Ben Nelson's Electro-Metro Build thread

[bennelson]

Originally Posted by bbjsw10

How much does that motor weigh? Looks heavy.
.

It weighs more than the original engine did. Will it have more torque? Oh yeah.

Part of the problem of this project is that I CAN'T handle the motor by myself. It just plain weighs too much! Very difficult to move around with a dolly, prybars, or whatever. Most of the work I have done on the motor have been with it in pieces, just so I can handle it.

[bennelson]

Just got my hands on a Vacuum tank (looks like a mini-scuba!) a 12V vac pump and a 24V vac pump.

Also, picked up a battery load tester at the store.

Might have some time tomorrow night to test out vacuum brakes!

[dremd]

where did you get the vac pumps?

[bennelson]

The vacuum pumps and vacuum bottle were gifts from fellow EV Builder Tom G. (Thanks Tom!)

Apparently, I have worked on this project so long, and bugged so many people about it, they now just approach me with junk for the project!



The vacuum pumps are both German-made.

The one on the left is a double-pump and runs on 12 volts. Either pump can suck or blow, but the blowing end on the one pump has the connector snapped off. (Fine by me! I just need suck!)



The pump on the right is a 24V pump. It has two hose openings, marked P and V. I assume these are for "pressure" and "vacuum". I tried running it on just 12V, and it seems to work fine that way.



The Vacuum bottle is just plain cool. WAY nicer looking than some PVC pipes with end caps! The end of it has a T with two different size openings. The bigger end also has a shut-off valve.



Real busy these next couple days. Hoping to work on the car some more this Sunday.

[bennelson]

Was able to do a little more work on the car today.

I headed over to the machinist, who had carved 5/8 of an inch of solid cast iron right off the the commutator end of the motor.

When I got back home I re-installed the end of the motor, not an easy thing laying on my back on the floor of the garage. Seems like everything is always complicated by weight and lack of a lift.

I only lost two screws inside the motor, which I had to dig out with both a magnet and a pliers!

Eventually, I got the end cap back on. I was then able to reconnect the shifting linkage.

The motor still doesn't seem to sit on the adapter plate just right. I think somehow the spacing in the coupler is off. The entire motor is now completely inside the engine compartment.

I figured a better way to hold up the far motor end as well. I got a 16" turnbuckle with eye bolts on both ends. I put a big bolt through the eye bolt into the end of the motor and attached the other end to a piece of unistrut above the passenger side support rail. I could then rotate the turnbuckle to tighten up the whole thing and adjust the height of the motor end.

Riding is a lot more fun when you can shift! I still had some mechanical noise and no gauges. I was able to pull away in second gear, and then shift to 3rd and 4th gears when at speed.

I got the car up to 45 mph! (no idea how many amps though!)

It was also nice to have shifting, because it meant I could use REVERSE! Made turning around in the driveway MUCH easier!

When I got back, I hooked up the 15 amp Zap Xebra charger. When I came back out to the garage later, all the power was out. I had blown the 15 amp circuit breaker. I reset it, but it happened again later.

I ran the charger through the Kill-a-Watt. Did you know it beeps at you when pulling over 1500 watts? Well, you do now.

I was also using my standard extension cord, which was 16 gauge. I did notice that it got a little warm. The cord I wired up directly to the charger was also a lighter gauge. That got warm too.

I have some Romex household wiring, which I think I will use to wire the direct plug.

For the extension cord, I think I will purchase a dedicated 25' 12 gauge cable. They cost more, but I know I will get lots of use out of it.

I also picked up some hose clamps and teflon tape while I was at the hardware store. I took the power brake setup apart, and then put it back together with all the threads taped and tightened up with wrenches. I also ran the vacuum hose through the firewall so I can have the vac gauge inside on the dashboard.

More updates next week!

[Daox]

Good progress Ben. Do we get pics of the end of the motor with it all shaved down?

Also, it probably is, but I'd make sure the tubing your using for your vacuum pump is rated for vacuum. Some softer tubing isn't and it will collapse.

[bennelson]

As requested, here are some photos for you.

Here's what the motor end looks like after getting "shaved". It is 5/8 of an inch shorter than it was before.



I took a photo of what it looks like under the hood to give you a better idea of how this all works. Yes, I know it is messy. Much of the car's original wiring harness will be going away soon though.



I tried out the new power brake setup, and it works great! The two short bits of vacuum hose are from the hardware and auto parts stores, but the little bit of line on the pump isn't. It looks like aquarium air pump hose. It might be, for all I know, but it is working fine right now.




I put the Vac Gauge inside the car (where the radio was) so I can monitor my SOV (state-of-vacuum). I have a relay rigged up to run the vac pump when I touch two wires together. I will rig that up to a momentary on switch for right now. It only takes about 5 seconds to pull -15 on the vac gauge, and that's enough for a good 6 pumps of the brake pedal. I will NOT need to have the pump run very often at all.

I pulled the 200 amp ammeter (and matching shunt) off of the huge charger that came with when I bought the forklift. I installed it in the car with the shunt in back coming off the + end of the battery pack. I put the meter up on the dash where I could easily see it while driving. It is a world of difference to know how many amps you are pulling in different driving situations. It's also amazing at the difference in amperage depending on what gear you are in. I can be 50 to 100 amps MORE to drive at the same speed in a higher gear than the one just below it with the motor rev'ed higher!



At first, I thought the ammeter might be faulty, because it didn't read at all. The first time I looked at it while pulling away from a stop, I noticed the gauge read at 0 and then dropped to BELOW 0 while under load. No problem, I switched the polarity of the wires going to it and it worked fine!

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by bennelson

Apparently, I have worked on this project so long, and bugged so many people about it, they now just approach me with junk for the project!

That's good news. It's pretty much how the ForkenSwift got done for so cheap. Lots of support - material & moral - from the EV community.

Nice to catch up on the continuing progress.

[bennelson]

I picked up a few more parts for the car today.

I bought a 12 gauge, 25 foot extension cable to run from the wall to the charger.

I got a "marine Charger Plug", which is a waterproof connection to a 15-amp male power connector. I am planning to put this where the gas cap would have gone. I believe this is the EXACT same part as where you plug in on a ZENN

I also got a GFI outlet. I will put this in a box and run the charger power through it. My garage does NOT have a GFI outlet in it. Even out of the rain, it's always damp in there. There is also the possibility of the car opportunity charging at someone's older home which does not have a GFI exterior power outlet.

I am still planning on using Romex household wiring for the plug on the charger itself, as this is the cheapest, most heavy-duty cabling I can find. (Also, I already have some!) I don't think I want to run a long line of it in the car, as I have heard that solid wiring doesn't deal with vibration as well as stranded does.

[celblazer]

re: I will rig that up to a momentary on switch for right now. It only takes about 5 seconds to pull -15 on the vac gauge

You can get a vacuum switch that is adjustable so you can set the pump to run automatically when needed(got to be safer then a manual switch. They aren't expensive. I'll see if I can dig up a link.

For example.
Link