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Old 03-29-2013, 02:55 PM   #31 (permalink)
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Summary of discussion for Electric Motor Module design

1. The Netgain connects easily to the Honda Transmission?

Yes. A coupler and adapter plate are available from CanEV. It is a standard product for them and is in stock.

2. Does the clutch stay?

The clutch plate stays, but the clutch itself is removed so no linkage is required to the cabin of the car. The car does not have a clutch pedal, being an automatic transmission vehicle right now.

3. Which transmission are you going to use?

Wreckers need to be called to source a transmission locally. Since the number of models available is so broad, the prices and years will be posted first so that anyone with information on why any of the choices are better, or worse, can chime in before we commit to a specific year of transmission.

4. An AC drive system has regenerative braking, and a higher voltage so the contactors don't need to be as big. Why not AC?

Not because it's not a good choice. Because 2 DC drive systems are available, and will work. An AC system is likely to be prototyped in the future. Just not right now.

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Old 04-01-2013, 01:36 PM   #32 (permalink)
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Update from Mar 28 - Netgain motor check/inspection

I'm almost caught up! A couple more posts and the backlog will be gone!

I posted the tentative design decisions in posting #29. If anyone has comments or wants to point out an error in my logic - I'm open to suggestions.

Now for the motor. Referring to the video linked in posting #27, at about the 4:15 mark I ran up the Netgain motor and was not happy with the noise that the motor was making. The sparks coming from the commutator (where the brushes contact the armature) and brushes were a bit unsettling as well.

Going through the EVTV index, (EVTV Motor Verks | Electric Car Conversion Videos) I re-watched portions of the March 30, 2012 show where changing of the brushes is discussed for a netgain 11 inch and a netgain 9 inch motor. It appears that the noisy brushes are common when the brushes have not been 'seated' or worn into the curve of the commutator. I was also concerned that the brushes may not be installed in the same direction as the rotation. After watching the EVTV episode again, I realized that Jack Rickard has that concern. I likely learned that concern from him.

Another nugget of information - there is a CW, N, CCW stamp on one side of the stator that shows if the brushes are in the N for Neutral position, or advanced 12 degreees Clockwise or Counter Clockwise from the drive end. So I located the stamps on my motor and it is in the CCW position now. I think that it may be OK to move to Neutral position since what I've read is that there is no need to advance the brushes when you are below 96VDC. I have tentatively set up for 72 VDC but it may go down depending on how much room is left for the batteries in the Electric Motor Module frame when everything else has been mounted.

There ARE directions from Netgain on how to change the direction of rotation for the motor and that does not include removing the brush holders and re-installing them a different way. Jack Rickard specifically mentions that the Honda engines and transmissions rotate Clockwise from the drive end and that is different from most other manufacturers.

I started with the motor on a low cart. After coming up empty on ideas to lift the motor up onto my work bench without needing to use my back ... I picked it up and raised it to waist level on my Black & Decker workmate (NG9_lift). I could have worked on the motor at that level, but the lighting is not as good. I then lifted from waist level to the 40 inch benchtop (NG_lift1end).

With the motor rotated to give me access to the non-drive end, or commutator end, or auxilliary end, I first removed the shroud NG9_brush_end_shoud, NG9_brush_end_shroud_removed).

Then I removed the 4 allen head screws (1/4 inch) and set them aside (NG9_remove_brush_end1). The next challenge is to remove the end of the motor complete with brushes. First I needed to remove the cable terminated to A2 (NG9_field_cable_A2). Then I tried a simple pull and that did not work. So I did what I normally do while thinking - I did documentation. Use a jiffy marker to mark the end bell and the housing so that I can align them again. Draw an arrow to one of the bolt holes that is NOT used with an X and the one that IS used with a check mark. To get the end bell off the motor, the motor (or at least the end that I'm working on) needs to be off the bench. Find some scrap wood to elevate the one end. It is bevelled (45 degrees) so it also keeps the motor from rolling from side to side.

