Sunday, December 16, 2012

Winter Fun

Today my dad and I went Christmas shopping and decided to take my EV. Well, not only did we end up driving 41+ miles on one charge, we had the heat running and it was snowing out!

I am quite happy with the performance on my EV. Last night I ended up doing my first highway drive by accident! I went out to a Christmas party and used my GPS and I was driving on the highway for 20 minutes doing 60 MPH before I even realized I was in my EV! It drove excellent and I am thinking about increasing my battery amps from 2C (360A) to 3C (540A) to give me more power on the highway.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Improving Things

I've been extremely pleased with my EV over the past few months. I have nearly 1700 electric miles on it and I have no really no problems. I do have a small issues with a bad relay on my heating system that doesn't always turn on or off, so I have to replace it with a better quality one.

I've had a few run ins with snow, but the EV has done well with driving in it and with keeping the windshield clean.

I am also slowly improving the efficiency. The new chambers gave me a 4% improvement in efficiency and I am going to inflate my tires more to help more. Right now I am at 291 WH/Mi from the wall and 268 WH/Mi from the battery pack with the heater off. My goal is to get it under 250 WH/Mi with the heater off so I am slowly working towards it.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Rear Cambers

I have the opportunity to have the use of my neighbors garage for the next month so I started this weekend by installing new adjustable rear cambers.

This picture is a little fuzzy, but here is the new camber installed in one of the rear wheel wells.


And here the old next to the new. It was pretty quick installing these, although I have not done a proper alignment yet. I took a good guess at how far out I should be and I think I did pretty well. 

And this is what the wheel looks after the new cambers. Before it really did look like there was 600 lbs in the trunk and the wheel was bent in considerably. 

I probably will adjust the cambers again towards the end of the week bu for now I am happy. I also installed the stock splash shield and did an efficiency test.

For the past month my driving styles have yielded a consistent 302 Wh/Mi figure from the wall using a KillAWatt meter. Well my last test showed it is now down to 291 Wh/Mi! I usually have a 16.7 mile commute which is 75% at 40-45 MPH and the rest is stop and go with 30 MPH tops if I'm lucky. I still need to add more air to the tires, I found 38 PSI+ for my last EV showed improvements in efficiency.

To put it into perspective, my previous 96v lead EV was 450 Wh/Mi from the wall!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Heat!

My EV now has working heat!

Last weekend I got my heat running just in the nick of time. We had a small snow storm this week which the EV did great in. I did find that I need to insulate the heater piping in the engine compartment, when I am at 45+ MPH the heater has a hard time staying hot with the air going right over it.

I now have access for a garage for the next month so I will be working a lot on my EV. I have a lot of small things to do, but I will be kept busy for a while. Once I get my heater insulated I'll make a video that shows the temperature of the vents and how easy it is to turn my heat on!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Fixing the Bugs

Like every project, you find bugs and problems every so often. I now have over 650 miles on my EV and one of my new rear springs seems to have failed! Its completely compressed, and it shouldn't be even with the battery weight!

So this Friday I am going to replace the spring, take the control tray out to fix the clutch cylinders and get the heat working. It's a good amount of work to do, but I now have time to do it this Friday. Last year, on Halloween, we had a nasty snow storm so I want to make sure my EV is fully running with heat and proper suspension before we get any surprises.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Loading Up the Miles

I now have over 450 miles on my EV! I have been commuting with it everyday since getting my new plates, and I am not worried about range at all.

However, I have blown out the master clutch and slave cylinders. I have new ones I picked up from Honda, but I was sick all weekend so nothing got done. I also have to finish up my heater by wiring in the last relay, then fill the system with antifreeze. The weather has been cold recently, we have our first frost yesterday!

I am also waiting for a new volt meter, then I will setup my volt and current meters so I can properly monitor my battery pack.

Friday, September 28, 2012

My New EV Plates

Today I finally was able to get my new plates for my EV!




It was quite a production getting these new EV plates. The RMV said I the first one to get these new EV plates, they had no idea what to do or where they even were. These plates came out this past March and they had just opened the box they came in for me, so I got to choose the plate number!

It took a few phone calls to figure out what do to, but in the end I have my new plates and I got it inspected so I am ready for commuting!

Tomorrow I am going to put the splash guard back on and get the heater running, its been in the low 60s during the day and low 40s at night so heat would be nice in the mornings.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Charger Plug

I installed the charging plug on my EV today!

