Electric car conversion: Project ForkenSwift

[MetroMPG]

Rec'd this question via e-mail; posting here for posterity:

Jay wrote:
> Hi Darin, my name is Jay and I am interested in doing a conversion
> myself. I see that you live in Ontario as well and I was wondering if
> there were any requirements by law for the car to be legally driven on
> the road? If there is a guideline created by the Ministry could you
> direct me to where I might be able to get a hold of these guidelines?
> Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!
>
> Thank you

Hi Jay -

There are no Ontario-specific regulations for EV conversions. EG. if you convert an already registered & licenced vehicle, you just have to inform the insurance company of the change.

There has been some discussion on the EVDL mailing list recently (http://evdl.org) that converted Canadian vehicles are breaking the rules if they exceed the curb weight after the conversion. (I haven't confirmed this.) This would be a federal (Transport Canada?) restriction. It would also mean that every conversion in the country is breaking the rules, since it's next to impossible to do a conversion with golf cart batteries that doesn't exceed the stock curb weight.

Your insurance company may dictate whether or not your vehicle needs secondary inspections (eg. TD Melloche Monnex may ask that a qualified EV person - such as REV Consultants in Ottawa - inspect the vehicle). This was the case with the ForkenSwift.

Insurance will be your biggest challenge - unless you have a friendly broker willing to work with you, expect to hear "no" repeatedly if you ask random companies via phone or online whether they will insure a conversion.

Insurance co's hate the term "modified" - when they hear that, they have visions of riced out, slammed imports and the high-risk nut jobs (profiling!) usually associated with them. Say "converted" instead, as in propane conversion.

good luck-
Darin

[MetroMPG]

Motor bay pics!





(Yes, the cartoon colour scheme was intentional.)

[bennelson]

Nice Photos, but what is the round thing right in the middle of the motor bay that looks like a round headlight?

I also noticed you painted the battery tie-downs to match the body color - nice touch!

Of course, that will be easy to do on mine, seeing as how it's black!

[MetroMPG]

It's a round headlight.

Off the forklift. In its new life, it's the precharge resistor for the controller.

[ttoyoda]

It's a round headlight.

Off the forklift. In its new life, it's the precharge resistor for the controller

Does that mean the controller shorts around it with a contactor after a time delay?

[MetroMPG]

When the keyswitch contactor closes, it delivers pack voltage to the controller. It's in parallel with the pedal contactor. There's no relay for time delay or anything, though. It only lights briefly (1 second or so).

FYI: http://forkenswift.com/offsite/schem...ft-current.gif

It was also probably one of the most asked questions we got on the weekend. We tried to come up with a better, funnier answer than "precharge resistor" but failed!

[MetroMPG]

Stopped by the forklift place again this afternoon to show off the new spanky underhood stuff. Had a good chinwag and one of the managers offered to sell us batteries at cost if we ever want a new pack. That'd be roughly 800-900, instead of 1200-1300 at current prices up here for the equivalent battery.

I thanked him and said I'd talk to Ivan.

But on the way home I got thinking: we don't really need new batteries! 20-ish km is enough range for around here.

[LostCause]

You and your friend have built a really impressive EV. Looking at those pictures, I'm amazed at how well the paint has held up. I suppose you guys don't get as much UV damage...or is that shine from blood and sweat?

Why don't you protect the exposed metal (control arms, transmission, etc.) with paint or some kind of covering? Also, I would think a complete underpan would help keep salt spray and junk out of the motor bay.

I'm impressed...can't wait for the saga to continue.

- LostCause

[MetroMPG]

Since getting back from the EV Expo, both Ivan and I had commented to each other that the car seemed more gutless than usual.

Yesterday I noticed that it seemed to be coming to a gentle but definitely perceptible "stop" when coasting down to zero in neutral. Today I jacked up the rear wheels and sure enough, the parking brake was dragging on both sides - and pretty severely too! I had a bit of difficulty turning the wheels in the air, and was surprised it wasn't more noticeable than it was when driving.

A couple of sharp hammer whacks on the drum freed it up instantly, but it stuck again on the next application. I'll have to pull the drums and lubricate the cable & pivots.

This all started after dragging the car up to Ottawa through torrential downpours for the show. Must have got some water inside the drums.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by LostCause

Looking at those pictures, I'm amazed at how well the paint has held up. I suppose you guys don't get as much UV damage...or is that shine from blood and sweat?

Combination of both, I guess. The exterior paint was dry and oxidized, but after a light going over with polishing compound, it really comes up nicely with a coat of wax.

Why don't you protect the exposed metal (control arms, transmission, etc.) with paint or some kind of covering? Also, I would think a complete underpan would help keep salt spray and junk out of the motor bay.

It's all on the to-do list!