tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56500900401051749632024-03-13T03:44:17.336+00:00Ford Probe EV Electric Conversion - ProbatronJames Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.comBlogger303125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-33916532259985565662021-02-07T23:25:00.000+00:002021-02-07T23:25:54.809+00:00304: Sunday 7th February 2021<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Finished printing all the Battery Terminal Covers. They all clipped on really well. I took 3 of them and cut them in half on my bandsaw to cover the wire links on the sides. No metal showing now. I am pleased with the final result. First part of operation tidy up complete...!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u3tTxzkzS2M/YCB1pH2ammI/AAAAAAAABY4/XtG1yFvZJWcQ_zhZehK8Aa1p-Ry4PPHsQCLcBGAsYHQ/s403/BatteryTerminalCoversCompleted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="302" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u3tTxzkzS2M/YCB1pH2ammI/AAAAAAAABY4/XtG1yFvZJWcQ_zhZehK8Aa1p-Ry4PPHsQCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/BatteryTerminalCoversCompleted.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p>James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-75128069818407308892021-02-03T22:24:00.002+00:002021-02-03T22:28:18.299+00:00303: Wednesday 3rd February 2021<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Finessed the design of the battery terminal cover. The photo below shows the larger v1 and the refined v5.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xiRtZ8RMCcw/YBse9MBZZRI/AAAAAAAABXk/KSBQ7GMEpPIccEnSPv6RZDV0CQC8vukyQCLcBGAsYHQ/s403/BatteryTermiinalCoverV5_2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="302" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xiRtZ8RMCcw/YBse9MBZZRI/AAAAAAAABXk/KSBQ7GMEpPIccEnSPv6RZDV0CQC8vukyQCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/BatteryTermiinalCoverV5_2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">----</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The first version was really to do a trial fit. I have made the walls thinner, adjusted the overall length, adjusted the large hole size a few times, changed the size of the + and - symbols, and chamfered out the inside to get to version 5. I did a trial fit with version 5 and it clicks on easily, stays on securely and quite difficult to pull with just your hands.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mYVOrnSg9vw/YBsfdG48gRI/AAAAAAAABYE/FhyZ_YPghQQZnPA6Ux1zy2c3xzV1LPlfwCLcBGAsYHQ/s403/BatteryTermiinalCoverV5_1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="302" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mYVOrnSg9vw/YBsfdG48gRI/AAAAAAAABYE/FhyZ_YPghQQZnPA6Ux1zy2c3xzV1LPlfwCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/BatteryTermiinalCoverV5_1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">====</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Printed a batch of 5 version covers. That is the most I can print in one go on the printer bed.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E0PAMR16qDE/YBsfo49MgFI/AAAAAAAABYM/mNSYCac2gxM_jysGulEuqu4Ls-NDpyGoACLcBGAsYHQ/s403/BatteryTermiinalCoverV5x5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="302" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E0PAMR16qDE/YBsfo49MgFI/AAAAAAAABYM/mNSYCac2gxM_jysGulEuqu4Ls-NDpyGoACLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/BatteryTermiinalCoverV5x5.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">====</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Fitted the first 5 Battery Terminal Covers. All fitted really well. I have since printed another 5 and have another 5 on the printer while I'm typing. I need 36 in total.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-INo19dPxDqQ/YBsfu3sU-FI/AAAAAAAABYc/hOWvWOzbFhUa_46_uxrtseCXlcHrggKsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s403/BatteryTermiinalCoverV5First5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="302" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-INo19dPxDqQ/YBsfu3sU-FI/AAAAAAAABYc/hOWvWOzbFhUa_46_uxrtseCXlcHrggKsgCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/BatteryTermiinalCoverV5First5.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p>James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-64709789839796388932021-02-02T23:08:00.000+00:002021-02-02T23:08:00.005+00:00302: Tuesday 2nd February 2021<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Printed a sample battery terminal cover today. The video below shows the start of the print. I have to print it upside down so the print doesn't fall in on itself, so the video is showing the top of the cover and it will work its way up layer by layer to the bottom of the battery cap.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyyawXJYozsuyW4kIcwv7EWyA_5gbX9tSlh_2b9ATPKIYlY8wOEIwmhD40Mx5Z0w_pkNSabag6bTMC9xE0tRQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">----</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The photo below shows the start of the print after just one layer.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zq-dZLHeiBc/YBnX56yAfQI/AAAAAAAABXI/q330132JGe0Pj0gyi3oLpZ3S7EAQ0QDcgCLcBGAsYHQ/s403/BatteryTerminalCoverPrinting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="302" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zq-dZLHeiBc/YBnX56yAfQI/AAAAAAAABXI/q330132JGe0Pj0gyi3oLpZ3S7EAQ0QDcgCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/BatteryTerminalCoverPrinting.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">----</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The finished print flipped over the right way up, fresh off the printer.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JrIceWQveMg/YBnX6TW34BI/AAAAAAAABXM/JfPiMsnFUBIUwYTix1QoE9o2k6N0GIMgACLcBGAsYHQ/s403/BatteryTerminalFreshOffPrinter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="302" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JrIceWQveMg/YBnX6TW34BI/AAAAAAAABXM/JfPiMsnFUBIUwYTix1QoE9o2k6N0GIMgACLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/BatteryTerminalFreshOffPrinter.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">----</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The battery terminals before the cover was fitted.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AQgf0Q0IJnY/YBnX56T0whI/AAAAAAAABXA/gLijjs1uu_E9_cswV9tRu2EcAFK_MNangCLcBGAsYHQ/s403/BatteryTerminalBare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="302" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AQgf0Q0IJnY/YBnX56T0whI/AAAAAAAABXA/gLijjs1uu_E9_cswV9tRu2EcAFK_MNangCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/BatteryTerminalBare.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">----</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The battery terminals with the new cover trial fitted. I found it was too narrow and too tall, and the large circular cups that push onto the big nuts were too tight. So I shall tweak the design and try again.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--F1eYtGZUCY/YBnYWcLElmI/AAAAAAAABXY/ABjBUVrKwzYC8A0rA5XJoG2hnmd_5YCrgCLcBGAsYHQ/s403/BatteryTermiinalWith%2BCoverV1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="302" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--F1eYtGZUCY/YBnYWcLElmI/AAAAAAAABXY/ABjBUVrKwzYC8A0rA5XJoG2hnmd_5YCrgCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/BatteryTermiinalWith%2BCoverV1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div></div><p></p>James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-449192820518222432021-02-01T22:22:00.007+00:002021-02-01T22:43:58.382+00:00301: Monday 1st February 2021<p style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: arial;">In August 2017 I changed from DC drive to AC. Since then I have had no real issues to report. I have added Air Suspension, a new DC-DC converter and a GSM switch to remotely control the cabin heater by text messages. I haven't updated the blog since 2018. I have just been pretty much trouble free driving since then. It is coming up on the 12th anniversary of the conversion start and 11 years of being road legal. Now this year is "operation tidy up". Over the years I have tried many different systems and basically replaced everything at least twice. Apart from the Air Suspension I have been driving the same system of AC drive for the last 4 years.</span></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I still have exposed battery terminals in the rear trunk of 'sparky', so I have made a CAD (Computer Aided Design) drawing of a battery link cover that will prevent accidental shorts (none so far) and any risk of shock (only minor tingles so far). I shall 3D print these in Vivid Orange PETG plastic. I have had a 3D printer for just over a year now and it was one of the best Christmas presents ever. I knew nothing really. I had no experience with CAD drawing and no experience with 3D printing, but I knew what it was all capable of. I taught myself CAD in about 2 weeks. I have now learned the basics on 2 different CAD software. I have learned enough to make some fairly decent boxes, brackets and covers as well as the art that I have printed using my own designs (that's another hobby altogether). The pictures below show the battery link cover from 2 different angles. I shall print them upside down, so on the bottom (top) is 2 recessed symbols for '+' and '-' the I shall fill with paint (red for '+' and black for '-').