Wed 9 Jul 2008
Today, I sent off my Battery Monitoring System (BMS) circuit to the fabricators. If all goes well, I should have 50 of these boards in my hands by Friday.
I also mounted the battery box (which is now powder coated) to the chassis and bolted on the power electronics (the charger, controller, main fuse, and both contactors):
The next step is to install the batteries and start wiring everything up. I want to make everything really neat and clean, so I will be taking my time.
Sat 26 Apr 2008
Here is the data I collected last weekend. For the tests, I started in first gear and went through each up to fifth. Next time I run this test I will make sure to get to the same RPM in each gear. For the wheels down test, I was driving around a very large parking lot. I would estimate I hit a top speed between 35 and 40mph.
Sat 12 Apr 2008
I just couldn’t wait any longer.
I wired up the Zilla controller (granted, I did it in a rather temporary fashion) and loaded up the place where the passenger seat would go with seven lead acid batteries. Six of those were wired in series to form a 72v pack, and the seventh battery was used to power the contactor and the low voltage side of the Zilla.
A few laps around the parking lot at ~30mph and I was grinning ear to ear…
Mon 7 Apr 2008
After having the big bad wolf… I mean wind come and blow my tent down (one too many times), I decided the that the car needed a new home. So, I purchased a 24′ Hicube (these are 9′ tall instead of the standard 8′) shipping container.
I also paid a few extra dollars for them to put a roll-up door on the side.
It is sweet! No more worrying about the next wind storm. I also got a little time to work on the car this weekend. I mounted the speed sensor on the tail end of the motor.
I built a bracket and mounted the accelerator pedal.
And, I started to plumb the line that runs from the clutch master cylidar back to the transmission. However, I think I over tightened one of the brass fittings and will need to order another.
Fri 29 Feb 2008
It arrived today:
It’s a new Zilla 2k from Cafe Electric.
Look at all the toys:
Like every new toy I get, the first task is to take a peek under the lid:
It’s quite beautiful. After taking a peek I quickly replaced the cover. I didn’t want to let any of the magic out that makes this such a great controller.
One other package arrived today; my vacuum pump from Metric Mind:
This will provide the -power- for my “power brakes”.
