September 22 – October 25, 2008
It’s been over a month since I last talked about my car – it’s not that I haven’t had anything to say, I just haven’t done anything while waiting on my parts to return. On top of that, school has been busy, I’m taking a class at night at the community college and ….
Well the controller, vehicle integrator, pot box and contactor have found their way back to Ohio and are now back where they belong – in El Fiero! I repaired or updated all of the wires that were singed or cooked and added some new solderless connectors here and there. It only took about 5 hours to get it ready to test and it worked!! The off the ground test (on jackstands) was a success and I did it several times to make sure all was well. Moved the other cars out of the way, put it back on the ground, grab my drivers license and CELL PHONE and I was off to see if all was “really” well. A trip around the block – no problem. A trip around several blocks – no problem. The real test was to get my son from work (this is where it died last time) and again – no problem. I officially have my EV Grin!
So what’s next??? I still have to get my speedometer working. I know it’s just a wire, but I had other priorities today. Also, I need to finish my tachometer and get it installed. If nothing else, I can calculate speed by gear and RPM’s – who says you don’t use math! When I get my batteries cycled a few time I will take it to work and see how highway travel is. With winter approaching, I also need to find a way to keep the car warmer. I should be able to get things buttoned up to keep the car dry, but cold is still cold and I know my wife will not give up her spot in the garage. So I do have a few more items to do.
So until later….
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
It's Alive, It's Alive (sort of)
September 4 – September 21, 2008
I feel like a mad scientist with this project. All I need are some of those big throw switches to make better sparks and I can scream, “It’s alive, it’s alive”. But as we all know the good doctor had quite a few failures before the monster Frankenstein came about and I am beginning to feel my cars new name will be El Frankenstein.
First the good news – I got my EV grin today (though short lived). After the final wires were attached I gave it the second gear try out. Clutch pedal in, turn key, contactor engaged, stepped on accelerator – wheels spin! Now it was time to drive it. I get it off of the jack stands, enlist my wife as my co-pilot (God was watching) and off we went. It took a bit to figure things out (like where reverse was) and just how hard to push the pedal, but eventually we were on our way. Down the street and all of a sudden a strange noise – the fender liner came loose and was rubbing on the wheel. We came back and fixed it. Time to take my son for a trip around the block. With video camera in hand we take off. I am having clutch issues and could only find 3rd gear – not a problem, just a slow start. We made it all the way around the block! Hooked up the charger to top things off and clean up a few weeks work of mess in the driveway (with the car out of the way, I could finally clean up my mountain of used zip-ties). I was planning on picking my other son up from work around 5:00 and got things ready to go. Down the hill, around the corner – a shift from 2nd to 3rd (without a clutch). I was half way there when I felt something – sort of a chug, like an ICE misfire. Then a cloud of smoke and I was dead in the water (so to speak) coasting uphill with no place to stop. I coasted a few hundred feet and got onto a side street. I called my wife with the news, got a hold of my neighbor (a tow truck driver) and got the car home. The controller was dead!
So it’s back to the laboratory with Frank to see what happened. I am sending the unit back tomorrow for a check up/repair and hope to do this all over again in a week or two (with better results). Enjoy the short video.
So until then….
I feel like a mad scientist with this project. All I need are some of those big throw switches to make better sparks and I can scream, “It’s alive, it’s alive”. But as we all know the good doctor had quite a few failures before the monster Frankenstein came about and I am beginning to feel my cars new name will be El Frankenstein.
First the good news – I got my EV grin today (though short lived). After the final wires were attached I gave it the second gear try out. Clutch pedal in, turn key, contactor engaged, stepped on accelerator – wheels spin! Now it was time to drive it. I get it off of the jack stands, enlist my wife as my co-pilot (God was watching) and off we went. It took a bit to figure things out (like where reverse was) and just how hard to push the pedal, but eventually we were on our way. Down the street and all of a sudden a strange noise – the fender liner came loose and was rubbing on the wheel. We came back and fixed it. Time to take my son for a trip around the block. With video camera in hand we take off. I am having clutch issues and could only find 3rd gear – not a problem, just a slow start. We made it all the way around the block! Hooked up the charger to top things off and clean up a few weeks work of mess in the driveway (with the car out of the way, I could finally clean up my mountain of used zip-ties). I was planning on picking my other son up from work around 5:00 and got things ready to go. Down the hill, around the corner – a shift from 2nd to 3rd (without a clutch). I was half way there when I felt something – sort of a chug, like an ICE misfire. Then a cloud of smoke and I was dead in the water (so to speak) coasting uphill with no place to stop. I coasted a few hundred feet and got onto a side street. I called my wife with the news, got a hold of my neighbor (a tow truck driver) and got the car home. The controller was dead!