</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iDAL7Onak74/YBh53add0fI/AAAAAAAABWs/iX5i6vh6Q8YopYa65KJy8to1MjAkHZdBACLcBGAsYHQ/s570/BatteryLinkCover2.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="570" height="495" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iDAL7Onak74/YBh53add0fI/AAAAAAAABWs/iX5i6vh6Q8YopYa65KJy8to1MjAkHZdBACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h495/BatteryLinkCover2.png" width="640" /></a></div></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Itj_luSoerQ/YBh53RbDeMI/AAAAAAAABWw/u73oIikCJ2kxCLhhOt0vtog_L8zHEeheQCLcBGAsYHQ/s669/BatteryLinkCover.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="669" height="418" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Itj_luSoerQ/YBh53RbDeMI/AAAAAAAABWw/u73oIikCJ2kxCLhhOt0vtog_L8zHEeheQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h418/BatteryLinkCover.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"></div></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p>James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-8986592155734408342018-12-28T18:52:00.000+00:002018-12-28T18:59:38.370+00:00300: Friday 28th December 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The weather and just being really busy with trying to move house has been taking up my time lately. I ordered a GSM switch some time ago. Today I replaced the single switch GSM switch I had already fitted with the new 4 relay one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A GSM switch uses mobile phone technology. With a GSM switch and a SIM card, I can control 4 relays from encoded text messages. I have an app that uses simple buttons to generate the messages. The first one I fitted only had 1 relay output. I used this to switch on my ignition for the cooling / heating systems only. I had to remember to press the 'heat' button to bring on the electric heater. The plan was to have another relay to bypass the button, but this also requires that the fan is on or the heater relay won't work. It is do-able with one relay, but since I was doing this I wanted to be able to control more, so I bought another GSM switch that can control 4 relays. I made a small bracket from some L section aluminium and mounted it on the old cruise control module bracket. It was really cold today, so I just wired it the same as before, so I still have to remember to press the 'heat' button when I park so it is ready when I want to come out to a nice warm defrosted car.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I need to run wires to use another relay to bypass the heat button. I also want to bring on the heated rear screen at the same time, but this uses an electronic button so one push sets a timer, second push turns it off again. The relay outputs can be pulsed, so this will be another function. In order to do this I need to get inside the heated rear screen button as the terminal to switch states is not accessible externally, so I need to get in the switch and run a separate wire so I can mimic the button push with a pulse from the relay on the GSM switch. Then I need to run the wires from the heat button and rear screen heater to the GSM switch. Fortunately most of this can be done inside the car, so a bit warmer while I'm working I'm hoping to do this tomorrow.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XtvbpTYPf5k/XCZrlVsSDlI/AAAAAAAABRg/-PXBZxgKddQOWbI_p75I9UiGz4nKaK_4wCLcBGAs/s1600/gsm%2Bswitch.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XtvbpTYPf5k/XCZrlVsSDlI/AAAAAAAABRg/-PXBZxgKddQOWbI_p75I9UiGz4nKaK_4wCLcBGAs/s640/gsm%2Bswitch.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-80927195723367856012018-08-23T20:21:00.001+01:002018-08-23T20:21:57.833+01:00299: Thursday 23rd August 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today I wanted to solve a problem I had been experience for some months now. Whenever it rains the ignition stays on (position 2 only) after I have removed the keys. After a few days without rain this would stop and everything would work normally. This morning it was raining and after lunch it had stopped, so the conditions were perfect to find the fault. I removed the ignition relay (that was warm as it had been on for a long time), and as I disconnected it I felt it click. I gently pushed it in an out a few times and it was clicking each time. So with the ignition relay removed I put my tester into the connector in the fuse box and saw 10 volts. Clearly there was some voltage leakage. When I keyed on again I could see 14v and this is the normal 12v system voltage from the DC-DC converter. Keyed off again and the voltage went back to 10v. I recently bought a complete set of Ford Technical service wiring diagrams (originals), so I checked the circuits and the removed the fuse supplying the key switch. I keyed on to position 2 and the radio came on and the aerial went up. When I put the key in position 1 the radio turned off and the aerial went down. This indicated that the fault was in a circuit that uses both of the first 2 key positions. Back to the wiring diagrams and I found the engine cooling fans' circuit was one of them and I pulled the fuse. Another indicator was that the cabin blower was also working before. When I pulled the fuse for the engine fans the cabin fan stopped and the voltage at the ignition relay coil connection went to zero volts. I put back the key switch fuse and everything was working properly. I have left the engine cooling fans' fuse out. This makes sense as this is at the front of the car and with no radiator is exposed to rain water. I was struggling to find anywhere water was collecting, so it was somewhere in the engine cooling fan loom. As I don't have any engine cooling fans anymore then I can just leave the fuse out so the circuit is now dead. Problem solved (finally). The reason I wanted to solve this so badly was because I have bought a 12v GSM gate opener switch so I can defrost my car remotely in winter. In winter I can turn the car off with the key then press the heater button to on and then switch the ignition on remotely from a text message to the new module. I can set it to stay on for a time of say 15 minutes (max 16.65 minutes or 999 seconds). So the scenario is; In winter I get up in the morning and look out of the window and see frost or the screen misted up, I get my phone and send a text message to the car that switches the ignition on for 15 minutes. Then brush my teeth etc., get dressed and when I go to my car it is defrosted / demisted and I can just drive off nice and cosy. I can send different text messages to change the control so I can switch on (permanently), switch it off, switch on for a time and also control which phone numbers that can activate the switch. So now I have the problem of the ignition staying on solved I can go ahead and add this new circuit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some time ago I said that I had added the front parking sensors and these have been working fine for some time now. The picture below shows the 2 sensors on the front right side. There was 4 in total on the front.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rl5MDc1Wn0E/W379eqgCg6I/AAAAAAAABRI/eP26hQUg6NY5W0UKCixjawy1n3mBKCM-wCLcBGAs/s1600/fornt%2Bparking%2Bsensors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rl5MDc1Wn0E/W379eqgCg6I/AAAAAAAABRI/eP26hQUg6NY5W0UKCixjawy1n3mBKCM-wCLcBGAs/s640/fornt%2Bparking%2Bsensors.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Sunday I fitted the rear parking sensors. It was some time before I got round to these because I had ordered some 2 pin auto connectors from eBay and once they came I cut the cable and fitted the connectors. The module for the parking sensors was mounted under the hood, so I had to run the wires under the rear seat and under the right side trim. The cables had to pass through the rear bumpers, so it would not be possible to remove the bumper without having to feed the cables back through the car, so this this is why I added connectors so I can just disconnect them near to the bumper and leave the sensors in place. I checked the sensors all worked with the connectors before feeding the wires. Once fitted, everything works fine. The rear sensors work all the time when the car is in reverse, but the front sensors only work when I operate a switch near the handbrake and when the brake pedal is pressed then they stop after the brake has been released for some time. The good thing is that I can switch the front sensors off so they don't keep beeping when I am driving.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IWBHV7uyMXU/W379erTE73I/AAAAAAAABRM/JQv45KdpziATZ3h8srPqjZ5qJmYuFOcbACLcBGAs/s1600/rear%2Bparking%2Bsensors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IWBHV7uyMXU/W379erTE73I/AAAAAAAABRM/JQv45KdpziATZ3h8srPqjZ5qJmYuFOcbACLcBGAs/s640/rear%2Bparking%2Bsensors.