Inspiration was not to be found so I went onto the net and looked for instructions on how to remove the end. I found a video that showed a gear puller being used to push against the shaft while pulling on 3 points of the housing. It did not take more than 4 turns on the gear puller (after it was snugged up against the frame) to break the end free. After that the video showed pulling the end bell off by hand.

I don't have a gear puller. I don't know anyone who does. But if I can put something ... about 2 and 5/8 long into the vent holes between the end bell and the stator I should be able to put a bit of force into prying them apart. And if I pry on both sides at once, I should not damage the bearing.

A search for some tool that fits the bill yielded a 3/8 socket wrench with a shallow socket fitted. I looked around and sadly do not have a second 3/8 socket wrench (NG9_pry_with_socket). BUT I have a 1/4 socket wrench and a deeper socket that should work. Putting the wrenches in place on opposite sides of the motor and giving one quick push popped the left side but not the right side. Switch the wrenches around and try again. Now both sides have released - sorry, forgot to take a picture.

I should likely remove the brushes before I take the end off (NG9_brushes, NG9_brushes_bad_angle). The springs are clipped into the spring holders and it looks like it should release with some pressure on the spring toward the motor and a screwdriver pushing the clip side toward the brush. This does not work.

Back to Jack's video. It appears that the spring is forced out of the way and the brush can be pulled out ... but the brush holders are a Helwig design not the stock Warfield brush holders. Well, I'll try it. If it fails, it fails. Another search of the web give very little for results. Perhaps for most mechanically-minded people this is obvious. I am not very mechanical.

It turns out that the spring can be forced out of the way on the stock Warfield brush holders ... Jack used a tool that looked like a screwdriver bent into a hook. I don't have one of those. What to use? A screwdriver will get into the spring coil, but slips out. Something L shaped instead of hooked should work. The Allen set was on the bench - how about one of them? The 1/4 inch was too large to coil around the corner but a 1/8 worked OK .. success! The 8 brushes came out, but 2 of them are pretty tight. The wires go between supports and are tight. Now for the end bell. How to I keep the rest of the motor from sliding when I pull off instead of the end bell? I used a piece of scrap 2x6 between my chest and the motor shaft, then pulled by hand on each side of the housing (no picture of this for obvious reasons ... I'd need 4 hands!). It did not come easily. There is something resisting, but it came off.

The brushes and the brush holders (NG9_brush_holder) do not appear to have the brushes pointed at the shaft, but slightly to one side as Jack mentioned in the video. I don't see holes to re-install the brush holders in the opposite direction, so I won't be removing them. The brushes (NG9_brush_face, NG9_brush_face2) DO appear to be 'seated'. So what's with the sparks when the motor was turning? There is wear across the entire face of the brushes, making me think that there is good contact from the brushes to the commutator.

OK - what about the 'other' side of the brushes - the commutator. I lifted the armature a bit and it turns freely (NG9_commutator2_bad). A visual inspection shows a carbon film on most of the armature (NG9_commutator_smooth2). But there are 4 spots that appear somehow corroded?(NG9_commutator_rough2) Perhaps this is where the brushes were sitting against the commutator when the motor was in storage. The surface in these locations is rough to the touch and I could see this wearing the brushes quickly if it were allowed to continue. A few gentle (low pressure) swipes of my emery cloth (120 grit) block in the direction of rotation (to keep the slightly rounded profile of the contacts) makes things a bit better but does not resolve the issue. I'm hesitant to use too much pressure since copper is a soft metal. I only want the corrosion to be removed. So ... I use more repetitions at the same low pressure - about as much weight as letting my hand rest on the emery cloth block. NOTE - I SAID EMERY CLOTH NOT SANDPAPER! Emery cloth does not shed grit into the copper or into the spaces between the contacts. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Sandpaper grit is by definition - rough! - and it will wear your brushes if it is embedded in the copper contacts on your commutator.