So it’s back to the laboratory with Frank to see what happened. I am sending the unit back tomorrow for a check up/repair and hope to do this all over again in a week or two (with better results). Enjoy the short video.
So until then….
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Close, But No Cigar...
August 19 – September 3, 2008
Sorry it’s been so long since my last entry. As it turns out all of my parts arrived and I spent Labor Day weekend installing the last three pieces to my very big puzzle. When I thought I was down to the last few wires, it turned out to be quite a few wires. And being a bit anal about it, I double checked many of the earlier connections. To make a long story short, the little car that could, didn’t. It seems that one connection caused an unexpected surge and knocked out a small component in my controller. After several calls to Belktronix, we deduced it was the controller and back it went. Prior to taking it out, I did get to recharge the traction pack and the charger worked great. It topped them all off in about an hour and went into a float mode to balance the pack. The BMS worked great.
Now to my lesson for all of you EV converters out there – plan and plan some more! My original design had my controller, fuse and main contactor in my rear trunk area. It would stay clean and dry and I added extra ventilation to keep things cool. Running the last batch of wires was a big pain with everything in there. The controller was on a slant and the big wires were at the bottom (and a big pain to get to). Another issue was with my battery layout. The way I routed the wiring from the front to the rear made getting the required power taps (a 24V and 48V tap) for the controller fan and contactor a bit awkward (and probably was what knocked out my controller). So since I had to pull the controller anyways, I redesigned the whole back end. I moved the two batteries that were above the motor to the lower trunk area into a new rack. This required me to get more 2/0 cable to make the new long run from the front to the rear (yes you heard it right, more cable!). I figured that what I had to replaced could get recycled into some of the shorter new cables and this required more cable lugs. The cable came in two days, but I am still waiting on the lugs. My controller may beat the lugs back! What I discovered in moving things around was a much better set up. All of those wires that looked like a plate of dropped spaghetti are now centralized at the controller and motor (the controller will be where the two batteries were above the motor). A lot of long runs into the trunk area are now gone. Wiring from the passenger compartment is now three feet shorter. I wish I had thought of all of this earlier.
So what is the lesson? When you are putting your system together and something doesn’t seem right, take the time to fix it. It may cost you a few more dollars, but in the long run it may save you a lot of aggravation.
All of my parts should be at the house early next week so I should be able to get El Fiero back together in a couple of evenings. I bought one of those mini camcorders and will post a video of my EV grin and maiden voyage.
So until then….
Sorry it’s been so long since my last entry. As it turns out all of my parts arrived and I spent Labor Day weekend installing the last three pieces to my very big puzzle. When I thought I was down to the last few wires, it turned out to be quite a few wires. And being a bit anal about it, I double checked many of the earlier connections. To make a long story short, the little car that could, didn’t. It seems that one connection caused an unexpected surge and knocked out a small component in my controller. After several calls to Belktronix, we deduced it was the controller and back it went. Prior to taking it out, I did get to recharge the traction pack and the charger worked great. It topped them all off in about an hour and went into a float mode to balance the pack. The BMS worked great.
Now to my lesson for all of you EV converters out there – plan and plan some more! My original design had my controller, fuse and main contactor in my rear trunk area. It would stay clean and dry and I added extra ventilation to keep things cool. Running the last batch of wires was a big pain with everything in there. The controller was on a slant and the big wires were at the bottom (and a big pain to get to). Another issue was with my battery layout. The way I routed the wiring from the front to the rear made getting the required power taps (a 24V and 48V tap) for the controller fan and contactor a bit awkward (and probably was what knocked out my controller). So since I had to pull the controller anyways, I redesigned the whole back end. I moved the two batteries that were above the motor to the lower trunk area into a new rack. This required me to get more 2/0 cable to make the new long run from the front to the rear (yes you heard it right, more cable!). I figured that what I had to replaced could get recycled into some of the shorter new cables and this required more cable lugs. The cable came in two days, but I am still waiting on the lugs. My controller may beat the lugs back! What I discovered in moving things around was a much better set up. All of those wires that looked like a plate of dropped spaghetti are now centralized at the controller and motor (the controller will be where the two batteries were above the motor). A lot of long runs into the trunk area are now gone. Wiring from the passenger compartment is now three feet shorter. I wish I had thought of all of this earlier.
So what is the lesson? When you are putting your system together and something doesn’t seem right, take the time to fix it. It may cost you a few more dollars, but in the long run it may save you a lot of aggravation.
All of my parts should be at the house early next week so I should be able to get El Fiero back together in a couple of evenings. I bought one of those mini camcorders and will post a video of my EV grin and maiden voyage.