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-45027993851545279072018-06-10T11:56:00.000+01:002018-06-10T12:06:58.735+01:00298: Sunday 10th June 2018<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last weekend I added a parking sensor kit in order to help with not crashing into things. I have only done the front sensors so far, but this really helps. I have also added a front camera, this is using the same monitor display in my rear view mirror. Now I can see if I am going to hit a kerb. I believe I'm ready to repair the cracks and damage on my front bumper. Yesterday I made an edge for my 2DIN Android Head unit (stereo). It has been bugging me for a long time that after I had put black felt around the radio edge before using double sided tape onto the trim, I could still see little bits of trim inside and some of the edges weren't great. I just used hardboard covered with black felt. I made a simple rectangle and fitted it in the space, then marked where it need to be bigger to meet the edges of the dash trim. I then made another using the new measurements. I cut the board with a Stanley knife (box cutter). As the edges were quite small, I needed to be careful when tweaking the cuts, so I clamped it in the vice and filed the odd millimetre up to the vice jaws. This stopped any risk of breaking it, especially at the corners. The edges were blacked using a sharpie.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sKATwUaNz24/Wxz_n1Pj8EI/AAAAAAAABQk/MbJiexKsAaAKgRHysXwS95CrnmTAQcyNwCLcBGAs/s1600/radio%2Bedge%2B1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sKATwUaNz24/Wxz_n1Pj8EI/AAAAAAAABQk/MbJiexKsAaAKgRHysXwS95CrnmTAQcyNwCLcBGAs/s640/radio%2Bedge%2B1.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I then put some paper on the bench, put the edge on top then sprayed with carpet glue. I took it off the paper straight away then applied the black felt. Gave the bench a wipe then placed the edge face down and carefully cut off the excess felt. I went back round the edges touching up the black where there was glue marks.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ScacsbGJwYk/Wxz_n9x_n-I/AAAAAAAABQo/H4xNAF5K15EJQSrt0bWooWgQoLtC01nJACLcBGAs/s1600/radio%2Bedge%2B2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ScacsbGJwYk/Wxz_n9x_n-I/AAAAAAAABQo/H4xNAF5K15EJQSrt0bWooWgQoLtC01nJACLcBGAs/s640/radio%2Bedge%2B2.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fitted it all back in the dash and now I have a perfect fitting edge to my stereo and nothing showing. Really pleased with the finished product...</span></div>
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James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-42180260108895215592018-04-07T22:21:00.001+01:002018-04-07T22:21:58.131+01:00297:Saturday 7th April 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After several weekends of getting rained off, I bit the bullet and bought a pop-up car tent</span>. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mary and I did a trial run yesterday and found that the side panels were like a big sail or kite and real difficult to put up. I chose not to use the side panels this time, but if I had all the tie-downs stretched out, it may be possible. Anyway guess what... It didn't rain, not a spot until after I had finished and had dinner. It did keep the sun off though. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today's job was to finish fitting the air ride front height sensors. I did the rears at my friend and neighbour Luke's workshop on a 2 post lift and as I needed to run cables under the length of the car. Today's wiring was much simpler and all the work was under the wheel arches, so I could do this with a jack and some axle stands.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BAtws2zOIG0/Wsko6E24Z7I/AAAAAAAABPs/Shn1ChkPI98OYE384sBNn6XPeuORdxTMQCLcBGAs/s1600/probe%2Btent.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BAtws2zOIG0/Wsko6E24Z7I/AAAAAAAABPs/Shn1ChkPI98OYE384sBNn6XPeuORdxTMQCLcBGAs/s400/probe%2Btent.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I drilled 2 holes and mounted an L bracket to the lower wishbone. I fixed the height sensor link rod to the L bracket and with the strut at full extension I marked the position of the other end of the link rod. I then evacuated the air from the strut and jacked it up until the car started lifting and marked the other end of the link rod again on the wheel arch. I measured between the marks and the difference was 50mm (this is not the full height as the bracket was mounted about half way between the wishbone hinge point and the end where the strut connects). I then marked half way between them as this is where the link rod needs to be so I could mount the sensor in the midway position with the arm half way. I connected the sensor to the link rod and set it with the arm half way and set the jack so the link rod end was also at the halfway point. I marked the top and bottom of the sensor and where the holes were, then took sensor spacer mounting plate and used this to mark the holes. I drilled the holes with a small drill as a pilot for the self tapping screws that are used to mount the sensor. I ran the screws in on their own first to cut a thread, then mounted the sensor on the mounting plate to the wheel arch. Did the same on the other side, connected the wires, then set about calibrating everything. The valve block processor has a built in calibration routine that you can set automatically or manually. I tried the auto calibrate first and it took ages pumping the suspension up and down and waiting for the compressor to refill the tank etc. At the end of the calibration I got min height errors on the rear sensors. Next I tried automatic pressure calibration and manual height calibration. After another round of ups and downs, I got to set the min and max heights and then some more up and down to finish the calibration. It's quite fiddly trying to set the limits to a particular pressure as each push of the buttons makes the strut you are adjust jump 2 or 3 PSI each time. This also resulted in minimum height errors on the rear again. So for the last attempt, I did manual pressure calibration and height calibration. It took me about 20 minutes to complete, but it is tip top now. First trip was to the end of my road and back. I used the mid point setting and ran over some bumps and small kerbs, and superb, no donking. I am a happy bunny today. I had a fiddle with some of the presets to put them at the percentage heights I chose instead of the calibrated 25, 50, 75% settings. Now I have what I expected from the air ride and now I can start tidying everything else up so I can start showing it with pride. Zoom in on the photo below to see the detail of the sensor, link rod and bracket etc.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nD86kGKautk/Wsko7oQsn2I/AAAAAAAABPw/Ycjq0dUX9VA00sbE-izm4PD02GJ-m0ucgCLcBGAs/s1600/front%2Bheight%2Bsensor.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nD86kGKautk/Wsko7oQsn2I/AAAAAAAABPw/Ycjq0dUX9VA00sbE-izm4PD02GJ-m0ucgCLcBGAs/s400/front%2Bheight%2Bsensor.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-57871731603906180482018-04-02T22:41:00.003+01:002018-04-02T22:48:37.538+01:00296: Monday 2nd April 2018<span style="font-family: "arial";">I have been delinquent with my posts recently. I notice the last post was October and have made a few change since then. After destroying the DC-DC converter, I bought a new and improved one. This has a 1kW output at 14.0v, so just like a car alternator. Now when I power on, I get my battery gauge reading half way and it just stays there. I ran power steering, fan, lights and the air ride compressor all at the same time and it didn't vary. Cost was about £230 by the time I had it shipped from Hong Kong. I am really pleased with the way it performs. I had many Iota DLS55s and they all broke eventually.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I mounted the remote for the air ride system onto the left side of the dash. It is well illuminated and along with the 2DIN Android head unit, JLD404 Intelligent Ah meter and the bespoke Probatron battery monitoring touchscreen display it is starting to look like KITT. </span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KoOW8sI99_8/WsKUt4Y365I/AAAAAAAABOw/M7TGeM1NAkQfY6Y_zWo6VGCBatwKGxT4QCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KoOW8sI99_8/WsKUt4Y365I/AAAAAAAABOw/M7TGeM1NAkQfY6Y_zWo6VGCBatwKGxT4QCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_2908.