After what seemed like a long time, but was probably an hour or so, the contacts are smooth to the touch all the way around (and my finger gets very black checking this). The carbon film and corrosion has been wiped off the contacts maybe 1/8 of the way around since I could not 'stop' perfectly at the edge of the corrosion where I was working, I overlapped with the adjacent contacts a little. There are no ridges, gouges or scratches. And there are no longer any bumps that stick out of the contacts (maybe that was brush material?). Hopefully that takes care of the sparking issue when the motor turns and most of the motor noise. I only have one picture, so you can't see all the way around (NG9_Commutator)

Next on the list is to remove the armature and do a visual inspection. I changed the motor from on it's side to on end so that I don't scrape the sides of the armature or the stator when the shaft clears the drive end bearing (NG9_vertical). I can't get the armature removed. It won't pull out. So I rested the drive end shaft on the work bench and pushed down on the stator. It still won't release. I'm sure it just needs a bit of a tap with a rubber hammer but I am hesitant since I am new to this. Back to the videos - can I find an armature removal? It does not appear so.

Perhaps it's obvious. I should put the motor back on it's side and remove the other end bell, which is where the bearing is and likely the part that does not want to release the shaft. I don't NEED the armature separate from the drive end bell ... I was just thinking that was how it would work.

So, remove the allen head screws after the motor is on it's side again. Again, I need to find something that will allow me to get some leverage. This side has a much smaller gap. Just under 3/4 inch so a couple pieces of half inch plywood scrap to start? I only have one (NG9_remove_drive_end_scrap). Use a piece of board that was cut out of a curve, tapered so I can break it off at about 1/2 inch thickness. Pry on both sides, but only one side popped (NG9_remove_drive_end_scrap2). Switch around the wood, left to right and right to left. Pry again and both sides are out. Now to get the armature out ... without scraping it on the stator (it is not supported on one end - putting the other end cap back on worked for about an inch of travel). Block up the armature on the commutator side with 2 x 4s and shims so that the armature turns freely. Use screwdrivers to pry on the drive end cap (the plywood is not a snug fit any more). It takes a bit of coaxing but it came out to about 5 inches. That's when the commutator side shaft ran out of blocks to sit on, so the armature stopped the travel by resting on the inside of the stator. I stuck my arm around to the commutator side and supported the shaft while pulling the armature out with my other hand. That got me a few more inches. The last of it was from the drive end with both hands supporting the armature and gently pulling it out of the stator and setting in on the bench. I was VERY CAREFUL to identify where the balancing putty is and keeping that away from contact with the stator. See pictures of the putty (NG9_armature_putty2).


The armature is heavier than I expected. According to the session that Tom Brunka from Helwig Carbon Products put on a EVCON, the color of the commutator should be a chocolate brown and you should NOT wipe off the commutator ... but I sanded it off ... He also mentioned that one should not remove the brushes of a motor to 'check' for wear, as removing and re-installing them will have them at a slightly different position and encourage wear instead. This motor has been in storage and I am looking for an issue, so removing the brushes is OK. What I was looking for was the source of the noise when the motor turns.

There are no abrasions on the metal surface (there is some minor surface rust as shown in the pictures) (NG9_stator_wide, NG9_stator_coil_rust, NG9_stator_close1, NG9_stator_binding) so it does not appear that the armature is rubbing anywhere despite the sound that the motor made while running. Further to the above discussion of taking corrosion off the commutator, there is no buildup between the commutator contacts. This is good. The shafts on either end show a bit of surface corrosion but nothing to worry about. This is good.

Now for the stator. No carbon dust at all? I was expecting some ... but there are no score marks or anything indicating abrasion. The insulation on the ends and the binding of the coils appears to be in very good shape. This is good. And there is some minor surface corrosion (rust) on the iron of the stator. There is no buildup of carbon. This is good.

Putting it all back together takes a lot less time than taking it apart. Lining things up with the arrows is pretty quick. I did't have lock-tite for the allen screws. I've read that the BLUE lock-tite is appropriate. That was a phone call, $10, and a short trip to pick it up ... since it would be very bad to have these screws loosen off in operation! (NG9_armature_backin, NG9_back_together)

So the motor is not in 'as new' shape, but it is in good shape. It needs to be run for a while at only 12V to ensure that the brushes are seated well in the slightly different position after re-installation. The brushes are in the Neutral position so it can turn either way, depending on wiring. The neutral versus advance CW is is easily changed if required ... not a big deal either way. I should look for the lubricant that is needed to dress the commutator. It never hurts to have good lubrication!

