March 8, 2014
Lead is dead so lets get a fresh start.
Just cleaning up the old ev album site so if anyone wants to dig into the past ..... here it is:
EV Album - old entrys:
1991 Toyota Pickup
“Chuck”
Pat Walker
Roberts Creek, British Columbia Canada
vehicle
1991 Toyota extended cab pickup
motor
advanced dc 9 Series Wound DC dual shaft, rev-limiter magnet and pickup are mounted on the front shaft.
drivetrain
2010-07-07 Drove for 6 months without clutch and now it's fixed will never do that again. Acceleration is so much better with a clutch.
2010-01-28 3rd is fine to 100+Kmph
2008-04-10 did some highway driving today and used 4 gears. the rev limiter kicks in at 4500rpm so 1st cuts out about 42kmph and 2nd gear doesn't work past about 72kmph. Having the clutch IS necessary for shifting, especially on uphill grades.
2008-03-08 remembered to refill the fluid and put the stick back on today.
controller
2012-07-17 failed and fixed and back in after warrenty repair. I will try to wait 7 seconds after ignition turned on to give the capps time to pre-charge.
2011-09-18 pre-charge resistor was burny hot in June... Curtis failure, back in now and working.
2010-07-07 used 1231C has much more power than the original had at the end. Can go up hills in 2nd. I'm trying to stay below 300a but it's hard not to show off.
2010-06-22 replaced with used 1231C while original is getting fixed.
2010-01-28 very dependable still works perfectly.
2008-04-20 works perfectly so far. it makes this neat whine at low motor speeds so you can show off to pedestrians.
batteries
24 Powr-Surge PS 125 series 1200 rated 235 AH, 6.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded 5 under the hood, 19 in the bed, both in delux aluminium boxes. New pack Dec. 2009.
2013-12-10 second pack is worn out.
2013-09-10 watered for 15th (last) time.
2013-07-24 oops, drained the old pack way down...seems to be ok this morning, 151.5v.
2013-07-02 watered for 14th time
2013-05-04 replaced bad batt with used one. Now pack is 152v in the morning and range is back to usual.
2013-04-02 acid smell after heavy drive and found cell boiling in the rear pack. (they are 3 years and 4 months old) voltage was down to 4.5v. I dumped it out, rinsed the inside, and refilled with new acid. So far it's charging voltage is up with some of the others again. we will see.
2013-01-13 watered batts for 11th time.
2012-11-15 watered batts for 10th time
2012-05-10 watered batts for 9th time, have charged them every month while truck is down, still 152v in the morning.
2011-11-17 watered batts for 8th time.
2011-05-20 watered batts for 7th time.took about 1/4 hour, that's about 1 minute a week, plus 1 minute a week to plug in is less than pumping gas and much cheaper.
2011-04-28 charged voltage 152.5 this morning.........that's good. Haven't even looked at the terminals for 6 months.
2011-02-16 watered for the 6th time.
2010-11-26 watered for the 5th time.
2010-10-06 new terminals are still perfect and stay cool after driving.
2010-09-15 watered again (15 minutes with slow running hose from our sweet well water).
2010-07-26 watered them for the third time (7 months old !). They are doing very well without regular eqauilization.
2010-06-22 excelent batteries no trouble with terminals.
2010-03-06 The terminals are called 'flag posts'. I checked today and a couple of them with older cable ends needed 1/8 turn, good after 3 months. Also re-sprayed with sealer.
2010-02-23 Second time watering the new batts, only took about 8 literes. Single caps are easier than the tripple speed caps 'cause those leaver things get caught on the cables. The terminals still look like new.
2010-01-28 Lots of pep and charged voltage seems to be higher than the interstates were.
2009-12-11 New pack is in and working. The old one did 15,000Km and almost 2 years of abuse from me. This pack will only get a float charge once a week and I'll park it rather than take it below 45%. I'll prop the lid open while charging until I get the fans and lid insulation done.
2009-11-12 Range is going down fast. I have priced U2400's at $155CAD each ($4,000 for pack) localy and will probably go for that. LiFePo4 160's would be $16,000 for pack including the BMS....if only!
2009-10-21 One of the cells failed and started to boil, measured 4.1v so that one is toast. I replaced with a nearly new Trojan T1275 (12v)but the pack voltage was too high and the NG3 would not start charging (of course). So I jumped over a 6v making the pack 144v again. So far everything seems fine.... I'm hoping to get the full 2 years out of them.
2009-10-13 see new photos of the inside of the rear battery box that is exposed to the cold. The front box is like new inside because it is protected by the hood, the rear gets a lot of nasty condensation. A cover or insulation and a fan would really help with terminal corrosion.
