David's 2001 Civic EV (80-100 mile range; 65+ MPH; 8 second 0-60)

[TheSGC]

I have the controls installed for the heating system, I just need to get Antifreeze and a plastic hose to fill the system.

I did another decent drive today, this time I had 35-50 MPH speeds, hills and lots of stop and go. I now have a Kill-A-Watt meter and it was 5.04 KWh from the wall for 15.6 miles. My previous EV was about 400 Wh/mi from the wall, and this charge took 323 Wh/mi from this last drive. It was raining out so there was some good drag on the EV and I have to relearn EV driving, but I think I can bring it down to 250 Wh/mi with better driving.

Anyways, I have very happy with the EV and Monday I start commuting so let's hope the heater functions tomorrow without any problems!

[Cobb]

What about AC? When I was in the planning phase to make one I noticed some speed controllers offered an "idle" feature. This means the electric motor would spin at a thousand rpms and you can use it to turn a pulley and an ac compressor and you would clutch the car like you would if it had the gas engine in it.

Another idea was to use an electric compressor like from a HCH or prius or worse to worse use a second electric motor with controller just to run a compressor.

I drove a Leaf 40 miles and cant say I saw any change in consumption with ac on or off as the electric motor seem to draw a lot in relation.

Also have you tried limiting the amp output to further increase range? For example set the max amps to 500 so you can still accelerate safely, yet estimate your absolute range based on a max 500 amp draw?

[TheSGC]

I have a 2.5 HP motor to run the Air Conditioning, which is hooked up via a belt and pulley system.

I also can't hook up anything to the rear shaft of my motor except the speed sensor, the frame of the car is in the way.

[TheSGC]

Tomorrow I start commuting but today I decided to take the EV for a decent drive.I drove to school to pickup some stuff, then we drove to my grandparents house then home. I did 30.9 miles before charging at my grandparents house for a little over an hour before going home.

In all I did 40.9 miles with NO problem! So this EV has passed the longest drive I ever do on a regular basis with PLENTY of power left!

I tried to get the heater running but we need to redo the location of the expansion tank. We are actually going to use the expansion tank that still on the radiator because its higher in the system and easier to access to fill.

[Cobb]

Are you using the OEM ac system or something cobbled together or aftermarket? Does it take the full 2.5 hp or how much? Does the load of the ac vary or is it constant when the compressor is on.

Sounds like a winner. I drove the leaf 40 miles, plugged it in for an hour and I was ready to call a tow truck to move it any further.

Originally Posted by TheSGC

I have a 2.5 HP motor to run the Air Conditioning, which is hooked up via a belt and pulley system.

I also can't hook up anything to the rear shaft of my motor except the speed sensor, the frame of the car is in the way.

[TheSGC]

Originally Posted by Cobb

Are you using the OEM ac system or something cobbled together or aftermarket? Does it take the full 2.5 hp or how much? Does the load of the ac vary or is it constant when the compressor is on.

Sounds like a winner. I drove the leaf 40 miles, plugged it in for an hour and I was ready to call a tow truck to move it any further.

I am using the OEM A/C compressor and it only needs 1.2 HP to run it, so having 2.5 HP is nice overkill for me. The load varies, but 1.2 HP seemed to be it's peak power.

I started commuting today with no problems other than my ID card being demagnetized and didn't open the gate so I got a new one. I didn't log this drive, but I will try tomorrow.

[TheSGC]

Today was my second day of commuting and I found my first problem. About half way through my commute (8-10 miles) the clutch pedal gets sticky and doesn't disengage the clutch! I think it's a bad clutch master and slave cylinder, but since it's electric I can shift clutchless easily, the clutch just makes shifting faster.

Now I usually shift from 2nd to 3rd at 30 MPH, or 3500 RPMs and the clutch itself isn't slipping, however there seems to bee some excessive vibrations at 2800 RPMs, so I am looking into that.

[TheSGC]

I've put on nearly 200 miles on my EV this week and narrowed down the vibrations.

I have come to the conclusion that the vibrations are coming from the fork and throwout bearing. My master clutch and slave cylinders are shot and every time I have the vibrations my clutch pedal gets stuck to the floor and doesnt actually disengage the clutch until I pull it back up and pump it again. Then the vibrations go away immediately for while until the slave cylinder loosens again allowing the fork to bounce around.

I have not used any gas since getting my new EV plates! I like having way more range that I need in my daily like, so much that I don't even have to think about it.

[TheSGC]

I now have over 650 miles on my EV!

I have a few problems that I will be fixing on Friday. First, one of my rear springs is defective! It's nearly completely compressed and should handle 2000 more lbs before getting that low! I have two spares with even higher spring rates, so I am going to install that on Friday.

I am also going to fix the clutch cylinders, get the heater running and get the tach working. It's a lot of work, but I should be able to get it done since I do not have any plans this weekend I am estimating two days at worst to get all these fixed.

[MetroMPG]

Congrats - that's probably more mileage than I've put on the ForkenSwift all of this year!