Not Quite Yet

This past weekend I got the EV together and went for a test drive. It was great for 2 miles, then it went south. My coupling still slips and moved the clutch into the transmission making a ton of noise. So I got it home, jacked up the EV and say what it was doing.

So instead of messing around with my coupling again I bought a new one from Can-EV. It will be here next week then I get remove my current setup and get the new coupling and plates installed.

I just want to be driving again and getting tired of having the EV up on jacks all the time. I also hope there is any more damage from this hiccup, but I will find out in a week or so when I take the motor back out.

Installing the Warp 9

It was really nice today so I decided since I didn't have classes I would start putting my EV back together.

Last night my dad helped me move the Warp 9 from the basement to outside my EV. Then this morning I got the transmission out and mounted it to the Warp 9. Then I had to drill new holes on my rear motor mount because the Warp 9 has a different rear bolt pattern.

Then after lunch we used the engine hoist to install the motor and transmission combo into my Civic. It went pretty well, after a few minutes we had two of the four engine mounts bolted in. The rear mount is always difficult to do but my dad was able to help after he got home from work.

I also had to get a new speed sensor for the Warp 9. My old sensor was too small for the 1.125" shaft so I got a new sensor from Evolve Electrics with 2 day shipping and it arrived as I was installing the motor. It took 30 seconds to install as the Warp 9 was built with bolt holes for a speed sensor.

Now I have the Warp 9 installed, the axles in and the tires back on the EV. Later this week I am going to try and get more things installed, including better insulation for the heater pipe and batteries. I am really hoping to start commuting again in the next week, I just need the weather to cooperate long enough to finish the last 10%.

Snowed In

This past weekend was the worst snow storm in like 30 years. It was the first time since 1978 that we had a Traffic Ban in Massachusetts! We got over 2 feet of snow and lots of wind.

Anyways, due to the fact that I got snowed in that gave me time to finally seal up the transmission and test it on the Warp 9.

I dd a quick test and it really purrs now! There were no vibrations of any kind, just some extra noise from not having any transmission fluid in the unit.

It's nice out today but I still have to dig out my EV and clear around my workspace around the driveway. I am hoping to get the EV put together sometime this week, Wednesday looks good right now so I might do it then.

Transmission Rebuild

This past weekend I've been working on the new motor setup and rebuilding the transmission.
Last night I managed to get the transmission apart and inspected it.

The transmission was in really good condition, looks brand new. I did find that two of the bearings on the input shaft either had extra play or made some noise, including the Input Shaft Bearing that I expected to have issues. I found nothing destroyed, which is really good. The internals look complicated but they really aren't I spent an hour this morning taking the shafts out, replacing the bearings and just figuring out how the shifter functions.

Tonight I will put the transmission back together as I had to go out and buy Hondabond to seal the casing back up.

After tonight all I need is a nice weather day and I can drop the motor back in and get back to EV'ing!

The Rebuild

Last week my new Warp 9 arrived!

The Warp 9 have some improvements over my FB1-4001a. First it has larger brushes that allow for more current handling, and it has a better fan for cooling. It also has 1/2" terminals to handle more current.

Now I have been having a slight problem with my coupling. I designed it to use H bushings and I ordered up 4 new H bushings and when they arrived I found they had slightly changed! Their diameter was 0.005" smaller which meant they didn't lock onto the shaft when I tried to install the coupling.

So after a few days of research I found out that there is a replacement to the H bushing, the QT bushing. It has a slightly different design of having a single split down the opposite side of the key way. It was also the correct dimensions and it installed perfectly.

Here is where I finished off last night:

I got the coupling and flywheel mounted down and did a test spin yesterday and it looks pretty good. There is a very very very slight wobble but I could only see it at low speeds. This afternoon I am going to try some little adjustments and then break in the brushes using a 12 volt battery while I work on my transmission. With any luck I'll be ready to put the EV back together by the end of the weekend, once I get another good sunny day.