2009-09-17 no trouble with terminals till today. Was tightening for the first time in about 6 months and one of my repairs broke off exposing a black stub. I've been having some problems with voltage sag for the past couple of months (pack is 18 months old and heavily used) so I hope the fix will help. Overnight slow charge seems to help perk them up. I've been keeping my amps below about 350 and that seems to
have stopped terminal melt.
2009-03-10 filled water, about 2.5 gallons. once a month is fine with my driving.
2009-02-24 still having trouble with melting terminals unless they are tightened weekly! have started forming
posts to replace the offset studs and clamping wing nut type terminals.
2008-11-16 filled water, 4 gallons but still lots of space on the top of the plates. oh, and sinched all the terminal nuts.
2008-09-14 filled water again, it was time. found some tereminals that needed 1/8th turn! replaced a cable between two batteries, it was getting hot. they are 0-2 welding cable with hammer crimper terminals and i think some of my early crimping wasn't good. by the way my friend with the neon ev says the way to check for a bad battery is to test the voltages with the heater running.
2008-07-29 filled water using the speed caps(opens all 3 at once) it gives a good check on the cells and only took about 20 minutes. a friend has single point watering and a stuck float valve may have been the cause of his battery failure. it looks like a pain to remove the caps with the tubes attached to check the true water level.
2008-07-02 ***ATTENTION*** tighten your terminal nuts again a week after installation! i didn't, pulling 400 amps up a steep hill on the highway there was a pop, no power and a funny smell. smoke. the offset terminal post was melted into a pool of lead (holes in the plastic). to get home i bolted the cables together to bypass the mess. $20 to the battery pro and i was on the road the next day. he reamed off the old offset to expose the original post and welded on a new terminal.
2008-05-31 pack working perfectly now with NG3. still checking water level and still fine.
2008-05-03 i've decided to name my batteries. they are individuals. since they are being charged in pairs (NG3 blew a diode) i have to pay attention to their exercise and feeding. Albert was down to 5.8v but when paired with Elvis he recovered very well now 6.3v. talked to a mechanic today about more spring in the back to handle the weight and he said go for air bags.. spring shocks break thier mounting bolts.
2008-04-03 went for the first road test and one of the terminals must have been loose.. the boot melted but not much damage. should have double checked!
2008-03-23 made 'studs' using bolts so i don't have to crawl under the truck to take the box off.
2008-02-29 oops that would be 5 under the hood and 19 in the bed. they are all a very tight fit.
charger
2013-04-02 slam works great. no photo yet.
2013-02-06 made 'slam-it-under-the-door' cable so I can plug into 30amp outlet at the church hall. Just opened up the #10 marine cable and spread out the three insulated wires between two sheets of tough plastic. If it works I'll post a photo.
2012-12-19 Zivan has kept this pack running for three years. morning voltage is still 151.5v and no noticable ageing.
2012-11-27 has been smelling for a couple of weeks. quit today ...burnt input contacts at the printed circuit board. had to solder one to the fuse and the other to the pin. still works great after almost 5 years.
2012-10-13 still working perfectly, pack almost 3 years old and still 151v in the morning after charging.
2011-11-17 still good
2011-04-02 Doing a great job. Problems back in 2009 were partly battery abuse from me.
2010-10-06 Mounted the plug under the front bumper. It's out of the weather and if the timer is off and I drive away it just unplugs. I'm using good quality 120v 15a plugs. They seem to last about as long as the 30a ones and are $5 each not $45.
***the next section is wrong thinking ....
2010-07-26 Caught it going to 192V in the T3 phase. I wish it could be set to shut off after T2 almost all the time.
2010-07-07 Not going over 180v and not blowig the breaker on the 15a setting.
2010-06-22 Just back from Sacremento, had the 15amp setting turned down to 14 so office breaker dosn't blow every day.
2010-02-23 Heavy duty timer was about $30 and well worth it. It is little hard guessing the time but if the NG3 goes into equalizatin that's OK.
2009-12-11 With the new battery pack I plan on using a timer to prevent the Zivan from going into equalization phase every time.
2009-10-13 Sometimes after heavy driving I have to wait about 10 minutes before it will start. I assume it is old batteries getting hot. Also the 15A setting is blowing the breaker at work. I'll try it at home to see if it's my fault.
2009-02-24 charger still working perfectly. have replaced the gas door 30 amp plug with standard 3 prong on the charger under the hood because of sticking plugs. it was either moisture or cheap metal on the marine plug.
2008-10-02 charger back in and working.
2008-09-14 should be back from repair this week. it was an output diode again.
2008-08-17 NG3 quit after long drive on a hot afternoon. i'll send it in for repair and go back to the four-12volt-clipon-routine...aarrrggg!!!
