Small Ghia Update

Today I installed the windshield in the Ghia. I purchased a couple weeks ago a new California Look windshield rubber so I could install the windshield so I can drive the car on the road. It is usually a two man job but possible with one. The inner lip is usually installed by putting in a string inside the lip so when you place the window you can pull on the string to lift out the lip around the window frame. I usually run the string around the inside lip twice just incase the lip does not quite lift around good enough. A second time around usually does the trick. Works like a charm. However on the Ghia rubber there is an outer lip too and it would be a smart idea to string that lip too. It would make the final fitting much faster but I did it by hand. Ouch. But it went just fine. The window is only temporary because the car will be painted and it will mean removing the windows and trim once again. I have the original window chrome trim but will only install it later. I also found a good set of rims for the car too. They were originally used on the Porsche 914 2liter model. They are painted the original factory color of the car they were installed upon. I will be changing that because the color is wrong and because the color is fading and old. They have reasonable rubber on the tires but I found two have old checking on the sidewalls so will not be good for much except driving around the neighbor hood testing the motors.

Pete :)

Regen Works

Today I did some testing with the motor and controller in the Ghia. The testing went well but not perfect. First I found that the flywheel was still touching. So I removed the motor once again to fix the issue.

1. Motor was shut down twice with no intervention on my part. I think it was just an out of bounds throttle.
2. Motor would run up to speed normally at under 200 amps then when I let off the throttle and then pushed the throttle to full it would speed the motor past the first rpm band and up into the 400 amp range. This I could and can do consistently. So full throttle then off then back on full will jump the motor to over 400 amps and super fast rpm's. Not sure what the issue it there. If I remain somewhat easy on the throttle all is just fine. Throttle setting is below fast ramp up. It is set at 7. 10 is fastest. It does not matter what throttle setting.
3. Current setting vs Voltage setting. Current setting is best.
4. Field weakening is OFF.
5. Regen is OFF during first part of the testing.
6. Field current setting is best left below 50%. Otherwise it just chokes at higher rpm. I think the more current in the field the slower the armature can go. I left it at 20% and it works great.
7. With field current ON and not running the motor the controller is feeding the field current. I found this because I had the field current left on at 35% and went to go do some things and had left every thing ON. Upon my return the motor was very hot but I had not done anything. Motor was cool before I walked away.
8. With field current turned up to above 35% the motor will spin slowly on its own with no intervention. It is not a throttle issue. Since the controller is feeding current into the field and one field is common with the armature there is enough current to both the armature and field to actually move the motor. With it below 35% there is not enough into the armature via the field to turn the motor.
9. The field power being fed to the motor is my biggest complaint because if I am sitting at a light there is power being fed but I am not doing a thing. It also heats up the motor and wastes electricity.
10. 35% field is fine as far as power goes except it moves the motor.

1. Regen function works.
2. Regen function is set now to 52% regen.
3. Regn works smoothly if I use just a brake switch vs pot.
4. My PB-6 is not functioning well so I could not test the regen using a pot to ramp the regen as needed during braking.
5. Time to try Regen on the road.

1. Movie is loading slowly. I will post that as soon as it is done and will remove this line.

Pete :)

Attention Deficit

Well once again the news comes out with a story on the tv about Electric/Hybrid cars being dangerous to pedestrians once again. I sent them an nasty gram because it is total BS. I work at a hospital and all the Car vs Pedestrian accidents happen with NOISY cars not Quiet cars.

The problem is what I refer to as Attention Deficit Disorder. Either the driver is not paying attention or the pedestrian is not paying attention or both are not paying attention. It is NOT because the car is quiet. Many modern cars are very very quiet if our standing outside the vehicle. What you hear most is tire noise.

The news station got an ear full this morning.

Pete :)

We have power

I got the kelly connected with the circuit breaker, contactor, switch, and throttle. Initially I kept getting faults but finally got the items connected properly and then applied power. Perfect. Nice smooth throttle up. Controller is set for 20amps to the field and the pack is 72 volts nominal. I do not have the regen set yet but now that I have it all together it will happen faster. I will be putting the battery box in the back seat area for the road tests here for regen. I do however need to remove the motor/adaptor once again. I am getting lots of wobble noise like something is loose in the clutch area. Not sure what is going on but I will have a look. It needs to be real smooth. Besides that noise it is all good to go.

