GORGEOUS DAYS!

Here we are on the seventh of February and the weather over the weekend has been spring like, here in central Ohio but no work was done on the Fiero. The new rubber wheel well splash shields from the Fiero Store arrived a couple weeks ago but just didn't have the motivation to put them in yet. I did move the car to do a little paint work on the Mercedes SLK 230 headliner trim pieces but that is about the extent of messing with it.

Even though my posts have been down, the hits on the blog were up in January and are already at 106 views for February. Thanks to all of you who have been following this build and I promise, the posts will pick up in March.

Currently, new equipment is being gathered to be able to do some drive videos and I am really shooting for getting the third module installed so the car can be driven the 22 miles to work. Several of my co-workers have been interested in seeing the conversion but I want the car to be working and look as good as possible before showing it. Hopefully by early spring it will be ready for prime time!

Inside EVs ran an article titled "President Obama Proposes $10 Per Barrel Tax On Oil In Push For Cleaner Transport" and it is ironic because if any of you follow EVTV, Jack Rickard laid out a very similar plan to tax gasoline, starting with $.25/gallon and gradually raising it over the next 5 years. Now I am not advocating raising taxes and the chances of passing a bill to raise taxes on oil would be slim to none, but it would be a way to fund clean transportation and give additional incentives  for the public to try an alternate fuel vehicle. 

Well, got my EV fix out of the way for this week, so back to the Superbowl. Thanks for visiting and don't forget to leave a comment.

Randy

THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER

There has to a better way to connect the wires to the 12 volt DC-DC isolated converter,  purchased from Light Object. Soldering the wires to the small pins leaves a connection that is just too delicate. A pigtail that plugs into the pins would sure be nice! These are necessary to make sure the 12 volt negative and pack voltage negative are not tied together causing a small ground leak through the meters.

12 VOLT ISOLATED DC-DC CONVERTER

Sunday morning was spend removing the two isolated DC-DC converters, from the dash and re-soldering one of the wires. Finally both of the meters worked, the wires were stuffed back into the dash, and the gauge face was back in place.

METERS WORKING AND INSTALLED IN DASH

Different instrument cluster LED bulbs were purchased from Light In The Box but it seems like only half of the speedometer is working. I don't think it is the bulbs but probably the instrument panel connector or the light sockets, as they have seem to be very temperamental in a 30 year old car.

LED DASH BULBS

No EVTV this morning and EV West did not do a monthly show for February yet, so my EV fix was watching a Youtube Video from Damian McGuire.

Work on the Fiero will continue tonight, so I may post again before I go to bed. The next step is to get the center console back in the car, the heater controls hooked up, and the connections for the Dell Venue 8 Pro made up. It is almost 50 deg today in Columbus, Ohio and spring is just around the corner. My goal for this winter is to get the instruments hooked up and all of the interior completed. This will allow me to focus on getting the other two battery modules installed and the belly pan back on the car, when spring finally gets here and the car can be parked back outside.

Thanks for viewing,

Randy

FIXING THE METER WIRING

Last week I put the center console back in the Fiero but when trying to make up the connections to the panel meters, found that a couple of the connectors were wired wrong. I had the 12 volt power wires going to the panel meter shunt wires. There were two wires connected, that I just could not remember where they came from, so today, measured them with a volt meter and found they increased in millivolts as the interior lights were turned on, then increased more when the headlights were turned on, so reasoned that those were actually the 12 volt shunt wires. 

The 12 volt panel meter is not lighting up, so I removed it and checked it across a 12 volt battery. It came on just fine, so went inside the car to run voltage checks on the power feed wires. When the power was originally connected, 12 volt wires branched off, to go to each of the panel meters. The pack voltage meter is working just fine but I do not have 12 volts coming out of the low voltage meter dc-dc converter, so deduct that it went bad. I will need to order another one from Light Object so hopefully this will solve the problem and the instrument panel can be closed back up.

PANEL METER DC-DC ISOLATION CONVERTERS

The pack voltage and shunt wires were connected and when the motor was revved up, I got a current reading. The meter is a 100 amp scale with a 100 amp/75 mv shunt, so  with the 1000 amp/75 mv shunt, I just need to multiply the reading by 10. I searched for a 200 volt 1000 amp duel panel meter but could not find one anywhere, so figured this arrangement would give me an indication of the amps being pulled. I am a little worried because when I switched power to the controller, there was a loud pop in the rear of the car. The motor spun normally and when I went back to investigate, nothing could be found. The Synkromotive Controller is supposed to have built in pre-charge but maybe I still need to wait a little longer before switching the switch all the way to the start position. 

