Firefly Electric Conversion

[Stubby79]

Warning! May contain graphic images!

What can you do with a couple of cans of spray foam, some construction paper, tape and some saran wrap?



...whatever the heck you want, apparently!

WIP:





TBC...

[MetroMPG]

Fun!

Nice to see you get it on the road, too.

[Stubby79]

Picked up a stereo...



Got a good deal on it. I'm happy; I love a good deal.

[Stubby79]

It's in, as of 6 AM this morning. Sounds good.

[Stubby79]

Phase Two of my "Addasterodecktomy" is complete. I now have 4 speakers instead of two.

Ones that came in the front:


And the ones I added to the rear:


I beefed up security too while I had the door cards off...

Power lock actuators:
@#$%!!! Completely forgot to take a picture of them. Well, anyway, they're located just behind the door levers...there's a perfect spot to hold them there, just barely, like it's made for it. (there's Styrofoam on the inside of the door card, and there's just enough gap to hold them with the door card wrapping over snug)

Central locking module(since it came with the actuators and I didn't want to mess around with relays):


Added a door switch to the passenger side:

(Shh! Don't tell the thieves that there was nothing stopping them from breaking in through the passenger door except a blinking light)

And, what the heck, I installed the shock sensor to boot:

(inches away from the stereo, should anyone get in without opening a door)

Ta-da! I can now lock and unlock the car with the remote! (best mod ever!) and I fiddled with the settings, so it auto-locks and unlocks the car when the ignition is turned on or off.

Never mind that...the stereo sounds great with 4 speakers. Clear at any volume. It's almost done...

Starting to love this car.

[Stubby79]

Haven't messed with her since before the weekend, until this morn. Nothing major...just extended the charging wire so that it's now going through the meter's shunt (allowing it to register the charge, so I can stop resetting it manually) and bumped up the max motor voltage (therefore top speed). The first is working well (nice to see it "refilling" the "fuel" meter) and we'll see how the second worked out on my drive to work tonight.

[Stubby79]

Top rpm adjustment worked well. I can hit ~65mph/105km/hr in third gear now. Less at full field, which was the point...wanted to be able to climb that hill to work doing at least 90km/hr, full field.

I've adjusted down the acceleration this morn. No particular need for the motor to slam right in to full power the moment you touch the pedal. It ramps up to full power instead now. Drive tonight will tell me if it was a good or bad decision.

[Stubby79]

Second best "fuel" mileage today:



Was it from pumping up the front tires to 35psi from 28? (they looked rather squished with all that weight up front) or was it the lazy, unhurried drive home?

Both, perhaps. Drive TO work wasn't lazy, and the amp-hours used was lower than average. That would have been the tires...unless conditions were different last night.

Time will tell. It's certainly easier to steer now!

[Piotrsko]

I dunno, been driving the ranger for 5 years now and have yet to get a series of similar runs. EVERYTHING affects the logging and data: temp, wind, driver mood, other traffic, construction,,,,, I have averages that I use: like I better be at work at 1/2 voltage and have to be above 165 on last hill

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Stubby79

It's certainly easier to steer now!

I once test drove a manual-everything car at a dealership. The salesperson lamented: "we're never going to be able to sell a car without power steering."

I said: pump up the tires and it'll be much easier.

I don't know if they sold it or sent it to auction. I didn't buy it.