The Honda transmission on the WIKISPEED Electric Motor Module needs an electrically-controlled reverse, so the motor will turn backward in first gear (or second, or wherever we lock the manual transmission on installation) instead of keeping the motor turning forward and changing the transmission into reverse. So I guess I need to add a reversing contactor to my High Voltage Junction box ... and make sure that reversing the leads on the motor will reverse the rotation.

A very successful inspection!
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Old 04-01-2013, 02:44 PM   #33 (permalink)
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Update from Mar 31 - video of motor running

The motor spins, and it sounds *MUCH* better!

NG9_test_after_inspection - YouTube
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Old 04-01-2013, 10:14 PM   #34 (permalink)
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Update from Apr 1 - ReVolt Open Source DC Motor Controller review

Moving on to the inspection of the Open ReVolt controller, a DIY build. It was built by someone but not completed and tested. That person sold the not-quite-finished project to me.

Being paranoid, I removed it from the case to examine it and perform any tests that I could before taking the leap of faith and turning on the power.

The control board is assembled neatly (ReVolt_Top1). Component leads are trimmed. Resistors are bent consistently, and the resistors are close to the PCBoard. The design does not *REALLY* allow for the dis-assembly of the system after all the components have been soldered in place. You need to remove the solder from one side of 10 resistors to separate the control board from the power board. The edge of the control board can be lifted to allow some pictures to be taken, so I did that. 4 bolts, nuts and standoffs were removed to allow the control board to be lifted on one side (ReVolt_Under).

After the pictures were taken (no obvious issues on the bottom of the control board), the control board was put back in place and secured (ReVolt_Top2).

Further examination of the top of the control board identified three locations where the solder did not wick up to the top of the board from the bottom (where the solder was fed). Good solder joints have a pool of solder within the circular hole that holds the leads, and the pool extends up to the top of the board (or nearly).

That got me thinking about Cold Solder Joints. So I methodically checked each of the visible resistor solder joints from the top of the control board. I noticed that there are a few resistors where the solder is too visible on the component side, like the resistors were soldered from the component side instead of the other side. The solder should not look too much like a sphere. A small tug on the end of each of those 3 resistors results in 1 resistor coming completely out of the PCB hole (ReVolt_Cold_Solder). A textbook case of a Cold Solder Joint. I'd guess that this resistor is not the only one on the board.

So I will be removing the 10 soldered-in resistors that hold the power board to the control board so that I can check and resolder the control board, then check and resolder the power board, as required. While I'm at it, I should be verifying polarity for each part against the PCBoard artwork. And with my GREAT memory ... I'll be using a picture of an unpopulated PC Board, verifying each solder joint and each component polarity, and marking the good ones in green and the bad ones in red. That way I can re-check the ones that I re-soldered when everything is done and not have to re-check solder joints that were not changed.

Oh well ... at least I checked before powering it up!

This Open Source controller is no longer what you'd call Low Hanging Fruit. The repair and checking of this controller is not difficult but will take a while, and since there is already a workable solution in the Kelly controller, my time is better spent on other tasks.

I will put away Paul and Sabrina's ReVolt 500 Amp Open Source Controller until it becomes the highest value task.
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Old 04-08-2013, 12:44 AM   #35 (permalink)
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Update for Apr 6 - RUSSCO SC-18 120 battery charger

Test Russco SC-120 battery charger. The open circuit voltage will not drop below 91VDC. The manual states 24 - 120, so I think the charger is broken.

Test with a toaster as a load - some electronic outputs 'leak' enough current to fool a digital multimeter into erroneous voltage readings. Adding a load will drop the output down to the actual output of the circuit.