So until then….
Monday, August 18, 2008
Time to Tidy Things Up
August 4 – August 18, 2008
By now you have probably figured out that I am still waiting for my last three parts (or maybe I am out driving my Fiero and could care less about writing). Still waiting…
While I’ve been waiting, I took the time to take care of some car business – mainly the windows. Back in December I purchased some used parts to include a door. I did not need a whole door, but it had a good window and handle and for $25.00, I couldn’t resist. My old window had been scratched from years of worn out wipers (those rubber and felt strips that “wipe” the window clean when you roll it up and down. The replacement window was in great shape and I had removed it last spring and stored it in the garage. I knew how to take one out, so now it was time to put the good one in. Also, in order to replace the wipers, the window had to be removed, so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone. All of this involves drilling out four ¼” rivets that hold the window to the regulator (the things that moves when you turn the crank) without breaking the glass or ruining the plastic parts that the rivet goes through – not an easy feat. Fortunately for me I had the parts from the replacement window as back-ups because I did not drill the straightest while removing the rivets. Once the window was out, I remove the wiper and prepared to make a new one. J.C. Whitney’s sell new wipers in bulk form (not pre-cut). So I had to drill, slot and cut the new wiper to match the old one, plus I had to re-install the old hardware. I maybe had $30-40.00 invested to replace both wipers (one per door). It was a real pain, but the end results were great. No longer will leaves and twigs go through the gaping hole from the rotted old wipers (not to mention small animals). The Fiero Store (http://www.fierostore.com/) now sells complete wiper sets for about twice what I paid, but it would be worth the additional cost to cut back on the labor involved. With the new wipers in, I re-installed the glass. Instead if those darn rivets, I opted for ¼-20 bolts and ny-loc nuts. There is lots of room for the bolts and it will make doing it again (yea, right) a lot easier.
With both doors done, I moved to some wiring. I bought two LED rocker switches – one for the fans in the controller/motor area and one for the vacuum pump. I already ran wires and it was a matter of hooking things up. There were a couple of unused wires under a switch blank on the dash and I traced them to an unused rear window defroster and trunk release. Both were on the run side of the ignition switch and were also fused. A little splice and dice and I had power at the switches for both. Being on the run side of the switch prevents them from being left on by mistake when I shut down the car. All three fans checked out and so did the power for the pump (which I will get back to in a few minutes). I also took the time to clean up some of the other wiring – in particular the 2/0 cable under the car. When I first installed it, I zip-tied it to some brackets under the car. I made sure that certain points had protection from rubbing so a cable would accidentally get cut, but while I was under there, I figured why not make all point “rub proof”. This involved wrapping coro-plast around each cable and then around the cor-plast. Then I zip-tied it to the bracket or other points along the bottom of the car. I feel much safer now knowing that it would take a lot to cut through a cable now. While under the car, I routed all of my BMS wires and other miscellaneous wires to clean things up. Once all wires were in place and secured, I started making my “belly pan” under the front of the car. This is nothing more than more coro-plas screwed and zip-tied to the under carriage of the car. I would like to completely seal everything up for weather protection, but being realistic, I figure 90+% coverage will probably be close enough. I will either incorporate enough pitch or drill a few holes to prevent any water accumulation.
I tested the vacuum pump on the bench first before hooking it up in the car. The replacement pump worked just fine and created enough vacuum for what I needed for the brakes. I built the vacuum tank out of a 12” long piece of 2” PVC with end caps to test things out. I added threaded, barbed plugs and
hooked up the pump through a vacuum switch. I set the switch at 20”Hg and tried it on the car. One pump of the brakes caused the pump to turn back on, so I figured the tank was too small. A trip to Lowe’s for some 3” PVC and new caps and I tried a two foot section of pip
e – it was a bit too much for my pump. I cut off about eight inches and it worked just fine. I glued on the caps and Teflon taped all fitting and it was sealed tight as a drum. I tested it and without any clamps on the fittings, it held vacuum over two hours without the pump starting up! I was happy. Next I shock mounted (heavy rubber feet) the pump to the fender well, next to the master cylinder. I made a bracket for the tank and mounted it to the firewall. Once again I tested it and it works as expected. Many people comment on the noise the pump makes on a near silent car and I concur. I may try to add an air muffler on the exhaust from the pump and see if that cures the noise. One other 
upgrade I want to do is change all of my fitting to pneumatic press on types. These hold the hoses without clamps and the hoses can be removed without tools.
