Time to Bring Us into the Present

It's about time to bring this blog into real-time conversion time. It's also 29 March since my last post and I have been letting it slide to get a decent burst of work on the ute.

Just before Easter I drove the ute in EV mode for the first time. Don't get too excited the journey was merely from the carport into the garage. I chose a strategic period when my father was out of the country (visiting the fair city of Perth) to evict his car from the garage and put the ute there. The cold weather is starting and it seemed to make the shift under lights and under cover.

The power up went smoothly (mostly). I did the recommended test from the Curtis manual, placing the drive wheel axle on stands and powering up the traction circuit in stages. When I first applied 144V and I was testing voltage around the controller area the coil on the contactor made a loud crack! Did I jump out of my skin! I couldn't shut off the circuit fast enough I was so convinced the gear was going to melt down in front of me. It turned out it was just a minor tick from being exposed to voltage for the first time in ages. The potbox circuit worked well, 12v - 144v controller relay functioned perfectly, contactor pulled in and controller drove the motor. Next I put the gearbox into 2nd and repeated the proceedure. I was overjoyed that the rear wheels turned in the right rotation (you never know ...). Next, I selected reverse and drove the wheels in reverse. So, it was time to drop the ute off the wheel stands and drive it EV-style.

I have to admit to being pretty nervous. Yes, I forgot the let off the hand brake at first try. Yes, I should have pumped up the tyre before hand (they were a bit soggy). Yes, the brakes were draggging a bit from, I think, rust. What was that wierd space-age noise from the controller? But, it was moving! I have to admit that when you have been in the thows of the EV conversion obsession, there are times that you can't quite believe that the object of your labours will ever move again under its own power. Seems straight-forward on paper - throw away engine, fit motor, fit batteries and wire it all together. The task is so big that sometimes you honestly wonder if it will come to a useful end.

Anyway, there I was driving the ute along the driveway under electric power and I am apparently grinning from ear to ear. The impulse delivery was very smooth. It's similar to a very smooth automatic without the over-run. The throttle only delivers as much push as you ask for. I was really impressive. I was prepared for a certain jerkiness or unevenness, but the opposite was closer to the truth.

Once in the garage, I have begun a reappraisal of a few matters that have been bugging me. First is the battery terminal connections. I am simply not happy with the low profile lead cast terminals that Exide has supplied the batteries with. They essentially have a stubby lead terminal post of only an inch high. A plated steel stud is cast into the post and when I tight the cable lug onto the top of the post it felts mushy, as if I am pulling the stud out of the post. i have asked around and virtually everyone, including the EV Discussion List, agrees that I need to fit each terminal with brass clamps. A trip to the local automotive electrician, Harrex Downing & Little, and I have 48 brass battery terminal clamps with a 3/8 (M10) stud that I can attach my cable lug to. The bad news is that I need to re-make 21 new battery links as the existing ones won't fit with the new clamps. There is at least three days of work steadily cutting cable, crimping on lugs, heat shrinking sleeves behind lugs, cleaning terminal posts, fitting clamps and connecting links. But, at the end of it I am much more happy. Every time I tighten down the bolt onto the lug I hear and feel that satisfying sound that tells me it's properly tight.

I have also been working on the rear leaf spring rating. After a few measurements, I take off the leaf springs, drop them off at Brown & Cope in McLaghan St and they re-set the springs, including fitting two thin leafs. The result is impressive. No more droopy back end with battery weight in place.

I have just fitted Pirelli P3000 low rolling resistance tyres all around. They are intended for commercial vans and have a weight rating of 850 kg each tyre, so they exceed the rating I needed. I found the whole process of finding low rolling resistance tyres fairly difficult. Virtually no tyre dealer had RRC data on their tyres, or even recommendations on what to try. Bridgestone's B380 for the Toyota Prius is available in New Zealand and is known to have good rolling resistance, but it would not fit my ute nor have the weight rating I needed. The Bridgestone Multihawks would work, but again I would have had to compromise on rim size or tyre profile. Many thanks to Martin Reeves of Bridgestone for doing research for me. Tyreland did not have specific information and could not supply the Vredesteins that I had found out about. But they were able to supply the Pirellis.

Next was the question of the A2 motor lead. This is a connection shown on the Curtis controller circuit diagram from the A2 terminal to the motor. The Curtis 1231C / 1221C manual showed the connection. However, Ross Webster had run the motor without it and Mike Laba didn't use it with his Curtis 1221B. I tried to find out from Curtis Instruments Inc, but they have been swallowed by a larger parent company and communicating from New Zeand to America was not proving easy. However, Justin on the New Zealand Electric Vehicle Association technical group site clear up the mystery. The A2 connection is merely for dynamic, plugging braking and should not be used in road going EVs.

I have received my new Zivan NG3 15 amp on-board battery charger. I ordered this through M & H Power in Auckland before Christmas. I already knew that there was a world wide shortage of Zivan chargers, so the wait for delivery was not unexpected. M & H Power's Melbourne-based technicians set the charger up for my battery pack and voltage. The Zivan is a smart charger that applies full battery pack voltage to the main positive and negative. Especially as an on-board charger, this makes charging a lot more convenient. I will run a triple-insulated 240V AC to the charger from a weather-proof plug behind the cab.

Getting on the road is getting much closer.