I also went on a few drives today to collect more data and figure out what to do next. I have figured out how I am going to wiring in my heater, but next is getting the new EV plates. Once I get the new plates I am going to get an alignment and my rear suspension adjusted. I will also need a new inspection, so for fun I am going to bring it down to the Honda dealer and see what they do!

I am expecting to start full time commuting in the EV next week, or even this week if I get the new plates and heater running tomorrow.

I still have small things to do on the EV, like a proper AH counter, but for now I am extremely pleased and can't wait for full time commuting!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

It Drives!

It drives!

Today I fully charged the pack without any problems that I could find. It did end with a lower voltage ending than I was expecting, but later I found that was a volt meter problem.

Here is a video of the first real drive:

I have charged with both 120v and 240v, with 240v being much better. I have put on 18 miles with the first charge, drove up and down massive hills, hit 45 MPH all with ease. I have the Zilla Z1K-LV set to 520 motor amps and 360 battery AMPS, or 2C, so way under specs. The EV drives better than it did with the 127 HP Honda engine in it!

Now I have to hook up the tachometer to the Hairball and get the heater running. I did use Rain-X to clean the windshield and their new anti-fog cleaner on the inside to see if it helps at all. I don't mind not having much heat as I do have heated seat cover but I do not like fogging.

So far I am extremely impressed, it far outperforms what I have been hoping for and I'm not even close to maxing out my settings.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Lithium Fun

Today I got the CALB lithium cells installed!


I spent this morning install the circuit breaker and getting the CALB sells situated and strapped down. I have 550 lbs of batteries and 5 straps, 4 with 1200 lbs working strength and one with 2400 lbs working strength, much better than what i have with the lead sled.

I will be making a steel enclosure with a nice clear plastic top, but first I have to install the MiniBMS and drive it a bit! I could have finished today, but I did not have enough wire to install the MiniBMS. All I have left for a test drive is the BMS, so tomorrow evening I will start that and Friday will be a test drive!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Battery Tray Installation

Today I had a busy day with meetings, but when I got home I started installing the tray. I ended up messing up the single battery tray add on, I compressed the pieces together with a clamp and it removed the JB Kwik so it snapped while I was bolting the tray down!

So my dad helped me with the tray by brazing the pieces together.



 I also finished building the power cables. You can see the Elcon 2000+ in the left part of the trunk.


 And here is the tray FINALLY mounted in! I just need one small piece of plywood to fill in the space for the last cell.

The next thing I have to do is mount the Airpax circuit breaker and mount the batteries! I also have to remove the fuel filler and install the charging plug socket. My plan is to mount the circuit breaker, wiring in the batteries and give it a first charge before I install the charging plug. I am aiming for a test drive on Friday afternoon, I need two more hours to install the batteries then I need to charge them up!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

So Close!

Today was almost a full day working on the EV. I routed the 2/0 power cables underneath the EV, which took a long time! I used the old exhaust tunnel under the car to route the cables, then I zip-tied them up to the car chassis. I spent about 3 hours just routing cables because I had to jack up different sides of the EV to get around underneath.

I also mounted the Elcon 2000+ charger and added the small bracket on the battery rack for that lonely battery and painted it. Time flew by so fast today that I forgot to take any pictures!

So what is left before I can test drive? I have to crimp two more lugs, bolt down the battery tray, install the batteries and MiniBMS, then charge it up! I think I need another 3-4 hours of time so I am now aiming for a Friday test drive.


Saturday, September 15, 2012

On The Ground

Today was a full day of EV building! I woke up this morning to rain, but by the time I had finished waking up and eating breakfast the sun had come out and everything was pretty much dry.

I had lots of help today, I have a goal of a test drive Sunday afternoon, so I needed to get a lot done today.
My dad spent most of the day working on installing the speed sensor on the motor:



I spent the day finishing the 12 volt system, installed the 12v aux battery and tested the system. I also hooked up the motor to the Zilla and cleaned up a lot of the wiring with zip ties. Then we dropped the car off the stands onto the ground and rolled it forward so the trunk is now under my tarp.

Erin cleaned out the trunk and we started to figure out the battery installation. Tomorrow I am installing the battery tray, adding a small attachment to hold the lonely cell #45 and make the high power cables.

I am really hoping for a test drive tomorrow afternoon, but I am not going to rush anything. I want this done right, and I want it to look good. Tonight I am thinking through how I am going to hold down the batteries and tomorrow I am having another full day of EV fun.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Power Steering Removed

This evening I removed the power steering pump. I figured it might take an hour or so to get the hoses off, pump drained and then make loop connections to connect the input + output hoses from the pump to each other to reconnect the system.

