Electric conversion: Project ForkenSwiift

[MetroMPG]

Also, I made a cable end lug with coarser strand 3/0. It didn't turn out quite as well as the fine strand stuff - more prone to cracking when flattening/drilling as I suspected it would be. But it worked OK.

[GasSavers_BigMouse]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Also, I made a cable end lug with coarser strand 3/0. It didn't turn out quite as well as the fine strand stuff - more prone to cracking when flattening/drilling as I suspected it would be. But it worked OK.

I ordered myself 30 feet of 3/0 welding cable (fine stranded stuff). Hopefully I'll get enough area out of the end to drill the 1/2" holes for the lugs on the motor. I may just have to splurge on the the 6 or so cable ends I'll need. NiCad battery cells use solid interconnects, not cables, so I won't have all that many to do. Good info though!

[MetroMPG]

You should be able to get the area for 1/2 in. holes. It's up to you really - how much you flatten the end before/after dipping it in the "solder pot".

How much voltage have you collected so far?

[MetroMPG]

Added a refinement to the end-making DIY:

You don't have to pre-fill the solder pot/crucible. You can just feed solder into the side of the cable at the neck. It's heavy - it'll run down the strands as well as up.

[Silveredwings]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

For someone with a lot more voltage & power in their pack, it's a problem.

Like a KillaSwift?

[MetroMPG]

Yep! 'Cept that wasn't controller failure, that was full-on wetware failure!

Fortunately, neither he nor the bike (nor the minivan) were really hurt.

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

The reason for the pedal-actuated contactor is: in case of controller failure, the driver's first instinct is to release the go pedal, theoretically cutting power pretty much instantly (assuming it doesn't weld). If we omit it, then a split second is lost, before jamming down the clutch pedal to mechanically shut things down.

Is this a problem? I've done a bit of EV reading (likely not as much as you) and I haven't come across a "WOT" controller failure (yet).

So theoretically, turning the ignition off (in this worst case scenario controller failure) would do the same thing on an ignition based contactor. I know, split second reaction time lost....

So is it really a problem?

[GasSavers_BigMouse]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

You should be able to get the area for 1/2 in. holes. It's up to you really - how much you flatten the end before/after dipping it in the "solder pot".

How much voltage have you collected so far?

I'm up to about 68 volts worth. About half way there :-)

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by trebuchet03

Is this a problem? I've done a bit of EV reading (likely not as much as you) and I haven't come across a "WOT" controller failure (yet).

You know, in the year and a half I've been following the EVDL, 2 Cursit failure stories jump to mind (there are undoubtedly more) - and they were "fully closed throttle" failures.

I haven't actually read about a WOT controller failure, though I'm sure if you ask on the EVDL, you'll get some.

Still, everyone insists controllers will fail fully on, and they're basically ticking time bombs...

[MetroMPG]

Note re. controller failures: DC controllers may fail ON. Apparently this is one of the other benefits of AC, which fail OFF.

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Clack, clack, clack! I hooked up a second, identical contactor, this one not bolted to the unibody, and it's much more reasonable in terms of noisyness. Still louder than nothing, but nowhere near the volume of the shock tower mounted one ... probably acceptable.

So it looks OK if we can soft mount the pack +ve contactor and run it off the low pedal potbox microswitch. I'll probably still try to insulate it to keep it as quiet as possible...