And on a final note, I had more company and went to visit Larry in Columbus. A soon-to-be EV converter from Las Vegas was in town for his 20th class reunion and came by with his dad to check things out. Hayden wants to do a Camaro convertible and I think he will have a real nice conversion when he is done – good luck! Larry has it made – his dad’s shop has a lift in it and I am jealous. Larry is making great progress and should be sporting a big EV grin in the near future. Check out his blog when you have a chance - http://fiero-ev.blogspot.com/.
So until later…
By now you have probably figured out that I am still waiting for my last three parts (or maybe I am out driving my Fiero and could care less about writing). Still waiting…
While I’ve been waiting, I took the time to take care of some car business – mainly the windows. Back in December I purchased some used parts to include a door. I did not need a whole door, but it had a good window and handle and for $25.00, I couldn’t resist. My old window had been scratched from years of worn out wipers (those rubber and felt strips that “wipe” the window clean when you roll it up and down. The replacement window was in great shape and I had removed it last spring and stored it in the garage. I knew how to take one out, so now it was time to put the good one in. Also, in order to replace the wipers, the window had to be removed, so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone. All of this involves drilling out four ¼” rivets that hold the window to the regulator (the things that moves when you turn the crank) without breaking the glass or ruining the plastic parts that the rivet goes through – not an easy feat. Fortunately for me I had the parts from the replacement window as back-ups because I did not drill the straightest while removing the rivets. Once the window was out, I remove the wiper and prepared to make a new one. J.C. Whitney’s sell new wipers in bulk form (not pre-cut). So I had to drill, slot and cut the new wiper to match the old one, plus I had to re-install the old hardware. I maybe had $30-40.00 invested to replace both wipers (one per door). It was a real pain, but the end results were great. No longer will leaves and twigs go through the gaping hole from the rotted old wipers (not to mention small animals). The Fiero Store (http://www.fierostore.com/) now sells complete wiper sets for about twice what I paid, but it would be worth the additional cost to cut back on the labor involved. With the new wipers in, I re-installed the glass. Instead if those darn rivets, I opted for ¼-20 bolts and ny-loc nuts. There is lots of room for the bolts and it will make doing it again (yea, right) a lot easier.
With both doors done, I moved to some wiring. I bought two LED rocker switches – one for the fans in the controller/motor area and one for the vacuum pump. I already ran wires and it was a matter of hooking things up. There were a couple of unused wires under a switch blank on the dash and I traced them to an unused rear window defroster and trunk release. Both were on the run side of the ignition switch and were also fused. A little splice and dice and I had power at the switches for both. Being on the run side of the switch prevents them from being left on by mistake when I shut down the car. All three fans checked out and so did the power for the pump (which I will get back to in a few minutes). I also took the time to clean up some of the other wiring – in particular the 2/0 cable under the car. When I first installed it, I zip-tied it to some brackets under the car. I made sure that certain points had protection from rubbing so a cable would accidentally get cut, but while I was under there, I figured why not make all point “rub proof”. This involved wrapping coro-plast around each cable and then around the cor-plast. Then I zip-tied it to the bracket or other points along the bottom of the car. I feel much safer now knowing that it would take a lot to cut through a cable now. While under the car, I routed all of my BMS wires and other miscellaneous wires to clean things up. Once all wires were in place and secured, I started making my “belly pan” under the front of the car. This is nothing more than more coro-plas screwed and zip-tied to the under carriage of the car. I would like to completely seal everything up for weather protection, but being realistic, I figure 90+% coverage will probably be close enough. I will either incorporate enough pitch or drill a few holes to prevent any water accumulation.
I tested the vacuum pump on the bench first before hooking it up in the car. The replacement pump worked just fine and created enough vacuum for what I needed for the brakes. I built the vacuum tank out of a 12” long piece of 2” PVC with end caps to test things out. I added threaded, barbed plugs and
hooked up the pump through a vacuum switch. I set the switch at 20”Hg and tried it on the car. One pump of the brakes caused the pump to turn back on, so I figured the tank was too small. A trip to Lowe’s for some 3” PVC and new caps and I tried a two foot section of pip
e – it was a bit too much for my pump. I cut off about eight inches and it worked just fine. I glued on the caps and Teflon taped all fitting and it was sealed tight as a drum. I tested it and without any clamps on the fittings, it held vacuum over two hours without the pump starting up! I was happy. Next I shock mounted (heavy rubber feet) the pump to the fender well, next to the master cylinder. I made a bracket for the tank and mounted it to the firewall. Once again I tested it and it works as expected. Many people comment on the noise the pump makes on a near silent car and I concur. I may try to add an air muffler on the exhaust from the pump and see if that cures the noise. One other 
upgrade I want to do is change all of my fitting to pneumatic press on types. These hold the hoses without clamps and the hoses can be removed without tools.And on a final note, I had more company and went to visit Larry in Columbus. A soon-to-be EV converter from Las Vegas was in town for his 20th class reunion and came by with his dad to check things out. Hayden wants to do a Camaro convertible and I think he will have a real nice conversion when he is done – good luck! Larry has it made – his dad’s shop has a lift in it and I am jealous. Larry is making great progress and should be sporting a big EV grin in the near future. Check out his blog when you have a chance - http://fiero-ev.blogspot.com/.
