ELECTRIC CAR PROJECT 9311 DIARY, JAN 96
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1/1/96
Removed engine compartment parts as one unit. Located and drilled
holes in side and back pieces and in floor plates. Installed side
and back pieces. Removed side and back pieces and then installed in
car. Side pieces fit fine but back piece didn't. Top of ends hit the
bead of the rubber seal. Modified ends to slope down to height of
the side pieces starting 1-1/2" from the end. Fits fine, now.
1/2/96
Located and drilled the wire holes in battery boxes. All was going
well until the last hole where a big chunk of wood split out. On the
previous hole the bit had hit a screw and was damaged but I did not
notice it. This is what caused the wood to split. Filled the damaged
areas and empty screw hole with plastic wood.
1/3/96
Made the cable that goes from the front battery negative terminal to
the breaker. Punched two 1-5/32" holes in right-side rear seat just
below the battery rack and outside of the path of the existing cable
bundle. Daubed edges of holes with primer. Covered holes with tape
inside car and undercoated from outside. Installed grommets.
1/4/96
Completed the rest of the high current wires except for the short
jumpers inside of the battery boxes. Have 4" of wire left. Must get
more. Ordered heatsink. Is bigger than the controller so will mount
controller with flat head 1/4" bolts. Also ordered some Thermalcote
heat sink compound.
1/5/96
Went to Welders Supply and got 12' of 2/0 wire. The insulation on
this wire is about half as thick as that on the other wire. Also
stopped at True Value (Georgetown) and got some cable ties and
related stuff.
1/6/96
Disassembled starter motor so can use for tachometer pickup someday.
1/16/96
Installed cable ties on the power cables inside the car and engine
compartment. Installed three nylon clamps. One behind the foot pedal
area and one each at the front and rear of the cable run along the
right side of the tunnel. The clamps attached with #10 self tapping
screws with lockwashers. The clamp locations were chosen so that the
screws did not penetrate outside of the car into the weather. Next,
will reinstall the underlayment and carpet on the front of the rear
seat area.
1/17/96
Installed circuit breaker. Added another cable clamp behind driver
side floorboard. Repositioned existing cable clamp behind driver
side floorboard lower. Removed wires to defrost light (which was
previously removed) on the tunnel. Routed red #12 wire from charger
along the 2/0 wires to rear of car. Trimmed driver side floor board
a bit and reinstalled. Reinstalled front carpeting.
1/18/96
Contemplated installation of the pot box and throttle cable.
1/19/96
Got some more 8" cable ties. Got some more #12 red wire. Got some
1/16" cable ferrules and a swaging tool at Spencer Aircraft for use
on throttle cable.
1/20/96
Routed the 2/0 wires in the front compartment and applied cable ties
and three nylon clamps. Tightened the terminal nuts on the breaker.
Removed the carpets and floorboards. Spliced and extended the red
#12 wire into engine compartment to the main contactor positive
terminal. Cut the connector off one fan cord and spliced the cord to
another fan cord. Routed this fan cord from the right side of rear
battery box along the red #12 wire into the front compartment.
1/21/96
Made a bracket out of aluminum sheet for securing the pot box end of
the throttle cable. It snaps into a square hole. Using a piece of
1/4" plywood, located and mounted the throttle cable bracket and the
pot box. Installed the throttle cable and connected it to the pot
box. Cut a piece of 1-1/4" angle iron and drilled holes in it for
mounting it in the car. Drilled matching holes in the plywood and
the angle iron.
1/22/96
While revising the wiring diagram, noticed that motor terminals were
labeled incorrectly. Oops! Corrected the wiring diagram. Removed the
right-side engine compartment floor plate. Countersank the mounting
holes for the controller and contactor. Drilled a new hole for #10
screw to move shunt forward. Installed the shunt, controller and
contactor. Modified the cable connecting M- to the shunt for the new
shunt location. The existing cable connecting the shunt to S1 worked
with the new shunt location. Need to make a new cable to connect the
contactor output to A1. Connected the contactor output to B+ with a
copper strap. Installed the pot box assembly in car and routed
throttle cable to bellcrank. Made a "link" to connect throttle cable
to the bellcrank. Did not connect the cable to bellcrank. The cable
will have to be shortened.
1/23/96
Fabricated the pot/relay assembly mounting plate. Fabricated the
transmission throttle cable bracket. Removed the rear battery rack
backer plates, applied RTV around the edges and bolt holes and
reinstalled. Cut the inner and outer jackets of the throttle cable
to length. The outer jacket is rubber (?) and fits loosely over the
inner jacket which is a fairly stiff plastic with steel (?) wires
embedded it it. Installed a Nico sleeve and formed loop in cable.
Removed the pot box and the throttle cable bracket from the plywood
sheet without disconnecting the cable. Located and drilled holes in
the pot/relay assembly mounting plate. Mounted the pot box and the
throttle cable bracket. Installed the assembly in the car. Attached
the throttle cable to the link and swaged the Nico sleeve. Clamped
the throttle cable to the bracket on the transmission with a rubber
covered steel clamp. Secured the outer jacket to the inner jacket at
the pot box end with a hose clamp. It all seems to work but may need
a spring at the pot box. In the final installation, secure the
throttle cable where it crosses over the wire bundle with a cable
tie or two.
1/24/96
Removed unused left over hardware from the left side of the engine
compartment including three rubber mounts. Two of these had hardened
as split. Now have three holes opening into the wheel well. Made and
installed copper strap from S2 to A2. Reinstalled right floor plate
with controller et al attached and made a new A1 to contactor output
cable. Removed floor plate et al. Removed pot/relay assembly and
disassembled. Made a cutout in the pot/relay assembly mounting plate
for the installation of connector 84.
1/25/96
In the pot/relay assembly mounting plate: Drilled holes for mounting
the relays and for a cable tie to secure connector 84. Unmounted the
controller, contactor and shunt from the floor plate. Controller,
contactor and shunt weigh 16 pounds. Removed all engine compartment
hardware in preparation to taking to Industrial Plating. Aluminum
parts weigh 22 pounts. Angle iron parts weigh 7.5 pounds.
1/27/96
Plugged the three holes on the left side of engine compartment using
rubber washers sandwiched between fender washers. Removed the 3/8"
hardware used to plug the oil tank attachment holes on the right
side of the engine compartment and replaced it with rubber expansion
mounts. Undercoated. Plugged big hole at rear end of tunnel the same
way but did not undercoat because outside is inaccessible. Not sure
if this hole was used for something or not. Installed boot on the
clutch cable.
1/29/96
Painted pot/relay assembly mounting plate and transmission throttle
bracket with Chassis Black paint. Didn't seem to stick. Removed.
1/30/96
Primed pot/relay assembly mounting plate. Painted with flat black
paint. Picked up stuff from Industrial Plating.