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have been trying to get the air ride system to work better as I get a horrible loud donk noise like someone hitting an anvil with a hammer from the rear when the ride is set high or low as the struts reach their end of travel. With a 300kg battery in the trunk it does this quite easily. Getting the car to ride half way for normal driving depends of a lot of factors like how stiff the struts are, ambient temperature, how many people in the car etc. When it was set half way, no donk noise (except for huge bumps). I took the plunge and bought the height sensor kit for the system. This will get past all the factors and will sit the car half way and keep it there when I set it up. The air suspension has 5 preset buttons on the remote. The top and bottom are fully up and down respectively, The three in between are so the user can program 3 different ride heights for different driving situations. I have set these for cruising (low), normal driving (medium) and speed bumps (high). The picture below shows the left rear height sensor fitted and connected. I have run the cables and tied them up so they are in the front with the air ride controller. I borrowed my friend Luke's workshop with 2 post lift so I could get right under the car. I started to get too many back, and shoulder pains. So I didn't get to fit the front ones. I have ordered a pop up tent to put on my driveway so I can work on my car without having to wait for good weather. That should come by the weekend so I can make some brackets and mount the front height sensors. The tent I have ordered is 4.5 x 3m (15 x 10 feet), so it will completely cover my car, and has 4 sides so I can easily get it in and out and make space all around. I am looking forward to this now. I have also fixed the rear bumper structure to the skins by drilling and screwing through. I covered the screw heads with filler, sanded them smooth and sprayed some primer. I was getting some rust bubbles appearing on both rea wheel arches, so I ground it back, ran a wire brush tool through it, treated with Jenolite, filled, sanded and sprayed this with some primer. I have ordered some red paint in a rattle can so I can go over these repairs. I shall get a proper painter to tidy up my work. Bodywork is my least favourite part of working on cars. I can never get it right... </span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o6wQScbIQ1A/WsKUuy62S5I/AAAAAAAABO4/EUbq1OSrQ1Q4PA51IIKIq4f-HbK3sYIUgCLcBGAs/s1600/probatron%2Bheight%2Bsensor%2Brear%2Bleft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o6wQScbIQ1A/WsKUuy62S5I/AAAAAAAABO4/EUbq1OSrQ1Q4PA51IIKIq4f-HbK3sYIUgCLcBGAs/s400/probatron%2Bheight%2Bsensor%2Brear%2Bleft.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<img height="96" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E4jc9bZ7F58/WsKUuqKGSPI/AAAAAAAABO0/x7tR-TBeOToEs_pOCe9ssLHjScj_iJTRQCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_2900.JPG" style="left: 398px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 219px;" width="72" />James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-11571689040746667882017-10-28T23:08:00.000+01:002017-10-28T23:29:28.884+01:00295:Saturday 28th October 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Over the last couple of weeks I have been fitting the Air suspension struts to sparky.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I borrowed a 2 post lift from my friend and neighbour Luke for a weekend. On Saturday 14th October 2017 I had my friend Trevor Harding helping immensely.</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s2ma6Rm0qiE/WfTuURiky4I/AAAAAAAABOE/l8jtLsNcq8McKxcr9qm8Juu5H2i8jwbJQCLcBGAs/s1600/low2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s2ma6Rm0qiE/WfTuURiky4I/AAAAAAAABOE/l8jtLsNcq8McKxcr9qm8Juu5H2i8jwbJQCLcBGAs/s640/low2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before we could get to the bolts we had to remove the trim panels in the back, but these were held down by the battery pack and it's racking. That was the first hour or so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The struts went on fairly easily with a bit of release oil on the threads. Setting up the bottom height was a matter of trial and error to start with. Our friend Duncan Thomas turned up later to see how it was going and helped run the air lines from the rear struts to the valve block at the front.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Sunday 14th October 2017, Duncan Thomas came along to help and we got the front struts fitted. After the experience of the rear struts, the front was easy, but ran out of time to do any setting for the bottom height. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While the drive battery was disconnected, the 12v system was getting no top up, and the battery wasn't great. When I cam to power up the compressor on Saturday it damaged the DC-DC converter so there was no recharging of the 12v system. I connected a mains charger to the 12v system on Sunday when we started and there was just enough juice to do the journey home. I had to order another DC-DC converter and I am still waiting for it to come from USA. </span><br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7jJthBh7_II/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7jJthBh7_II?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I saw an advert for some LED light strips for the rear lights and bought some from EBay. I fitted these and also installed a new electric aerial only to find I had 2 male connectors in the trunk. I have ordered an adapter with 2 female connector to join these together. That's something to watch out for when buying a universal fitting aerial.</span>James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-22672650386404746852017-09-10T01:01:00.001+01:002017-09-10T01:01:41.513+01:00294: Sunday 10th September 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since the last post the 2 cells in my battery pack that were suspect have officially died. I have remove them from the connections but kept them on the end of the pack to prevent the other batteries moving. I then disconnected the charger output and opened the case. Carefully with the power on, I adjusted the output voltage to the new lower voltage now that I was down to 36 cells. Put it all back together and all was working fine again. I have been using the car now for a while, but at first it was very low on acceleration even in 1st gear. After trying lots of different settings, I ran the optimization routine and then the power level was a lot better and the acceleration was good in 1st gear. Having less power than the old DC motor and controller was something I now getting used to. I have noticed that with just basic regen for throttle lift off, I am using much less capacity and I reckon the power usage is around 300 Wh/mile. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So now I'm up and running again I've switch my attention back to the air suspension. First I mounted the tank in the space where the old lead acid batteries used to be, then the compressor just under the left headlamp. I had to fabricate some brackets for this and I found that when I went to put the tank back after fitting the compressor, there was no room to fit an elbow on the end, so I made some brackets to move it over by 65mm.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the tank and compressor in place, the next job was to mount the valve block. When I tried to connect the air pie from the tank filter, it was difficult and was a tight bend to get across by the tank. I made some new brackets and raised it up about 50mm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next job was to wire it all up and make the air connections from the tank to the valve bock and the compressor to the tank. I ran the usb cable through to the inside of the car and threaded the motor controller usb cable through at the same time. on the front you can see the remote controller (wired). I could operate each valve successfully once the pressure in the tank had built up. I also tried my mobile phone app and that worked too. I noticed the pressure was dropping slowly, so I put some leak indicator on all the joints and found bubbles at the junction of the pressure switch and the adaptor for the tank. I took it apart and put some PTFE tape around the threads and fitted all back together, problem solved. I pressurized the system and watched the pressure drop again, but then it stabilized. I shall check it again in the morning. Next job is to run the pipes to each corner of the car and then fit the new air struts. These were adapted specifically for the Ford Probe so they should go straight on. Will need to drill some holes in the inner wings to run the pipes through unless I can loop them under as there are plastic wheel arch liners.</span></div>