So until later…
Sunday, August 3, 2008
A Visitor From the Internet
July 16 – August 3, 2008
It’s been a while since I did an update, partially because I haven’t done much and partially because I haven’t had much to do. The good news is I finally got my classroom cleaned, but with each good thing comes the bad – I’m still waiting on the remainder of my order. To be fair, I did get a care package from Belktronix – part of my BMS (battery management system) came and that is what I have been working on. I did make the quick trip to visit the in-laws and got some things around the house done, but it was a mini “not working on the EV” vacation.
The BMS – it truly is a whole lot of wires! First there is the circuit board that has 8 hook-up points and a temperature sensor. One set of wires comes directly from the battery, one set goes to a power resistor, one set is for the OVP
(over voltage protection) and the other is for LVP (low voltage protection). Each unit is custom designed for the size and type of battery (group 31, AGM in my case) and all 12 of them work as an integrated system. The three components I am still missing work with these BMS’s so all I can do is wire them up. The wiring pretty much follows the power cables (the big 2/0 battery cables). Each OVP and LVP wire is wired in parallel to the next battery in the same order the power cables go. The big pain for me is half of my
batteries are in the front and the other half are in the back. So I start with three in the back, make the long run to the front to do six and then to the back to get the last three. I drew a new battery layout diagram so I wouldn’t screw things up – like I said, there are a bunch of wires. I am as far as I can get with these until the other parts show up –but I still have a few things to do to the car.
I also got all of the parts to put together my power brake vacuum pump. When testing the pump though, it came up short of the expected vacuum. I tested it several ways and got the same results. The person I bought it from on Ebay has a six month guarantee, so it is going back tomorrow. I will go more into detail when I get it done, but I expect to save $100-200 over the cost of a pre-made unit you see at the EV website.
To finish on a good note, I had company today. So many times we get to know someone through the internet and yet never get to meet them. So today I got to meet Larry (and his buddy Adam). Larry is a fellow Fiero converter from Columbus, OH (just an hour away). We linked up through EV Album and my blog. Larry vehicle can be seen at http://www.evalbum.com/1866. As many have realized, waiting is part of the game and Larry is waiting. So he borrowed my motor model that I used to build my adapter so he can do more work on his battery boxes in the rear part of his car. To say the least, it was a nice afternoon with a fellow EV converter and Fiero guy – thanks for the visit.
So until I get something else done….
It’s been a while since I did an update, partially because I haven’t done much and partially because I haven’t had much to do. The good news is I finally got my classroom cleaned, but with each good thing comes the bad – I’m still waiting on the remainder of my order. To be fair, I did get a care package from Belktronix – part of my BMS (battery management system) came and that is what I have been working on. I did make the quick trip to visit the in-laws and got some things around the house done, but it was a mini “not working on the EV” vacation.
The BMS – it truly is a whole lot of wires! First there is the circuit board that has 8 hook-up points and a temperature sensor. One set of wires comes directly from the battery, one set goes to a power resistor, one set is for the OVP
(over voltage protection) and the other is for LVP (low voltage protection). Each unit is custom designed for the size and type of battery (group 31, AGM in my case) and all 12 of them work as an integrated system. The three components I am still missing work with these BMS’s so all I can do is wire them up. The wiring pretty much follows the power cables (the big 2/0 battery cables). Each OVP and LVP wire is wired in parallel to the next battery in the same order the power cables go. The big pain for me is half of my
batteries are in the front and the other half are in the back. So I start with three in the back, make the long run to the front to do six and then to the back to get the last three. I drew a new battery layout diagram so I wouldn’t screw things up – like I said, there are a bunch of wires. I am as far as I can get with these until the other parts show up –but I still have a few things to do to the car.I also got all of the parts to put together my power brake vacuum pump. When testing the pump though, it came up short of the expected vacuum. I tested it several ways and got the same results. The person I bought it from on Ebay has a six month guarantee, so it is going back tomorrow. I will go more into detail when I get it done, but I expect to save $100-200 over the cost of a pre-made unit you see at the EV website.
