that are dead.  We will test each electrical system to see what is not working.

The first item of note is the back up light. The engine harness included the wires to the transmission.  We rebuilt those two wires.  Aparently the only wires lost were those.  We are not sure why but the interior fan is not working.  We pulled power from another source, now it works.  Other than a bad tail light and headlight we seem to be in good shape.  We won't talk about the several hours we wasted trying to figure out why the hazards and blinkers were not working.  DAD.

Electric heater core is complete and installed. Since purchasing the electric heater system we have discovered an alternative method. an electric water heater pump.  seems like a nice alternative.

The interior is back together.  We sure could use seat covers. 

Update:  The charger came today.  Where does one put the connector?  I sure don't want to lift the hood every day. Hmm.

We purchased some angle bar and plywood and began to build the platforms to hold the front batteries and the platform that will hold the charger, controller, contactors, and what not.

Larry has a tummy ache today. He says its from being all scrunched up under the dash trying to put it together the past few days.  I gave him the day off. 

 

Mounted the mini radiator for the zilla.  This came from a PC cooler.  I think the Zilla is not to exceed 200 liters an hour flow.  This is a factor of psi, something like 20 psi.  have to find zilla instructions to be sure.

 

Started building the platform.  I've got a couple of ideas.  As much as I want to weld it in place, it must be removable in case we need to pull the motor.

 

March 22 Larry goes to doctor.  Finds out his tummy ache is a bad organ.  not his brain, we know that went bad a long time ago.  His gallbladder needs to be removed. 

 

March 27 Larry has an operation to remove the bad parts.

 

It is time to purchase all the electrical parts that will be used to finish this job.  Shrink wrap, primary wire, fuse block, connectors, extension cord, romex for the house, switches, and a bunch of other items.  Ebay here I come.  15 purchases and I nearly have it all.  Funny how you can purchase a 50 dollar retail item used on ebay for 4 and pay the guy 9 to ship it.  still saved money.  I advise you to purchase all non ev specific items off ebay. 

 

April 5  Post Operation - Larry is still sleeping on the job.  Woke him up long enough to talk about our charging system and designing the cut off switch that will keep him from driving away with the charger connected to the house.  It could happen.  

May 20 over the past couple of weeks Larry took some time off to recover from his tummy ache.  He seems to be back up to speed.  During this mini vacation he was able to build the frame and deck system where we will be mounting all of the components,  along with the front battery platform.  We decided to place the 23 and 24th 6-volt batteries in the engine compartment.

In between the 22nd and 23rd battery we are inserting the main breaker. we intend to attach a manual choke cable kit to the breaker.  the pull knob will be in the cab giving the driver an emergency manual cut off.  you never know?

Most of the components have been delivered.  Most notable is the controller.  Cafe Electric Zilla ZK1 has been a long time coming.  Now that we have it we can finalize the wiring schematic.   At the time I made the decision to purchase the Zilla I had studied the features.  In the interim I forgot about many of the features.  One addresses our concern of driving away while the car is connected to the charging power source (the house power outlet). 

We intend on purchasing the batteries in three weeks. US Battery Co. offers a discount to EV club members.  The discount is available for pickup orders only.  I see a backache day in our future.  The idea of having to load 1600 pounds of batteries into a uhaul at the factory. Unload 1600 pounds of batteries.  Place the 1600 pounds into the EV when the battery box is completed.  I made a cardboard mock up of one battery.  We have been using it to do the initial build of the box.  Not feeling a 100% confident our mock up is exact we are unwilling to finish the box prior to having the real deal in place.

We are ready to mount the pot box.  since the throttle cable is fairly rigid we are placing it first.  the charger will be placed next due to its size. followed by the controller, two contactors and the hairball. 

May 23 Larry has been out in the garage for 76 hours, how long can he last?  Now that he sees the finish line he is a mad man.  Stripping, screwing, cutting, wrenching, drilling, shrink wrapping, crimping, once or twice he stopped to drink water.  Soon he will be talking to himself.  Go Mr. Good Wrench.

Over these past several days, Larry has been emailing me photos of his work.  I respond with my suggestions. Sometimes he likes them, other times he ignores them.  We move forward. So close to driving.

May 28 We mounted and wired the lower deck.  The lower deck consist of the Zivan NG1 DC/DC converter.  The additional 12 volt fuse box, the heater relay and out splitter boxes.  The NG1 is actually a battery charger that can be used as a DC voltage reducer.  When I opened the box to my surprise I see an AC three prong male plug at the end of the cord.  It's Memorial Day weekend so what do I do.  After a bit of Googling Larry and I decide the device can operate on both AC and DC current.  Cool.  Larry is so confident that he cuts the plug off and wires it up.  Instead of having multiple leads connected to the contactors Larry has decided to make individual power hubs.  Four all together.  One 144 +, one 144 -, one 12 + and one 12 -.  From these four post we can connect and disconnect without  loosening the contactor nuts.  It also looks nice.

Along with these electrical advancements, we went backwards and forwards with the Zilla coller.  After mounting the Zilla it was determined the reservoir was too low.  It needs to be higher than the Zilla. So we remounted it to higher ground.  This is where the inertia switch was, this will need a new home.  To be mounted later. 
The top deck has been laid out.  Now we need to borrow Les's (our boating partners) 2/0 wire cutter and crimper so we can get started on the traction wiring.  Les is a professional electrician, when he brings over his tools he will give us some useful critic.  Ideas and comments are always welcome. 


June 5 update

Ordered the batteries for pickup June 15. EV club price is approx. 25% discount.  