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<br />James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-57615263605824036862017-08-09T21:37:00.000+01:002017-08-09T21:37:03.051+01:00293: Wednesday 9th August 2017<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No photos today, but good news I have my AC drive system running. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First time I powered up the system I had an error 18 (Severe B+ Overvoltage) flashing on the LEDs. I had already got the software and cable to configure the drive, so I thought I'd just go in and set it up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I couldn't find the cable...! I paid nearly £60 for this on eBay and turned the house and garage upside-down trying to find it before I reluctantly ordered another (another £60). It came quickly from Germany. I connected my laptop and after a bit of dialogue with the guy in Germany and a few windows registry settings changed, I could set parameters in the motor controller. This might be useful for others as the Curtis 1239e controller is still quite new. The hardware set-up has some slight differences with 1238. The reason I chose this model was the wide range of voltages (72v to 144v) that is can work with and the 12v control side that is not affected by the drive battery pack voltage. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So the error 18 was not due to overvoltage, but with the controller being configured with a low voltage, so I changed the battery pack setting to 121.6v and then the fault cleared. I linked out the interlock for the throttle and then I had a main contactor fault. This was preventing the main contactor from closing (error 39).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">At this point I went to enter the settings that I had been sent from Jeremy who sold me the motor and drive. The next problem was that I could not open the excel sheet. I tried everything and I was getting errors from windows. I went to work the next day and opened the file no problem on my pc at work, so I did a cheeky 'save as' in various excel version formats to my cloud drive at home. I printed a hard copy just in case. When I got home I decided to just use the hard copy and put the settings in the controller. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">When I keyed on with the new settings the contactor gave a nice click after the pre-charge had built up enough voltage at the capacitors on the B+ terminal. I then had an error 47 sequence fault. I wired the throttle switch to the interlock input and then the fault was still there. I used the input monitor screen to note the throttle min and max voltages and then entered these into the parameters. The fault code cleared.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">When I powered up there were no fault codes, so I checked the gearbox was in neutral and operated the throttle pot... Nothing...! I looked at the input on the screen and I could see the input for the throttle switch, but no input for forward or reverse. I checked the wiring and found I had omitted a connection to the forward and reverse relays for the signal supply. I had removed this from the circuit because my old DC drive had 120v control signals, so had a 120v supply to the relay contacts. I replaced this with the 12v supply and then I could see the input for the forward switch working on the screen and motor came to life. I checked the reverse input too. I put it into 3rd gear and gave the drive a little bump with the throttle to check the motor was turning the right way for the car to go forward. All o.k. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I noticed at this point that my battery monitor was showing extremely low on 2 of the bars. I check the individual batteries with my multi-meter and they were really low. I had suspected these 2 batteries of being faulty or damaged some time ago, but this was just from being left alone with the Anderson connector disconnected (no load), so they were self discharging somehow. Next job is to reconnect the charger and get everything bolted down and secured so I can go on the road.</span>James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-15693349280750746082017-06-24T21:48:00.000+01:002017-06-24T21:48:39.927+01:00292: Saturday 24th June 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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It's been a while since the brushes burnt out on my old DC motor and I started the change to AC. I had painted the new bracket for the rear motor mount and went out to fit all the brackets. I had forgotten to paint the modified driveshaft bearing support bracket. So I painted that and then spent some time tidying my tools away. I have been working on my kitchen at the weekends and spent one weekend in Dublin Ireland to see Kraftwerk live at the gas board theatre. Today I got back on the Probatron conversion. I needed to strike a compromise because I still have things to do with the house and the car, so I am doing car on Saturdays and House on Sundays until both are moved on. The picture below shows the new Curtis controller and my old DC-DC converter positioned on my old heat sink that I had for the Zapi controller.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8gL4Ho2mvOI/WU7Lg8aR_SI/AAAAAAAABMs/pHcZGUMEZOAanSiHPdbCdXsM5i50ShxqwCLcBGAs/s1600/curtis%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8gL4Ho2mvOI/WU7Lg8aR_SI/AAAAAAAABMs/pHcZGUMEZOAanSiHPdbCdXsM5i50ShxqwCLcBGAs/s640/curtis%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Had to do a bit of drilling and cutting the fins on the heat sink to get the bolt holes lined up on the controller. I also mounted the throttle brackets and fitted a new spring to the throttle box. I then mounted the whole assembly onto the car brackets. The controller was touching the brake pipes on the firewall, so I gave the pipes a tweak with a hammer and a block of wood then it bolted in just fine.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oB7-0-Yj2o8/WU7Lg3BdICI/AAAAAAAABMo/LrPzXdFhKL8b9zcieqtwdDHgjGcrAI81ACLcBGAs/s1600/curtis%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oB7-0-Yj2o8/WU7Lg3BdICI/AAAAAAAABMo/LrPzXdFhKL8b9zcieqtwdDHgjGcrAI81ACLcBGAs/s640/curtis%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-91518097859821443892017-05-12T09:49:00.000+01:002017-05-12T09:49:20.212+01:00291: Sunday 7th May 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last 2 weekends have been about changing from DC motor and controller to AC. I had the b</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">rushes burn out again around Easter time and I figure now is the time to change to AC (no brushes, better regen capabilities). The picture below shows the controller and charger removed with the old motor still in the car. Notice there is only a small gap between the motor and the body.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XCBnMcCbnHg/WRVrtNvnbwI/AAAAAAAABME/fWQRmVbQY5EGCZxsxdY8tVrfZis6nt9agCLcB/s1600/IMG_1475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XCBnMcCbnHg/WRVrtNvnbwI/AAAAAAAABME/fWQRmVbQY5EGCZxsxdY8tVrfZis6nt9agCLcB/s640/IMG_1475.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found a company in UK that had some HPEVS AC-50 motors and was able to get me a Curtis 1239 controller for a reasonable price. This works well with my existing 120v battery pack. This is a smaller motor than what I took out and also the controller is a lower rating, but the cost to get performance is too high. I found the low speed performance of the DC motor to be excessive for my journeys, but the AC system behaviour is so much more configurable with the Curtis controller.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TzIMGze7vco/WRVrtHc1BjI/AAAAAAAABMI/gx7rDA9y9Qgxul4ZWUkXhpki1I87seiNwCLcB/s1600/IMG_1480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TzIMGze7vco/WRVrtHc1BjI/AAAAAAAABMI/gx7rDA9y9Qgxul4ZWUkXhpki1I87seiNwCLcB/s640/IMG_1480.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The motor fixings were the same as the old motor including the 4 threaded bolt holes around the perimeter and the shaft size was the same. The only difference was the shaft was shorter. The old motor had an 11mm spacer to hold the taper lock hub off the motor. This provided the right geometry for the clutch to be in the correct position for the actuator. With no spacer, the hub was rubbing on the motor. With the 11mm spacer, the hub was hanging off the end of the motor shaft. Neither of these conditions was acceptable. My neighbour Luke has a friend who has a lathe in his garden workshop so we went to see him and he made the outer mounting ring 9mm shorter and made me a 2mm spacer This then gave the same distance as an 11mm spacer. You can see in the photo below the hub is lined up nicely with the end of the motor shaft. I had to cut the stepped key to match this length. I inserted the adapter bolts around the edge of the hub before locking the on the motor shaft. I then added the flywheel adapter, then the outer ring and bell housing adapter plate, then the flywheel and clutch in that order. I mounted The motor last Saturday with help from my friend Sandy</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nX48vrx_q7M/WRVrtFd3VGI/AAAAAAAABMM/KrUQ5gCxPt0xKxyMNHRKooYn6YPNGF4SQCLcB/s1600/IMG_1488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nX48vrx_q7M/WRVrtFd3VGI/AAAAAAAABMM/KrUQ5gCxPt0xKxyMNHRKooYn6YPNGF4SQCLcB/s640/IMG_1488.