To finish on a good note, I had company today. So many times we get to know someone through the internet and yet never get to meet them. So today I got to meet Larry (and his buddy Adam). Larry is a fellow Fiero converter from Columbus, OH (just an hour away). We linked up through EV Album and my blog. Larry vehicle can be seen at http://www.evalbum.com/1866. As many have realized, waiting is part of the game and Larry is waiting. So he borrowed my motor model that I used to build my adapter so he can do more work on his battery boxes in the rear part of his car. To say the least, it was a nice afternoon with a fellow EV converter and Fiero guy – thanks for the visit.
So until I get something else done….
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Kindness of Stangers (and New Friends)
July 11 – July 15, 2008
It’s been quite a week, and I have lots to report on. That dreaded ICE wiring has been solved. The kindness of strangers cannot be overstated. A fellow Fiero owner wanting to do a conversion contacted me and helped me through my
mess. Adam, from Marion, OH, is a wiring genius. He has done several Fiero upgrades (bigger, badder engines) and is very verse in the art of wire removal. I went from two jumbo bundles of wires plus the ECM to a handful of wires and everything working as needed – a big thanks to Adam. My engine bay is respectable now and the only things zipped-tied are things I still needed.
Because of my new fondness for wiring, I set out to fix some things, install some others and plan ahead. For some reason a previous owner hot wired some things (the heater fan and radiator fan). After digging through a mess of wires under the dash, I found the one that was cut. I checked it and thought it was dead. But after tracing it down to it origin (a relay in the front trunk area), it proved to be alive and well. I reattached it and now have a properly functional heater fan (no heat, but the fan works). The radiator fan was pulled with the other parts and I just pulled its mystery wire back th
en. I found my needed “Run and Start” wires off of the key switch. With those, I was able to install my throttle assembly. The Belktronix throttle is different than the PB-6 you often see. It is more of a spring loaded plunger that is activated by your gas pedal directly instead of the old ICE throttle cable. The ICE throttle cable is still used just to make the gas pedal return to an “off” position when released, but nothing more under the hood. I made a bracket with an arm attached to the gas pedal arm. From there, the throttled is positioned under the arm and depressed when you step on the gas pedal – quite simple. I hooked up all of the wires and ran a long lead back to the rear trunk area (this is where I will put the Vehicle Integrator Module). I tapped fuse panel for power and ran a new ground wire to use under the dash. Again, Adam made me a very confident wiring novice! While I had everything open, I found places for my E-meter and Palm Pilot. I discovered two empty switch bays that I plan on using for my rear area ventilation system (more later) and my vacuum pump.
Next up was the rear engine area where I started more heavy wiring. I pulled all of the batteries to have better access (they are still heavy). Since everything was opened I figured it was a good time to put in my ventilation system. This amounts to two 5.25”, 12V fans mounted in the inner wall of the rear trunk. One pulls in air while the other blows it out. The controller will be in this area and a cool
controller is a happy controller. I am going to close up this area as much as possible to keep things clean and dry and the extra air will help. The other part of the ventilation system is my motor cooler. There is a shroud available for the WarP9 that lets you force air through the motor to keep it cooler (and a cool motor is a happy motor). The Fiero has a functional air duct on the drivers side (originally went to the air filter) and I hated to see it go to waste. I took a smaller 2.5 inch fan, enclosed it in a Coro-Plas box and ran the vent hose to it. The fan will draw outside air to the motor and pushes it through from
the commutator end to the drive end. According to Netgain, this can make big improvements in motor performance – I am anxious to see. All three fans draw about one amp from the car battery (not the traction pack), something I hope to offset with some LED light replacements. Initially, I am using a switch to run these fans, but plan on using some simple thermostats to activate them later on.
When I ran out of the 2/0 cable I ordered another 12 feet (plenty, I thought). I figured I needed 8-10 feet and got a couple extra to make sure. I ended up with exactly zero inches left. I could call that good planning, but in reality I wish I had a few more feet left. I bought 42 feet total. The next price break was at 50’. If I just bought 50’ to begin with, it would have been cheaper (considering the extra shipping for the second order) – live and learn. The plus of the second order was buying a crimping tool (less than $9.00) and it really works. I am still a soldere
r, but by crimping first, it takes less solder, things stay in place while soldering, and the finished product look better. I made the other motor leads to the controller and ran them into t
he trunk. I built a frame out of a product called 8020, http://www.8020.net/. It’s very modular and with the right hardware, things slide in the channels. I attached my controller (with its fan), my main fuse, shunt (for the E-meter) and main contactor to this frame to be installed as a single unit bolted in the trunk. I fit in between to the two rear batteries and that made a short run for my dwindling 2/0 cable supply (remember, I had zero inches left). With big, fat green cable going everywhere, I managed to get everything in its place (a lot of trial and error, with an emphasis on error). Next up I re-installed all of the batteries, but did not hook them up. Things are getting real tight back there and I still have more parts coming in my last shipment that need to be i
nstalled first. The last thing I need is for my car to take off without a chance to get a short EV grin behind the wheel. I don’t think it counts if your car is going through your backyard being chased as an actual first drive – others may disagree.
