INDUSTRY INSIGHTS YOUR PEERS ARE READING
I'd like to get the car off the jack-stands and back into a position where I can drive it while still adding things like the guages. After installing the speed sensor, the last thing needed under the car is the splash guard to protect water and grit from getting into the Warp9. MORE
The Belktronix system instructions call for attaching all the Batmon boards with twisted pairs of wires. MORE
I tried installing the Zolox sensor mounting ring for the Warp9 motor from EVsource today. It looks like the holes on the mounting ring don't line up properly. The holes for the Warp9 casing don't match, so I had to drill them a bit larger so the bolts would go in. MORE
After futzing around awhile, I was able to get the spacer ring for the Zolox tachometer sensor to line up. Here's the bottom of the mounting ring. MORE
It's still pretty cold in the garage, but I motivated myself to get out to TAP plastics (10 blocks away) and pick up some ABS plastic for the improved splash guard. Here's the 3/16" thick piece of ABS lying on top of the existing splash guard. MORE
Santa was good to me this year. I received a Link-10 battery monitor from my parents. I don't think they understand what it does and why it costs so much, but okay, they got it for me anyway. The items on the right came from Belktronix. The wires on the upper left are the Link-10 voltage prescaler. MORE
“It’s gonna be Earth Day on STEROIDS !&# That’s how EV fan Paul Thomas lured us to the sun-scorched Barona Drag Strip to film this year’s Kick Gas Festival. Barona has seen many grudge matches over the years, but this was one we couldn’t miss; the first head to head between electric dragsters and old school gas guzzlers. Would Michael Kadie’s electric blue coupe kick gas in more ways than one? MORE
This is a cool day(And not just because it's freezing outside). The package with the custom tachometer from SpeedHut arrived. Although I received the 2-hole pillar pod last Friday, I wanted to show it here since I ordered both items from Speedhut. The wiring harness is nice and long. MORE
I got some fun stuff today. The plastic boxes for the BatMons and the Zolox speed sensor with Warp9 mounting hardware came in. Here's a pile of 2x2" plastic boxes 1/2" high that fit the BatMon boards quite well. MORE
Plug-in 2008 in San Jose, California witnessed a noon-time address by new heavy-weight convert, Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel. Attesting to consumer desire for plug-ins, hundreds of people flooded the Plug-in 2008 auditorium for the low-cost “public” event, which included Plug In America’s Chelsea Sexton participating in a panel discussion. Once again, a conference on plug-in cars. Coming on the heels of the Google/Brookings event in Washington, D.C., MORE
Many people don't realize that the Honda crankshaft going into the transmission actually turns clockwise for the forward direction, as opposed to counter-clockwise for the vast majority of cars. As such, most EV motors have advanced timing on the brushes to optimize counter-clockwise rotation. MORE
Gav's EV Conversion - Living with an EV - IV from Gav on Vimeo. If you aren't familiar with Gav, he's been a long time contributing member of DIYElectricCar under the name of "kiwiev." MORE
Today was busy, so you should see a few posts. This first one is all the work I did installing the rear trunk battery rack base. As I mentioned before some of this will be verbose as I'm trying not to lose all the finer details. A few posts ago, I cut some 1.5"x1.5" MORE
I did some more work on the battery racks over the past few days. The biggest challenge is getting everything to fit properly without hitting any blockages. At this point, I think I have all of the metal pieces cut, but I don't have the bolt holes drilled. MORE
Tags: Editorials candidates senator barak obama john mccain ev electric vehicle phev hybrid range extended campaign race 2008 energy sustainable clean solar wind biofuels diesel hydrogen MORE
What does it take to winterize your electric car, and keep it running well (and far) in the cold MORE
Fisker's Karma is a production-ready plug-in hybrid, - meaning TODAY, not 2010 - and it's coming to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 15th MORE
This is the most comprehensive list of electric cars for sale I've seen yet! It's international, and covers past, present, future, American, European.awesome. Thank you, Jeroen MORE
Since John McCain recently mistook Barack Obama for Paris Hilton (hey, that could happen to anybody, not just the elderly), Paris assures America that she is "totally ready to lead.". Me, I'm totally ready to be your VP, girlfriend. Call me.) Okay, if you're asking yourself, what's that got to do with electric cars? it's in Candidate Hilton's energy policy; she advocates tax incentives to build hybrids and electrics, among other things. It's in the campaign video, check it out MORE
