Road Report

It's been about two weeks since I have the car back on the road after the front end rebuild.

It drives almost like a new car. I am particularily impressed with the Bilstein shocks. The ride is "Euro-Firm." I like it: It reminds me of my last Audi i.e., great road feel and very positive steering. It also helped to get the lower anti-roll bar reinstalled, along with the upper strut tower support fixture. (I have to ask myself: "Why didn't I do this sooner?")

Next project will be headlights and heater.

Work-In-Progress

As of today, I have one side completed. I would have been done, but discovered yesterday that one upper strut bearing plate was worn beyond limits. No one in town carries the part so it was ordered thru Schuck's Auto Parts. It will be here Monday AM. (I endorse Schuck's. They are very responsive to parts orders.)

A Bilstein performance strut assembly ... The Best!

New driveshaft/CV joint assembly. Both left and right were replaced.

Upon initial build of the car, I did not attach the upper stabilizer bar because it interferred with the mounting plates for the DC/DC converter, the main contactor and the throttle pot. I trimmed down the mounting plates and now the bar fits. (I put a lot of work into getting a great paint job on the bar.)

Here is a pix of the strut assembly installed in the right side of the car. The springs are not stock, but custom wound units designed to handle the added battery weight AND lower the car about 1-1/2" (38 mm)

A new ball joint.

Time-Out

The V-Dub is down for a little maintenance. It has been very reliable transportation for me for over 3000 miles, since the conversion was completed almost exactly one year ago.

Last night, while driving to town, I heard a very distinctive "grinding" sound. I had a very good idea what it was: The CV joints. I knew they needed replacing, even when I first started to drive the car after conversion, last year. In fact, I have had the replacement drive shafts/CV joints on hand for several months, waiting until "I felt like" replacing them. I now "feel like it!" Today, I started the disassembly of the front end and will do the following repairs:

* Replace both drive shafts and CV joints. (Interesting note: The shafts I have had for several months are the wrong ones! Fortunately, I have the original receipt and can exchange for the correct ones.)

* I discovered that the wheel bearing on the left-front wheel was totally worn out. I'll replace that, along with the right-front, just as a preventing measure.

* The right-front steering tie-rod end will be replaced. (It was actually OK, but got a little "banged-up" during removal.)

* Both front strut cartridges (shock absorbers) will be replaced. I bought new ones when I did the conversion, but they failed almost immediately. (That's what you get for trying to save a buck ... even though they were advertised as "performance.")

* I have had a tachometer adapter for almost a year, but never installed it because it takes a little drilling into the transmission case. I'll get that done this time.

* Since I do a lot of driving at night, I need to do some work on the headlights. The wiring is old, resulting in less than optimum light output. They also need to be re-aimed.

That's probably enough work for this cycle. This winter, I'll catch up on a few more improvements/repairs. The major deferred project is a heater!

Watch this blog for photos and updates as the work progresses.

I'm Getting A Charge Out Of You

This is the Manzanita Micro PFC-20 Charger that I have installed in the truck of the VW. The "AMPS" control sets the charging current. I have marked two positions: 15 AMPS (for charging from a normal 120V household outlet) and a 20 AMP position, which it is currently set at. (I have a dedicated 20 AMP circuit in the barn.) If I used the 20 AMP position for "away from home" charging, I would probably trip the circuit breaker ... NOT a good way to impress friends and neighbors!

These are the controls for adjusting the time the charger "floats" the battery pack after charging. This is to balance the sixteen batteries in the pack.

The left arrow points to the rotary switch that lets you "guess" what the balance/float time is. It is a 16-position rotary switch with no hint as to timing except to state that the "three o'clock position" is zero time ... it's kind of a "try it and see" approach. (This could be improved.) This is why I'm using the recording chart device to monitor the times.

The right row of switches (installed upside-down ... intentionally, I guess for assembly convenience) selects the various charge/float options. The #1 switch ON, as I have selected, selects the option for the balance/float to start as soon as the charger senses the pack has reached the selected charge voltage.

A vintage Omega chart recorder that I bought on eBay, several years ago. This is the first real application that I have used it in. Works great!
Here is the latest recording that I made after after an eighteen mile trip to Pullman and back. You can see that the charge time was 3.5 hours, followed by an approximate one hour very low power balance/float.

With the current cost of electricity here, the total trip cost would have been approximately TWENTY CENTS! I say: "Would have been," because our solar electric system is currently generating MORE power than it takes to recharge the car. We get free "gas" and what's left over, we sell back to the power company! What's better than that?
See -> http://rjrenergy.blogspot.com

(CLICK pictures for a larger image)

Free Ticket To Ride

What's better than an electric convertible ride on a warm spring day?