2008-05-31 very pleased with NG3. i did plug it in at work with the 15a chord and blew the breaker because i forgot to switch to 15a. would be better to have 2 seperate charging ports (ie one for 15amps, ordinary plug and the other for 25 amps, 30 amp marine cable)
2008-05-20 using 100% setting every day so now and no problems. the 60% is very useful for opportunity charging. it pulls about 14.5amps so nothing else can be on that 15amp breaker.
2008-05-13 charger back in and working! i'm running it at the 60% setting for now.
2008-05-03 at last report it was in california with a blown diode. still using 4 12v chargers.
2008-04-15 phoned the supplier and they said send it back to them so they can test it. so its in a box and i'm back to the canadian tire 12v charger 12 times 12hours aaarrrrggg!
2008-04-13 charger was giving me a battery error when voltage was 149.7 at the charger so i pulled the cover and the output fuse (16a 500v) was blown.
2008-04-07 in and working came with a switch for 60% (15 AMPS 120V) AND 100% (25AMPS 120V) no worries about opportunity charging!
2008-03-23 still not here. put a 120v plug (heavy extension chord type)in so when it comes i can just put it on the studs and plug it in.
heater
2011-11-17 love to put heater on for 10 minutes before driving on frosty mornings....uses less than 1% (and no gas).
2011-04-02 have been using the heater much more this winter. It doesn't reduce my range.
2010-10-06 defrost needed again.
2010-01-28 defrost is fast but cab heat takes time.
2008-09-12 needing the defog even in September when i go by the ocean. i think ICE cars get a lot of waste heat coming off the engine that comes out from under the hood.
2008-05-13 instant defog is great.
2008-04-06 now working full fan only. the fan relay worked but had no power so i ran 12v from my system to it. also picked up down from the fan switch to the element heater relay. managed to bolw the 30a fuse... brought in 144v from the heater relay pos to pins 1,3,and 5. neg to 2 and 4.
2008-04-01 can't get the fan to go but the heater will go in the duct between the core and the fan. (see the photo)
dc/dc
2013-07-24 still fine.
2012-10-13 New Iota working fine.
2012-09-17 failed after over 4 years...was putting out 16v (noticed old batt guage on the dash was pinned
at max) and boiling aux battery. new one will be $365.
2011-12-07 found problem..loose screw \that holds down output wire from DC/DC.
2011-11-17 still fine, headlights dimmed, dark rainy night, tried unpluging 144v to dc/dc, finally pulled batt fuse in old fuse box and put back in......... aux voltage came back up. loose contact?
2011-09-18 still fine, but old car battery started to boil in August, now replaced with small lawn mower batt.
2010-10-06 still fine.
2010-07-07 fan is buzzing, pushed against something.
2010-06-22 still fine.
2009-10-21 still fine.
2008-07-29 has been on constantly since installed and works fine.
2008-03-23 put plug on 144v dc from charger wireing and tested.... it works!
2008-03-08 will be on 24/7, just easier that way. right now plugged into 120v ac extension chord.
instrumentation
2013-04-02 voltage only working now. I'll check connections sometime.
2012-10-13 works great now. I leave it on percent battery capacity... just trust my terminals won't melt at
500amps and that the charging voltage is always okay.
2011-10-12 when he misbehaves I just give him a thump accross the side of his little cpu and he's good.
2011-01-28 It's not a loose plug..moved around twised pair from shunt and all ok now!
2011-01-01 loose plug..fixed. Set battery capacity to 220ah. They are a year old and a lot of charges (usually down to 60% every day) so should be more realistic.
2010-10-06 slammed the door while opportunity charging-- went from -6amp to +7amp on the meter! must be a loose wire or something.
2010-09-21 still showing amp hour(%) drain when there isn't any. But seems to be doing it less? At first it would go to 0% now it only drops a few %?
2010-08-12 face plate cracked 'cause I poke it so much, tape fixed it for now. When I went away for 3 days it went to 0%, but the voltage was good so I pulled out the manual and did a reset. Easy and quick and didn't change any of my settings.
2010-01-28 I start in percent charge then go to amps (trying to keep them below 350) then finish with percent again and check voltage while charging.
2008-06-10 got the answer back...charged voltage is correct (158v) i should expect to easily get 80 amp hours+ from a full charge. guess i'll change from kwh back to amp hours on F04 and see.
2008-06-09 going to e-mail CANEV for advice on charged voltage, i think it should be higher to record more kwh.
2008-05-31 just thought i'd run through my present settings (finally just changed charged voltage to 158 hope it helps match the percent remaining with the pack voltage at rest and gives more confidence for greater range)---
F01-automatic scanning OFF
F02-sleep mode to AU (AUTOMATIC)
F03-20 deg C
F04-KWH ON
F05- alternate energy OFF
...
