106: Sunday 17th January 2010

Today I fitted the 240v inlet plug for the chargers. I had to make 2 aluminium brackets to use the holes from the old fuel filler neck that I removed yesterday. It all fits nicely behind the fuel flap and shuts o.k. One problem I was having was that the fuel flap release was getting stuck in. You can see the little black plastic pin here in the photo. I took the mechanism out, stripped it down and re-drilled the hole that the pin goes through and it works perfect now. I understand this is a common problem on Ford Probes, but not this one now. I drilled a hole through to the trunk space for the cable and connected it up. I put some some tape round the wire to stop it chafing. I shall squirt some silicon sealer in there another time to seal it and stop any movement. Likewise with the gap at the side of the inlet plug.
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Next I cut the battery tray strap bracket down a bit as this was clashing with the trim inside the trunk on the sides. I then fitted the trims, fitted the battery tray, loaded the batteries and connected them. The battery tray is fine now and there is a good 1/2 inch clearance each side to the trim panels.

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Finally I cut the board that sits on the spare and the carpet to fit in with the battery tray. I got the replacement battery and now I have 10 good batteries. I also picked up some more battery caps and tubing etc. for the venting. I set the controller back to 120v and gave it a little try. Wow it really has got some get-up-and-go now. Unfortunately it doesn't stop so well. I changed the pipework around for the vacuum pump for the brakes and put a gauge on the other side of the check valve. Now the gauge was reading 15 inches Mercury (0.045 MPa). That is about the minimum needed for braking. It was much sharper with the pump running, but still lacking what I had before. My supplier in China has sent me a new pump, so hopefully that will all be up-and-running soon. All I need to do in the back now is make the strap to hold the batteries down. I have some angle iron left for this. Of course this will get a coat of fire engine red Hammerite.