EVision Installation

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.

EVision boxI’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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Tonights EVA/DC meeting

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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MR2 Switch Repair

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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