Well it took about 10 minutes!


I was actually surprised, I could connect the two hoses right to each other without needing any adapters or cutting!

Tomorrow I am going to finish everything in the front except the final controls for the heater and A/C. I have to design a circuit that will integrate with the Civic's electronic climate controls, so that's on my list of things to do.

There is a good chance of a test drive Sunday afternoon! I plan on spending all day Saturday getting my battery tray installed, making high power cables and charging the pack up. 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Control Tray Mounted

I've been so busy working on things that I keep forgetting to update this!

I have the tray bolted down along with all the major components. I hooked up the vacuum brakes and the throttle cables and have most of the low voltage wiring done.

Here is what is left for the front:
- Find wiring for "key" start for the Zilla
- Find the ECT, Countershaft, and TPS wires
- Install the Speed Sensor on the motor
- Put the 12 volt battery back in
- Wire high voltage to the motor
- Fill the heater system with Antifreeze
- Remove the Power Steering pump

 It sounds like a lot, but it really isn't. Then I work on the batteries! My BMS arrived today but I wasn't home to pick it up so tomorrow morning I am going to visit the post office to get it. I hoping to install the batteries, hook up the BMS and make the heavy gauge wires this weekend and with any luck there may be a test drive soon!

Monday, September 3, 2012

Start of the Control Tray

Today we started to build the control tray. I'm waiting for a new pulley for my A/C setup so that's on hold for now, but I have a lot to do.

So today we cut out a new tray, this time it's out of 1/2" plastic sheet instead of mismatched steel plates!

Here is a picture of the tray installed and the components placed on for location checking:




Before I finish off this tray I have to install the heater and remove the power steering pump. There is a nice gap under the Zilla and behind the motor where I am going to put the heater and water pump. So now I am making the mounts for the heater parts, then I will bolt everything down to the tray. Progress is slow but steady, I want this to really look good and not be partly working.

I do have to remove the power steering pump, I am thinking about looping the connections from the pump together and keeping the steering fluid reservoir in the loop. 

Sunday, September 2, 2012

A/C Testing

Today I played with the A/C setup to see how if it was going to work out.

So the past two days my dad and I have been building the mounts for the stock Civic EX A/C compressor and the motor I am using, a treadmill motor I got years ago for $20. The specs are: 2.5 HP peak @130 volts, 1.5 HP cont @ 95 volts, 18.5 AMPs and 6750 RPM.

After doing some research on this motor I decided that 36 volts would be a good base start, which seems to be about 2500 RPMs at the treadmill motor unloaded (just on A/C pulley, clutch disengaged). I hooked up my current shunt to the (+) line and proceeded to test as there is no data on the actual power requirements on the Honda Civic A/C compressor.

Test 1:
Pulley on the treadmill motor: 3" diameter
Pulley on the A/C compressor: 4.5" diameter (stock)

Voltage: 36 volts
Current: 25 AMPs


The A/C was blowing cold in about 15 seconds and it gave me two very important pieces of data: It takes 1.2 HP to run the A/C and it's too much current for my little treadmill motor!

I decided to bump up the voltage to see if it would lower the current for my next test.

Test 2:
Pulley on the treadmill motor: 3" diameter
Pulley on the A/C compressor: 4.5" diameter (stock)

Voltage: 48 volts
Current: 29 AMPs


Well, the current went up! It went up because the compressor was at a higher RPM and more load was on it so it needed more power.

For my next test I am going to stick with 36 volts, but go to a smaller diameter pulley. I have a 2.625" pulley that I am trying to get onto the motor shaft and I have found a 1.93" pulley online that I ordered up and I will use that in the final setup.

So the A/C is on hold until that pulley comes in, but that's fine. Tomorrow I hook up the heater and start the control tray! 

Saturday, September 1, 2012

A/C Compressor Brackets

For the past two days me and my dad have been building the brackets for the A/C compressor and the PM motor I am going to use to run it. It's a lot of work because the A/C compressor has the stay in the car unless I want to deal with discharging and recharging it for big bucks, so it's been taking a while, but well worth it.





I've had this motor since I built the first EV but just didn't want to spend the time to mount it. After 5 years of driving the EV without A/C I just knew this EV was gonna have it.

