MR2 Switch Repair

Posted on January 9, 2008 by Suhas Malghan

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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Wrestling with the NuVinci

Posted on January 9, 2008 by Suhas Malghan

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 thisThe answer...for about 2 minutes

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.

Problems even a Dremel can't solveThe 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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Electric MR2 hits the road!

Posted on January 5, 2008 by Suhas Malghan

…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 dsc00138-1.jpgthe 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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