F13- 02 (0-500V PRESCALER)
-charge effeciency factor learn ON
-charged voltage 158v
-charged current 4%
-battery capacity 240 ah
-t set to 04P (percent capacity remaining)
2008-05-13 back working again after charger problems. auto sleep (F02,AU)is perfect. still need to set the charged voltage to 158.4v(12X14.2V)
2008-04-06 working well but has negative amp hours. the charger will be here tomorrow so i'll sort thet out when it's charged. i think i will set it to kilowhat hours.
2008-03-29 spent some time with the manual last night...looks like i should set F13 to 2 for 0-500V for the prescaler. havent figured out the charged voltage yet. somewhere around 12 x 13.2.
2008-03-08flashing error now. I can't figure out the instructions for ev's.
acceleration
not bad, when i get out on the flat road i'll do a 0 to 80kmph and report.
2012-09-17 amazing with repaired \curtis, will throw gravel if I'm not careful.
2010-08-12 much better again now the clutch is fixed.
2008-06-04 no flat roads.
range
40 Miles (64 Kilometers)
unknown but it's very hilly here. 50 km easy so far.
watt hours/mile
ev miles
Start: 146,270 Miles (235,348 Kilometers)
Current: 172,411 Miles (277,409 Kilometers)
Total: 26,141 Miles (42,060 Kilometers)
seating
2 normal adults and 3 smaller ones (often 4 normal ones)
2010-10-06 extended cab is used almost every day. People, groceries or farmer's market stuff.
curb weight
4,700 Pounds (2,136 Kilograms)this is only slightly over the GVW in the manual but i have overload springs and truck tires. I would like to put in air lifters.
tires
black on rusty rims.
2011-02-16 pressure was down to 35 psi, oops.
2008-11-19 new TOYO tires are smooth! max pressure is 44 psi!
2008-11-16 blew a rear tire last week and couldn't get the wheel off. eventually made a pry bar that fit between the wheel and the brake drum and it's part of the truck's kit now. Toyo 14" going on tuesday.
conversioin time a year.
2013-04-02 still driving***5 years***
2013-01-13 still driving
2012-07-17 still driving
2011-10-12 still driving
2011-01-28 still driving
2010-10-06 still driving
2010-06-22 still driving
2009-10-13 still driving
2009-02-24 still driving
2008-04-07 done. now we drive.
2008-03-23 it was snowing again tonight, next one will be in a heated garage with a concrete floor that won't eat bolts.
2006-08-28 ordered parts
conversion cost
2013-08-30 $35 used battery.
2013-07-24 charger plug $9
2013-06-09 $40 u-joint
2013-05-04 $35 for used battery.
2013-01-13 $25 battery terminal repair.
2012-09-17 $365 new DC/DC
2012-08-15 $40 15 feet of brake line.
2012-05-10 $45 used motor mount.
2011-09-18 $800 for Curtis repair and shipping, $50 for lawnmower battery.
2010-09-21 $5.00 for new plug, old one starting to go black.
2010-06-20 $750CAD for used Curtis.
2009-12-11 $3,500CAD for new floodies.
2006-08-28 $15,000CAD in parts and batteries the truck was mine.
additional features
emergency shutoff cable (works great), inertial cutout(hope it never works), 2 stage rev limiter, motor thermal cutout, clutch in and start position safety, charger interlock (so i don't yank the garage), ABC fire extinguisher and a really nice pull-out coffee mug holder.
comments
2014-01-14 Committed to 48 Sinopoly 200s from Randy, local
and trusted supplier. He says his mining customers prefer
them. And it looks like mini bms, is there such a thing as
middle balancing?
2013-12-10 Well, that's it. Lead pack #2 is finished. In the
past couple of weeks range has gone from 20 km down to a few.
Voltages are consistently low. They don't owe me anything,
they've done 4 years and 27,000 km. That works out to less
than $20/week or $0.13/km + $0.02 for juice is still about
the same as gas. When we started this in '06 lead was the
best choice, now... Quitting is not an option. 45 CALB CA180s
would be a perfect, a local estimate was $18,500 CAD. I don't
want to spend another 4 years dragging an extra 1/2 ton of
lead around. And I'll get almost all the truck bed back. The
Curtis and the Zivan are still great. Plan to bottom balance
and charge to 80% (as Jack R. advises). Don't know about
Sinopoly. Will start finding lots of money.
2013-09-13 Thanks again to Barry for a super used battery.
I'm going to get this pack to 4 years. Stopping charger at
172v now. Range is still ok about 25 Km with our hills.
2013-07-24 drove out to Gale Ave yesterday to pick up a kiln.
Lots of hills and without a full charge. We ended up creeping
in the driveway. I put it on charge right away and the
voltage looked good this morning. The next couple of days
will tell.