What IS better is when the cool ride is powered by energy from the sun.

Vacuum Brakes Revisted

March 5, 2008

The weather is finally improving and it's actually getting up to 50 deg. (f) during the day. We still have snow laying around in the shaded areas, but it's about gone. Even the fields are starting to green up.

I'm starting to drive the car again, so I decided I better upgrade and reactivate the power brake system. It's not too bad driving with no brake booster, but I think it would be hard to lock up a wheel in an emergency stop. Also, since I'm letting others drive it occasionally, it's sort of a safety issue.

What I did was replace the vacuum switch (the switch that starts and stops the vacuum pump) with a much better switch from EV Parts. It's adjustable. Next, at the suggestion of several members on the EVDL (Electric Vehicle Discussion List) I put a "surge protector" in series with the vacuum pump motor. (The protector is a ten ohm thermistor.) What the thermistor does is cause the vacuum pump to do a "soft start," which is much more "gentlemanly like."

The system is working good and is now virtually unobtrusive ... and it hold vacuum quite well.

UPDATE: January 9, 2008

Project Temporarily Suspended!

Two trucks ... I thought there was only one? Well, the second one, the silver one, was a gift! It has no engine, but the body is very nice. Between the two, I should be able to make ONE very nice electric S10.

Double The Fun

With this posting, I'll begin covering a second vehicle scheduled for conversion from ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) to electric. The "new" (and I use that term loosely!) vehicle is a 1988 Chevrolet S10 pickup. The engine doesn't run very well, which doesn't much matter, but the body and transmission seem pretty sound. The interior is definitely a candidate for a total rehab, in fact it looks so shabby that I won't even show a photo ... It's that bad!

Yesterday, while driving into town, I spotted this beauty sitting by the side of the road with a FOR SALE sign on it. Since I've been looking for an S10 for my next project, I stopped to take a look. The price was $400, which included a truck bed full of trash! (I made the trip to the county dump, this morning, to discharge the junk.) What ... a buy?

More than likely, the truck will sit under cover for a while, until I get time to start the project.

VW: I have the replacement battery installed, charged and ready to go. The rebuilt vacuum brake booster, along with a new master cylinder has also been installed. One problem that still exists is the short cycling ON/OFF of the electric vacuum brake booster pump. It's not as serious as it was before I replaced the vacuum booster, but still slightly objectionable. I'm thinking that It may be the vacuum switch is too "sensitive." I will do some testing on that issue next week.

Last minute update: Sunday, Nov 18, 2007:

I put a vacuum guage on the brake booster assembly and discovered that the problem is, in fact, a vacuum switch that is not well adjusted. (Unfortunately, there are are no user adjustments.) The switch, upon reaching the desired vacuum level, rather than shutting the pump OFF, rapidly switches between ON and OFF, causing the power relay to chatter and the pump to short-cycle. I ordered a new and different vacuum switch today. I am confident the problem will be solved.

UPDATE: November 2, 2007

The V-Dub hasn't moved for several weeks ... no change from the prior report. There are a couple of reasons for this:

First, I recently spent two weeks in a solar energy school learning all about installing solar power and hot water systems. This is just the beginning of my new business in solar construction. Because of the time away, I haven't had time to do the work that I wanted to get done ... like installing a heater!

Next, one of my new batteries developed a leak around a terminal and required a warrantee replacement. Unfortunately, since the batteries are not typical, it had to be a special order. It is expected to be here later this week.

I really miss driving the car, especially now with gas over $3 a gallon!

(See --> http://www.RJRsolar.com In case you're curious: RJR is for R J Ranch; the "R" for Roger and the "J" for Jacquie.)

UPDATE: October 9, 2007

The car is going out of service for awhile, while I do some minor repairs and updates. Included will be:

• I have one battery that has a bad seal on the terminal and needs replacing.
• I will be replacing the leaking brake vacuum booster with a new/rebuilt unit. Because the old unit has a vacuum leak, the vacuum pump keeps rapidly cycling ON/OFF. For this reason, I've disconnected the pump ... and have been driving with no brake boost. It's actually no big problem, but does require a strong foot and leg.
• I will be adding recording thermocouples to the drive motor and controller. They aren't needed, but I like to play around with that stuff.
• I will be adding a tachometer interface unit that (hopefully) will be able to drive the existing VW tachometer. The unit "counts" the revolving teeth on the flywheel starter ring and converts that information to pulses used to drive the VW tachometer.
• I will be changing the rear brakes from the original drum brakes to a set of disk brakes from a VW Scirocco. (The front brakes are already disks.)
• I will be installing an electric heater in the original VW heater box, replacing the old water radiator.
• I need to seal up spaces around the rear battery box so that road dust doesn't seep up into the rear compartment.

