Paul & Sabrina's Cheap EV Conversion

[MPaulHolmes]

Hurray. Also, it was getting dark, and I haven't checked the state of charge of the batteries, but we decided to wire them up and see if the dang car works. It was just about dark when we tried it last night. Also, I have it now so that you push a button to use the pre-charge resistor, and then turn the key to shut the contactor. The next moment will live in my memory forever... I was going to keep it a secret until we made a video and it was during the day, but it rained all day today! oh that made me mad.

So, I stepped on the gas pedal and the car strained to go back, and went back like 2 feet. I tried it again and the same thing happened. OOPS, the E-brake was on! So, I took off the e-brake, and it rolled back REALLY silently. Then I put it in 1st gear, and drove down the street. The acceleration was very good. I turned on the volt meter, and could barely read it since there are no lights in the car, but it said 75.6v. I think the ammeter said like 15 (which translates to 15*4 = 60 amps), but it was really hard to read. I drove down the road with my expired tabs from 1994. It was WEIRD... REALLY WEIRD! I came to a stop at the stop sign, and it was like I was sitting in a DEAD car. IT WAS WEIRD! I stepped on the gas, and it accelerated very responsively, just as good as my Kia Spectra.

I forgot that I had unscrewed the speedometer (so I could remove the fuse box) so I don't know how fast I was going. I shifted into 2nd gear, and the car continued to accelerate strongly. Then I slowed down to another stop sign, and some people drove by us (my wife was in the passenger seat) staring since the car was DEAD at the stop sign, even though the headlights were on. I think they were about to stop and help us. haha! It was the most amazing feeling in the world! The weirdest thing was sitting in dead silence and then stepping on the gas and taking off. that was weird!

We went to recharge the car this morning. Oh no! One of the chargers was behaving different from the others. OOH, it was set to the 2 amp charge setting. We let it charge for about an hour in the POURING rain (seems dangerous! haha) and most of the batteries were just about full, except for one, which must have been at a lower state of charge when we bought it. So, they've all been charging all day, and we'll see how things are tomorrow.

I just want to re-iterate that it was the most amazing thing for the car to sit there dead and to race off with a totally foreign faint sound. It was very unnatural.

It felt like the gosh dang bat mobile!

[Johnny Mullet]

That is great! I had the same feeling when I started up the first Hybrid vehicle that came through our shop a few years ago, but probably does not compare to your experience at all!


Good luck.

[bennelson]

My first test drive in the Electro-Metro had a bit of that same "sitting in a dead car" feel.

I am a little more used to it because that's exactly what my cycle does all the time!

I have also been doing a far amount of engine-off-coasting the the truck lately, so I really do sit at traffic lights with the engine off.

It's nice not to have to start up an engine before pulling away!

[MPaulHolmes]

I just got back from my parents' house to see how the charging went. I couldn't wait until morning. They were all full! Oh I'm just so happy right now. Still the brake lights don't work and the horn doesn't work.

We bought some new seat covers and a rubber mat to be a splash shield for the motor.

Hey Ben, I should be used to the silence because of my bike, but I used to have a volkswagen beetle for a few years, and those things are loud. Sitting in it, and having it make no sounds was like a chapter out of the twilight zone.

Johnny Mullet: I have just recently been able to sleep through the night without waking up screaming from fear of your mullet.

[MPaulHolmes]

We cut some new carpet to make the inside of the car look presentable. I love how it drives. I just love it. Holy cow. I love it. The ammeter works perfectly! It climbed gently as I pressed the accelerator until it got to 20.0 as I drove up the driveway (a small hill). Thus, it was 20*4 = 80 amps. Oh man, I just love it.

[MPaulHolmes]

Is this how you embed a video? I have no idea. I'm going to try this. I can't remember if I did this before. Oh well.

Click on this

Our next video must have our driving on it! ya! It's so dang fun I can hardly stand it.

[Johnny Mullet]

Great video! Sweet dreams

[Daox]

I like it!

[MPaulHolmes]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet

Sweet dreams

Nooooooo!!!!

Today is nice and sunny. But that don't mean nothin. Hopefully it doesn't pour down rain. Our next video should be in the can (the toilet) today. We're also getting new tabs and license plates today, since our plate is from 1971, and so is no longer allowed to exist on the open road.

I still need to figure out the stupid brake light. I think I found 2 possible switches that it could be that were connected to the master cylinder, but then you're supposed to bleed the master cylinder after replacing the switch, which I've never done before, and then probably bleed the other stupid brakes for each wheel too! Man, that's messed up. I should just make an on/off switch controlled by my hand when I want to slow down. But the insurance people wouldn't like that very much.

[MetroMPG]

Another video! It's EV video day on EM. Great stuff, Sven!

I think I hear another EV in the background just before the 8:00 mark...