2013-06-09 replaced rear universal joint, easy and fun with
youtube's help.
2013-05-04 Thanks to Barry at Quarry Marine for a super used
golf cart battery to replace the one with a bad cell.
2013-04-02 five years driving electric...still a hoot.
2013-01-13 battery terminal melted due to poor solder job on
02 welding cable(I just put solder into old crimped connector
should have started fresh). It has been ok for 3 years but
had started to corrode. $25 for battery repair and 1/2 hour
to make new cable.
2012-11-27 the charger quit after bad smell. took off the
cover and the input pin and connector were burnt off. easy
and quick fix, soldered to the fuse. 25 amps is too much for
a push blade out in the damp.
2012-10-13 Wrote a positive reply to a negative EV letter to
the editor. It's hard to go public but we shouldn't spend all
this time and money on something important then hide it. We
have first hand experience and big oil is relying on
misinformation and fear.
2012-09-17 Running beautifully but noticed old battery
guage at max and sulfur smell..boiling auxilary
battery..DC/DC charging at 16 volts...so it's toast. That
explains the lower main pack voltage in the morning after
charging. Replaced rear brake line and bypassed ABS stuff.
2012-07-17 Curtis back in, was repaired for free! Motor
collar welded (that big old used welder paid for itself
many times). Used replacement rubber mount. The turn-
buckle to stop motor slam is now pulling sideways not
downward so can be tightened without making the motor hit the
steering member. Back on the road, the motor is much tighter,
mount could have been failing for a long time. We will see
how the batteries fair. They haven't been really used for 6
months and have done 15,000Km.
2012-05-10 Factory welding broke and rubber ripped on the
other side. All ready to put back together, finally some warm
weather. Controller gone back for re-repair on
warranty.
2012-01-02 oops.. broke home welded motor-mount showing
off instant torque. I'll have to pull the front battery
box, charger and contorl box, glad everything has plugs.
Should re-design the mounts as well. 30,000Km !!!!
2011-12-07 Fixed loose wire on dc/dc that caused low aux
voltage and main contactor filure.. don't forget to check the
old battery guage when you have a problem. Had a visit from
two guys that have bought a shiny S-10 to
convert. I think they should get sponsors and go for
lithium.
2011-11-17 152v this morning! 2 trips to Gibsons and one
to Sechelt today. Had aux voltage failure last night.
after checking contacts I pulled the alt fuse in the old
box so either it was a bad fuse connection or booted the
dc/dc on the output side. If it happens again could be
the dc/dc.
2011-10-12 All going well. charged voltage in the morning now
151.5v... still good but comming up to 2 years on the second
pack in December. I'm considering looking for sponsors for a
lithium pack but would have to spruce him up a lot.
2011-09-18 The controller failed in June, pre-charge
resistor melted the side of the control box. Curtis now
repaired and back in. I've bought an open revolt 500 amp
kit as a spare but havn't had time to put it together
yet.
2011-05-20 voltage in morning 152.5v...still good, front
wheel bearings replaced. gas $1.39+.
2011-04-28 gas $1.329 All good. would like to go to
Powell River and see the new CANEV lithium bettle May 7
but would need a trailer or a pusher to get Chuck there.
2011-04-02 gas $1.299 CAD/L. All is well. Charged voltage is
still good. Still enjoying driving. A little wheel bearing
noise has started... will have to fix.
2011-02-16 gas $1.179 CAD/L.
2011-01-29 e-meter problem was not loose plug. moved
twisted pair around and all is fine now. Batt voltage
still 153.5v after deep charge in morning. Tightened
motor tie down turnbucke down too tight and now motor is
hitting steering bar. Will fix tomorrow! Gas 1.159$ CAD/L
2011-01-01 e-meter problem was loose 4 pin plug at main
contorl box. Batts still good 154v on a full charge. Gas
at $1.14CAD/L could go up to $1.50 this summer.
2010-11-26 oops, AUX2 on the zivan activates after T3.
The old isolator draws .6amps 12v so it could be used to
do something.
2010-11-17 all good, charged voltage is great....just
like new 154v. I'm looking at using the AUX2 contacts on
the ng3 to limit the charger to T1 and T2 and shut off
before T3 (when float charge goes to 190v)I'll try a
battery isolator that I have and see it it draws >1amp
12v. Replaced brake pads. 11 tonnes of carbon not up
there because of Chuck! (using world to wheel calcs)
2010-10-06 running well. haven't found the bad connection for
the e-meter so I reset if it is showing less than 100% with
voltage 153+v 4+ hours after charging.
2010-09-21 All good. e-meter (link 10) sometimes showing
discharge but I use the voltage after 4 hours to reset to
100% if it is around 152V. Need to get under and tighten the
motor turnbuckles to reduce stick shift (motor) movement.