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The place where I got the motor from had some other bits that I paid a bit extra for such as wiring looms, shaft key, motor bolts, rear motor cover and this rear mounting bracket. At this stage as shown in the photo I was on my second attempt at marrying my old mount and this new one. I had cut off the bent part of the bracket as my first attempt was to add an extra 12mm of metal to bridge the gap difference with the old mount. I Decided to just use bigger angle section and replace the whole end of the new bracket. I had to cut another slot for the transducer cables on the back of the motor. The bracket is just tack welded in this here.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BYvH933LIFU/WRVrtjtPbFI/AAAAAAAABMQ/nozKC5xUM9o0LwkZVQGUUZTCr-TSdanLgCLcB/s1600/IMG_1492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BYvH933LIFU/WRVrtjtPbFI/AAAAAAAABMQ/nozKC5xUM9o0LwkZVQGUUZTCr-TSdanLgCLcB/s640/IMG_1492.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monday night I went with my neighbour Luke to his workshop where he MIG welded the joints, then went over them with a TIG welder to make them look neater as this will be on show. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">We added 2 triangles on the back and one on the front to provide extra strength and rigidity and help prevent any twisting. These were also MIG and TIG welded. I just need to give them a good coat of paint then it is ready to go back on. We also re-made the drive shaft bearing support bracket to fit this new motor set-up.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjRIArJW85Y/WRVrtlBOrfI/AAAAAAAABMU/KEk9WGr04KYRd4QUYRo71SiXKtmVUC7zgCLcB/s1600/IMG_1495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjRIArJW85Y/WRVrtlBOrfI/AAAAAAAABMU/KEk9WGr04KYRd4QUYRo71SiXKtmVUC7zgCLcB/s640/IMG_1495.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-10690245421118329502017-04-23T15:09:00.000+01:002017-04-23T17:51:47.686+01:00290: Sunday 23rd April 2017On my way home from work just before Easter and sparkie broke down with the motor arcing. Got the motor out today and 2 of the 8 brushes have gone and the rest are badly worn. I am going to take the plunge and change to AC. I'm going with a HPEVS AC-50 motor and a Curtis 1239-8501 at 120v. Also the taper lock was broken on the flywheel hub, so that explains the clonking when pulling away.James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-89159375298058192932017-04-04T13:33:00.004+01:002017-04-04T13:33:44.555+01:00289: Tuesday 4th April 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday my friend Sandy came round and helped me get the air receiver fitted for the air suspension system. The feet on the receiver almost exactly matched the rails they were going on to. I pulled out some 40mm L section mild steel and we made 2 brackets to fix to the rails. We then drilled holes in the sides of the brackets to bolt the receiver on and then offered it up to the rails to mark through the other holes. We then drilled the rails and fitted the tank to the car. Last job for Saturday was to paint the new brackets with smooth red Hammerite.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9ue2owth5fo/WOOQWuTmgXI/AAAAAAAABLg/v94glUw3e9gJnro5Zg3jgjQozqdjb6dogCLcB/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9ue2owth5fo/WOOQWuTmgXI/AAAAAAAABLg/v94glUw3e9gJnro5Zg3jgjQozqdjb6dogCLcB/s640/006.JPG" width="480" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday Morning I bolted the receiver tank. In the the photo below you can see it in the car nice and secure. Next job is to make a bracket to mount the compressor pump and valve block.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eCu2rvqvkqY/WOOQW1rqZkI/AAAAAAAABLk/7n9YeoaT-BQ2GpHJBRj3hjm1hbkmaAYLACLcB/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eCu2rvqvkqY/WOOQW1rqZkI/AAAAAAAABLk/7n9YeoaT-BQ2GpHJBRj3hjm1hbkmaAYLACLcB/s640/007.JPG" width="480" /></span></a></div>
James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-74052290163131091382017-03-31T11:08:00.000+01:002017-03-31T11:10:40.378+01:00288: Friday 31st March 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last Saturday I set out to make space for the Air suspension equipment. The main space is needed for the Air Tank that is about 550mm x 260mm diameter. Also need to mount the compressor and the air management valve block. I took out the old battery racks that were left over from when I had lead-acid batteries in the front of the car. I had to put his back so it was supporting the front slam panel for the hood. This is not a very strong panel and I had to cut the original mount to get batteries in there. So with a basic frame prepared I moved the Anderson Connector, Current shunt and wooden mount, brake vacuum pump and the gauge driver circuit as well as re-routing the cables. The Air Tank drops in right on the frame (by luck) so I just need to make some brackets to fix it down.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IiNOzvF93qQ/WN4l5IKE6mI/AAAAAAAABLM/OQFkmRAexmoO8vfuFAo0XpPFaa5PYBgKgCLcB/s1600/iphone%2B014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IiNOzvF93qQ/WN4l5IKE6mI/AAAAAAAABLM/OQFkmRAexmoO8vfuFAo0XpPFaa5PYBgKgCLcB/s640/iphone%2B014.JPG" width="480" /></span></a></div>
<br />James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-47402604315163980402017-03-20T14:15:00.000+00:002017-03-20T14:18:40.200+00:00287:Monday 20th March 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Been busy this last few weekends. I got a new head unit. I had to remove the display from the places for the centre console air vents and perform some serious surgery. I cut out the front panel so there was space to see the whole of the 7 inch touch screen. and get to the volume knob. I used a soldering iron and a file to fold the edge of the plastic over where I had cut through. It was a tricky operation that I wouldn't want to repeat. I had to cut out the vent duct from behind the unit too. I used the cradle from my old head unit and with some cutting and bending I fashion a bracket for the new unit to sit in. I had a couple of looms already I used to make a new loom for connecting to the probe. The problem is that the euro connector wants to connect speaker outputs to line inputs on the Probe pre-amplifier. The head unit had RCA Phone output on it so I soldered RCA phone connectors to the loom and connected straight onto the head unit. The previous head unit only had 2 phono outputs so I had to join front and rear together. this one had 4, so no problem. Sounds so much better. I need to replace the rear speakers, but I have some from a Ford Cougar that fit correctly and shouldn't fall apart like the last ones.</div>
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With the new head unit in I have been driving round for the last 2 weeks with no battery monitoring displays. This made me a bit nervous, but I just gave myself an extra safety margin on the distance and stuck to it. Yesterday I finished mounting the displays and it's all back together now. I just need some clips to hold the front panel in as they are missing and it springs out slightly, but will push in very easily with the clips. I used layers of hardboard to make a mount that the displays fit into.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ofrcx2tlT3A/WM_ZHO6Y_jI/AAAAAAAABKw/a5p5HuESb18Oh97j47MVcZFzh7AmXz0iACLcB/s1600/iphone%2B002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ofrcx2tlT3A/WM_ZHO6Y_jI/AAAAAAAABKw/a5p5HuESb18Oh97j47MVcZFzh7AmXz0iACLcB/s640/iphone%2B002.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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The layers were glued together and place under a car battery while we went to watch my daughter play football and win 5-0...!<br />
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Then the felt was stuck on to make it look OK for fitting in the front panel.<br />
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The displays were secured using screws with washers around the edges on the small touch screen and some specially made clamps for the JLD 404 unit.<br />
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The whole face panel was then fitted back in the centre console. I needed to do some shaving inside to get the JLD 404 in so it was not being pushed sideways. I also had to mount the stop button and the 'forward / reverse' switch on the top of the dash. The gear shift was in the way of the JLD 404 when I was in 3rd gear (normal) so I have to look round it. I cannot think of another way to get all this in. Driving in 2nd gear just feels weird. I might have to find a way of shortening the gear lever. It's another job to add to the list.<br />