The current meter jumps to 5 amps immediately and the output voltage is still 91 VDC ... so it was not a phantom voltage, or just 'leakage'. Increasing the current (current knob varies from 0 - 100%) raises the voltage to just under 100 VDC. The current should have gone up, but I didn`t see that. One of my battery clips fell off the load and contacted the other battery clip - so it short circuited.

The good news - there is NO SMOKE! I didn't let the 'magic smoke' out of the charger.

The bad news - there was a bad noise from the transformer before I hit the off switch. After separating the output clips again (kept in place with electrical tape, this time) I tried the charger again. No output voltage ... NOTHING ... at ALL ... 0.00VDC. The voltage setting and current setting have no effect. The light is on that shows there is power, but the ammeter does not move.

OK, disconnect the load, the output voltage is still 0 VDC. Check the power switch. It works fine (power light turns off, then back on when I turn the switch on again).

What else can I check? The DC fuse! Remove the fuse and check the resistance. The fuse should blow and protect the rest of the circuit, right? 0.00 ohms (as you would expect a fuse to be). Sigh ... the fuse is OK ... but the charger is broken. How does THAT work?

OK. So I appear to have broken the charger. Well, it wasn`t working anyway, but I broke it some more. Since it has no warranty (I bought it used), I'm going to open it up and see what's inside ... and whether I can fix it!

Before I do anything rash, look to the internet for instructions, troubleshooting, et al. A couple of threads on DIYElectricCars for RUSSCO chargers. It appears that the SC-120 has a couple of specific voltage ranges that it can charge. The 24 - 120VDC that I read is not correct ... great, so it likely was NOT broken when I started! Perhaps the internet search should have been done prior to my testing ...

Look for some video of how to take apart the charger. I find no videos. I find no articles. I found an ebay auction for a schematic of a RUSSCO charger ... but that`s it.

So I guess I`ll muddle along on my own. Let`s start by trying to get into the charger. There are several screws around the unit. There are two access plates that can be removed to access the AC in and some sort of external transformer.

No help there. Terminals are revealed, but nothing else.

Look at the bottom (which is plastic). There appears to be two layers of plastic, but they are glued together. No joy there.

What the heck, you have to start somewhere ... remove some of the screws to try getting it apart. I hear (unfortunately) what sounds like nuts and washers falling inside the charger. And then a clunk, like a transformer has had the last screw removed and is now lying on the bottom of the case ... but that's only a guess ...

No turning back now ... I can't run a charger with washers and nuts rolling around loose inside it. Even if it was working, things need to be bolted down to be safe.

Onward! With every screw removed that makes any sense at all (I did not remove all 4 screws holding the fan cover, or the fan, or the switches and lights) the case does not open. Great. Now what?

The base. There must be screws hidden that attach the base to the charger.

I shone a light from one side, near the bottom, to see if there are screws that go from the bottom plastic into the frame. There are a lot of them. So I locate them (approximately) using light from 2 directions, then drill/bore a hole in the bottom piece of plastic with a phillips screwdriver bit. And I FIND SCREWS! I happily remove them ... and more nuts come off and slide around inside the charger ...

After removing 10 screws and removing the base, I realize that 6 of those screws were for the standoffs of a PC board and the other 4 were ACTUALLY to remove the bottom of the charger.

So now I have a peak inside. There are a handful of nuts and washers. I removed the diode heat sink from the side, the 4 bolts holding the transformer onto the side, 2 screws for the fan, 2 for the fan guard, the previously noted 6 standoffs for the PC Board ... and nothing will come out of the case!

There are wires connecting the various pieces, and the wires have connectors that will come apart. But the PC board is at the bottom and is too wide to tilt and get out of the hole in the bottom of the case. The transformer won`t get by the PC Board. I could remove the diode and it`s heat sink (which has a temperature sensor on it) but that`s about it.

Examine the case ... it appears to be a single piece of metal cut and bent to make a box. The sides do not appear to be welded. The box is painted, but the paint comes off easily at the seams. Various available sizes of screwdrivers will not fit into the seams and force them apart. I NEED to get the PC Board out, so that other things will come out, so that I can power things up and check what, if anything, I killed by shorting out the battery leads.