Love the clutch.
2010-08-12 All working well. Always using the timer for
the charger. I should keep track of how much time is
needed to get from any percentage to 100% (on the e-
meter)...still just guess a little low and top it up if
it doesn't make 100. The batts seem to like the big dump
charge on the 25 amp setting but not the T3 stage
equalization that can run to 190v and hot gassing. I read the
manual on the Zivan and T2 has a slow red flash
signal, never noticed it before but yes, it does. I've
been taking Chuck to our stall at the local farm market.
I don't like showing off but we shouldn't hide our
conversions. If we want them to be cheaper and easier
there needs to be a bigger demand.
2010-07-26 Nice to have the clutch fixed. Shifting up on
an uphill grade was very slow with the flywheel and no
clutch.
2010-07-07 Everything working well. I have turned the
vacuum pump back on for the power brakes and there seems
to be no noticable change in battery draw. So now I have
easy steering, easy brakes and more power. The other
thing is that I now know how much percentage of battery
is needed for known trips. To friend house takes Chuck
down to 60%. It's down 600' elevation and 12Km to the
ocean and back up 300', then back home. It's all about
the elevation up when I've got this much lead.
2010-06-22 Back on the road with a used controller. The
original lost most of it's power and is being repaired.
Took the oppertunity to get the charger turned down and
do some to-do's: Fixed clutch ($10 cracked tube).
Switched out power steering box for manual ($60 for
'pickle fork' ball joint remover). Tied down motor to
stop motor slam ($50 for shackles, turnbuckles and
strapping). Test drive tonight was amazing, smooth and
easy. The hardest part of it all was realizing that I
needed a specialty tool for the ball joint.
2010-03-06 Went to Gibsons yesterday for concrete pavers,
10 bags of feed and today 4 bales of alfalfa and the
bank. I could have borrowed a 3/4 ton truck for both at
once but chuck did just fine. A light trailer would be
perfect...easier on the springs. I like to think of it as
2 Kg less carbon up there. Watched 'who killed the e car'
last night. I can identify with the people getting
emotional at loosing their ev's.
2010-02-23 87% after trip to work today. Keeping below
350 amps but he still did 60 kmph up Ratportage hill in
3rd!
2010-01-28 Driving an ev would be hard to give up.
2009-12-11 Taking short runs to break in the new pack. I
realy like the terminal style and have decided to not put
rubber boots on each of the 38 in the back box. It should
be easier to keep them clean and sprayed and I'll just
keep the box locked for safety.
2009-11-11 Tried to bring home 160Kg (350lb) of cement
and nearly didn't make it up the big (500' elev) hill and
the other two 400'. Guess I'm asking a lot from my sad
batteries.
2009-10-21 Contacted a local independant hydro electric
company to see if they would help me with replacing my
lead pack with Thundersky LFPs in exchange for
advertising on the truck. They generously offered some
but not enough to make it affordable for me. (Chuck isn't
very spiffy on the outside anyway). So I guess it's lead
again when the time comes. Trojans, Interstates, or
Crowns.
2009-10-13 Still runnning well but starting to see
reduced battery voltage. I've been charging using the 15
amp setting since the NG3 doesn't shut off anymore.
2009-06-15 Decided to just wax the paint to retain the
original finish (faded red patina). It might go faster
with the wax! **Record** 88% charge after driving to work
(Roberts Creek to Sechelt 12Kms With a couple of big
hills) Check out the new ev sticker photo.
2009-05-21 Soldered some of the cable ends that were
crimped and they don't heat up now. My conclusion is that
in the rear battery box where condensation is a probem
the crimped ends corrode and heat causing more corrosion
and eventually blow when I'm pulling 500amps going up a
hill. NG3 is not shutting off so I guess some of the
batts are failing.
2009-05-05 Driving for well over a year now. one charge
most days, sometimes three. Still no noticable decrease
in range or power. The e-meter is working again...
voltage from the pre-scaler tested OK, 10% of true, then
I found a loose plug. Kirk and I can now do the
effeciency test (0-80KMPH and Kilograms of truck and
passengers into Joules and compare to the KWH used). The
NG3 didn't shut off a couple of weeks ago and the
batteries were boiling in the morning. Testing voltages
charging at rest and under load on each battery didn't
turn up any bad ones. So I have been unplugging when they
start to sizzle and now it shuts itself off. I think it
could be cronic overcharging and they need a break.
2009-02-24 range is still improving...still 84% when i
get to work. tightning terminals at least twice a week
now and no more burnt ones.
2009-01-12 repaired battery terminal (see photo) and
replaced exploded one with another. i cut away the burnt
offset terminal and made a form from aluminum flashing
and a pipe clamp around the post, heated with a torch,
built up with resin core solder, and clamped on an offset
terminal.
