LOGGING BUT NO WOOD!

The Zivan NG3 charger was hooked up and the Hantek logger connected to record the charge but when the 220 vac breaker was energized, nothing but the red light  indicating it should be charging. The pots on the charger had been adjusted to bring the end voltage down from 156 volts for the original lead acid battery pack to shut off around 136 volts, so the chip may be working and the charger just thinks it is already at the end voltage. I will need to do more trouble shooting and see if I can figure out how to get it to charge.

HANTEK LOGGER PROGRAM

The pack voltage on the pack has stabilized at 130.2 volts or 3.61 volts per 1/2 cell. This is after a 3 mile drive and sitting for a couple of months.

I have not had much time to work on the Fiero Project as my furnace was acting up ( The auxiliary heat was not shutting off) and my Miata is still overheating. I messed with the contacts on the furnace on Saturday and it seems to be shutting off now. Sunday I put a new thermostat in the Miata but and it helped but still seams like it has a slow leak somewhere that is causing me to lose the coolant after an extended period of driving.

I am gong to dig out the Zivan documentation and try and figure out how much resistance I should have had on the pot when it was set up originally. I may be able to set it back to that resistance and get the charger to kick on.

DATA LOGGER

Last week the Hantek 365A Data Logger arrived and will be used to log the first charge with the new PIC chip controlling the Zivan NG3 charger. For $75 I thought this logger would be a good addition to my test equipment. It is also available with Bluetooth for a little higher price, and that may be a good feature to have if you are using a tablet to save the log files.

HANTEK 365A DATA LOGGER

The Hantek 365A can record voltage, current, capacitance, and resistance. The sample rate can be adjusted and the data file can be exported to a log file on a computer, so it can be graphed. I am especially interested in the voltage climb at the end of the charge on the Better Place battery module, as it seems it is still rather flat when you approach 4.2 volts per cell. The PIC chip has been set up to end the charge at 137.5 or 4.3 volts per cell and has been charged to this level in the past, with no apparent heating or gassing of the cells.

When the new PIC chip is tested and the log file from the Hantek logger is graphed, I will post the results.

Thanks for visiting,

Randy

This afternoon, all of center console gauge wiring was completed and the center dash console was installed. There is still a rat's nest of wires but everything is labeled and should connect back up easily. Once the heater controls are installed and connected, I will put in the new meter in the center dash and hook up all of the instrument wiring. The last piece will be cutting the hole in the panel for the JLD404 and hooking it up. If everything checks out, I will be able to put on the center console cover and finally finish up the interior. That will be a great relief as I actually started the interior last spring. There is a new headliner, recovered sun visors, repainted panels, cleaned carpets, new covering on the panel behind the seats, and new seats. The interior should pretty much look like a showroom Fiero back in 1985.

CENTER PANEL INSTALLED

Thanks for visiting,

Randy

CENTER CONSOLE WIRING

I must admit, even though I graduated from an electronics tech school back in the 70's, wiring is my weakness. I am working on getting the center console back in the car but thought I should put better connectors on the wires going to the tachometer, speedometer, and gauges.

DuraTrax DTXC2250 CONNECTOR

After putting the female plugs in backwards on the first connector set, I had to end up destroying the plastic and use the connector housing from another set to correct my mistake. Ok, no problem, one down and only 3 to go!

CONSOLE WIRING

As you can see, the console wiring looks like a rat's nest and must be cleaned up and organized before attempting to put the console back in place. The 12 volt volt and amp meter quit working, so I am going to need to pull int instrument panel again to see if a wire came loose or if I blew another meter. The meters are very delicate and will blow if any of the wires are connected wrong or shorted together. They come from China and take 3 weeks to a month to get here, so the last time I ordered 3 of them so I would have back-ups. 

The Fiero will drive and as I reported in earlier posts, have had it up to 80 mph on I-70. The shift linkage was adjusted again, as the last time the car was driven, it would only go into first, second, and reverse. This has been an ongoing problem I am hoping to get worked out soon.

I am going to put another push on tomorrow and hope I can finally get the console wiring straightened up and the center console installed. 

Thanks for visiting.

Randy