I need to install my windshield. I will only be driving short distances at first then I will venture out further.


The Kelly Controller is working perfect. It's been a year since this last had power running through it. I hope this testing is quick and fully successful. It will be a good thing for all who have these motors. A nice PWM controller with Regen. How cool will that be.


Pete :)

Kaylor Motor Install

We got the Kaylor motor installed yesterday. I went out and purchased a nice new stock pressure plate for the beast but did not change the throw bearing shaft. For a stock setup there is just no need. I pulled out and did a basic setup of the controller as well. I am building another bench test to be sure every thing is working before placing them in position for going on the road. It is only a test and the road test will be minimal. I will be placing the cells in the rear seat area and will be strapping them together so they don't move. I still need to work on the brakes before venturing out on the roadway. This is one of the reasons for the bench test while installed in the car. I have no clue about the condition of the brakes at this moment. Those are easy breezy for me. The mechanical stuff my be stuck and be a pain in the butt but brakes are simple. I have enough stuff here to replace the soft lines if needed and the flex lines from the master to the brake fluid reservoir. I have new shoes and pads as well but they would come from the Buggy. That would put the buggy project back a bit again. Oh well. I did a quick video of the install.

One other thing I noticed while putting this thing together was that this particular motor has split brushes. The ones that Helwig sells with the rubber tops. These don't have rubber tops but they are split brushes. I thought that the Helwig split brush was a new concept but its not. I think that the rubber top is but not the split brush. It is also interesting that the other starter/generators I have do not have split brushes. Anyway I thought you'd all like to know that split brushes are not a new fangled thing.

Pete :)

Motor Placement

Well I am going to jump ahead of the game here this time. My plan is to put in the Kaylor motor tomorrow and do an on the road test of the motor and controller in the next two days. I need to run into Sacramento and pick up a few items for the Ghia and the Buggy. I need a windshield seal, throwout bearing arm. One of the heavy duty ones and I need a stock pressure plate for the Kaylor setup. I need a heavy duty shaft because I will be installing a large motor later so we need the old style shaft. I need a stock pressure plate for the Kaylor because that is all that is needed. I will be selling it as a kit so that pressure plate will be included. I just want to do the test for now. I may if possible pick up a dash pad too. I did notice upon close inspection that the original radio space was cut on the bottom portion of the opening. Bummer. I may just close it off completely then install some gauges there. If I am to have music I will incorporate the iPod/iPhone so I can have my own music. No radio. If I do finally decide a radio it will be a hidden one. I want the dash clean for other items. That is my agenda for my weekend.

I noticed today that the Leaf was a bit sluggish in the cold morning. It was 33 friggin degrees this morning. It's never this cold yet here. Its like winter just dropped in upon us. Our winters are usually quite mild and this time of year down right warm still. Well, reasonably warm but cooling down. Not today. Nearly freezing. The car was registering 36 in the car port. I preheat the car while plugged in and warm the interior so the drive is not so bad. I may have to defrost a bit on the way but its usually just a few short blips on the heating system. The distance is still good but a touch shorter but that is usually from the heating system taking some away while driving and needing to turn it on a few times during the drive in to work. The afternoon drive home is still fine and the temp out side was 50 when I left work. It's 40.3 right now outside on our property. So the distance is pretty much the same but the car is a bit more sluggish but since I don't always hot rod the thing it has not been an issue. It still performs well enough but you won't be squaking the tires in the morning. Capacity is not diminished even in the cold and after 5500 miles driven. I did however get my first scratch and first windshield dink last week. Ouch. No one around here drives for long before the window is dinked. I have never had a window with out a dink or crack after 5 months. One time I got dinked after two weeks of putting in a new window. I give up on those. Too many big trucks to not get dinked.

Pete :)

Kaylor Adaptor Bearing Replacement

We did some work to the Kaylor Adaptor after we tested and found it to be growling and squealing. It was the two bearings in the adaptor that needed replaced. One day and $130 bucks later we have a nice adaptor again. The bearings are 6209 Sealed bearings. Expensive little suckers. Should last another 10 years or more. This was built back in the early 80's so it has lasted a good long time. Wish I had a little buggy to put this in. I have another motor which I am going to use for a charging generator. Still need a few things which have yet to show up. Time to bug someone again.

Enjoy the flick.