2009-01-11 2 weeks of snow bound then one week at the
road side stuck with batts down to 65%. got it home and
charged up....took him out for a test and a battery
tereminal fried and the next battery blew the top off and
split side from top to bottom. joined the cables accross
the mess and drove home.
2008-12-15 -10degrees C today. I went out 1/2 hour before
leaving for work and started the heater and then plugged
in the charger again... seemes to warm the batts and the
cab is nice and the windows clear. still haven't fixed
the motor movement.
2008-11-30 checked the motor mounts again today and they
are fine. the stick shift still slamming back and forth
with engine torque, must be that the lighter engine
allows more movement. i am considering some kind of
struts from the top of the motor to the frame to stop the
excessive rotation of the tranny and motor. this sounds
like i've had a lot of troubles but i'm just not hiding
anything. chuck is still sweet to drive and gives a kick
of pleasure when we zip along so clean and quiet. spent a
couple of hours helping a friend with his ev today. he
had failing power even though his pack was full. we
checked the 12v battery and it was at 10.35v. the dc to
dc seems to be hooped. to get him home we actually used
jumper cables to charge his accesory battery! never
thought an ev would need a jump.
2008-11-16 fixed the clutch tube yesterday and had to
modify the mount (zap straps).
2008-10-16 still great to drive. very dependable and
cheap. clutch slave rubber tube failed because i didn't
realize how much the motor moves. the font battery box
frame cut the rubber tube. i have a new one and will
install it but driving without the clutch is a pain and
not good for the tranny. if you are considering a
clutchless ev think again.
2008-10-02 charger is back in and working. i won't run it
on the 25 amp setting till the charging wiring has been
changed. e-meter is still unhappy, only giving amps...
reading 0.00v or 0.05v i must have blown the prescaler or
something with the clip-on charging. i'll check the fuse
tomorrow.
2008-09-28 still no sign of the charger but the 4 12v are
keeping the pack up to the 24km round trip per day.
Dennis and Christopher (2 batteries in the front pack)
were feeling down so i gave them extra attention and they
charge evenly with the others now. one of the cable ends
is heating up and looking nasty, must be a bad crimp job,
so I tightned the nut and i'll buy some ends and make a
new cable tomorrow. i have plenty of 02 welding cable
left over.
2008-09-12 charger should be back next week! you know,
even without it driving an EV is great. clean and quiet,
and saves me about an hour a day compared to taking the
bus! I checked the battery terminals today and was able
to get one eighth turn of a couple. while driving lately
i've been running the e-meter on amps and regularly pull
420 amps (foot to the floor). I think we need to make
conversions idiot proof...for people like me:)
2008-08-17 charger quit while charging after a long hot
drive. i think the fan quit and the diode failed. one of
the fans was buzzing a couple of weeks ago and if i
pushed on the charger case it quit so i thought it was
just a vibration.
2008-07-29 ya, guys listen to your wife. she told me to
always tighten the terminals when i fill the battery
water. it had been about 7 weeks of heavy use and 3 weeks
since a battery terminal meltdown event. i had forgotten
to re-tighten the repaired terminals after a week (to
take up cold flow i think) and now they needed about half
a turn!
80 kmph up 'ratportage hill' now that is up form 70 a
couple of months ago. and it still had 85% when after the
trip to work this morning (used to be down to 78%) so
those batts keep getting better, or it could be the warm
weather.
2008-07-13 about 100 km's today roberts creek to top of
west sechelt and back then roberts creek to langdale
ferry terminsl and back. the road from the terminal is 2
kms at 10% rising 200metres. (that is about 600 feet in a
mile). i was worried about something overheating on the
hot day in July but all was ok. hay, does it make any
difference if i put the peddle to the metal or take it
easy? the total work done is the same. is there any
inefficiency besides higher resistance with heating
cables?
2008-07-09 77 kms today with lots of hills (full charge
at work after the first 12)
2008-06-30 didn't charge it friday night and had to drive
saturday afternoon... down to 28% but i think the batts
are ok. still very perky and no noticeable loss of range.
think i'll see if i can get a manual steering box rather
than buy a ps kit or put a 12v motor on the old pump.
pointless to mount it on the traction motor 'cause it's
needed when the motor is stopped.
2008-06-17 i bought some cut polish for the paint and
rubber cleaner for the tires today. they said this would
happen. i think it has been about 2 years since it was
washed.
2008-06-11 watered the batteries today, it should have
been done sooner but i wanted to see how often it needed
to be done. that would be 2+ months and 1600kms. it only
took about 20 minutes and could be done in 10 with a
little thought (they took about 16 litres!). i'll have to
save up for the power steering kit $$$$$.
2008-06-10 ordered an electric power steering pump kit
today.