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Finally I have got my air-ride kit and that is the next job. I have opted for the more expensive kit with the ride management so I can preset heights and operate the suspension from my phone from outside the car. I tried to install the android app onto my head unit, but the manufacturer reckons I have the wrong version of blue tooth. I shall try a side loader, see if I can get it in and maybe it will work. Worst case it won't work and I'll just use the controller that came with it. The control panel looks like an iPhone...James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-20238201033586750072016-08-29T14:41:00.001+01:002016-08-29T14:41:59.887+01:00286: Monday 29th August 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been nearly a whole year since I last posted. I haven't had much to say as everything has just been working o.k. I cannot stress enough about how much better the the Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are than Lead acid. Yes they cost a lot of money, but now it is easy to buy a second hand electric car and get the battery from it as well as the drive motor, controller, all the connectors etc. I want to try and transplant a Nissan leaf into a Jeep Wrangler TJ. I want to keep as much of the Nissan as possible including the instruments. Nice project and used Nissan Leafs are quite cheap now relatively. This is much cheaper than buying all the parts. I paid about the same price for my latest batteries as I could get a whole car for now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have added a tow hook that was originally from a VW transporter. Chose this one as it has a particularly long hook so the bracket is well behind the body kit. My friend cut the cross member so I could get the hook and the thread for it to go into. I ended only keeping the thread itself and making the rest of the bracket from 6x40mm angle section.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ap6G9LAIiUQ/V8Qx3r2np5I/AAAAAAAABJg/m0o457yRzEsQ9YefiGKydL4HP2UCOuy2QCLcB/s1600/tow%2Bhook1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ap6G9LAIiUQ/V8Qx3r2np5I/AAAAAAAABJg/m0o457yRzEsQ9YefiGKydL4HP2UCOuy2QCLcB/s320/tow%2Bhook1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I took a grinder to the front cross member to get some bare metal and welded the new bracket to it. Now if I get a problem I can get a simple recovery. The last few times I had to get a low-loader truck out to get me home. All those were due to problems with Lead acid batteries.</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iUDwDxUj-x4/V8Qx5qT15oI/AAAAAAAABJk/_-6qzH1jixYZM0jAUjBnTJolREKia4VQgCLcB/s1600/tow%2Bhook2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iUDwDxUj-x4/V8Qx5qT15oI/AAAAAAAABJk/_-6qzH1jixYZM0jAUjBnTJolREKia4VQgCLcB/s320/tow%2Bhook2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went to pick my Daughter up last night and I had to do a U turn at the bottom of the road and the fuses blew on the power steering. I had to drive home without it and the steering was very heavy as I have quite wide tyres. I had a circuit breaker to replace the fuses, but never got round to fitting it, so today I rewired the power steering and put the new circuit breaker in. All is working again now. </span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dND3Ffj_oJk/V8Qx8nLhfbI/AAAAAAAABJo/qy467fBzH2wc_yGCxchnhQYZv-sDXWF0QCLcB/s1600/circuit%2Bbreaker.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dND3Ffj_oJk/V8Qx8nLhfbI/AAAAAAAABJo/qy467fBzH2wc_yGCxchnhQYZv-sDXWF0QCLcB/s320/circuit%2Bbreaker.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now the towing hook is done and I have the USA type headlight covers, I am ready to revisit the bodywork to get ready for paint. Before that happens, air suspension is going on so I can avoid speed humps and kerbs, and slam it down when I park for a bit of extra coolness. Plans for the instruments include a new battery monitoring system that works via Bluetooth and an Android app, so I want to mount an android head unit. and also move the JLD 404 instrumentation and hence the forward/reverse switch and stop button.</span>James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-76217852523629031102015-08-31T22:35:00.000+01:002015-08-31T22:40:38.704+01:00285: Monday 31st August 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
After getting the motor back on I was wanting some more instruments. I ordered this circuit from ZEVA in Australia some time ago that is specifically for driving normal car gauges. I used an existing bolt hole to mount the circuit.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aHkXqSAe2wc/VeTBwH2DKfI/AAAAAAAABII/AUpZ7BuWstc/s1600/probatron%2Bgauge%2Bdriver1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aHkXqSAe2wc/VeTBwH2DKfI/AAAAAAAABII/AUpZ7BuWstc/s400/probatron%2Bgauge%2Bdriver1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It took me about an hour to find the best spot taking into account that it needed to be away from any splashes, need to be able to access the trimmers to adjust the settings and be able to pass the main power cable through the sensor. I also needed to provide a 12v supply to the circuit and feeds for the gauges.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kjm8BAy54xM/VeTByXW9_7I/AAAAAAAABIQ/aq5pZwtimMk/s1600/probatron%2Bgauge%2Bdriver2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kjm8BAy54xM/VeTByXW9_7I/AAAAAAAABIQ/aq5pZwtimMk/s400/probatron%2Bgauge%2Bdriver2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The circuit is the plus version that drives the car fuel gauge, but this plus version also drives the rev counter showing Amps x 100, so my rev counter was reading 0 to 800 amps. So far I've only hit 700 Amps for a fraction of a second.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7CLME_BpnWo/VeTB07vM84I/AAAAAAAABIY/FGJCL3nuOBE/s1600/probatron%2Bgauge%2Bdriver3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7CLME_BpnWo/VeTB07vM84I/AAAAAAAABIY/FGJCL3nuOBE/s400/probatron%2Bgauge%2Bdriver3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The photos show the circuit, the mounting position and it's location in the car respectively. It is behind the main connector and one of the headlamps. The area was dry and it has been raining hard recently, so it is all good. I shall make a cover for it as well. The rev counter works really well and reads a little bit lower than the JLD 404, but the fuel gauge doesn't work in a linear way. That may be because the original fuel gauge sender was perhaps logarithmic instead of linear so what I get is the gauge, when full, drops very quickly at first and slows down as more capacity is used. It will take some getting used to, but I Like the idea of a simple gauge to check capacity so I can monitor overall voltage on the JLD 404 and eventually on the battery monitor circuit. That's one of my next jobs, to connect the battery monitor circuit back up so I can view groups of 4 batteries, then add some more analogue measurement boards to give me all 38 batteries. At least now all the batteries are together in the trunk, so wiring them all in will be easier. Then a posh cover for the batteries to top off the trunk.</div>
James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-60704943082342386552015-08-29T00:25:00.001+01:002015-08-29T00:25:19.158+01:00284: Friday 28th August 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Much better this week. I got the Jeep on the road so I had some wheels. I got a replacement battery for free as it was still quite new. That meant I could give my wife her Focus back. Still need to fix the axle on the Jeep though. On the Probatron I had my motor commutator skimmed and it was still noisy, so I had new bearings fitted and a shim to push the armature away from the brush boxes. Spent this afternoon getting the motor back on and the arcing noise has gone and the motor is performing like new. It is an absolute joy to drive again. I feel so relieved to have him back on the road. The charger with its mods was working fine and I can finally put my first charge into the Lithium battery pack. Now I can determine the range with some test drives. The JLD 404 will be my gauge as I haven't fitted the gauge driver circuit yet. I have ordered a rear license plate as the current one looks terrible where the screws have rusted and it has stained the plate.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWYcbTmbOjA/UavcVZK6oZI/AAAAAAAAA44/AA-l9JEz6pI/s1600/car%2Bstuff%2B005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWYcbTmbOjA/UavcVZK6oZI/AAAAAAAAA44/AA-l9JEz6pI/s400/car%2Bstuff%2B005.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-32172929813370635432015-08-24T02:20:00.002+01:002015-08-24T02:20:31.841+01:00283: Sunday 24th August 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
