Ben's Citicar

[bennelson]

Here's my latest YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtHYcaXvoj4

[rmay635703]

Nice vid.

Originally Posted by bennelson

[IMG]I got it up to about 30 mph. My batteries wore down REAL FAST. I went about 2 miles, and must have been doing 10 mph at full pedal pulling into my driveway.

I checked the four batteries with my multimeter. One of them read 8.1v!
Looks like I got a bad one. But at $12 each, the batteries were still a steal!

Click here for photos!

I would strongly recommend to anyone here to build their own pulse battery charger, recover all the free non working batteries you want never buy one again!

Another good method is to use epsom salt or alum, you would be surprized at how many sulphated batteries come back strong with a little work.

Also on a side note I don't recommend 12v batteries for an EV. They work but wear fast and don't provide much range generally, you might have to double them up in parallel

Good Luck

[bennelson]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Also on a side note I don't recommend 12v batteries for an EV.

I know flooded 6V deep cycle seem to be the best bang for the buck. However, I got these batteries for $12 each and figured they would be great for experimenting with.

-Ben

[Ryland]

to get the correct title you should just have to sign it, WI doesn't care about fuel type, if the DMV is confused they will call you, trust me.
I haven't owned my c-car thru the winter yet, my comuta-car has the newer doors with real glass windows that seal, the citicar I have has the side curtains that I plan to replace with ridged plastic windows when I get that far on the body.
LED's work really well in these cars, I got the brightest I could from SUPER BRIGHT LEDS home and am pleased.
the E-brake is a bad design and there is no way around it without a ugy hack job, the best option is if the cables are all there, take them off straighten out any kinks, and fill them full of bike cable lube, to get the cable out of the park brake handle there is a pin in the handle that you drive out then the shaft can slide forward, but you shouldn't need to do this to lube them, just if that shaft is binding.
I'm working on a design for linkage that does away with the first cable that tends to be the problem but have not worked out all the space issues yet.
as for lights check the fuses to see if you are getting power to the fuse block, the key does not have to be on for the lights to come on, but I imagine that you have some kind of 12v power supply that must be working if the relays work??? or is forward reverse in the curtis controller?? but yes, start with good bulbs, and check the ground wires too!

[bennelson]

I was able now to get the lights to come on.

I took the dash apart and started fiddling with things.

It may even be that the inside of the switch is partly corroded and just rocking it enough times wore it enough to make the connection again.

Both headlights came on. The rear side marker doesn't light, nor does the front yellow marker light. Might be the bulb or the wiring, not sure which.

Car looks much cooler with working lights on it - especially the dashboard lights coming on!


Notice the passenger side front marker light isn't working



I popped out the driver side rear light and replaced it with an LED trailer light I had.



Paradise by the Dashboard lights

I also got the key in the mail with the title and wired the main key switch back up to work again.

More photos at:
http://gallery.me.com/benhdvideoguy#100336

[rmay635703]

Looking it looks like your dash works much better than mine (though all my outside lights work )

Originally Posted by bennelson

I know flooded 6V deep cycle seem to be the best bang for the buck. However, I got these batteries for $12 each and figured they would be great for experimenting with.

-Ben

Actually the batteries you got are the BEST bang for the buck, but they may not do what you need unless you add more.

And Yes they are perfect for experimentation. They may even be good enough for everyday use if you double them up (your car would have had 8 batteries anyway) And if you get a pulse battery charger (or build one) a pulse charger is very worthwhile if you run lead acid batteries. Battery minder and others are the commercial varieties, but generally the ones you build will work much better.

Lead Acid Battery Desulfator

I can't recommend a pulse charger enough, most worthwhile thing I have ever done. Your batteries slowly come back until they work as good as new.

I also think if your batteries were mismatched the one battery that dropped low might have just been a smaller battery.

Anyway There are a LOT of folks using "trash" batteries to run their EV and it is the most economical way of doing it when you have a good source of old batteries and the range is less of a concern. With marine or starting batteries you have to take care in how far you discharge them.

Also it is greener to reuse rather than recycle hoping your battery doesn't end up polluting the phillipines.

Good Luck
Ryan

[Ryland]

I'm a little confused, is there enough space for 8 batteries? your car has the same rear axle as my green comuta-car, so the motor is taking up some of the battery space, that rear end is also the low speed rear end, alloy rear cap, the high speed one is stamped steel.
that beeping sound is not stock, but it's nice in parking lots so people don't walk in to you.

[bennelson]

I am not so sure about the battery tray in this car either.

All the manuals and everything always show a very particular arrangement of batteries, which I can not imagine fitting in this car.

Is it possible the battery tray is modified?

I will try to take and post a clean photo of the battery tray sometime soon.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by bennelson

I am not so sure about the battery tray in this car either.

All the manuals and everything always show a very particular arrangement of batteries, which I can not imagine fitting in this car.

Is it possible the battery tray is modified?

I will try to take and post a clean photo of the battery tray sometime soon.

This has been discussed at the C-car forum, there are 2 setups that can be a problem.

1. Car was 36 volt (not enough room for 9 batteries)
2. Car was designed for the "Olde Fashioned" 6 volt trojan t105 battery size which is skinnier than a normal 6 volter today.

As a side note Citicars never came with 8 volt batteries from the factory only 6v with one 12 volt aka 9 batteries

The easiest solution if your car is one of those categories is to build a front battery box and bolt it on the front or rear bumper (or both)

My car has space for 14 batteries
6 up front
4 under the seat and 4 in the rear box.

I probably would break the springs if I did that though.

Good Luck

[TomEV]

The dashboard volt meter was connected to 18v (three of the 6v batteries), and the top division is 19v. On some Citicars, the horn and the wiper motor were also connected to 18v. I have mine connected to two 8v batteries, and while the volt meter reads 1 3/4 divisions low, it still is a reasonable reference as to your starting charge, and how discharged the pack is. It really goes up and down quite a bit as you drive, and is not as good as an e-meter, but OK for cheap low tech.

The battery arrangement is a bit odd as this is a transition (A) car - it has the Citicar body but a Comutacar differential, which means the motor sticks into the battery tray under the seat, and doesn't have the bumper batteries. Good thing about the Dana differential is that it is much quieter. Bad thing is that it takes up room under the seat.

You may want to get a DC/DC converter to keep the accessory battery charged. I use a Mean Well DC/DC converter, but Sevcon makes a cheap one as well. Biggest issue will be finding one that matches the number of 12v amps you will use with the lights on. The contactors will 'fall out' if your 12v voltage drops below 11.5 volts or so.

You can get replacement brake cables made up from California Push-Pull in Chico, California. Just send them the old ones, and they'll match the length and end styles and UPS them back. Not the cheapest things in the world (my rear cable was about $100) but it was nice to get a part that just works without messing around.