2008-06-09 very reliable so far. 39 cents to charge at
work today (12km from home lights, heater, radio,and
wipers)
2008-06-04 i've been avoiding driving for years now i'm
looking for reasons to.
2008-05-22 starting to trust range and acceleration,
sometimes with the radio on i forget it's an ev. my wife
says she was an ev-widow for a year...what does that
mean?
2008-05-06 better speed up the big hills today. this is
fun. i call it 'shedding the guilt'. no emissions and low
cost makes driving fun again.
2008-05-03 NG3 is in California getting a new diode and
fan (don't take off the cover yourself).
2008-04-27 no word on the NG3 so I bought another 2 smart
12v chargers (they were on sale for $50 ea). My plan is
to charge in 3 8 hour shifts. that is 24 6v batteries two
at a time per charger times 4 chargers times 3 shifts
gives me 8 hours charge for each pair each day. Of course
all the wires and clips get tangled and it's a pain to
clip on but I don't really have a choice. The 2 chargers
couldn't keep up with 22kms a day. I've taken to testing
the at rest voltages of each battery now and then (put my
little % chart on the multimeter). the % readout on the
chargers are surprisingly accurate.
2008-04-23 another 22kms today to work and back. Still
charging with 2 12v 12amp car chargers. Just clipping on
till they get to 80%. I bought a $20 power meter and it
says that the 25km trip used up about $.60 of juice. That
works out to about 2.5 cents per km... About what I
expected. I'm going to try again tomorrow, that would be
every day to work!
2008-04-21 today's trip was around 25km (some side trips)
the truck ran well with lots of pep. at the end voltage
reading was around 146v, 6.1v per cell. they should be at
rest for a couple of hours to use voltage as a battery
state indicator but my e-meter is very unhappy about the
way i am charging, that is without disconnecting cables
(clipping on next door to a running charger doesn't seem
to change any voltages). i just found an after 4 hours
rest voltage/battery state chart: 6.33v/cell=100%;
6.23v/cell=75%; 6.12v/cell=50%; 6.03v/cell=25%;
5.95v/cell=0%...........so for me that would be
151.8v=100%...146.9v=50% so today's run was about as far
down as i should go .. 50%.
2008-04-20 charged all the pack with 2 12v chargers, then
did some driving and all seems well. now i'm trying just
breaking the pack in the middle and hopping in pairs with
the chargers when they say 85%. if all goes well tonight
I'll take it to work in Sechelt tomorrow (22km round
trip) and do some more charging there. if the pack gets
below about 145v at rest I'll park it and get a tow. keep
you posted!
2008-04-15 charger is in a box ready to mail to Canev for
repair tomorrow.
2008-04-13 drove to Gibsons (12km) and back easy 80-100
kmph each way (hard not to speed) then down to the sea
and back, e meter reading only down 1 bar then plugged
chuck in. when i checked an hour later all was too quiet.
when i pulled the cable and plugged it in again it gave
me battery error. but the battery voltage at the charger
checked out at 149.7v. pulled the cover on the NG3
charger and the output fuse was blown. I'll find a fuse
this week and replace it then see.
2008-04-10 drove to Wilson Creek 5km and back on the
highway. did 60 kmph up 'ratportage hill'... long and
about 12% grade!
2008-04-08 drove down to the ocean and back twice (5km
each way and 200m elevation) no problem. does 70kmph up
the hill no problem, battery cables a slightly warm
afterwards. hard to get used to leaving the clutch alone
at the stop signs.
2008-04-07 everything is done! even the burnt out
headlight. the charger is in and working I'll take it for
a medium drive tomorrow.
2008-04-03 charger will be here tomorrow on the bus!
vacuum pump runs if the parking break is on. got the
insurance.. same price, says "electric" in the fuel box.
2008-04-02 Randy says the charger is here! I'll get the
insurance tomorrow, ICBC just requires me to change the
fuel type box on the form. we will see how much $. can't
wait to take it out on the street! I'm thinking of doing
another Toyota pickup next 'cause i think i can do it
better next time. fixing these EV's would be very simple.
each part.. motor, controller, charger, etc costs about
$2000 but could be exchanged without a huge amount of
shop time. ICE troubles can go on for ever!
2008-03-29 first drive down the driveway and back today!
what a hoot! when i had the pot box wires swapped it
fried the carbon. but it has a third contact for reverse
action so i took it all apart and flipped everything. the
spring didn't like that so i used an extension spring and
put it all back in. not as elegant as before but it
works. testing the control box with the front battery box
out, the cables shunted and the control box lying flat
worked very well. next conversion I'll test it like that
and mount the big fuse and the e-meter shunt on the
control box not the front battery box so it will be a
breeze to pull the front battery box.
