Project: The Electric Booger (budget EV conversion - '92 Mazda MX-3)

[bennelson]

A motorcycle? Hmmm. How about something like THIS. Build Your Own ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE

[mechman600]

Ben, oh Ben. Little do you know that I have already watched all the YouTube videos on your bike and car, and have read all your build threads. The Electro-Metro was a huge inspiration for the Electric Booger. I even gave you props in the very first post of this thread!

I would really love to find an old sport bike (400cc or under for cheap insurance) and convert it, but with this conversion I would "go for it" and spend the money on a good motor, controller and lithium pack so I could go for decent rides with my other sport bike buddies.

[puddleglum]

Just wanted to add, a congrats on your project, great job. I've been watching with interest. I am particularly impressed with your dual controller solution for your motor.

[mechman600]

I finally got around to making a proper wiring schematic for the Electric Booger. I thought it would be a good idea in case I end up selling the car in the future. Chances are by then I will have forgotten how I wired the whole thing!


EDIT: I have already found mistakes in this schematic that I have fixed. As I [no doubt] find more, I will keep updating the image.

[MetroMPG]

Good diagram in the car = good idea.

I've only had one "serious" problem with the ForkenSwift in 5+ years - a poorly routed (my fault) small-gauge wire (for contactor control, if I recall) chafed and shorted out. It released some smoke & stink in the engine compartment, and when I caught a whiff I immediately pressed my clutch-based emergency pack disconnect and stopped at the side of the road to investigate.

I spent longer "re-figuring out" how the melted wire fit in the whole system than actually fixing the problem itself. (I was able to drive home.)

At the time, I wished I'd had a handy circuit diagram posted under the hood or in the glove box. Of course, I still haven't done that. I'm not that organized. And slow to learn, apparently!

[jray3]

[QUOTE=mechman600;352661]I finally got around to making a proper wiring schematic for the Electric Booger. QUOTE]

That's a nice clean diagram- what software did you use? It's something I've been intenting to do for the Karmann Eclectric for years now, but I'm cadilliterate.

[mechman600]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I spent longer "re-figuring out" how the melted wire fit in the whole system than actually fixing the problem itself. (I was able to drive home.)

Hey, I have experienced your electrical troubleshooting wizardry first hand, and let me tell you: I was impressed!

(For those interested, it was a penny jammed in my cigarette lighter, causing the fuse to instantly blow.)

Originally Posted by jray3

That's a nice clean diagram- what software did you use? It's something I've been intenting to do for the Karmann Eclectric for years now, but I'm cadilliterate.

Would you believe.....Paintbrush. For Mac.
I take screenshots of a whole bunch of electrical symbols from Google Images and then do a lot of copy and pasting.

[mechman600]

How about some hard numbers on power consumption.

I went onto BC Hydro's website and found that I can pull up all sorts of fancy graphs showing my power consumption. As far as rates go, BC Hydro does a two tiered system:
-The first 732kWh is $0.068/kWh
-Anything over 732 kWh is charged at $0.1019/kWh.

Since I am over 732kWh per month in the colder months, I have always calculated the Electric Booger's consumption costs at $0.1019/kWh. With added taxes and levis and whatnot, that makes the actual cost at the plug in the wall $0.1123/kWh.

Here is a graph of my power consumption. I started commuting with the eBooger on October 19, 2012, so we can compare Oct-Nov-Dec of 2012 to Oct-Nov-Dec of 2011 to see the increase:


October 2012 showed a decrease in consumption from October 2011, which is weird, so we will ignore that anomaly.
Nov 2011: 960.7 kWh/Nov 2012: 1084.1 kWh = +12.8% = +$13.86
Dec 2011:1495.1 kWh/Dec 2012: 1624.2 kWh = +8.6% = +$14.50

So it doesn't look like this car is costing me a whole lot to run.

EDIT: Ok...one thing that I forgot to mention. I only charge about two thirds at home and the rest is done at work, so that impacts my costs quite a bit. Lately I have been "short charging" at home to get this to about 50/50, which makes it even better for me.

Another thing is the BC Hydro readings. About six months ago everyone got smart meters installed, so I don't know how accurate they were before....so this whole post may have been for nothing. At least I was entertained....

[Miller88]

Just read the build thread on this ... really neat! I wish I had the know how and ability to do this. More for fun than anything.

I do have a question.

When you are at a stoplight, you can leave the clutch out in gear since it's an electric motor. To start moving, do you just press the gas (electric motors don't have torque curves) or do you slip the clutch to get going?

[mechman600]

I chose to go clutchess, meaning there is no clutch at all. I come to a stop and just...well...stop. When it's time to go, I just push the accelerator and it goes. Shifting is all clutchess (obviously). It shifts just as easily as with a clutch and ICE because my motor has so little inertia.