Now I've been reading a few things about these PM treadmill motors burning out but after reading about them I think the consensus was don't run think at pack voltage. My research says 30-40 volts should do it the trick to tomorrow I am going to rig up 36 volts and my current shunt and attempt to see if the A/C works!

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Motor Spin Up

I finally got the manual transmission fluid in and put the wheels back on the car. Once that was done, it was time for a 12 volt motor spin test.

Well right off the bat the coupling + flywheel were wobbling! The coupling didn't quite make it onto the taper locking part on the shaft and the pressure plate actually would hit part of the transmission!

Now here I was dreading what I thought I had to do next: take everything out and start over!

But instead I decided to try something else, I loosened the two coupling bolts then tried using a screwdriver as a wedge to get the coupling more centered. It worked better, but still not great. Then my dad had the idea of running the system on 12 volts and using the wicked strong clutch to force the coupling center and it worked! The flywheel looks correct, no more clicking sounds and the transmission no longer vibrates!

Here is a video of the motor spinning properly:



I also picked up supplies to build the mounts for the A/C and P/S so that's what I will be doing tomorrow. I really want to be working on the control tray Saturday so I'm hoping these brackets won't be too bad, I did buy new metal cutting blades to make sure nothing stops me.




Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Gas Tank Dropped

Today we got the gas tank drained and dropped. I wanted to be able to use the gas from the tank, so instead of using the drain bolt on the tank I bypassed the Fuel Pump Relay and pumped it out by turning the car to the ON position.

Tomorrow I am going to put the wheels back onto the car and fill the transmission with fluid for a 12 volt test! I picked up the fluid today but didn't have time to use it yet, the gas tank was today's priority.

I am also going to pickup some metal materials and bolts tomorrow for building the A/C and P/S pumps brackets. Progress is coming slowly, but steady. I still have purchased my BMS yet so I have to do that this week!

Monday, August 27, 2012

Motor Almost In!

The past few days I've been struggling getting the axles into the transmission. Well today, with the help of Erin, we finally got the axles in and bolted up the rotors back to the struts.!


I also got the shifter cabled hooked back up but have not connect the clutch piston. I had to trim the adapter plate a bit, so I started to file down the metal by hand but tomorrow I will use my jigsaw to finish it off. Then I will adjust the mount on the motor to make everything aligned and hopefully tomorrow night I can refill the transmission fluid and test spin the wheels on 12 volts!

I think this is the most difficult parts is getting this engine installed, then I can make brackets for the A/C and P/S in about a day then get to designing the control panel. I really hope to be working on the control panel this weekend, so this week I had to get things going!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Adapter Plates Trimming

The past few days at work have been pretty crazy, but I did manage to get a few things done. I spent the past two nights trimming my adapter plates to account for the new motor mounts and dampers on the transmission. I also decided to trim the whole thing down so it looks much more professional.
Today we got the motor mounted to the transmission! It really looks much better now that it's been trimmed down, and the system rotates really well. I have to borrow the engine crane again from my neighbor tonight to I can install the motor tomorrow morning. We also removed the muffler and exhaust system, which took some more work than expected as the rubber mounts needed to be cut with a knife slowly.

We also tested the new CALB 180 AH on my old battery tray from the old 1996 Civic EV. To our surprise 44 out of 45 cells fit on it!
The one loner cell will get it's own mount on the side of this tray, which makes my life much easier. We also wrote down all the serial numbers and their voltages, and I have a completely serialized pack all within 4-thousanth of a volt from each other! This new pack is going to get a much better box, with insulation and I want 4 fans on the top to push cool air in and one exhaust to pull the air out when the pack is charging.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Playing with the Clutch

Not too much happened today, we have some things at work to deal with. We did have some progress tho. My girlfriend (Erin) and I started assembling the electric motor to the plates and connect the clutch.

Of course after getting these together I forgot the put the spacer plate in! So tomorrow I am going to take the clutch off and put the spacer on. It will only take a few minutes but I was too tired to do it this evening. I actually had a hard time find the 11mm wrench needed to tighten the coupling, which took a couple of hours of going through all the tools.

As you can see I kept the motor mount I made for the last Civic, but this time I painted it up to prevent rusting. I am trying to make this EV as professional as possible to show off, so all the steel pieces will be spray painted to prevent rust.

Anyways, tomorrow I have high hopes of removing the muffler and getting the motor mounted to the transmission. And if I get those done, I want to get rid of the gas tank. Once the gas tank is gone and the muffler remove the electric motor gets installed! It's so much nicer to have all the major parts built and ready for installing.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Transmission Removal

Today the weather was not cooperating at all. This morning it was torrential rains until noon and then the humidity and heat was unbearable. Despite that, my dad and I managed to remove the transmission from the engine!


