EVAustralia Forum
HomeHomeGeneral Discuss...General Discuss...Your ConversionYour ConversionEVAust 1 starts to take shape.EVAust 1 starts to take shape.
PREVIOUS
 
NEXT
NEW POST
29/10/2007 10:38 PM
 

Hey guys.. I’ve finally got a motor in my car !!!!!

Check out the Album for photos

NEW POST
30/10/2007 7:07 PM
 

Awesome! Yours is going well, Gav's is nearly finished, and the Forkenswift is road legal!

 

Now if only my EV was more than just something in my head... hehehe

NEW POST
7/04/2008 12:20 PM
 
You may have noticed a distinct lack of activity over the last few months. Work commitments have swamped everything and the EV had to move in to the background for a while. The good news is that things have settled down a little and I’m back on track.
This weekend I finished some welding and engine mounts. I also hooked up a 12V battery to the motor an had the wheels spinning. Now I’m just trying to get hold of some 800 amp welding cable so that I can finish the wiring, if all goes according to plan I may be applying some real power this weekend.
 I’ll post up some pictures when I get a chance.
NEW POST
21/04/2008 10:37 AM
 
Ok things are really starting to move again. I finally got the wiring done and tried powering up the car over the weekend. Couple of minor hiccups which result in 2 warnings.

1) I found out that the ignition switch was connected to earth, The ZAPI controller puts 120V through its power switch which I connected to the old ignition. I then lent over to connect the last battery terminal and boooot, I got a zap and a half. Measured between the terminal and earth - 120V. Warning, check that the ignition switch isn't earthing the main DC supply and before touching any battery terminal measure the voltage to the chassis in case of shorts, 120V can be fatal.

2) I got contactors with a 12V winding which seem to be what most people use in conversions. When I fired it up all looked good, switched the direction switch to forward and click, smoke. The ZAPI powers the contactors with 120V. As you are aware electric components run on smoke and once you let too much smoke out that don’t work anymore, fortunately I didn't let enough smoke escape and the contactor seems to be ok. Second Warning, double check the winding voltage for the contactors. I'm getting a couple of 120V relays to connect to the contactors and will see how that turns out.

So I didn't get any movement but at least I have most of the wiring done and a controller that is not reporting any diagnostic errors, and I survived a 120V boot. With any luck I should have the relays in tomorrow and will give it another go.
NEW POST
25/04/2008 11:15 AM
 

 

Things are back on track. I replaced a contactor, fitted 3 120V relays between the contactors and the controller, replaced 3 diodes and a power mosfet that blew in the controller and now I have an electric car that moves under it's own power. I'll try to get a bit of video posted once I firm up the engine mounts to stop the motor trying to jump out of the bonnet.

PREVIOUS
 
NEXT
HomeHomeGeneral Discuss...General Discuss...Your ConversionYour ConversionEVAust 1 starts to take shape.EVAust 1 starts to take shape.


  
Books and DVD's on Electric Vehicles