A TCCH charger was purchased on EBAY, as the Pic Chip for the Zivan NG3 charger, would not turn the charger on. I was a little disappointed when when the TCCH charger arrived as it is a good 10 pounds heaver and shutting off at 137 volts, is only rated at 20 amps. The NG3 is rated at 18 amps at 137 volts so I am not gaining that much going to the much heavier charger. I also ordered an AC contactor and will use it as a fail safe, to shut the charger off at 137 volts.

TCCH 3000 CHARGER

To warm the interior of the Fiero, a spot light was put inside overnight, so it would be warm when I started working on the wiring, It worked really well and I was perfectly comfortable working on the wiring, even though the garage was in the 40s.

SPOT LIGHT INTERIOR HEATER

Awhile back I hooked up a TV to keep me company while bottom balancing the modules, so spent the day working on wiring and watching Superbowl coverage. I didn't end up watching much of the actual game but did get to see the final Sea Hawk drive end with the interception on the goal line.

TV TO KEEP ME COMPANY

Spring is just around the corner and if I can get the meters working, the interior back together and the battery charger back in the car, will be able to start driving it in a month or so. I want to get a belly pan back on the car before it is driven in rain or snow but will take it over to a mechanic with a lift in Kirkersville and have him help me put it back on the car. The previous owner claimed that it dropped the amp draw significantly, then the car is driven on the interstate.

Until next post,

Randy 

RELOADING

No post last week but the build has still been moving forward. Dell finally offers a cable that allows the Venue 8 Pro to charge and pass data simultaneously, so I now have one in my possession and am happy to report, it works as advertised.

Dell Micro USB Dongle for Data and Charging

CHARGING AND RECOGNIZING USB DRIVE

A couple weeks ago I put the HiPower cells on Craigslist and had an inquiry from a guy in Indiana. We emailed back and fourth and today he and his friend came to pick up the cells. This puts the build back down in the $10,000 range, that was my original goal. Being able to charge while passing data is the last obstetrical in re installing the center console, so I have  been arranging wires and getting ready to put the console back in. 

HIPOWER CELLS GONE!

Now that the project has been reloaded, it is time to move forward!

Randy 

ANOTHER DAY

Yesterday, the 12 volt system volt amp meter stopped reading voltage, so I got out the volt meter to trace out the 12 volt line and found it had no power. I am getting power from the cigarette 12 volt source, so upon checking the fuse, found it blown. After replacing the fuse, the meter started working properly.

An aluminum plate was also made to mount the meters in and will be attached to the speedometer glass. This will cover the gaps and make a cleaner mounting for the meters.

The driver's side door panel was cleaned and a fresh coat of medium gray interior paint was applied, with the arm rest getting a coat of charcoal gray. A little carpet cleanup and the door panel will be finished.

DOOR PANEL PAINTED

Also, some time was spent on the internet ordering new outer window seals and researching how to install them. The diagram below is courtesy of Michigan Fiero Club. 

FIERO DOOR DIAGRAM

The trunk was also hosed out to and I am going to take some measurements, as the battery module would be easy to fit in the bottom and a floor could be fabricated that would still give the car some trunk space. This may be the easiest place to put the Better Place Module and will still keep the center of gravity low. I just want to make sure there is a place to put groceries or packages as the car only has two seats and no space in the cabin for cargo.

Thanks for visiting,

Randy

FRIDAY THE 13TH

My workload was a little lite and the weather wasn't bad, so I decided to take a half day vacation to work on the Fiero. This week a new dual meter arrived to replace the one that quit working and I decided to test the one that was used on the 12 volt system that was not showing an amp reading. A headlight was wired to the shunt and the meter connections were made on the test bench and after a small puff of smoke, the meter went dead. It is discouraging because at least they both lit up when they were in the dash and the 120 pack ammeter was actually giving me a reading. I thought the low voltage and high voltage sides were isolated on the meters but when I hooked the ohm meter between the grounds, there is a dead short, so a 12 volt to 12 volt isolation dc converter will need to be added to the circuit. I found different dual volt/amp meters and ordered a couple of them. So the meter project is in "Hurry Up and Wait" status.

VOLT AMP METER

On to the heater circuit. The fuse arrived last week and I got on the internet to try to find a holder. The only holder I could find was in a breaker switch, had to be ordered by the case of 40, and was $150, so my $6 fuse was going to cost me an arm and leg to install. Back to EBAY where I bought an inline fuse and holder for a solar system that will work. Again, "Hurry Up and Wait."

FUSE AND HOLDER FOR HEATER

Diodes are going to be needed to run power for the solid state relay that is being used  for the heater so the element will not be energized unless the fan is running and 3 of them were ordered from Radio shack. Once again "Hurry Up and Wait."

NTE5812HC - RECTIFIER

A successful test was done on the solid state relay when the 12 volt control circuit was hooked up and an ohm reading taken across the output side. The indicating light lit up and the reading dropped from 100 mega ohms to around 3k ohms. I am figuring you need the high voltage hooked up for it to actually pass current so am not concerned about the reading.