The PC Board is quite large, but the traces are widely spaced (minimum spacing for 220ish VDC or 120 + 36V boost = 156 VAC * 1.414 = 220.6VDC). Perhaps there is not a lot of control on the board? That`s a bit much to ask.

How would I design a charger? I'd take 120 VAC through the isolation transformer, then a full wave diode bridge. Use a power transistor to drop the voltage to a requested DC bus voltage level dictated by the first dial. Then I'd limit the current from that bus out to the batteries according to the second dial. The charger needs a constant current stage, a constant voltage stage, then a cut-off stage and timeout. That part would be in the micro. Heck - ALL of that is controlled by the micro. The hardware circuit does the diode bridge and switches the transistors when the micro wants them switched.

I can see if a user identifiable component was damaged, and replace it, and get it perhaps to do what it was designed to do. But that`s it. If I want to be able to use a lower voltage, I`m better off to start with an Open Source circuit.

Crap. I messed up a $300 ebay purchase! Oh well, it`s not the first time and it is almost certainly not the last time! I SHOULD have learned a bit more ... $300 is a bit steep to learn that I should do an internet search to find out how people who OWN a charger say it works instead of believing the manual. At least I RTFMed ...

The results:
- the charger will not work for the RRC Electric Motor Module build unless I'm using a 132V or 144V pack.
- the charger no longer works (it may or may not have been broken to start with, but it is broken now)
- fixing this charger is no longer a high priority since it will not work for the near term goal of the RRC build.

So I will pack up the parts, the manual, and a good portion of my pride ... and put it in my wall of shame (storage for items that need repair) to await a time when it becomes the highest priority task.
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Old 04-20-2013, 01:07 AM   #36 (permalink)
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Update for April 15, 2013

First off, I need to test the reversing of the netgain motor.

Present setup is + to S1, - to A1, and a jumper from A2 to S2
According to the manual, the way to reverse this is to put the jumper from A1 to S2, and apply - to A2 instead of A1.

To switch A1 and A2, both of these terminals must be wired to the HVJB. GREAT! More large wires. More terminal connections.

Forward has - to A1, S2 to A2. Reverse has - to A2, S2 to A1.
To implement this, Input 1 as - and output 1 as A1, input 2 as S2 and output 2 as A2. The Reversing starter has it's terminals jumpered to connect Input 1 to Output 2, Input 2 to Output 1 in the REVERSE configuration

To test this, wire the - through a terminal to A1 (used as a contact). Add a cable from A2 to the HVJB and S2 to the HVJB and connect them together at a terminal. This is 2 new cables from the HVJB to the motor. To perform this, clean up the remaining 'long' recycled cable and add a lug to the last remaining 'long' recycled cable portion. Then clean it up. Well, I got the wires added, but I'm tired of putting lugs onto plywood. I wired it together with a bolt.

I shot some video (see youtube video - warning - long! ) of the jumper removed from A2 to S2. It is changed to 2 longer cables, one from A2 and one from S2.

Verify rotation on the motor. It works.

Then change the - terminal to connect to the A2 cable instead. Take a short video while this is changing. Explain some things.

Change the S2 terminal to connect to the A1 cable instead. Verify reverse rotation. Take another video. It ended up quite long. I should have edited more - I ran out of time.

So the motor reverses nicely. No nasty noises, no sparks. It looks pretty good!
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Old 05-18-2013, 11:33 PM   #37 (permalink)
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Saskatoon, canada
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Ford Prefect - '18 Ford F150 XLT XTR

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Update for April 25, 2013

My apologies for the long delay between posts. It takes time to document what you've done ... and sometimes it's more exciting to get it DONE than to write about it.

Then you have to go back through your sparse notes and try to figure out what you did ... a month ago ...

Well, I tried to buy a transmission. From the confused responses I received from several wreckers, it is not 'normal' to have no information on the gas engine that the transmission was tied to while it was in a gas car. And you need to know if it was a 4 door, a 2 door, the size of the engine, single of dual overhead cams, the trim level (base, DX, LX, SI) .. and on it goes.

