David's Solectria Force Rebuild

[Daox]

I made some for my PHEV kit out of 1/2" copper pipe. I smashed it flat with a hammer / vise and drilled holes, wasn't too hard.

[TheSGC]

So far I've done single cycles on my first three batteries:
Battery 1: 43 AH
Battery 2: 53 AH
Battery 3: 47 AH

I am reconfiguring my source pack so I can make continuous cycles before needing to recharge my source pack. I did change my charge profile from the 1st battery to 2nd battery and I hope to get these batteries cycled at least once by the end of this weekend. I am hoping to get two a day after tonight and I have 7 batteries ready to test, one has two iffy cells that the last three still need buss bars.

[TheSGC]

This weekend I started experimented with painting the scrap door I have that came with the car.

Here is the door after we removed the stickers. There is some outlines of the old stickers and the white is just boring.



And here is the door after I put the primer on.


And now here the the door with the first coat drying.



I am really impressed with the way this is coming out. I am using the Rustoluem Sail Blue mixed 50/50 with mineral spirits to thin it down. I am using foam rollers to apply the paint and a small foam brush to work in the small spaces. Here is the steps I am going to take for this experiement:

- Remove stickers
- Wash and let dry
- Dry sand to remove excess dirt and marking from the stickers
- Wipe off the panels
- Roll on first coat of Rustoleum with 50/50 mineral spirits
- Let dry for 12+ hours
- Wet sand the surface and paint again
- Repeat for 3-4 coats

I am really pleased with the first coat. I had a few issues that I need to sand out before I do the next coat, but the coverage is good and I really like the color. All the Solectria's were white in color and I just find that boring. We really want this little car to stick out when where are done, and this color really sticks out in a good way.

[TheSGC]

I have three coats of paint on my test door and now it's getting a really nice shine to it. I'm going to give it another two coats over the new few days then I am going to let it harden for several days before giving it a buff.

I'm also making progress on the battery pack. I have most of the batteries tested to hold at least 40 AH, most in the high 40's to low 50 AH range and thats only with one or two cycles on them. I had one battery start off with 26 AH but after 3 cycles it's over 43 AH now! I'm going to try and get the last few batteries ready to go over the next few days and by the end of the month do some tests on the drive train before I bring the car to the body shop.

[Daox]

Good updates, keep em coming!

[TheSGC]

I've been busy finishing up my last semester at college, but I have time this weekend to do some work on the Solectria. I'm working on the last two batteries, each had a dead cell that I had to remove and replace and next I need to get a metal banding tool to strap the batteries back together.

I also have to reconfigure the charger. It's an NLG423 6.6 KW that is programmed for 198v of NiMH and I need to change it to 145.2v. I'm hoping to do a basic test of the car systems this weekend and get the batteries charged up to a test point.

[otedawg]

SGC,
Looking good! I'm toying with the idea of painting my Force... the same way you're painting yours.

Let me know if you need any help with your NLG - I don't know as much as Wolf, but I've torn mine apart and put it back together, as well as reprogrammed it.

Did that car have a UMOC or one of the older controllers in it?

-Otedawg

[TheSGC]

Originally Posted by otedawg

SGC,
Looking good! I'm toying with the idea of painting my Force... the same way you're painting yours.

Let me know if you need any help with your NLG - I don't know as much as Wolf, but I've torn mine apart and put it back together, as well as reprogrammed it.

Did that car have a UMOC or one of the older controllers in it?

-Otedawg

It has an AMC320 in it, but I have a UMOC440F that I may put in for some more power. I'm putting the last battery on the PowerLab 6 this afternoon and I'm going to work on the NLG4 wiring so I can reprogram it. I don't have any temperature sensors on it yet so I'll probably disable them on the charger until they get in.

[TheSGC]

Ok little update. I've been working on the Solectria for the past few days and I have the batteries in the car but I've having a problem getting the NLG4 charger running. I need to reprogram the charger but I have no clue on what parts of the Charger Interface Box needs connecting. When the charger is plugged in the Fault light turns on and I cannot connect the programming software to the charger. I'm assuming that I've missed a connection as the manual says the charger will not power up if it detects a fault coming from the interface box. I don't have the temperature sensors, but there are a number of other cables that I haven't identified yet.

I'm hoping the charger still functions and I'm missing something simple, like a 12 volt power not plugged in or something.

[TheSGC]

After working with the charger I've found that is is broken. I opened it up and smelled the unmistakable scent of burnt electronics. I could not immediately see any problems so this week I am going to start playing with it. If by the end of the week I don't get this charger running, I am going to just buy a new one that I can program myself.

Tomorrow night is my last final so the rest of the week I am going to work on this EV and I want to get it running. I'm going to try and borrow a high voltage power supply so I can charge the battery pack enough to test out everything.