01 December 08 - 22:551 December 08 It Runs!
Friday I installed the control board and began installing the components while the girls went shopping for the after Thanksgiving sales. I did most of the wiring to the controller and potbox. Wired more of the power cables only to find I didn't have enough to finish and couldn't find any as everyone was close thus I couldn't take my mom for a spin. I had planned to take her on her first trip in an EV. She's 78 and lives 4 hours away so she may never get to do it as she and my sister departed for home this morning. She has Alzheimers and it has gotten pretty bad so she likely may never be back to my house. She was restless and hardly slept most nights. Sorry to get off topic but I'm in not too good of spirits after seeing her condition and it's a little consuming right now.
Anyway today I picked up the cable and finally got things in shape enough to drive. ...
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26 November 08 - 22:5926 November Update
Got the front battery rack built and installed and the control board metal in place. This took a little noggin scratchin' as I'm an electrician, not a metal fab man. I couldn't find any photos of others fab work so I imagineered my own. Here's some photos showing where I welded angle iron to the frame rails to which I bolted the aluminum tubing to form the control rack.
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12 November 08 - 22:0812 November 08 Update
More goodies installed since October update:
PakTrakr
system to monitor the batteries. This is a very cool system if you're
not aware of it. It monitors each battery and alerts you of several
issues that may develop. Cost for my 24 battery pack was about $400
including a current sensor to monitor pack or motor amp draw, your
choice but only one sensor.
Important notes for this system if you go that route. The remote units wired to the batteries tie to the display unit and contain a fuse for protection. The fuse is a "pico" 1 amp and is located at the ring terminal end of the black wire under the shrink wrap. It's there to protect the remote from idiots who might decide to cut the data cable while the unit is energized. ...
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11 November 08 - 22:4011 November 08 Ceramic 1500 Watt Heater Install
We now have the electric heater installed. Not a bad job
getting it swapped out. Very good tip for you here--> Go to Autozone to
get instructions on removing it. They have a computer you can use to
print instructions on how to do stuff with drawings or photos. Sorry
I didn't take any photos. My bad but I'll attempt to "picture" it for
you.
The "kit" is essentially a block of white (polyethylene?) plastic
about 12" square, a ceramic heater element common to many $25 120volt electric
1500watt heaters, 20A fuse and holder, a few screws, Anderson connector to kill the power for servicing, some rather vague instructions and a DC contactor rated for at least 20amps with a
12V coil. The heater element is about 4.5" square and 1.5" thick.
Cut the plastic to fit over the space where the old heater
core was, then cut out a hole for the air to blow through the element and bolt the element to ...
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15 October 08 - 12:4615 October 08 Update
We've been busy with the truck but just now getting around to updating the blog. Found out the emergency brake problem was only needing an adjustment so that's fixed now.
Got the battery racks finished under the bed except for painting and lining the boxes. My US2200 batteries measure 7x10.25x9.5T plus 1.25T extra for the battery posts. I'm going to use political signs to line the boxes, a good use for them! I managed to get 22 batteries under the bed. 14 batteries straddle the drive shaft and 8 are behind the rear axle. Two on each side of the drive shaft slide under the cab a few inches but that won't be a problem. I'll undercoat the cab to protect it from the acid fumes. I welded an angle iron across the frame under the truck to attach the two racks paralleling the drive shaft. This gives me a total of 132V under the cab. I'm putting two more under the hood to get my 144V. ...
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26 July 08 - 03:1625 July 08 E-brake installed but won't stop the wheels from turning!
Not much done today. Planned to work on it most of today but couldn't get started til about 630. Wow. At this rate a lofty goal may be to get it up and running before the warranty runs out on everything. Not very inspiring. Better days are ahead though, I can feel it!
All I managed to do was get the e-brake cable connected to the brake pedal cable and adjusted to remove any cable slack. When I push the pedal it pulls the levers on the e-brake assembly but it won't stop the rotors from turning when I turn them by hand. That could be a problem, being an electric motor has no compression to keep the truck from rolling. I'll have to figure out something. Hopefully just an adjustment in the rear brake assembly or tighten the cable more. Since my model didn't come with disc on the rear it's not in the manual I bought.
21 July 08 - 23:3321 July 08
Decided to replace the drum brake rear end with a disc brake unit. Here's the deal on that.
1. The disc brake rear on the newer model Blazers and S10's through 2005 models will bolt in place of the old drum rear perfectly.
2. The rear must be from a 2WD if your vehicle is 2WD. Actually you may could use 4WD units, not really sure but they are about 5" wider. The lower shock mounting bracket on the 91 goes right back in place under the leaf springs. Cost from salvage yard, $400 with good rotor, pads and no leaks!
3. The brake cables are totally different on the newer models thus they won't just hook right up. And you HAVE to have a functioning emergency brake on an electric vehicle with a manual transmission since theres no engine compression to stop it from turning. Forget to set the brake and if you're on a slight hill, your car is going for a ride all by itself! We're going to get a compression cable fitting or just ...
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21 July 08 - 22:4019 July 08
Finished removing the exhaust and gas tank. Took the drive shaft out and transmission cross-brace out, motor mounts unbolted and engine is ready to come out.
