Note: To see finalized drawings of the Radiator Battery Rack and Bracket, see Are You Sure You're Building an Electric Car? (T.E.N. 7/24/99)
This week was a very important week for me. I finished teaching my afternoon and evening classes, and next Mod, I only teach one class in the morning. This means I will have much more time to work on the EV. I've set a target date of completing the EV by April 15. To this end, I've made a list of all the parts I need to finish the job, and plan on ordering them in the coming week.
I spent today doing clean up work on the car, and trying to finalize the design of my battery racks. Above you see the start of the "radiator battery rack." It's design is complicated by the fact that there is a crossmember above the box, plus the rack comes very close to the bell housing of the transmission.
I took out the battery tray and removed an AC line and the coil. There was also some sensor the ICE used on the strut tower, I removed that too. When I unplugged the coil, I compared the wires to my Haynes manual on the Escort. The most important wire I wanted was the hot connection from the ignition switch. I found it and marked it with black electric tape. The other wire connects to the tach. I'd like to use the tach, but I need to disconnect the electronic ignition module from the circuit first. I then bundled all the loose wires up, and put the battery tray back in.
On the right hand side the only thing to remove was the MAP sensor on the strut tower. I bundled the wires after I isolated the wires that went to the alternator. I plan to put my DC DC converter on the front right hand side of the car. Fortunately, the alternator was mounted near there, so I can use the wiring the alternator used to connect to the battery. It's good heavy guage wire. Also I found the wire for the alternator light. I plan to build a comparitor circuit to monitor the (12 volt) battery voltage. If it dips below 11 volts, the alternator light will come on.
I started work on the mock ups of my brackets and battery racks. While the glue was drying on my models, I started to poke around at other things. I took a hammer and determined just how much cancer (rust) the right rear wheel well had. I wound up with a good size hole.
I also drilled bolt holes for my receptical box behind the gas filler door. I like the irony of using the place that was used for gassing up, for charging up.
The Final Push
Here's where I stand: I've got a rear battery rack. I need to design and have fabricated the "radiator battery rack" (which I've started) and the "firewall battery rack". Because the "firewall battery rack" is very close to the controller panel, I need to get it's design finished before I finalize the (re)design of the controller rack. At the start of next week I'm building a full size mockup of the rear battery box. I've ordered 3/8" and 1/4" PVC sheets which I plan to use for the actual battery box.
I'm placing an order on Monday for all the parts (except batteries) that I need to finish the job. (Note, these are the special EV parts, I'll still have to make the occasional run to the hardware store). Once the racks and boxes are done, I can finish the controller board and wire the whole thing. I'd like to actually have the car driveable by the end of March, but I set April 15 as a more realistic date.
Installing the Right
Hand Motor Bracket
Fabricating the Rear Battery Box
Conversion Index