I’m taking a few days off to tend to other business at work and with family. Hopefully my other stuff will arrive this week or next and I can hit the road real soon. So until next time…
It’s been quite a week, and I have lots to report on. That dreaded ICE wiring has been solved. The kindness of strangers cannot be overstated. A fellow Fiero owner wanting to do a conversion contacted me and helped me through my
mess. Adam, from Marion, OH, is a wiring genius. He has done several Fiero upgrades (bigger, badder engines) and is very verse in the art of wire removal. I went from two jumbo bundles of wires plus the ECM to a handful of wires and everything working as needed – a big thanks to Adam. My engine bay is respectable now and the only things zipped-tied are things I still needed.Because of my new fondness for wiring, I set out to fix some things, install some others and plan ahead. For some reason a previous owner hot wired some things (the heater fan and radiator fan). After digging through a mess of wires under the dash, I found the one that was cut. I checked it and thought it was dead. But after tracing it down to it origin (a relay in the front trunk area), it proved to be alive and well. I reattached it and now have a properly functional heater fan (no heat, but the fan works). The radiator fan was pulled with the other parts and I just pulled its mystery wire back th
en. I found my needed “Run and Start” wires off of the key switch. With those, I was able to install my throttle assembly. The Belktronix throttle is different than the PB-6 you often see. It is more of a spring loaded plunger that is activated by your gas pedal directly instead of the old ICE throttle cable. The ICE throttle cable is still used just to make the gas pedal return to an “off” position when released, but nothing more under the hood. I made a bracket with an arm attached to the gas pedal arm. From there, the throttled is positioned under the arm and depressed when you step on the gas pedal – quite simple. I hooked up all of the wires and ran a long lead back to the rear trunk area (this is where I will put the Vehicle Integrator Module). I tapped fuse panel for power and ran a new ground wire to use under the dash. Again, Adam made me a very confident wiring novice! While I had everything open, I found places for my E-meter and Palm Pilot. I discovered two empty switch bays that I plan on using for my rear area ventilation system (more later) and my vacuum pump.Next up was the rear engine area where I started more heavy wiring. I pulled all of the batteries to have better access (they are still heavy). Since everything was opened I figured it was a good time to put in my ventilation system. This amounts to two 5.25”, 12V fans mounted in the inner wall of the rear trunk. One pulls in air while the other blows it out. The controller will be in this area and a cool
controller is a happy controller. I am going to close up this area as much as possible to keep things clean and dry and the extra air will help. The other part of the ventilation system is my motor cooler. There is a shroud available for the WarP9 that lets you force air through the motor to keep it cooler (and a cool motor is a happy motor). The Fiero has a functional air duct on the drivers side (originally went to the air filter) and I hated to see it go to waste. I took a smaller 2.5 inch fan, enclosed it in a Coro-Plas box and ran the vent hose to it. The fan will draw outside air to the motor and pushes it through from
the commutator end to the drive end. According to Netgain, this can make big improvements in motor performance – I am anxious to see. All three fans draw about one amp from the car battery (not the traction pack), something I hope to offset with some LED light replacements. Initially, I am using a switch to run these fans, but plan on using some simple thermostats to activate them later on.When I ran out of the 2/0 cable I ordered another 12 feet (plenty, I thought). I figured I needed 8-10 feet and got a couple extra to make sure. I ended up with exactly zero inches left. I could call that good planning, but in reality I wish I had a few more feet left. I bought 42 feet total. The next price break was at 50’. If I just bought 50’ to begin with, it would have been cheaper (considering the extra shipping for the second order) – live and learn. The plus of the second order was buying a crimping tool (less than $9.00) and it really works. I am still a soldere
r, but by crimping first, it takes less solder, things stay in place while soldering, and the finished product look better. I made the other motor leads to the controller and ran them into t
he trunk. I built a frame out of a product called 8020, http://www.8020.net/. It’s very modular and with the right hardware, things slide in the channels. I attached my controller (with its fan), my main fuse, shunt (for the E-meter) and main contactor to this frame to be installed as a single unit bolted in the trunk. I fit in between to the two rear batteries and that made a short run for my dwindling 2/0 cable supply (remember, I had zero inches left). With big, fat green cable going everywhere, I managed to get everything in its place (a lot of trial and error, with an emphasis on error). Next up I re-installed all of the batteries, but did not hook them up. Things are getting real tight back there and I still have more parts coming in my last shipment that need to be i
nstalled first. The last thing I need is for my car to take off without a chance to get a short EV grin behind the wheel. I don’t think it counts if your car is going through your backyard being chased as an actual first drive – others may disagree.I’m taking a few days off to tend to other business at work and with family. Hopefully my other stuff will arrive this week or next and I can hit the road real soon. So until next time…
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Got Air???
