10.19.08

The best laid plans…

Posted in EVs, Velomobiles & HPVs at 10:11 pm by smalghan

So as Martin and I were running around town shaking down the eMR2 the transmission went out.

There was a little jumpiness from the drivetrain creeping in earlier in the day but I figured it was due to the worn engine mounts.  Just before drive was lost the jumpiness was particularly bad but sometimes you just have to let something break to figure out what’s wrong.

Drive was lost taking off from a stop with a little pop and a zizzing, as if a spline was stripped, yet the transmission shifted OK.  None of the gears would work, simply producing the zizzing noise.  It’s hard to believe the coupler failed but it’s certainly possible.  The other possibilities include a stripped spline on the shafts or a catastrophic failure of the final drive.

So instead of videos of the car in action, I’ll have to entertain you with pictures of the transmission teardown when it happens in a week or two.

In other news, the bamboo/balsa frames for the velomobile came in and look beautiful but were built with the wrong thickness balsa core.  Recovery options are being conjured up.

10.13.08

The eMR2 runs again!

Posted in EVs at 9:47 pm by smalghan

Though it came in a rather ratty looking box and none of the fasteners for the cover could be found, I scavenged enough screws to fasten the cover on the inverter and put it back into the engine compartment where it belongs.  It ran a bit inconsistently at first, something I racked up to some bubbles in the coolant that triggered amp limiting due to temperature but once that was worked out it ran like I remember it-almost.  I think I have to get a few cycles on the batteries to wake them up again.  They were left inactive for about 6 months fully charged, but nevertheless it’s still a shock to the system that will take a few cycles to absorb.

For some reason, power wasn’t getting to the front of the car so no headlights, wipers or vacuum brake assist.  In the process of disconnecting everything to diagnose the inverter problem there must be something yet to be hooked up.

Once everything’s buttoned up I’ll post some video.