As you can see, I have a lot to do, so the car will be out of service for a while. As of today, I have 800 miles on the car, since conversion. It's starting to get a little chilly, so the heater will be a welcome addition.

UPDATE: September 30, 2007

First update: The weather has been pretty good, so I've driven the car almost every day. It is really a joy to drive and has easily exceeded my expectations. On the local state highway (Hwy 195) it cruises right along at 55 mph, with little effort, even on uphill grades. (The speed limit is 60 mph, but keeping my speed at 55 mph reduces the power consumption significantly.) Trips of 45 miles are no problem and upon return home, I don't notice any power reduction. In fact, last week, while returning home, I decided to see how fast it would go. Answer: 70 mph ... and that was after having driven 30+ miles.

Second update: This is waaayy cool: I have another "introductory" web page that I list on my cards and handout flyers. It is: http://www.96-volt.com On that page is a very unique "hit counter." If you go to that page you will see it: It is a small square box with a map inside it. It is called "ClustrMap." You will notice many small red dots on the map. (CLICK on the map for a larger, more detailed look.) The size of the dots represent the number of "hits" on the page from that general location. You will see hits from all over the world ... some from surprising locations!

UPDATE: September 10, 2007

Palouse Empire Fair & Rodeo
Colfax, WA

September 6-9, 2007

The Display

"Big & Little"
The "Electric Jet" next to a $500,000 combine.
Note that the tires on this monster are taller than my VW!

A couple of weeks ago, one of my neighbors suggested that I display my car in the local "Palouse Empire Fair and Rodeo," in Colfax, WA. I called the fair director and told him about my car. He told me that it would be really nice if I would bring it to the fair. So, from last Thursday until yesterday, I've been answering millions of questions about electric vehicles.



The most asked question, other than "how far/fast will it go," was why can't you hook up a generator to the electric motor and recharge the batteries while you drive ... like the alternator in a typical gas car?" (Anyone want to post a COMMENT and explain exactly why this idea either will or will not work?)

UPDATE: September 3, 2007

Here's an update on a couple of items:

DAILY DRIVING: I've been taking the car to town, every chance I get. It's really a lot of fun to drive ... crank up the XM Satellite radio, usually on Ch#13 "Willie's Place" (as in Willie Nelson) with the good old country music blasting out from all four speakers. (I do turn it down, in town!) Of course, the only sound is wind noise and music. Love it! We've driven to Moscow, Idaho, a couple of times with absolutely no problems. I cruise on the highway at the maximum speed limit of either 45mph or 55mph. Upon returning home, after 35 miles, or so, the power is still there and the State-Of-Charge meter usually is around 30% remaining.

DRIVING TO SPOKANE: I've decided, at least for this year, I'm not going to drive the car to Spokane. (75 miles each way.) There is no doubt it would make it OK, with one refuel/recharge stop at the half-way rest stop. The reason is simply that I don't want to hang around the rest stop for six hours, waiting for the batteries to recharge, then turn around and do the same thing the next day! Here at home, I've installed a 20-amp outlet for the charger. The batteries will usually complete the charge cycle in about five hours. However, at the rest stop, I can only count on a 15-amp power outlet, which will probably extend the charge time to six hours. Maybe next year, if I find a good book to read!

PALOUSE EMPIRE FAIR: Last week, one of my neighbors was looking at the car and suggested that I exhibit the car in the Fair, which is this week, Thursday-Sunday, in Colfax, WA. It's basically the Whitman County Fair. I called the fair director and he thought that would be a great idea, as an example of energy conservation. So, it looks like it will be there among other cars on display. Info and pix, later.

INSTRUMENTATION: As all the systems are working very well, except the vacuum brake booster (awaiting replacement part) I am adding a few instruments. First will be a motor tachometer sensing and interface unit which will drive the original VW tachometer. This will help me decide when to shift gears, as there is very little noise or motor feedback. (I usually drive in 2nd gear, except on the highway, when I shift to 3rd.) The original VW tachometer worked by "counting" the gas engine ignition pulses. Since there is no engine or ignition, the new sensor (believe it or not) counts the teeth on the flywheel starter ring, as the flywheel rotates, and digitally converts that into pseudo-ignition pulses, which the VW tachometer can recognize. (Real clear, huh!) Finally, (and this is easier to understand) I'm installing thermocouples on the motor and main motor controller to measure and record temperatures, during driving.