Most of the engine compartment wiring is complete.  Larry came across some information about the shunt placement.  The shunt should be placed on the negative side after the motor.  Since this will tell you what the motor is getting not what might be going in.  A 2% increase in accuracy.  Does it matter????
June 13 Brett joins Larry in the garage for several days of wiring.  Being the more flexible of the two I have been designated the dashboard specialist. 

June 15 Arturoe was kind enough to drive his large pickup truck out to Corona to pick up the pallet of batteries.  We were happy to see the pallet of batteries could be fork lifted into the bed.  We still had to unload from the pickup into the EV.

Barbara and I went to Santa Barbara for the weekend.  I needed a little R & R.

June 20 We cut the battery cables and wired up the 144 volt system.  After a couple of hours of diagnostics we were driving.  It was a great treat to see the EV driving.  A bit disappointed with the sound of the power steering pump and the brake reservoir pump.  I want silence when sitting at a red light.  Will have to work on this.

Now we are working on getting the charger system together.  Part of this system includes running Romex from on side of the house to the garage.  Pulling Romex through the attic is not my kind of fun.  Someone has to do it.  This went well right up to the point when we discovered the breaker box has no space for the 220 30 amp breaker we intended to install.  ugh.  Stay tuned.

June 29 the truck is running, but not the charger.  DOA.  With out the charger we will not be able to finish or test drive.  

Over the past few days I've been reading up on battery management and training.  It is my understanding that you do not want to your battery pack sit uncharged.  You need to fully charge the pack but not overcharge.  If you intend on not driving it for a couple of days you should keep the pack on a trickle charge.  The pack will require 5 to 20 charging cycles before it reaches peak performance.  than it will begin to degrade over the next couple of years.  At that time you will want to replace the pack.  Flooded lead acid can take a lot of abuse.  Since we will be learning on the job these will be a good set of trainers.  

Larry returned the Manzanita Micro charger for repair or replacement.  Hope Rick does the right thing.  We were never able to get an L.E.D. to light up. Nor anything else.  Surprisingly this was the first item we received that did not work out of the box.  The funny thing is this was also the last item to be installed.  What are the odds?

We have the final list of items to install and complete.  By the time we have a working charger the EV should be ready  for the road.  Of course we need to get the car inspected by the DMV so it will be exempt from California Smog inspections and we will be able to get out zero emission sticker allowing us to drive in the HOV lane to the mall.  I also believe we have some free parking meter action.  Need to read the fine print.  7 bucks what the heck.  

July 17 

 

Over the past month we have gotten many of the small issues taken care of.  The big issue was the charger. Rich Rudman returned the working charger to us with simple to follow instructions for wiring.  Larry must have swallowed his slurpy all at once and gotten brain freeze.  Now that his mind has thawed he was able to properly wire the working charger and it works just fine.  We will be replacing the 3 wire cord with a 4 wire cord bringing in the house ground.  As well as connecting the charger ground to the chassis.

 

For Larry's birthday we gave him seat covers and compounded the paint with a final coat of wax.  The truck looks about a good as it can without a paint job. 

 

it is time to register, insure and drive.   taking the truck out for a few drives to cycle the batteries.  Soon it should become a daily driver. 

July 18, 2007 

We can now say the EV is complete.  

Our final project is to get the second electric meter installed at the house.  As I may have told you, our electric utility company offers a reduced rate for EV charging.  The restrictions are you need a second meter on a timer.  Power is available in the low consumption hours only.  Night time charging.  This should work for us most of the time.

We would like to install solar panels on the house.  This would make us very happy

August 7

To bring you up to date on the Edison EV rated outlet for charging.   Five months ago we attended the alternative fuel auto expo in Santa Monica.  Southern California Edison had a booth, they were using the venue to tell the attendees how they have a fleet of vehicles that use alternative fuels.  We spoke to a representative about getting reduced charging rates for our EV.  They gave us their phone number and told us to give them a call.  Thus beginning our dealings with a bearuocracy.  Many phone calls later we were able to get someone to address our request.  The electric company sent a person out to install a second meter.  We wired a new outlet to this meter.  We filed a permit with the city.  Once the city inspects our wiring work they will sign off on this  and the electric company will install the meter / timer.  This should all be complete within the week.  When finished we will be furnished electricity during off peak hours at a reduced rate.  Since this is all new to everyone we are not sure what that rate will be. 


August 11

So far so good. no problems.  Larry has been driving the EV every day.  I think 20 miles has been the most he has driven in a day.  Some point over the next week or so we will test drive the EV for range.  Starting with a 10 mile out and back drive.  incrementally increasing the miles out and back.  I hope we can attain 35 mile round trip.  Once we do complete that test we will begin to try 3rd gear vs. 2nd gear.  Hills vs. flat.  As well as adjusting the Zilla for different driving.  This should give Larry something to do for the next couple of weeks.  let you know how it turns out.

January 2008

Larry has been driving the truck for some time now.  we have yet to finish the last 2 items on our punch list.  the tachometer and the heater.  the 144 side of the heater is done. we just need to switch the 12 volt side.  the tachometer requires a new speed sensor.  it turns out the old one was rubbing.  both the heater and the speed sensor requires me to get under the car or under the dash.  Larry does not seem to be as flexible as he used to.  on my next trip out west I intend on finishing up.

Over the past month or so I was able to get Larry to work on the illustrations / schematics. 

January 18
Removed the rear bumper and spare tire and mud flaps.  this was all done to reduce weight and aerodynamics.  took it for a test drive.  one thing I notice is the weight distribution changed.  dah.  both the bumper and the spare tire are at the back of the truck.  almost no weight behind the rear axle.

August 13, 2009  I have decided to sell the EV.  I feel bad we are not driving it much.  It was a great project and it will be a good deal for the next owner.