The top picture is the now removed engine and the original clutch removed. There was surprising lots of clutch material left, but two out of the four springs on the clutch disc were nearly toast, so it didn't have much life left in it.

I cleaned up the transmission a bit with some degreaser and a hose. It's really light weight and I can manage it by myself with ease.

I also assembled the new clutch setup today:


I had to use the bolts from the original clutch setup, but it went together pretty easily. It's definitely beefier than the stock clutch so that's a good sign. It's an XTD Stage 4 clutch kit that came with a 10 LBs flywheel and the disc should be able to hold 315 FT-LBs of torque.

I also spray painted the new motor mounts for the FB1-4001a. I'll get pictures of those tomorrow when I get the motor mounted to the transmission. My goal for this week is to get the FB1-4001a installed and the brackets for the power steering and A/C designed and built. I will be going away on the 18th for a week, then I'll be back to the grind on this conversion, I need it running by September 5th!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Engine is Out!

My dad and I got the engine out today! It ended up taking much longer than we thought, it's a really tight fit and we had to dismantle all the motor mounts and tilt the engine and transmission back and forth to remove axles and avoid the A/C compressor lines.


I got to borrow my neighbors engine hoist which made things really nice and easy. I also got to use my new jack stands I got for my birthday, which made me feel like I'm doing this the proper way.

Next on my list: remove the muffler and gas tank, then remove the transmission and start assembling my motor couplings. I also need a new front engine mount as we ended up breaking it by accident.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Prep Work

For the past two days I've been doing the prep work for the conversion. I had to fix a few little things, such as replace the hood release and latch. I also had the new Skunk2 suspension installed. I first started to do it myself, but I came across some work the previous owner did and used the wrong bolts to hold the struts in place. Since I didn't even have the tools to loosen the bolts, I toke the suspension and the car down the the Goodyear mechanic shop and they were able to install it for me no problem, and it was pretty cheap with an alignment.

Today I am setting up my staging area, then I will be starting the gutting of the car. I'm going to take some pics and videos of the engine running so I can throw it up on Craigslist, along with the exhaust and gas tank. I'm hoping someone will want the engine and parts, they are in great shape and run just fine and look brand new.

So I hope to get the engine and transmission to the point where I will be ready to remove it tomorrow morning. If the weather cooperates I'll try and get it torn out tonight. This time around I am going to mount the electric motor to the transmission out side of the car, making it easier to work with and get assembled. I will also get photos up tonight on the progress.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012


My batteries arrived! I ordered them from Evolve Electric, and they came in nicely packaged containers. So now I have my 45x 180AH CALB cells and just about all my other components for this conversion. I'll be away from about three weeks, but once I come back full conversion will take place!

I basically will have a month to finish the conversion before going back to my last year of college. I have high hopes because most of the difficult parts should be done, such as the coupling, this time around, so I can spend more time just mounting and wiring all the parts. But this time I am going to keep the power steering and air conditioning, so that might take a few days to properly mount up.


Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Quick Update

My CALB 180AHs are on their way! My tracking number says I should get them this Thursday!

I haven't done too much these past few weeks, I received my Elcon 2000+ charger and I have all my parts sitting in my bedroom waiting to be installed. I did end up replacing my hood latch, next it my hood release cable then the rear suspension. Once that is done I start ripping the car apart!

This time I am going to do this right. I decided that when I was going to build this EV I would do it will all the major components on hand, and coming this Thursday I will have everything! I am also going to split the purchase of a proper engine hoist with my neighbor, who is also working on his project car, doing a BMW 3 series transmission swap.

My goal is to get this EV done by the end of August, it's going to be my full time commuter. That means not only do I have to get everything running, I have to get EVERYTHING running. Things like AC and a proper heater setup. I am estimating a good 80 to 100 miles range in this new EV, so that means my normal 17 mile commute wont take too much and I can afford to run AC and heat all the time if needed!

I'm excited now, I've been planning this for almost 2 years and now that it's coming together its surreal, no more lead sled for me!

Sunday, May 27, 2012

New Clutch

I'm still waiting on the final forms from my university before I buy my batteries, but I went ahead and purchased a new flywheel and clutch. Its a stage 4 clutch that's good for 400 ft lb of torque so it should do nicely. 

