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Finished
Motor Compartment
There’s
a lot to see in this photo.
First,
notice the large bolt on the top of the motor, just above and
right of the motor information plate.
This bolt goes through a short metal tab that is welded to
the top motor mount strap. This
bolt and tab prevents the motor and transmission from twisting
from the enormous motor torque.
Front
and center you will see my old oil pan.
It now serves to deflect rain that comes in the front of
the vehicle and prevents it from getting into the motor brushes
without blocking airflow.
Top
left is the variable resistor and micro switch assembly, which is
mechanically connected to the ‘gas’ pedal via a flexible
cable. The variable
resistor tells the controller how much current to feed to the
motor. The controller
is just to the left and above the motor, mounted on a 5/16”
thick aluminum plate. Both
the motor and the controller run cool, barely above body
temperature.
To
the right and above the motor is my homemade battery charger.
As an electronics engineer, I was able to design and build
this to save about $1000 or so.
I also designed and built the 12-V charger, not shown in
this picture. The
charger is kept separated from the main battery bank as a safety
measure, in case a small amount of hydrogen is released from the
batteries during charge. Now
don’t get all excited about that statement.
Unless the batteries are charged at too high of a voltage
(7.2 V per battery or higher), the hydrogen that is released will
be immediately reabsorbed inside the battery and will not escape
into the air. Still, a
good idea to separate electronics from batteries.
The
gray box, top center mounted to the firewall, contains the
heavy-duty contactor that passes the heavy current to the
controller when it is energized.
The control circuitry and the micro switch control the
heavy-duty contactor.
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Original
Controller:
Curtis model 1231C-8601, 96-144VDC,
500 Amps max, 0 to 5 k/ohm input
Speed Control w/micro switch: Curtis PB-6
Motor: Advanced DC 9.1", shaft each end, 203-06-4001A
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1st Gen. Prototype Controller |
New smaller control box as
shown on the Wiring
page. |
2nd Gen. Power Wheel
(Not currently for sale.) |
New
control box ready to install. $59.95 + $7 for shipping
and handling. Checks to EVhelp, LLC.
mail@evhelp.com |
Gen. 3 Pre-production 'Power
Wheel' Controller
Available February 2009 |
'Power Wheel'
technology is now enclosed - ready for production.
High-power, high-voltage, testing will continue until
January when customer beta testing begins. General
availability slated for February 2009.
Competitive
pricing will include controller, 'Pot Plate', control box,
500 A meter shunt and pre-charge resistor. |
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Original battery bank - 16 batteries
New battery bank - 24 batteries -
October 31, 2008
24
batteries installed to allow 150V, 500 A proofing of pre-production
'Power Wheel' controller |
Batteries
Installed
I
purchased a small welding machine, a 14” cutoff saw and an angle
grinder to do the metal work.
The metal stock is 1½” by 1/8” think steel angle and
some flat stock. The
rack is securely bolted to the frame on each side and holds two
rows of eight batteries.
The
gray box hanging on the right side of the battery rack is a
makeshift fuse box. It
contains a 600 A fuse. I
drilled some holes for venting in the plastic electrical box.
Note
the flat-stock strapping across the top of the rack between the
batteries. These
straps are bolted on with self-locking acorn nuts.
Holding the batteries securely in place is very important
to prevent additional damage and injury in an accident.
If
you look closely, you'll notice the terminal lugs connected to the
terminals with a wing nut. I have replaced the terminal lugs
with terminal clamps for much better contact and to avoid terminal
melt-down. I melted 3 terminals before changing over to clamps.
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Rear-end
Work
I
removed the original bed, sandblasted the frame, primed it and
painted it. As you can
see, it looks fresh from the factory.
Note
the new-bed rails that I added to provide a firm and flat
foundation for the new bed.
Also,
notice
the extensions (shackles) I added to the leaf springs and
the air shocks to gain height. This
combination gives me the front-to-rear height balance that I
wanted.
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Bed
Framing
The
original bed weighed 320 pounds.
Using aluminum framing and ABS plastic sheathing, I was
able to reduce that weight and provide a nice compartment for the
batteries. Aluminum
sheathing can be used as well.
90-degree angle plates and angle brackets give the new bed
excellent rigidity. Self-drilling screws make the frame work
easy.
The
ABS sheathing was attached using countersunk stainless-steel #8
sheet-metal screws. The ABS sheathing can be painted with
standard auto paint if you desire.
Bed
detail and additional photos are available for $19.95. mail@evhelp.com
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Finished
Here
she is! The taillights
and side running lights are very bright LED assemblies purchased
from the local auto parts store.
I added fog lights to the rear, just under the bumper on
each side, for backup lights.
For additional safety, I placed a 12-V beeper under the
rear bumper that activates when I set the transmission into
reverse – a courtesy to parking lot pedestrians.
The
total conversion time was about 4 months, which included most
evenings, most weekends and about 7 vacation days.
My total cost including the truck was about $10,000.
The
truck is very maneuverable and fun to drive.
It still has its power ABS brakes and cabin air bags.
Insuring
this vehicle was no problem. I kept the same insurance
company and they didn't care when I told them about the
conversion. They wouldn't give me a discount either. :-)
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