To Colfax and Back

With the idea in the back of my head of driving the car to Spokane, I decided to push the mileage a bit to see how the car holds up. I figured a trip to Colfax would be a good test.

If I do a Spokane trip, my first and longest leg will be about 45 miles. The distance to Colfax and return, I figured, would be about that distance. So ... about 2PM, I headed out to Colfax.

With the top down, 90 degree weather and great music blasting away, nothing could have been more fun. The trip TO Colfax was very easy. I held between 50-55MPH because the electrical power consumption greatly increases with only a 5-10MPH increase at highway speeds. (The speed limit on Hwy 195 is 60) I'm sure I could easily have boosted the speed to 60 or 70, but my range would have suffered badly. At 55MPH, I was comfortable and not holding up traffic too much. (It's a single lane highway, so when I had four or five cars backed up behind me, I pulled over and let them pass.) As I sailed into Colfax, with the SOC (State-Of-Charge) meter showing 60% remaining power, I was pretty confident, until it dawned on me that most of the trip to Colfax had been downhill!

I gave the battery pack about a 15-minute recovery rest and turned back to Pullman and the RJ Ranch. The uphill grade leaving Colfax was immediately noticeable. I was pulling 300 amps for a much longer period of time than I was comfortable with, but ... there was no choice, if I intended to get back home ... and not creeping along at 10MPH, with a virtually dead battery pack.

I pressed on, at my usual 50-55MPH and hoped for the best. To make a long story short, I kept my speed up and rolled into the RJ Ranch barn with the SOC meter reading 0% and the odometer reading 45 miles! (After about ten minutes of rest, the SOC climbed back up to 20% remaining.)

It was a successful trip and proved it is likely I can drive to Spokane. Of course, when I reach the the highway Rest Stop, the midway recharge point on the way to Spokane, I better bring a good book, because I'm probably looking at a five hour recharge.

I'll report tomorrow how long it took to recharge the pack from today's trip. It should be the same time at the Rest Stop. Even though the charger will pump out 22 amps for recharging, I've throttled it back, for today's test, to 14.5 amps, which is about the max. I can draw from a common outlet without fear of tripping the circuit breaker that feeds the outlet I'm plugged into.

UPDATE: August 23, 2007

After working so hard to get "Sparky" operational, it now seems like ... "Is that all there is?" I still have a couple of wiring issues to solve: The first issue is the rear battery box venting fan does not operate when charging the batteries, as it should, without me putting a jumper wire from a relay terminal to the positive terminal of the auxillary battery. I need to sort that problem out.

Before the cold weather arrives, I need to get a heater system worked out, since there is no hot water for the normal car heater. Some people have simply used 115-volt hair dryers! I guess that would work, but it doesn't seem too "elegant." What I plan to do is install one of the small 5" square "Cube-type" ceramic heaters that you can commonly buy at Wal-Mart. I will mount it in the housing the old hot water radiator and air conditioning unit was in. Then, retaining the original VW heater fan, I can operate the heater just about the way it was before. With the appropriate electrical switches, relays and safety thermostats, it should work very well.

I have gradually stretched the mileage I've driven, the last few trips. Although I have not tried to conserve power at all, so far, a thirty mile trip is no problem. Yesterday, while day-dreaming and driving to Spokane in my Nissan pickup, (77 miles) I figured out a way to drive Sparky from Pullman to Spokane. I could drive to a rest stop, which is about midway, recharge for four hours, then proceed on to Spokane. Even if I started to run short of power on the 45-mile legs, there are a couple of small towns where I could easily get a small "sip" of power to keep me going. I think it would be a fun challange and a way to demonstrate that longer trips are possible, even if inconvenient ... and for LESS than ONE DOLLAR of electrical power. ("Green" power, incidentially, generated by hydro-electric means.)

"Stay Tuned" and watch the progress on these ideas.

LENTIL PARADE 2007 - Pullman, WA

As many of you know, one goal I have held since I started construction on the Electric Jet, was to have it completed in time to be an entry in Pullman's Lentil Festival Parade. I accomplished that goal.