The last 2 weeks have been up and down. First I got to run with Lithium batteries. The batteries I had before were weak and I had damaged 2 recently leaving me stuck at the roadside, so I had to be careful with my driving and not load the batteries too much. During the last few months I have been getting motor noises. I have had clicking from the brushes, howling from the bearings and crackling from arcing. All of these are bad noises. After dressing the commutator with a comm stick and fitting new brushes the clicking got quieter, but the arcing was still there.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XgBs5zqABmU/VdpjnY0zjzI/AAAAAAAABHY/TqdBVspvLQE/s1600/probatron%2Bnew%2Blights%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XgBs5zqABmU/VdpjnY0zjzI/AAAAAAAABHY/TqdBVspvLQE/s400/probatron%2Bnew%2Blights%2B3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I took the motor off again and had a local company lined up to repair it. They estimated one price, but then came back with a figure over £1000 and that was almost as much as a new motor. I asked for it back and was asked to pay £250 for testing and told this was to cover re-assembly etc. I got back the motor in bits with a broken taperlock hub and bush, and 1 brush and some brush springs missing. I eventually got all the bits back. I didn't pay any money to them. I then went to a long established motor rewinders who had the commutator skimmed for a reasonable price and advised that it may not cure the arcing, but to try it to see what needs doing next. I re-assembled the motor and the clicking is almost non-existent due to the professional skimming, but the brush box was arcing onto the side of the armature. This appeared to be due to the bearings as the armature was shifted over. I shall be looking to get a spacer fitted with new bearing to ensure there is always a good gap between the brush boxes and the armature. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8h_deSkA6pY/VdpjqG7g5iI/AAAAAAAABHg/Qu5UBNOV0G4/s1600/probatron%2Bnew%2Blights%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8h_deSkA6pY/VdpjqG7g5iI/AAAAAAAABHg/Qu5UBNOV0G4/s400/probatron%2Bnew%2Blights%2B2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I could see when I pushed the armature, there was no arcing. I am not sure if this will cure the arcing under full load, but I suspect it is a good candidate for the cause. When the bearings were re-assembled onto the commutator a circlip was missed off and when I re-assembled the motor there was no bearing noise. When I was seeing the arcing I thought it was due to the bearing moving because there was no circlip, so I pulled the bearing off again, fitted it into the end plate with the circlip and fitted this back onto the armature. The armature was then close to the brush boxes, I struck the end of the shaft to push further into the bearing and the gap was then good. When I ran the motor, the howling had returned and when I turned it by hand it was possible to feel a rumbling in the bearings. I suspect this is where the howling is coming from, so I shall now get new bearings fitted and a spacer on the rear bearing to resist any lateral shift of the armature towards the brush boxes. This is a problem if I used the clutch pedal as it pushes against the flywheel and hence the motor shaft. The spacer only needs to be about 2mm, so a nice thick washer will do just fine. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B3Ot5C6G_PE/VdpjsBl7mMI/AAAAAAAABHo/9_khWyxw7LA/s1600/probatron%2Bnew%2Blights%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B3Ot5C6G_PE/VdpjsBl7mMI/AAAAAAAABHo/9_khWyxw7LA/s400/probatron%2Bnew%2Blights%2B1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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At the same time I have been trying to fix my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee that has a noisy front axle. I took the axle off and inspected the differential. I saw a load of slack in the pinion gears, but no damage. In doing this I found the right wheel bearing had a horrible grumbling feel to it. I ordered a new hub and a socket for the hub nut, changed it over and spent half of today putting the axle back on the car. I took it for a drive and the noise is still there. Also the battery was dead so I had to get a jump and this did not take a charge. So now I need to use my wife's Ford Focus to get to work. I came into this weekend hoping to get 2 cars back on the road, and came out of it with none. So I fitted the new lights I got to the back of the Probatron and I am happy that something has gone to plan.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjiDNgJk8sA/VdpjvggV__I/AAAAAAAABHw/SCY9VhxY15w/s1600/probatron%2Bnew%2Blights%2B4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjiDNgJk8sA/VdpjvggV__I/AAAAAAAABHw/SCY9VhxY15w/s400/probatron%2Bnew%2Blights%2B4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I am looking forward to getting the motor working right so I can continue with my upgrades and get the body ready for paint again. I am getting close now to where I want the Probatron to be. Oh and a new license plate.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ut4GH8GCQYU/VdpjyD8I2jI/AAAAAAAABH4/niIj4WHWYDQ/s1600/probatron%2Bnew%2Blights%2B5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ut4GH8GCQYU/VdpjyD8I2jI/AAAAAAAABH4/niIj4WHWYDQ/s400/probatron%2Bnew%2Blights%2B5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-19498803848634453862015-08-06T22:43:00.003+01:002015-08-06T22:43:46.093+01:00282: Thursday 6th August 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
I had this week off work (and next week) so that I could do some upgrades indoors and get the Lithium batteries in and working in the Probatron. I spent time yesterday finishing of the connectors. They needed to be drilled and ground to remove burrs. Today I made the hold down bars, mounted the batteries and connected them together. Tomorrow I shall switch the connections from the old batteries and give it a run on Lithium for the first time. I sent my Zivan NG3 charger back on Friday to have the processor changed so it can charge Lithium and to have a disable link added so I can use my JLD404 to cut the charger if the voltage gets too high. After that I want to revert my instrument cluster back to original and add the gauge driver circuit I got from ZEVA in Australia. This will make my fuel gauge show state of charge and the rev counter show instantaneous Amps x 100.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rE_uZlR8vJc/VcPQ72jOusI/AAAAAAAABHE/LALSoNsrgbM/s1600/batteries%2Bconnections.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rE_uZlR8vJc/VcPQ72jOusI/AAAAAAAABHE/LALSoNsrgbM/s400/batteries%2Bconnections.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-16329404201954254092015-06-15T19:14:00.000+01:002015-06-15T19:14:21.533+01:00281: Monday 15th June 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spent the last couple of weeks getting the battery rack prepared to take the lithium batteries. First attempt bowed a lot due to only having flat steel bar to support the batteries. I had an idea this would happen, but it was much worse than I expected. I welded some angle to the underside of the flat bars and it is good and strong now.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WRZzlE-FJNA/VX8SCWW8K-I/AAAAAAAABGk/Hpd2l-0ywJ8/s1600/battery%2Brack2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WRZzlE-FJNA/VX8SCWW8K-I/AAAAAAAABGk/Hpd2l-0ywJ8/s400/battery%2Brack2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mounted everything up and loaded the batteries on. They were a good snug fit and needed "persuading" to get the last battery in. I have painted the rack and welded a couple more brackets on to hold it down as it was resting on them before and was causing a rattle when driving. Now to load the rack back in the car, bolt it down then make a load of connector strips from the copper bar I have. I also need to make the hold down straps to go across the top. I shall use some 25mm angle (5mm thick) to hold the batteries down. I had to get smaller section than the 40mm used on the rack so that it can run between the terminals without any possibility of touching and causing a short circuit anywhere. I shall also use the tie downs to carry some trunking to run wires for the battery monitoring system. Still loads to do.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eRlDv9kLqNA/VX8SFdamIaI/AAAAAAAABGs/7sDD9Znw1w0/s1600/batteries%2Bin%2Bcar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eRlDv9kLqNA/VX8SFdamIaI/AAAAAAAABGs/7sDD9Znw1w0/s400/batteries%2Bin%2Bcar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5650090040105174963.post-79420267730270091472015-05-30T22:29:00.000+01:002015-05-30T22:29:42.308+01:00280: Saturday 30th May 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Spent last weekend and a few hours during the week trying to get the racks made for the lithium batteries to go in the trunk. I shall sell off the lead acid batteries to people doing solar projects and alike. It's quite a tight fit, but I can get all 38 batteries in one place. This will make the loading more balanced. Once I have removed the lead acid batteries from the front I can use the space for the hydraulic suspension pump accumulators and valves etc. Also started getting noises from my motor again. When I release the throttle pedal I get regen braking. It is possibly a stuck relay, but this was disabled to reduce arcing on the motor brushes. I shall replace the brushes and try to figure out where the logic is failing on the regen control. Sparky has been on the road and electric for over 5 years now. We have completed 15000 miles of electric driving. Apart from the batteries, I have had to repair the motor when the brushes wore out and damaged the commutator. Otherwise it has been really reliable.</div>
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James Killickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12967071910226593841noreply@blogger.com0