During the test drive, I noticed that the speedometer wasn't working. It had worked fine before I removed the engine. After researching the Helms manual, I needed to get at the speed-sensor on the transmission to figure out what was going wrong. MORE
Okay, it's time to get your wiring spaghetti on. I spent part of last evening (after fixing the speedo) and all of this morning wiring up the Batmon boards. In the process I blew the OVP channel on the IsoBatMon unit. MORE
In addition to the thick, high-current battery cables, we need to route the OVP (over-voltage protection) and LVP (low-voltage protection) wires from the rear BatMon boards to the front BatMon boards. MORE
Even though all the BatMon boards are not wired up, I was itching for a quick test drive. It was time for me to get the wheels on the car and take it for a short spin. This is the picture of my front hallway closet. MORE
Not surprisingly, we need to connect the batteries in back with the batteries in front and also include the main circuit breaker under the parking brake. These lines are typically routed under the car in the trough left by the exhaust system. MORE
I t's pretty rare when you get to declare victory and bring the troops home. And those of us at Plug in Partners are grateful to our partners and friends who have made this announcement not just possible, but in a very real sense, a reality. MORE
Much of my time was spent wiring up the controller, charger and integrator box from the Belktronix kit. I had to unbolt the charger in order to get access to the fast-on connectors on the side of the main motor controller. MORE
After spending the past year and a half converting a Porsche 914 to an electric vehicle, I decided to expand my horizons by designing an open-source electric vehicle (EV) conversion kit for a commonly used car. The intention is to create detailed designs and directions so that anyone who has a garage and is moderately proficient with hand-tools can convert their car to an EV. This project started about a month ago when I became co-chair of the Oregon Electric Vehicles Association. MORE
In order to shunt current around each fully charged battery, the BatMon boards use an external 3 ohm resistor. Since mounting these resistors involves drilling holes in metal, I wanted to mount them before mounting the BatMon boards to prevent metal shavings from sprinkling into the electronics. MORE
A s the political conventions take the stage, it's encouraging to see that both candidates support PHEVs and the development of electric fuel in the transportation sector. Here's part of Obama's plan thanks to Politico : Obama calls for 'clean energy' nation By MIKE ALLEN Sen. MORE
more A nd here is the announcement from Hyundai as reported in Wired : Hyundai Going Electric With Hybrids and Plug-Ins By Keith Barry September 01, 2008 Hyundai's been making so many announcements about electric vehicles and hybrids lately you'd think it was ZAP. MORE
One of my goals for this kit was to utilize as much of the existing infrastructure of the car as possible in terms of fuses, relays and wires. To properly wire up the Gast vacuum pump, I wanted a fuse for safety and ideally a relay to protect the pressure switch from arcing too much. MORE
At some point, I guess we have to charge this thing. Most people like to be clever and put the charging outlet under the gas tank cover. I don't like this because it's near the back of the car, away from most charging station outlets at parking spaces. MORE
T he Plug in 2008 National PHEV Conference in San Jose by most accounts was a big success. The announcement, which follows Google's request for proposals from companies with electric car technologies, came Tuesday during the Plug-In 2008 conference in San Jose, Calif. MORE
One of the major tasks during construction of an EV is properly crimping all the heavy duty battery cables together. Here's the process that I used. MORE
Japan and Europe by 2010 By Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press June 11, 2008 TOKYO -- Toyota is introducing a plug-in hybrid with next-generation lithium-ion batteries in the U.S., T oyota President Katsuaki Watanabe made his company's intentions clear yesterday about PHEVs. MORE
Whew! I finally got my internet connection back up at home. This is the first of ten entries that will attempt to show many of the tasks I performed over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend. First up, we need to beef up the rear suspension to handle the extra 420 pounds of batteries in the trunk. MORE
The next step involved preparing all the mounting hardware for the BatMon boards that sit on top of each battery. MORE
Ø In 2008, the House of Representatives will try once again to pass a renewable energy and energy efficiency tax credits bill that will include a tax credit for Plug in Hybrids. C oming this fall, mark you calendars for the Austin Energy Alt Car Expo and Conference. MORE
by ’10 By BILL VLASIC Published: May 13, 2008 DETROIT — The Nissan Motor Company plans to sell an electric car in the United States and Japan by 2010, raising the stakes in the race to develop environmentally friendly vehicles. MORE
The next step was to figure out where to put all the control electronics under the front hood to minimize wiring. The Belktronix system comes with velcro attached to the underside of most of its components. MORE
Today involved trying to mount the major electrical components to the car. Before covering up the transmission, I thought it would be a good idea to fill it with transmission fluid. The Honda Civic specifies 10w-30 oil for the transmission. MORE
I installed the remaining hold-downs for the 12V auxiliary battery and the extra battery in the rear trunk this evening. I hadn't designed these hold-downs before I sent all the pieces off to powder-coat, so I'll have to paint them with POR-15 protectant before I finish. MORE
2008 Related Topics Plug In Partners
AUGUST 1, 2008
T he Plug in 2008 National PHEV Conference in San Jose by most accounts was a big success. The announcement, which follows Google's request for proposals from companies with electric car technologies, came Tuesday during the Plug-In 2008 conference in San Jose, Calif.
Revenge of the Electric Car
NOVEMBER 7, 2008
“It’s gonna be Earth Day on STEROIDS !&# That’s how EV fan Paul Thomas lured us to the sun-scorched Barona Drag Strip to film this year’s Kick Gas Festival. Barona has seen many grudge matches over the years, but this was one we couldn’t miss; the first head to head between electric dragsters and old school gas guzzlers. Would Michael Kadie’s electric blue coupe kick gas in more ways than one?
Electric Cars are for Girls
DECEMBER 20, 2008
Fisker's Karma is a production-ready plug-in hybrid, - meaning TODAY, not 2010 - and it's coming to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 15th
Electric Cars are for Girls
NOVEMBER 11, 2008
This is the most comprehensive list of electric cars for sale I've seen yet! It's international, and covers past, present, future, American, European.awesome. Thank you, Jeroen
DIY Electric Car
JULY 28, 2008
Tags: Editorials candidates senator barak obama john mccain ev electric vehicle phev hybrid range extended campaign race 2008 energy sustainable clean solar wind biofuels diesel hydrogen
Open Source Civic EV Kit
JULY 13, 2008
I did some more work on the battery racks over the past few days. The biggest challenge is getting everything to fit properly without hitting any blockages. At this point, I think I have all of the metal pieces cut, but I don't have the bolt holes drilled.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
AUGUST 17, 2008
Many people don't realize that the Honda crankshaft going into the transmission actually turns clockwise for the forward direction, as opposed to counter-clockwise for the vast majority of cars. As such, most EV motors have advanced timing on the brushes to optimize counter-clockwise rotation.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
JULY 19, 2008
Today was busy, so you should see a few posts. This first one is all the work I did installing the rear trunk battery rack base. As I mentioned before some of this will be verbose as I'm trying not to lose all the finer details. A few posts ago, I cut some 1.5"x1.5"
Plugs and Cars
JULY 31, 2008
Plug-in 2008 in San Jose, California witnessed a noon-time address by new heavy-weight convert, Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel. Attesting to consumer desire for plug-ins, hundreds of people flooded the Plug-in 2008 auditorium for the low-cost “public” event, which included Plug In America’s Chelsea Sexton participating in a panel discussion. Once again, a conference on plug-in cars. Coming on the heels of the Google/Brookings event in Washington, D.C.,
Open Source Civic EV Kit
APRIL 7, 2008
After spending the past year and a half converting a Porsche 914 to an electric vehicle, I decided to expand my horizons by designing an open-source electric vehicle (EV) conversion kit for a commonly used car. The intention is to create detailed designs and directions so that anyone who has a garage and is moderately proficient with hand-tools can convert their car to an EV. This project started about a month ago when I became co-chair of the Oregon Electric Vehicles Association.
Plug In Partners
SEPTEMBER 15, 2008
more A nd here is the announcement from Hyundai as reported in Wired : Hyundai Going Electric With Hybrids and Plug-Ins By Keith Barry September 01, 2008 Hyundai's been making so many announcements about electric vehicles and hybrids lately you'd think it was ZAP.
Plug In Partners
OCTOBER 8, 2008
GM Finally Unveils Production Chevy Volt Popular Mechanics By Larry Webster September 16, 2008 After 100 years of making cars, it's party time at the General's house.
Electric Cars are for Girls
DECEMBER 20, 2008
What does it take to winterize your electric car, and keep it running well (and far) in the cold
Plug In Partners
NOVEMBER 3, 2008
I t's pretty rare when you get to declare victory and bring the troops home. And those of us at Plug in Partners are grateful to our partners and friends who have made this announcement not just possible, but in a very real sense, a reality.
Plug In Partners
JUNE 11, 2008
Japan and Europe by 2010 By Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press June 11, 2008 TOKYO -- Toyota is introducing a plug-in hybrid with next-generation lithium-ion batteries in the U.S., T oyota President Katsuaki Watanabe made his company's intentions clear yesterday about PHEVs.
DIY Electric Car
DECEMBER 5, 2008
Gav's EV Conversion - Living with an EV - IV from Gav on Vimeo. If you aren't familiar with Gav, he's been a long time contributing member of DIYElectricCar under the name of "kiwiev."
Plug In Partners
JUNE 30, 2008
A nother major manufacturer is jumping on the plug in hybrid bandwagon.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 29, 2008
Santa was good to me this year. I received a Link-10 battery monitor from my parents. I don't think they understand what it does and why it costs so much, but okay, they got it for me anyway. The items on the right came from Belktronix. The wires on the upper left are the Link-10 voltage prescaler.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 29, 2008
I tried installing the Zolox sensor mounting ring for the Warp9 motor from EVsource today. It looks like the holes on the mounting ring don't line up properly. The holes for the Warp9 casing don't match, so I had to drill them a bit larger so the bolts would go in.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 29, 2008
After futzing around awhile, I was able to get the spacer ring for the Zolox tachometer sensor to line up. Here's the bottom of the mounting ring.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 29, 2008
I'd like to get the car off the jack-stands and back into a position where I can drive it while still adding things like the guages. After installing the speed sensor, the last thing needed under the car is the splash guard to protect water and grit from getting into the Warp9.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 19, 2008
It's still pretty cold in the garage, but I motivated myself to get out to TAP plastics (10 blocks away) and pick up some ABS plastic for the improved splash guard. Here's the 3/16" thick piece of ABS lying on top of the existing splash guard.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 18, 2008
This is a cool day(And not just because it's freezing outside). The package with the custom tachometer from SpeedHut arrived. Although I received the 2-hole pillar pod last Friday, I wanted to show it here since I ordered both items from Speedhut. The wiring harness is nice and long.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 11, 2008
I got some fun stuff today. The plastic boxes for the BatMons and the Zolox speed sensor with Warp9 mounting hardware came in. Here's a pile of 2x2" plastic boxes 1/2" high that fit the BatMon boards quite well.
Plug In Partners
APRIL 21, 2008
Ø In 2008, the House of Representatives will try once again to pass a renewable energy and energy efficiency tax credits bill that will include a tax credit for Plug in Hybrids. C oming this fall, mark you calendars for the Austin Energy Alt Car Expo and Conference.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 5, 2008
Okay, it's time to get your wiring spaghetti on. I spent part of last evening (after fixing the speedo) and all of this morning wiring up the Batmon boards. In the process I blew the OVP channel on the IsoBatMon unit.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 4, 2008
During the test drive, I noticed that the speedometer wasn't working. It had worked fine before I removed the engine. After researching the Helms manual, I needed to get at the speed-sensor on the transmission to figure out what was going wrong.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 3, 2008
Whew! I finally got my internet connection back up at home. This is the first of ten entries that will attempt to show many of the tasks I performed over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend. First up, we need to beef up the rear suspension to handle the extra 420 pounds of batteries in the trunk.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 3, 2008
The next step involved preparing all the mounting hardware for the BatMon boards that sit on top of each battery.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 3, 2008
At some point, I guess we have to charge this thing. Most people like to be clever and put the charging outlet under the gas tank cover. I don't like this because it's near the back of the car, away from most charging station outlets at parking spaces.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 3, 2008
One of the major tasks during construction of an EV is properly crimping all the heavy duty battery cables together. Here's the process that I used.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 3, 2008
In order to shunt current around each fully charged battery, the BatMon boards use an external 3 ohm resistor. Since mounting these resistors involves drilling holes in metal, I wanted to mount them before mounting the BatMon boards to prevent metal shavings from sprinkling into the electronics.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 3, 2008
One of my goals for this kit was to utilize as much of the existing infrastructure of the car as possible in terms of fuses, relays and wires. To properly wire up the Gast vacuum pump, I wanted a fuse for safety and ideally a relay to protect the pressure switch from arcing too much.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 3, 2008
Not surprisingly, we need to connect the batteries in back with the batteries in front and also include the main circuit breaker under the parking brake. These lines are typically routed under the car in the trough left by the exhaust system.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 3, 2008
Much of my time was spent wiring up the controller, charger and integrator box from the Belktronix kit. I had to unbolt the charger in order to get access to the fast-on connectors on the side of the main motor controller.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 3, 2008
In addition to the thick, high-current battery cables, we need to route the OVP (over-voltage protection) and LVP (low-voltage protection) wires from the rear BatMon boards to the front BatMon boards.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
DECEMBER 3, 2008
Even though all the BatMon boards are not wired up, I was itching for a quick test drive. It was time for me to get the wheels on the car and take it for a short spin. This is the picture of my front hallway closet.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
NOVEMBER 26, 2008
The next step was to figure out where to put all the control electronics under the front hood to minimize wiring. The Belktronix system comes with velcro attached to the underside of most of its components.
Plug In Partners
MAY 20, 2008
by ’10 By BILL VLASIC Published: May 13, 2008 DETROIT — The Nissan Motor Company plans to sell an electric car in the United States and Japan by 2010, raising the stakes in the race to develop environmentally friendly vehicles.
Plug In Partners
AUGUST 25, 2008
A s the political conventions take the stage, it's encouraging to see that both candidates support PHEVs and the development of electric fuel in the transportation sector. Here's part of Obama's plan thanks to Politico : Obama calls for 'clean energy' nation By MIKE ALLEN Sen.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
NOVEMBER 19, 2008
I installed the remaining hold-downs for the 12V auxiliary battery and the extra battery in the rear trunk this evening. I hadn't designed these hold-downs before I sent all the pieces off to powder-coat, so I'll have to paint them with POR-15 protectant before I finish.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
NOVEMBER 16, 2008
Today involved trying to mount the major electrical components to the car. Before covering up the transmission, I thought it would be a good idea to fill it with transmission fluid. The Honda Civic specifies 10w-30 oil for the transmission.
Open Source Civic EV Kit
NOVEMBER 15, 2008
The Belktronix system instructions call for attaching all the Batmon boards with twisted pairs of wires.
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