Paul & Sabrina's Cheap EV Conversion

[MPaulHolmes]

Well, I ordered 2 lovejoys, one for practice (since they were only like $5 each, and I have 3 clutch hub spline things for a VW bug). The L110-Long came today. It is a bit LARGE though! I might have an inch chopped off of it if its really cheap to do so. The picture has the hub spline sitting on the top (not welded yet) and the spider insert. It fits soo nice! Really snug.

I got the motor back together (praise the Lord! Amen Sister!). I had to drill out some holes a little bigger and use different bolts. It looks like the motor had been through some previous incomplete maintenance. Several bolts inside it were missing (3 out of 4 of them), and the holes where the missing bolts should have been were really rusted shut, so I had to drill out 3 new holes. It's good now though.

I'm also working on the test bench for the 48v controller. I won't be coming very close to it's 300 amp limit though. That's what the picture of all the LED's is a part of. It's 24 LED's, and about 2 volts per LED makes them nice and bright. They are the "load" such as it is. I doubt the current limiting features of the controller will be used. haha. Once its all set up (not too much stuff to do) I will "drive the car". I.E. make the LED's get bright and dim. I hope I don't get a ticket.

[bennelson]

So are you using the controller to "drive" the LEDs, instead of the motor, just to test out the CONTROLLER?

When you bench test a driving a MOTOR, don't use any more than 12 volts, it will spin way too fast, and series motors can run into problems without being run without load on them.

[MPaulHolmes]

Originally Posted by bennelson

So are you using the controller to "drive" the LEDs, instead of the motor, just to test out the CONTROLLER?

Yep. It's a controller from Ebay, and I keep hearing that it required a 3 wire potbox, but I haven't seen a wiring diagram, so I want to make sure my circuit is perfect before putting it in the car, to cut down on debugging, and since a little trial and error is necessary, I want it to be really low power. I'm planning to use all the same 2 gauge cables in the connection, and the same board that will hold all the stuff just like it will be in the car. Then, all I will need to add is the motor, and since it's already tested, I know it will work.

-Paul

[bennelson]

Sounds like a good idea to test before doing the final version.

Did I miss photos of your controller? Any Make/Model/Brand info available on it?

[MPaulHolmes]

How on Earth did I forget to put pictures of the controller? I'm such a whippersnapper. Here they are. It's a Zilla 2K. hahaha.

Well, maybe not. Actually, it's a 1204-412 Curtis 48v 300amp controller. (a dang golf cart controller. I'll be driving a dang golf cart around, re-enforcing the negative stereotypes that Electric cars are crappo mobiles)

[MPaulHolmes]

I got the shorter L110 today, as well as the 300 amp slow blow fuse with fuse holder. The fuse and fuse holder were $10 including shipping. It definitely is much cheaper when you go with stuff that is low voltage. I think I'll attempt to weld it tomorrow.

There's also a picture of one of my son's favorite tv shows, Miss Charity's Diner. He recently became a card carrying member of Miss Charity's Diner. He's a very proud 10 month old.

[MPaulHolmes]

I used some JB weld to put the spline on the lovejoy coupler. Now, I'm waiting for it to harden so I can weld it into place once and for all. I was able to get the spline centered to within about +/-0.15 mm, which should be fine I hope.

[MetroMPG]

We used good ol' JB to put our splined/modded lovejoy half into the motor when we put it back together recently. So far driven it about 100 km, and there's still NO play in the interface, which is great. The car is much quieter in pedal on/off/on/off situations.

[MPaulHolmes]

The welding has begun. The first 2 welds I did were crap and didn't even stick at all. They have been improving, and I went back and fixed one of the first 2. By improving, I mean that metal is welded to metal, and that's all that can be said of the welds. Really crappy so far. Note, this is not false humility. But, I should try harder to emulate the way they do it in the videos I have watched. It seems to turn out better that way. I just hope it will be strong enough for the "grind 'em till you find 'em" approach to shifting that I plan on doing.

[MPaulHolmes]

I think I'm done with the welding of the spline onto the Lovejoy. I also added quite a bit if JB weld down the hole to fill in the gaps and make it extra strong. I think it will hold well enough. I also ordered a L-110 7/8" BORE .25" keyway lovejoy today for $11! ya... I've been lying in wait for just such a find. booya! Also, I put the motor back together and tested it. It runs very smoothly now! This car is going to be like a dookie, silent but deadly... Also, tomorrow, I'm getting a tow truck for free to move the car to my parent's house finally so we can start working on it in earnest.