After burning up the meter, I figured it is time to update the schematic so when they go back in the dash I won't hook up the wrong wires again. The red wire from the positive side of the traction pack also runs to the center of the console for the JLD404 and it was hooked to the low voltage positive wire coming off of the shunt. Since the dual meters do not seem to be isolated, it ended up smoking the power supply on the high voltage meter. Thank goodness these meters aren't real expensive!

DUAL METER SCHEMATIC

The wiring really needs to get finished so I can continue on with getting the interior back together.There is still the JLD404, Dell Venue 8, tachometer, and speedometer wiring to go before the center console and seats can go back into the car. Then I need to come up with a bulkhead to run the wires through the rear firewall. So much work, so little time!

Until next post,

Randy

PACKING HEAT

Sunday, work started on the heater control. The original build had a separate switch to turn on the heating element, that was mounted on the side of the instrument pod. Over time, the switch started pulling out and the vinyl around the opening was starting to split. The hole was covered with electrical tape and some grained sheet was heated with an iron to melt the electrical tape into the original vinyl. Then the dash pod was painted, with charcoal interior paint. It isn't perfect but covers the hole and looks pretty good.

INSTRUMENT POD VINYL PATCH

There is a micro switch on the pot box that is no longer needed because the Synkromotive controller will not start if the accelerator is depressed, when turning on the ignition, so it was removed and will be used to turn on the heating element when the heater selector is slid to the hot position. After placing the micro switch in several different positions, while operating the heater selection slide, a good placement was found and holes were drilled to mount it.

HEATER TEMPERATURE SLIDE

MICRO SWITCH NOT ACTUATED

MICRO SWITCH ACTUATED

One of the pods that house the duct door actuators was in the way on the bottom of the surface where the micro switch was mounted so the hole was drilled a little smaller and the bolt was threaded into the housing plastic. You can also see the washer that had to be used to keep the bolt from pressing on the duct door actuator housing. When the micro switch is removed for final wiring, some contact cement will be applied to assure it will remain in place.

Then the heater fan schematic was used to figure out how to power the switch so the element would only energize if the fan was running. Diodes can be used to power the heater element control so no matter what speed the fan is set to, the element can be energized. After thinking about the system for awhile, a small led light will also be added so you can see when the element is energized. Also, a fuse will be added from the pack to the element.

HEATER ELEMENT CONTROL SCHEMATIC

Documentation is getting a little behind, so I am trying to catch up a little, as when the car is finished, it will have a service and operation manual.

When looking for the ground leak, the first row of cells had to be removed, so while they were sitting in the garage, the voltages were checked. They were all 3.34 volts and within thousandths of a volt of each other. If any of you follow John Hardy's battery work, he has documented this behavior in the LiFePo4 batteries. As they are cycled, the voltages seem to come closer to each other.

BATTERY VOLTAGE READING

This has been a very productive weekend and all the known bugs have either been fixed or components ordered to fix them. The Better Place battery module is about half way through the second bottom balance and with some of the cells out of the car, I can survey where it can be mounted. 

Until next post,

Randy

TIDYING UP THE ELECTRICAL

Saturday morning, readings were taken on the shunt holder studs and after finding resistance to ground, the shunt and stands were removed. New shunt holders were ordered from EBAY but the old rubber plugs were re-installed with an insulating washer to try to get ride of the resistance to ground.

SHUNT HOLDER

SHUNT TERMINALS ORDERED ON EBAY

Then the volt/amp meter shunt wires were checked and both had K ohm readings the chassis ground. The meter that no longer lights up was hooked directly to 12 volts and it still did not light up, so it is apparent that when the positive side of the 12 volt shunt was hooked up to the 120 pack voltage positive side of the meter, it blew something in the power supply. I then checked the continuity of the good meter and found that the power supply ground wire and the high voltage side of the meter's grounds were a dead short, so these meters are not isolated. I have new meter ordered from EBAY and ordered a 12 volt to 12 volt isolation DC-DC converter to isolate the meter' power supply ground from the traction pack ground.

DC-DC 12 VOLT ISOLATION CONVERTER

Then the solid state relay was mounted on the firewall and the control and negative side of the pack voltage wires were connected. I ordered a 20 amp, 120-180 volt dc fuse from EBAY that will go on the positive wire going to the traction pack. A micro switch will be added to the heater control to energize the solid state relay.

SOLID STATE HEATER RELAY

Also a new driver's side parking/blinker lamp socket was installed.

NEW PARKING/BLINKER LAMP SOCKET

Not a bad day, considering I also fixed my son's Fiance's speedometer and tachometer problem, helped clean the house, and took everyone to dinner at J Gumbo's. Hopefully all of the parts are on their way to fix the remaining problems.

Thanks for stopping by,

Randy