OwnerDavid Newton
Owner's Other EV1993 Toyota Corolla
LocationChristchurch, Canterbury New Zealand map
Web/EmailWebPage email image
Vehicle1987 Suzuki Alto
Neighborhood EV. 80kph Max speed and 35km range to 80% DOD on flat in town traffic. Range increased to 35km when battery charging voltage increased to compensate for the use of Lead Calcium batteries and the discovery of a dud battery. Batteries have failed once under warranty and again since. 7500km aprox)
MotorD&D Motor Systems, Inc. ES-10E -33( sep-ex) Separately Excited DC
84V 8 HP cont 16 hp@ 200A 19hp @ 300A 25hp @ 425A 4500 rpm to 10 ft-lb 6.8" OD, 11" long (w/o shaft)7/8" x 2", 3/16" keyway. weight 57 lbs. The field is a separate electric circuit that is controlled independently by the controller. This allows the controller to alter the field strength as needed by the load; so at low speed the field strength is stronger, providing maximum torque. Then, as speed increases and armature current falls, the field weakens to optimize efficiency and allow the top speed of the motor to increase. the field is reversible, allowing regen braking from Thunderstruck Motors.
DrivetrainClutchless drive using original 4 speed box. Gear shifts when changing up and down are sweet. The synchro works surprisingly well without a clutch. (Very bad graunch (expensive sounding) if you push it too fast though)
ControllerSevcon SEM PPac
PowerpaK SEM 72-80V 425A/50A SEM Low I/O Logic weight 5 lb
Batteries7 Amptech by Supercharge 120AHr Deep Cycle (Batterie, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded
Calcium Lead alloy so need a higher Charge Voltage to fully charge than that which was supplied by my first charger. Need 14.8V not 14.4V. ( Cells in battery have since failed Lead is too expensive in NZ to be economic I may repower with a Lithium Iron Pack)
System Voltage84 Volts
Charger
Third time lucky. 4 X Meanwell PB360 variable voltage chargers replace the previously purchased sets. 25% increase in range to 32km as batteries now charge to 13.2V after sitting for 4 hrs. 3 24V 12.5A and 1 X 12V 26.5A charger. These chargers can be adjusted up to provide the 15.5V equalising charge required periodically to stir up the electrolyte by gassing. The previously used 14.4V fixed chargers did not have this function. Meanwell PB-1000-48 1000W 57.6V 17.4A 2 or 8 Stage Battery Charger charges the other 4 x 12V under the back floor from www.wellforces.co.nz. The DualPro takes about 6 hrs to fully charge its 3 batteries where the Meanwell only takes 3. It remains to be seen how battery longevity is effected by the 10A vs 17.4A. Certainly it is better for use to have the pack bought up to full charge quickly but ....(Dualpro replaced with another Meanwell charger with a 25% increase in efficiency. 5 10 08)
Heater1500W @ 240V Ceramic heater inserted into ICE heater core enabled by fan switch turning on relay. (Not terribly impressed at the heat output at this stage so will have to look at the design later.)
DC/DC ConverterKelly HWZ Series DC/DC Convertor 72V to 12V 300W
Dimensions: 200mm(L)*140mm(W)*72mm(H)
Fixed methods: 110mm*130mm 4X5 fixed holes
Input voltage: DC 72V Output voltage: DC 12V Operating voltage range:56V-97V Output current: 25A Operating temperature: -10C - +40C (Still seems to work with 84V+ supply)
Weight: 4 lbs.
InstrumentationPakTrakr Display and one 6-battery Remote, for monitoring six 6V, 8V, or 12V lead-acid batteries.ES1R Automatic logging serial interface. (Cycle Analyst METER has given up? dont know why maybe it doesnt like interference from the Dc Dc converter?) from Thunderstruck Motors
Top Speed50 MPH (80 KPH)
Good acceleration in third gear on the flat. Still accelerating at 80kph but ran out of road.
AccelerationAs good if not slightly better than when it was petrol powered.
Range20 Miles (32 Kilometers)
Tested today in town 35km to 80%DOD

Range fell to 6km as the cells wore out. I have great hope for the Lithium Iron Phosphate technology but will not be wasting any more money on lead.
Watt Hours/Mile385 Wh/Mile
I'm calculating this using kWHrs supplied from the wall socket. (kWHr x 1000 x 1.6 / km travelled) Around town accelerating to 50kph, stop and start heavy traffic averages about 330 WHr/mile(kWhrs/700km) . (At 50kph on the flat constant speed averages 40A so 112 Whr/mile (40 x 84 /30 )).
EV Miles
Current:4,000 Miles (6,436 Kilometers)
 
    As of 7/14/2010
Seating Capacity2 adults
Curb Weight1,364 Pounds (620 Kilograms)
Weighed in with ICE at 620 kg at local rubbish transfer station.Minus Engine 72kg, radiator 6.5kg, exhaust 12kg, petrol tank 9.5kg, back seats and belts 18.5kg, starter motor 4.5kg, alternator 4kg, clutch 2kg, Glider total = 491kg Finished mass = 1065kg including 200kg of passenger and driver. Manufacturers Max Vehicle weight = 1070 kg
TiresStandard
Conversion TimeICE removal 3hrs, Adapter plate fab and clutchless bush joining motor to gearbox 3 hrs, motor mounts and battery box cut out, fab and tack (pre certified welding) 2 days. heater element removal and install 3 hrs. Battery trays install 1 day. battery wiring and battery install, 1 day. Charger relay switches and Pactraker install 1 day. On board Battery charging system registered electrician 4 hrs. me 1 hr. Certification Engineer paperwork inspection and road test 7 hrs.(+me)
Conversion CostNZ$12500 to registered, legal and driving on the road.
Additional FeaturesPhotos here WebPage NZ Road legal 7 10 2008. Rear battery box is cut through the floor pan and sealed from the passenger space using a removable lid fixed at about 250mm spacing with 10mm wingnuts. The seal is Raven SD12. The box is welded steel galvanized then bolted to the remaining chassis and gas sealed tight with fire rated SIKA sealant used for fire chimney flues. The rear batteries are open to the road, which avoids venting and fan pre and post charge running.

