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Old 10-14-2012, 01:03 PM   #28 (permalink)
mechman600
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Langley, BC
Posts: 1,228

Fusion - '16 Ford Fusion Hybrid SE
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It's ALIVE!

Lots of updates to catch up on.

1. Traction wiring is finished. I was able to find enough used 4/0 truck battery cable to do the job. Overkill, but awesome.

2. Control system wiring is finished. I am powering the field windings with 12/24V with a toggle switch on the gearshift (through a relay, of course). I am also using the potbox idle switch to turn the field power on only when the go pedal is pushed. I was able to find a decent sized diode to wire between the field terminals to eliminate the massive spark that occurred every time I turned the field power off.

3. The six Mastercraft 10/2A battery chargers are installed.

The first test drive was a fail. I remember watching a Ben Nelson video when he was trying his electric motorcycle for the first time and it went backwards. So I guess you can say I "pulled a Ben Nelson" on my first attempt. (Sorry, Ben). I put it in reverse to back off the ramps and the car lurched forward. So I backed off the ramps in first gear. Hmm....one forward gear and five reverse gears - that won't work. It turns out that I had mixed my field polarity up, and thankfully didn't blow up my field spike suppression diode.

Test drive #2 happened last night. It was a very short one around my townhouse complex, getting up to a whopping 20 km/h, but I did experience a massive "EV grin" that took hours to subside. My initial thoughts are that I believe I have succeeded in powering a sepex motor with a series/PM controller.

More updates/pictures/video to follow. Hopefully soon.

Here's my insurance papers now:

The lady at the insurance place was nice enough to change the fuel type for me.

Last edited by mechman600; 10-14-2012 at 05:26 PM..
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