July 10, 2008
This entry is a bit early, but I just wanted to let everyone know about my air shocks.
After properly doing my homework, I did get the right air shocks (this time). For anyone out there wanting to do this but is either told you can’t (as I was) or can’t find the right s
hocks here is my tip of the day. Most shocks come is just a few varieties. Some have bushings, a steel insert through a rubber bushing. Usually a bolt goes through this insert. Some have a flat tab (with holes or slots) that takes two bolts (with or without nuts) and the third type is a straight shaft that is threaded at the end. The flat tabs and steel inserts that go through a rubber bushing are fairly interchangeable. For instance, my car requires a flat tab at the top and a steel insert at the bottom – both go through the rubber bushing. The shocks I ordered had steel inserts at both ends and they were not the right size, but the rubber bushings were the same. I removed the pieces I needed from my old shocks (which were actually brand new) and replaced the ones on the air shocks with these pieces. Now everything matches my car. Monroe has a good website and I was able to find shocks that had the right type of ends and the approximate length I needed. It took me about 2 ½ hours to do everything and they work.
The shocks range from 10 – 150 PSI and with just 70 PSI my car was level again
. The shock have good recoil and I can actually get under the car from the front – well as good as I could before I added the batteries. The two pictures don’t appear to show much difference in height (I failed to get a before air shock picture), but in reality it was about 1to1.5 inches 
and that is at 70 PSI. If I did 120 PSI, it might add another inch to that!
These two web pages will get you to a wealth of information. The first will tell you if air shocks are available for your EV. If not, write down the model numbers of what will work and go to the second link. On this page, click on the “mounting and length” info and find your shocks. Note the compressed and extended lengths and type of mounting at each end – and start searching.
http://www.monroe.com/catalog_lookup/ocl_default.asp
http://www.monroe.com/catalog_lookup/ocl_miscappinfo.asp
I know this will probably not work with struts because of the types of mounting they have, but with a little engineering, you might find a solution. I spent $61.00 to do this upgrade and it was worth every cent. If you look at air bags for your suspension or coilovers, you can spend a fortune going this route. For you Fiero converters, the model was Monroe – MA803.
Until later….
This entry is a bit early, but I just wanted to let everyone know about my air shocks.
After properly doing my homework, I did get the right air shocks (this time). For anyone out there wanting to do this but is either told you can’t (as I was) or can’t find the right s
hocks here is my tip of the day. Most shocks come is just a few varieties. Some have bushings, a steel insert through a rubber bushing. Usually a bolt goes through this insert. Some have a flat tab (with holes or slots) that takes two bolts (with or without nuts) and the third type is a straight shaft that is threaded at the end. The flat tabs and steel inserts that go through a rubber bushing are fairly interchangeable. For instance, my car requires a flat tab at the top and a steel insert at the bottom – both go through the rubber bushing. The shocks I ordered had steel inserts at both ends and they were not the right size, but the rubber bushings were the same. I removed the pieces I needed from my old shocks (which were actually brand new) and replaced the ones on the air shocks with these pieces. Now everything matches my car. Monroe has a good website and I was able to find shocks that had the right type of ends and the approximate length I needed. It took me about 2 ½ hours to do everything and they work.The shocks range from 10 – 150 PSI and with just 70 PSI my car was level again
. The shock have good recoil and I can actually get under the car from the front – well as good as I could before I added the batteries. The two pictures don’t appear to show much difference in height (I failed to get a before air shock picture), but in reality it was about 1to1.5 inches 
and that is at 70 PSI. If I did 120 PSI, it might add another inch to that!These two web pages will get you to a wealth of information. The first will tell you if air shocks are available for your EV. If not, write down the model numbers of what will work and go to the second link. On this page, click on the “mounting and length” info and find your shocks. Note the compressed and extended lengths and type of mounting at each end – and start searching.
http://www.monroe.com/catalog_lookup/ocl_default.asp
http://www.monroe.com/catalog_lookup/ocl_miscappinfo.asp
I know this will probably not work with struts because of the types of mounting they have, but with a little engineering, you might find a solution. I spent $61.00 to do this upgrade and it was worth every cent. If you look at air bags for your suspension or coilovers, you can spend a fortune going this route. For you Fiero converters, the model was Monroe – MA803.
Until later….
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