On Board charger regulations turned out to be interesting as well. An Electrical WOF needed to be issued in NZ. The EWOF assumed the car was a caravan so the 240V into the car had to have a Code of Compliance issued by a Registered Electrician. A 15A round caravan plug male fitting needs to be on the car and then a three core flex runs to a meter box that has an Earth bar and RCD in it. I also put in a kWHr meter $75. A domestic interior three-pin plug is then run on the box into which the chargers can be plugged. I used a 10A capable multibox as I needed to run two chargers and a 240-12V transformer to connect the negative leads of my battery chargers as the SEVCON controller specify that chargers can not be permanently connected to the batteries or damage to the controller can occur. Using the transformer allows the four horn relays to connect in the negative charging lead when charging but when the 240V supply is disconnected the transformer loses power and so the relays disconnect and the SEVCON is no longer connected to the charger. The meterbox has an Earth bond wire connected to the chassis that must be a minimum mm2 (6mm?) and the wires must be protected against chaffing especially where they penetrate the chassis. Once the Code of Compliance is done an electrical inspection is done by an Electrical Inspector. Mine charged a flat fee of NZ$50 and wrote out the Electrical WOF when he had seen my 10m caravan charging cord. It lasts for 4 years and then needs to be don again. He stated that it was highly dangerous and illegal to use a 10A capable three pin domestic plug as a charging point as the spade earth sometimes splayed too wide for the Earth connection to be successfully made, hence the circular shape of the pins on the 15A capable caravan plugs. The inspectors instructions from his professional association was to cut up any three pin to caravan plug adapters he saw, as they have been responsible for deaths in NZ in the past. I would have thought the advent of RCD protection at the wall socket end might alleviate this but it is illegal. Three pin plugs are only capable of outputting 10A continuous especially if they are themselves protected by an RCD thus each is capable of 10A X 240V or about 2400W output which would seem to limit the maximum size of the charger power output as well as the charging speed able to be gained from using a domestic three pin plug circuit and thus should be a design criteria.

Switch to stop car being driven off when charging. A $10 microswitch with a long metal tail bent appropriately so it turned on and off as the fuel filler cap opened succeeded in breaking the circuit that turned on the relay, which then turned on the main contactor. It was necessary to put in this horn relay as the switching voltage for the SEVCON was pack voltage (72-84V) but I wanted to turn it on using the ordinary 12V car key ignition switch. Thus I ran a lead off the wiper motor feed that accomplished the switching task and wired in the three other safety requirements into the same 12V circuit as follows. An inertia switch from a BMW fuel injection system (most if not all fuel injected cars have them. mine $15) so in the event of a crash the relay holding the power on to the main contactor is interrupted. The wire to the filler cap micro switch then earthed to the chassis. A green light on the dash was placed in parallel to this circuit (after the filler cap loop) earthed to the chassis. Thus if either of the two safety switches opened current to the dash light as well as the main contactor is interrupted.

Red Dash Light indicating Reverse engaged. I used the Alto's gear box and mechanical reverse gear so I took a parallel feed off the reverse lights circuit to the dash light which was a simple mechanical make and break switch under the gearbox.

DC-DC Converter without battery back up. I used a Kelly and fed it from just before the main contactor and then to the common negative on the controller. This meant I had 12V available to switch on the main contactor circuit and the cars ordinary safety circuits "operated preferentially to the traction circuit" A red light on the dash indicates the 12V circuit has power. This is interrupted by the "mechanical operated isolation switch within reach of the driver". Mine simply cuts the negative return to the back 3 or 4 12V batteries using a battery isolation switch (400A) and is let through the chassis in the muffler arch just between the gear lever and the Hand brake. In the arch a plastic pipe conduit carries the main cables that connect the rear battery box with the front tray area. The conduit is 40mm diam plumbing waste pipe clipped at 200mm centres. The 90-degree bends and Tee work well though tight for 70mm2 welding cable.

Replaced the Dualpro charger with a Meanwell 24V 12.5 A output and another 10A output chinese charger from Supercheap Auto. This had a 25% decrease in Whr/mile efficiency certainly worth keeping an eye on the electricity used charging the pack to identify possible efficiency probs. The Dualpro certainly ran hot on float so maybe a fault in my one.

Jan 2010 Flooded lead acids have failed again so am replacing them with a Lithium Iron Phosphate Pack from Sky Energy in China. Still very pleased with the mechanical bits on the car and when I get the new tech batteries I hope I will finaly have the ultimate environmental answer to fossil fuel cars.

Have decided to repower a larger newer car Toyota Corolla 1993 with Lithium which has put the Alto out to pasture for the forseeable.

code by jerry