Any progress on the car?

Well I was hoping to be popping in my new centercaps but couldn't even manage that
Actually I should have the gas tank out today, the motor is out, and I have to make the big decision on the E motor. I'm still 99% sold on the AC 31, but the potential for a higher voltage DC setup is still enticing. There are a few custom controller builders who will do a higher voltage higher amp controller for DC but I don't know if I want to take a chance on a relatively unknown controller for what will be a daily driver. Plus build time could be a few months. Then the battery pack has to be bigger and more expensive.... I guess I just talked myself out of it and I need to get off the fence and write the $4300 check, plus shipping

*Edit to fix my optimistic price quote.

[This message has been edited by JRP3 (edited 02-06-2009).]

quote Originally posted by JRP3: ...write the $4100 check, plus shipping

What's that for, the AC motor and controller?

There's still a lot of room to hide the batteries in plain sight, if you package them right.

Yes motor, controller, and "Spy Glass", (battery meter, hour meter, controller error messages).

Got the heater and installed it, did a test by plugging it into the wall and hooking 12 volts to the Fiero fan. Heats up pretty fast but I'll still need a circulator pump to move it through the heater faster.

I'll probably wrap it with pipe insulation.

Thought I'd update with some progress. Motor to trans coupler using the old clutch hub spline pressed and welded into a taperlock coupler

Adapter plate machined from aluminum;

Motor

Motor mounted

Only took about a year, but I've finally got this thing going. Still a lot to do, and I have some transmission noise in neutral, not sure if it's something to worry about or if it was always there but couldn't be heard over the gas motor. Batteries mounted, will move some underneath once I'm sure they are behaving properly:


Motor test:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GizGo2NA0PE

Test drive with temporary hand throttle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2MrY0htkbM

Man these springs are stiff! Thing rides like a brick, are all stock Fieros this stiff?

quote Originally posted by JRP3: Got the heater and installed it, did a test by plugging it into the wall and hooking 12 volts to the Fiero fan. Heats up pretty fast but I'll still need a circulator pump to move it through the heater faster. I'll probably wrap it with pipe insulation.

Why not use an air cooled power resistor in place of the heater core?

Some people use the heating element from a ceramic heater, but that often means a lot of work to remove the heater core and fitting the heating element in it's place. The liquid heater is so much easier. Plus you can preheat the fluid while plugged in for charging and the thermal mass of the fluid will hold the heat for a while when driving, saving battery energy.

If you haven't found it yet, I would recommend joining the EVDL. It's a text based discussion list with a couple of thousand members worldwide. There is a link on the evalbum.com webpage.

And I shudder when I see that expensive pack with no BMS...

Jim - Glendale, AZ
www.evalbum.com/804

Good Morning JRP3

I have a set of controllers for your electric car. Big heavy duty calsy Hase stuff. PM me
Dave

quote Originally posted by ElectricFiero: If you haven't found it yet, I would recommend joining the EVDL. It's a text based discussion list with a couple of thousand members worldwide. There is a link on the evalbum.com webpage. And I shudder when I see that expensive pack with no BMS... Jim - Glendale, AZ www.evalbum.com/804

Thanks Jim, already a member, but I prefer www.diyelectriccar.com a full featured forum with around 10,000 members now.
As to the BMS, I'm of the mind that they are a lot of hassle and expense for little to no benefit, IF you don't take the pack to extremes, which I won't. Some people have killed some cells with faulty BMS modules, and for the price of most BMS's you can buy a lot of extra cells. I plan to manually bottom balance the cells so they all reach "empty" at the same time, and stop charging when the smallest capacity cell hits around 3.5 volts. This prevents any cell from over volting and by keeping well within the max range of my pack the cells won't be over discharged. People have been doing this with very good results.

[This message has been edited by JRP3 (edited 02-12-2010).]

Got the speedo working again, yellow, purple/white, (spliced to brown yellow here), and the ground.



Does the Fiero normally have an accessory position on the key switch? I only have power to the radio and heater fan in the run position which also turns on the motor controller, and I'd like to run the fan to preheat the car sometimes without powering up the controller. Here's what I tapped into to get key switch power in the run position:

Got it licensed and on the road, hit 60 in second gear at 5800 RPMs, only taken it to 65 in third because of some handling issues. I need to replace the front tires and move some of the batteries out of the trunk and into the tank tunnel and in front of the motor. 300lbs of batteries behind the motor sort of messed up the weight distribution as you might guess.

Here's a better video of a ride in the Fiero. Clutchless shifting takes a little practice and I have some grinders once in a while but I'm getting the hang of it. I've fixed most of the steering issues since this video was made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzXUxyBToq0