48 Volt SOC Battery Meter
Got my SOC (state of charge) battery meter the other day. It is a 48 volt golf cart meter. The empty marking is 20%. This was a new old stock part I got off ebay for $10 bucks shipped (the guy had only one, but there were other similar ones and a cool illuminated one). My "plain Jane" meter doesn't have a light so I'm thinking of adding a couple LEDs above the speedometer and gauges of the bug. There is a small lip where I should be able to fit 3 L.E.D.s had have them shine down on the gauges.
48 Volt battery meter for the electric car.
D&D Electric Motor ES-15-6
I've had my electric motor for quite awhile and just realized I hadn't posted anything about it. I haven't done much with it yet except for fitting and measuring.
Here are the motor specs:
D&D electric motor, model ES-15-6 DC - 48-72 volts - 10 HP cont, 40HP peak
Not sure of the actual weight but I would guess around 60lbs. Measures 6.7" Dia x 12.28" Long
It has a 7/8" single-shaft (although the back of the motor does have a removable cover plate covering the shaft - might to rig a tach to it).
It has front mounting holes and a base plate.
Purchased mine used off ebay.
Electric motor #ES-15-6 shown with my Gates pulley
Good day for kayaking
Had beautiful weather and headed out to the local state park for kayaking. We have 2 of the Old Town Twin Otter kayaks and are perfect for our family. Super stable, easy to get in and out and so far haven't dumped them when the kids decide they need to stand up!
Flip forward VW Beetle front bumper
I didn't have a front bumper and saw this flip forward bumper at JC Whitney... first thing don't buy parts at JC Whitney! This bumper isn't that bad, but it take a lot of time to mount and adjust.
I put a coat of POR 15 rust preventor on it first then roughed it up, primed and painted a satin black. It turned out OK.
Primed
Final paint
My EV power source
Iowa wind power
Adapter building – EV conversion
Like others I am disassembling the clutch disk, so I can have something to fit the splined shaft of the transmission.
Here is the before.
Electric car adapter/coupler building
Just grind off a few pins and it will pop apart.
Clutch disk apart
I have a second clutch disk as a back-up. It is slightly different, but this one seemed to fit the shaft very good. I will update as I get more parts for the adapter.
Get a working vehicle for an EV conversion.
My original plan was to purchase a working, running VW Beetle to convert to electric. Saw this project and thought perfect.
Save some time and get a working vehicle so you know what you have!
Re-indexing “Lowering” VW Beetle
The previous owner had raised the rear of the beetle for 31" tires. At first I thought maybe there was something rusted together, because it was so stiff. Now, I know that they just didn't know what they were doing. There are tons of VW Beetle service manuals that tell you how to lower/raise the rear end. I found 4 videos on YouTube that provided me with enough info to get the job done and only took about an hour (not including the time to remove rusted/broken bolts!).
Here is the video link:
Trying to remove broken, rusted bolts
Configuring the Alltrax AXE 7245
So, I've had this big paper weight on my desk for about a month now. I was hoping that after I cleaned out the basement one of the "computer boxes o' junk," that there would be a serial to USB (9-pin RS 232 to USB) so I could play around with the Alltrax AXE 7245 settings, but nothing was found. I have one on order and hope to receive it soon!
The Controller Pro software looks pretty basic and extremely user-friendly. But, the settings will be more than enough for me. You can adjust the General settings, Throttle response and even record the performance. The Monitor option sounds cool as it will be perfect for my wife's netbook.
Here are the options available to the AXE (also has DCX optioins listed) controllers.
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Once my new cable arrives I will screen capture some of the configuration pages.
Save energy – Ride a bike.
If you don't like gas prices ride a bike. At least Rep. Patrick McHenry didn't recommend walking, because that would be taking things a bit too far.