01.30.08
Posted in EVs at 9:08 pm by smalghan
It got too dark to take decent photos, but the EVision is in the car, flashing lights, beeping noises and all. I like the spectacle of it all as makes the car feel like it’s coming alive as the display lights up and subdued beeps from the HMI let you know the car’s ready to go. I’m not using the thermocouples and the speed sensor isn’t hooked up (in anticipation of the circuit Martin’s building that will condition the tachometer output directly from the inverter) and I haven’t configured the software so the display showed an angry red exclamation mark due to some parameter being out of bounds. The LEDs at the HMI also gave a good show, I didn’t know what they were for until Victor replied to someone else’s query on the EVDL with the following:
Red LED is alarm – for any value outside programmed limits you set. White LED is to illuminate the button when external lights are on and display dimmed (at hight). BTW, you can choose degree of night dimming using supplied GUI.
Buzzer will chirp to confirm page selection and beep with alarm. You can silence it by pressing the knob button, but exclamation point (alarm indicator) and red LED on the button will still lit until alarm conditions will be corrected.
I’m planning on replacing the knob with a translucent one that will cover the LEDs, diffusing the light and fitting the design of the interior better.
Tomorrow’s pictures will be more informative, but here’s one of the box I installed the EVision main board inside, it shares a corner of the trunk with the charger.
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01.15.08
Posted in EVs at 5:19 pm by smalghan
Tonight I’ll be giving a short talk about the MR2 at the Electric Vehicle Assoc.-DC (EVA/DC) meeting at Chevy Chase library. I put a few pictures together into a PDF here in case you’d like a look. More detailed info can be found at the evalbum page condensed.
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01.09.08
Posted in EVs, Miscellanea at 12:05 pm by smalghan
As much fun as it is to throw new parts at a project car, I’ve found even more pleasure in being able to repair components so that they work like new again. With the aid of this excellent tutorial, I was saved from throwing $100 away (and an assembly of hard-to-recycle electronic parts) on a new wiper switch. The headlight dimmer switch went in for the same treatment and now the gages are visible at night for the low, low price of resoldering just one connection.
If I had my wits about me at the time, I would have taken some pictures but if you take a look at the wiper switch tutorial, you should be comfortable taking apart the light switch. The problem joint was found after taking off the back cap that surrounds the connector terminals. Be on the lookout for pins that are no longer connected to the board with solder. Mine looked like it hadn’t even been soldered so there might be a heat problem to keep an eye on but for now it’s nice to be able to see the instrument panel at night.
Part of the attraction of EV conversions is that you’re extending the life of a vehicle that may have otherwise ended up salvaged. The $900 MR2 with a bad motor knock that would likely have ended up as scrap is now back on the road and getting even more life out of the resources expended in its manufacture. Repairing before replacing grows from the same idea and is cheaper for the consumer as well.
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Posted in Velomobiles & HPVs at 12:33 am by smalghan
I’ve psyched myself up looking forward to the first ride on the refurbed city beater sporting its shiny NuVinci hub but it looks like I’ll have to satisfy myself with visualization exercises a little longer.
The idea was to give the old horse a new lease on life and get some experience with the NuVinci by ditching the spastic derailleurs. Besides fewer knees smashing into the steering stem due to spontaneously shifting gears, I liked the idea of fewer components and cables to maintain. The only caveat? The old Giant ATX770 frame has vertical dropouts, not the horizontal type for which the NuVinci was designed. To the rescue were little idler pulleys like this
that are designed to maintain chain tension in exactly this type of situation. The NuVinci introduces an unfortunate complication in that the rear pulley housing demands real estate already occupied by the idler pulley.
The picture makes it look like a little grinding might do the trick but what you see there is just the nut, the actual housing takes up another 6mm or so radially. Could this be the end of the line for the old steel frame as it’s cast aside in favor of a nifty aluminum number with dropouts pointing the right direction? Or will it soldier on with a new set of derailleurs lifted from the bottom of the closeout bin? Watch the craigslist classifieds for the exciting conclusion!
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01.05.08
Posted in EVs at 10:59 pm by smalghan
…this should have been posted back in mid-November when it actually happened, but who wants to sit at a computer when you could be playing with your new toy – before it gets cold out.
Almost exactly 18 months after it went up on jackstands, the electrified MR2 was run around the block and then some. It would have been nice if, in my haste, an improperly placed jack stand didn’t crack some of the plastic side skirting but at least it’s only visible from the underside.
At first it was a dog and I couldn’t figure out why until I flipped 
the low power switch off, then it scooted away nicely. I think it’s as quick as stock but it’s hard to tell as I haven’t timed it and accelerating feels different, more of a steady push in the back than quick rushes. It got to 45 in about a suburban block. It’s down while I attend to a few old car issues to make it inspection ready but I’ll have better numbers in a few weeks.
More technical information can be found on the EVAlbum here but a quick summary follows: It uses a Siemens 100kW AC motor and 264V of AGM batteries (that’s all I could fit within weight and packaging parameters) and transfers power through the stock transmission kept in 2nd gear. Ceramic heater and on-board Brusa charger. On paper it should have a 40 mile range but I need to spend a few weeks breaking in the batteries, tweaking the alignment, adding an undertray, adjusting driving style and regen, etc before I find out if that number’s realistic. The estimate is based on the high end of the 180-250 Wh/mi energy consumption number taken from others using a similar inverter/motor and vehicle size. Kokam LiPo battery donations kindly accepted!
I’m very happy that I can now cover reasonable distances without using oil. I ride my bike most places but now I can run longer distance errands while passing by the gas stations.
More pictures, movies and driving impressions to follow.
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Posted in EVs at 5:22 pm by smalghan
One of the highlights of my three weeks spent in India was visiting Dr. Sudarshan Maini, founder of the Maini Group that produces the Reva electric car. His residence is a few floors above the Reva showroom in Bangalore. The showroom area was under renovation but there were several models, including the new i, outside to examine. More about the Reva in another post…
As I walked into his meeting room, my first impression was how 
gracious and welcoming Dr. Maini was. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I immediately felt at ease. The following 20 minutes was filled with EV talk and the future of the business both for Reva and myself. Some interesting points were:
-No indigenous EV-suitable advanced battery technology on the horizon.
-They have built a supplier network and all the major components are now indigenously sourced.
-They’re tooling up a factory capable of 30,000 units/yr, but not the current model. My guess is that they are manufacturing for Tata who has announced an EV for foreign (European mostly) markets in the next few years.
I asked about building an electric autorickshaw to replace the smoky and noisy gas powered units that belch their way all around India but he mentioned their reticence at entering a market that an industrial power like Bajaj totally dominates. I had to admit some disappointment that such a huge opportunity couldn’t be taken advantage of in order to avoid political ramifications. The same story seems to play out everywhere. Disruptive technology in an industry as capital intensive as automobiles is not welcomed.
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I’m planning on replacing the knob with a translucent one that will cover the LEDs, diffusing the light and fitting the design of the interior better.
