David's Solectria Force Rebuild

[TheSGC]

I'm working on a few last tricks to get these NiMH cells working. I think my charger is not correctly set for the voltages, I reprogrammed this charger many months ago but I never really verified it. So this weekend I will take a look at the charger and try raising the voltage a bit. The last few drives have been better and better, but the other day I noticed the charger shutting down before a full charge. On my last drive I was able to pull 19 AH and I still had power left. I then left the car with the heater on and pulled a total of 38 AH so there seems to still be life in them.

I'm also now looking at getting a new set of CALB CA60 cells if these last few attempts at a revive fail. Funds should open up after tax season is over so I can afford a brand new pack.

[Daox]

How is this project coming?

[TheSGC]

Originally Posted by Daox

How is this project coming?

The Solectria is coming along. I haven't had much time recently to work on it, but I am actively looking to get a new battery pack for it. The current NiMH pack gives me ~23 AH of use, enough for around town use but not for commuting.

I'm looking at either new CALB cells, or getting a battery pack from a Chevy Volt and taking it apart. I was hoping to find a slightly used lithium pack, but so far all the sellers I've found have fallen through.

[BikerModder]

It's kinda neat. It would be a nice test bed. Have the proverbial fork lift motor on deck? I don't know why the designers went the AC way unless it was a plan passed along from military specs from a submarine or some other old experimental thing... The old gas tank would be around 80 lbs counting the metal if you were adding batteries that would add a few less costly lead but higher duty and draining than the higher, more expensive, Nicad. Food for thought.

[Daox]

The Solectria is an OEM modified Geo Metro. It runs an AC motor which is more efficient than DC and can also use regenerative braking.

[TheSGC]

I've been playing for the Solectria for the past few weeks. Mostly just driving it around to shops, but today I decided to try a range test. Well after 23 miles of driving I gave up! The Force was driving great!

My dad has been wanting to drive it to work but wont take it unless it will go 20 miles a charge. Well I'm well past that so all that is left is fixing or replace the main drive switch, and recharging the A/C!

[Daox]

Woohoo, that is great.

How would you compare the Civic to the Solectria? They're obviously very different EVs.

[TheSGC]

Originally Posted by Daox

Woohoo, that is great.

How would you compare the Civic to the Solectria? They're obviously very different EVs.

They are extremely different EVs. The Civic is a power house, I can spin the wheels in 2nd gear on dry pavement. I have no problems taking it on the freeway and it will maintain 70 MPH without any issues.

The Solectria is like an oversized golf cart, it will get out of its own way, but it is very efficient and the regen is awesome. I have some hills that really bogs down the Force, but I think some of that is the voltage sag on the NiMH cells. I won't take it past 50 MPH, usually 35-40 MPH is the roads I will take it on.

My dad wants to try and take it to work soon since it should full fills his 14.5 miles commuter before he plugs it in.

[TheSGC]

Today I finally fixed the FWD/REV switch, there was some corrosion on one of the contacts that didn't take too long to repair. Then, I decided it was time to push the EV to it's range limits until Limp mode activated.

I also picked up a A/C R134 Retrofit kit from Walmart and tried to use it. Turns out that the Solectria A/C doesn't have a Low side connector! I could only find a high side, so using my kit was out of the question.

So during my range test I decided to go to a local mechanic shop that advertised A/C recharging. They were closing, but said they should be able to evacuate the system of the R12 and replace it with R134, all through the High side connector. So I am going to check a few other shops so see what they recommend.

Anyways, after driving for 33.6 miles (using 36.50 AH) we stopped off to get some iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts and when we went to leave, the EV wouldn't move! So I found a plug around the back of the building and I pushed the little Force over to it, plugged it in and got a charging error. Turns out, I over heated the NiMH batteries! They were too hot for the charger to activate, so I opened up the battery box to let it cool and called AAA for a tow because the GF didnt want to wait.

So after 30 minutes waiting for the tow truck, the batteries cooled enough to start charging. I got about 5 minutes of charge in before the tow truck arrived, so instead of waiting an hour or so, I just got it towed home then plugged it into 220v.

So what I learned is that the EV can do an easy 20 miles, and I could push it to 30 as long as I don't shut it off! So right now it could do my dad's commute, as long as he charged every day, but I am still going to continue my search for a battery pack, maybe from a Chevy Volt to save on the budget.

[TheSGC]

I haven't done too much with the Force in recent months, but yesterday I replaced the main switch and now it reliably goes forward and backward!

The passenger wiper has broken and not longer moved back and forth with the driver's wiper so I need to take it apart to fix. The Force is due for an inspection this month but I cant pass and inspection with a broken wiper so that's on my list to try and repair this week.

I'm still looking for a lithium battery set for the Force. I'm hoping to get a pack from a wreck Chevy Volt but so far not much luck. I'm also thinking about a 100AH CALB pack, similar to what's in my Civic EV, but it's way more than money that a Volt pack.