I am also waiting on the final parts for my charger which should be in by the end of the week. I am gearing up for the conversion, which I hope to start within the next 3 weeks!


Thursday, May 17, 2012

High Powered Fun

I decided with this new EV I was going to try to design a 4+KW charger. While I am going to get a 2KW Elcon charger for the CALB 180 Ah, I wanted to build something with more kick and compatibility with the J1772 charging stations.

Over the past few months I've been gathering parts and now I'm ready to assemble then program the charger. I've purchased a lot of new parts, but I salvaged the inductor from my old broken K&W BC-20.

This charger is partly based on the 10 KW Open Source EV charger from DIYElectricCar.com Forum, but I've added some of my own features and changes. The first version will be 4 KW, and once that works well I am going to bump it up to 6 KW. I will probably build it for 10 KW, but I don't have access to that kind of power.

Now that I have free time I have started to really get things going. I have orders a new 5 stage clutch and lightweight flywheel, 25 ft of new 2/0 battery cable and tomorrow I am going to pickup a new hood latch and release cable. I have to be able to easily open the hood before converting it so might as well start there. I also have to replace the rear suspension.

I am also ready to order the CALB batteries, once some purchase order paperwork is in the computer system. Once that is done, I'll have 45 180 AH blue CALB cells waiting for an EV! I told my self I wouldn't start the actual conversion until I had everything, so I'm going through my list and ordering what I need.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Lithium Batteries

I've been going over my choices for lithium batteries for probably a good two years now, since driving my 1996 Civic EV. There are four main contenders out there, Thundersky (now Sinopoly), CALB, HiPower and A123. After careful research, and looking at my goals of 80 to 100 miles range, I've decided on CALB.

I spent the past year saving and planning this new EV, and now I'm ready to order my 144 volt 180 AH pack of CALBs! The CALB cells have a continuous rating of 4C, so that means I can easily pull 720 AMPs for accelerating! And they can be peaked to about 12C for 10 seconds, so this is going to be one fast EV!

I am ordering the cells from Evolve Electrics and I have been happy with the communication so far. It's a large payment, the most I have ever spent in my life so I have been taking my time with the research on both the batteries and distributors.

I am also looking to get an Elcon 2000W+ charger to get me going while I work on my own 4+ KW charger. My charger will have a lot of fancy features when it's done, including J1772 support. There are a lot of charging stations being installed in Massachusetts and I want my EV to be able to use them!

In about I week my time will be freed up to really get going on the conversion. I hope to have pictures of my charger progress this weekend, and while I wait for my batteries I am going to replace my rear suspension to handle the new batteries in the trunk. I also need to replace my hood latch and release, they were broken when I purchased the car but are cheap enough for me to fix. This time I am getting the car in perfect order before I convert it to make my life easier.

Last week I did have the rust on the body all fixed up, and I purchased an insanely expansive set of new keys from Honda. I needed a new remote and key, and the key is microchipped so it's pricey.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

The Plan

I have been going over my plan for the new EV for the past few weeks. I am slowly working on a variation of the EMW open source charger, which I will be posting pictures of shortly once I populate a few PCBs.


While I am building the EMW charger, I am also going to buy a 2.5 KW Elcon to keep steady progress on the EV. I am adding lots of fun features to my charger and it may take some time to get those all working.

For the Civic itself, I need to replace the rear suspension, get a new clutch, and get the lower body rust repaired. As I want this car to last at least 5 to 8 years I am spending some money to get it in perfect condition. Tomorrow I am going to start getting quotes for the body repair and get that done before the conversion starts this summer.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Introduction to the 2001 Civic EX EV Coupe

Here is my 2001 Civic EX Coupe that I purchased to convert to electric! After 5 years and 7,000+ miles with my 1996 Civic EV, I decided it was time for a nicer, faster EV with more range. I retired my 1996 Civic and salvaged all the components with this new EV.

So here are my goals for this EV:
- 80 to 100 Miles Range
- 65+ MPH
- 8 second 0-60
- Use the J1772 charging stations

What I have for components:
- FB1-4001a DC Series Wound Motor
- Cafe Electric Z1k-LV Controller
- Zivan DC/DC Converter
- Audi Vacuum Brake System
- 1.5 KW Liquid Heating System
- 2.5 HP Motor for A/C and Power Steering


In order to achieve my goals, I need Lithium batteries and a good charger. I am working on my own version of the open source EMW 10 KW Charger and doing my research on batteries.