I finally stopped trying to explain what I was doing and made up a car with the appropriate information ... and THAT didn't work, either since the car I made up was not a popular model so no one had parts for it!

I'm going to throw that task in a corner for a while and move on with another, that will hopefully be easier to do!
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Old 05-19-2013, 02:11 AM   #38 (permalink)
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Saskatoon, canada
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Ford Prefect - '18 Ford F150 XLT XTR

Tess - '22 Tesla Y LR
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Update for April 30

I switched from buying a transmission to buying a reversing starter. That's not as easy as I thought it would be, either.

There are lots of contactors that will switch 100 - 150 amps. Lots of these are used for 12V or 24V electric winches. But 150 amps is a bit low. I'd like the contactor to be rated at least 250 amps, and would prefer a bit higher if possible. The starter will be changing the field connection on the Warp9, while the motor is not energized. But the Warp9 will take anything that the Kelly controller will send it - 350 amps for a few seconds during acceleration.

I had talked to Randy over at CanEV.com last week. And after the discussion, I purchased and received in the same week, a Honda D type transmission adapter plate (works for all Manual Honda transmissions from 1984 - 2005, with one part!) and a motor coupler to adapt the keyed shaft of the motor to the splined shaft of the transmission.

This week, I went through the CanEV web site again and noticed that Randy has pictures of a reversing contactor, the EV202, in his gallery of custom electrical boxes. So I called Randy at CanEV again and talked to him about these contactors. He sells them even though they are not listed on the web site store ... AND he has them in STOCK!.

So he sent me a quote and I ordered one. It's a beast, rated over 500 amps DC at somewhere around 200 VDC. A lot bigger than I need ... but it's better (and safer) to over-design the first one and then to do some measurements and verify that it's OK to scale back on the next design than it is to under-design the first one and get into trouble with overheating, or welding contacts together that are not rated at a high enough voltage or current so they won't turn off.
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Old 05-19-2013, 10:05 PM   #39 (permalink)
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Update for May 4, 2013

I talked to one welder about using the 2002 honda civic axles and a set of 2006 axles to make one set of axles the fit into the 2002 transmission and also fit into the 2006 wheels. The 2002 axles would be cut off in the 'middle' of the shaft and welded to 2006 honda civic axles that are cut off to get the distance correct between the wheels.

He did not say it was impossible. He made it sound hard to do, and that it would need to be machined when it was done to get it balanced properly ... but at 60 mph the tire spins just under 1000 rpm. Balance is not critical at this low speed, is it? He was not interested in doing the work. And he had no suggestions about who else locally may be interested in the work.

So ... I talked to a machinist about the same task, and the machinist was not interested, either. He did ask if the diameter of the splined shaft on the 2002 axle was larger or smaller than the splines on the 2006 wheels. He said it would be a smaller job to machine the 2002 axles to fit the 2006 wheels, or to machine an adapter to have the 2002 axles fit into the 2006 wheels. Unfortunately, he's not interested in the work. He just offered the advice that this approach would be less time and more reliable.

I need to find some custom car guys that can answer some of these questions! Isn't this sort of thing done pretty regularly? Maybe the welder and the machinist were being polite. I'd have been OK with 'that works OK, but I'm busy making more money with simpler jobs' instead of making me think I'm on the wrong track.
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Old 05-19-2013, 10:07 PM   #40 (permalink)
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Saskatoon, canada
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Ford Prefect - '18 Ford F150 XLT XTR

Tess - '22 Tesla Y LR
Thanks: 749
Thanked 565 Times in 447 Posts
Update for May 6, 2013

Received the Reversing EV202 starter. So now I can put the 5 speed transmission in one forward gear and reverse the car using the contactor so I don't need the complicated clutch linkage or shifting linkage ... at least to start with!

How can you tell that I'm electrical? I've solved a mechanical linkage problem (there is no gear shift linkage or clutch linkage in the WIKISPEED SGT01) with a reversing starter!

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