All the single cars that would be in the parade assembled prior to the parade start. Most of the convertibles carried dignitaries and other assorted "Princesses." Since I was a rather late entry, I was the "back-up" car, just in case there were too many VIP's. As it turned out, I wasn't needed for VIP transportation. (Hmmm ... I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact my car is twenty-one years old and all the others were virtually brand new Mustangs and BMW's? I guess we'll never know! Oh well, think about how much exhaust pollution I offset!)

We Made it!
(I couldn't help but to wear my "UNDERCOVER POLICE" tee-shirt. It matches the car colors ... plus it's a great conversation piece.)

Here it comes, Ladies and Gentleman ... a fully battery powered VW Cabriolet that can run at highway speeds and go fifty miles on a single dollar of electricity.

Passing in review. I got a lot of waves, "All Right's," "I can't hear it," and a few "How fast will it go?"

I was really proud of the car. It never looked better and ran just as expected ... maybe even better! Before the parade started, I opened up the hood for the many curious people to inspect. One gentleman, who gave me his business card, told me if I ever wanted to sell it, he'd buy it ... even after I told him what it would cost.

Of course, there was the always great Washington State University Cougar Marching Band.
Go Cougars!

~~~~~~~~~~~~//~~~~~~~~~~~~

I couldn't pass up this photo op with Pullman's Chief of (Undercover) Police. His comment: "Where'd you get that shirt?" (At least, he was smiling!)

UPDATE: August 18, 2007

So ... Why do I do this?

The August 2007 issue of Wired Magazine had an interview with the world's greatest DIY'er: Martha Stewart.

She made a comment worth remembering:

WIRED MAGAZINE INTERVIEWER: One reason people like projects is because they get a sense of control over their environment and technology. It gives them ownership.

MARTHA STEWART: That's why I say, "You own it if you made it." You don't own the pie if you buy it. You just don't. Doing projects really gives people self-confidence. Nothing is better than taking the pie out of the oven. What it does for you personally, and for your family's idea of you, is something you can't buy.

(The International Lentil Festival Grand Parade was this morning and the "Electric Jet" was in it. Looks for pictures on Sunday.)

UPDATE: August 15, 2007

The car is running great ... even better than I expected.

For the next few days, I will be getting a few last minute cosmetic items taken care of and the car all shined up. On Saturday, the "Electric Jet" will be featured in our once-a-year big* "National Lentil Festival Parade." We may be carrying a couple of the local "Beauty Queens," but that is yet to be determined. I was asked if I would carry a political celebrity. Answer: "Yes, as long as it isn't a D*******." That brought a few chuckles. (The local Chamber of Commerce is the festival sponsor, so we pretty well see eye-to-eye on that subject.)

* "big" is relative to Pullman. The Lentil parade is somewhat smaller than the New York City Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, in case you were wondering.

UPDATE: August 11, 2007

Ice Cream Run

in the "Electric Jet"

Loading up and ready for the inagural run to Pullman for ice cream. For this momentious event, Patrick, Lori, Ali and her friend, Kendal drove to the R J Ranch.

Our original destination was Ferdinand's on the WSU campus. It has great ice cream. Unfortunately, upon arrival, we discovered it was closed on weekends. (What? An ice cream parlor CLOSED on summer weekends???) Anyway, the day was saved by diverting to our alternate location: Baskin-Robbins. Not a bad second choice.

We forgot our camera, so Patrick recorded the event, in front of Baskin-Robbins, using his cell phone camera. Great job, Patrick.

The Grand Rollout of the Electric Jet was 23 miles in length. Upon arrival back at the ranch, the SOC meter (State-Of-Charge) reported 50% remaining power. This was better than expected as we did a couple of miles of fast highway travelling (55mph) and we were carrying four passengers. Cost to recharge the Jet: 43-cents!

When the Jet gets fully broken in, I think a 50-mile range is quite possible.

UPDATE: August 8, 2007

The test/tune-up runs are completed. It will take a couple of weeks before the electric motor brushes are fully seated and the battery pack will accept a full charge.

However: The inaugural "Ice Cream Run" will be on Saturday. I don't think there will be any problem motivating to the ice cream parlor at WSU and back. (Round trip approximately 20 miles.)

I have a couple of pieces of energy monitoring equipment that I use to monitor the battery recharging. My Rudman PFC-20 charger will pump about 22 amps, however I've throttled it back to about 15.5 amps, at this point. After the last 17 mile run, I put 5.5 kwh's of energy back into the car. Here in Pullman, our electrical cost is $.05/kwh. At that rate, the cost per mile is roughly 1-1/2 cents! A round trip to Pullman will cost about 30-cents. (My pickup will use a little over one gallon of gas for the same trip ... go figure!)