engine bay, almost done.battery layout
OwnerPeter Campbell
LocationCanberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia map
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Vehicle1991 Daihatsu Charade
5 door hatch
MotorAdvanced DC 8 Series Wound DC
dual shaft version
DrivetrainADC8" DC motor direct coupled to gearbox,
no clutch.
ControllerCurtis 1231C
Batteries45 Thunder Sky LFP90AHA, 3.20 Volt, Lithium-Ion
with EV Power (West Australia) Battery
Management
System.
On occasional more lead-footed
acceleration get the BMS
low voltage alarm (less than 2.5V on at
least one cell) to
go off at about 3C (270Amp). I can get
a bit more current
than this without the alarm when things
are warmer.
Through winter when it has been been
freezing or a few
degrees less over night in an open
carport the car only
does a bit over 2C or about 200Amp
before the BMS alarm
sounds. This is still adequate but a
bit more pedestrian
performance. In these conditions the
battery compartment
is in the 0-10oC range. In warmer
weather with the cells
at 20oC or more I get noticably zippier
performance.
System Voltage144 Volts
Charger EV Power's custom Chinese charger
HeaterI have two heating elements. Each
element is controlled
with a switch. The fan
comes on automatically if heater is on.
The flaps in the
dash are fixed so air always goes past
the elements.
Two very big 0.4 ohm
power resistors are the heating
elements.
With 13.6V these
should be almost 500W each.
The air con is the most effective
defogging and 900W of electric element
is barely adequate.
DC/DC ConverterIota DLS90
90amp version-more 12V current than
usually needed
because I have a 12V heater.
InstrumentationTBS battery gauge. Original tacho works
with a
signal from a Hall sensor and a metal
disk with two
notches on the second motor shaft. A
signal boost circuit
was required to get the original tacho
to respond-thanks evric
(evric.kestar.com.au). The
overheating switch on the ADC motor is
wired to the
original'engine' warning light. A cheap
little rechargeable
flashlight in the lighter socket has
LEDs showing
12V/11V/10V on the 12V system. If the
12V LED goes
out the DC/DC converter must have
failed and the car is
running down the backup 12V battery.
Top Speed60 MPH (96 KPH)
100kmph is the speed limit on the
fastest road I have driven on so far
and it did that easily.
AccelerationBrisk, entirely adequate, but not a
racing car. I'm using 2nd
gear for quicker standing takeoffs
facing up hill or if I want
to get across an intersection quickly
but mostly leaving it in
3rd all the time.
Range45 Miles (72 Kilometers)
Looks like about 75km. Regularly doing
~55km and have
enough left, assuming
the cells really do
have the rated 90Ah, to go another 20km
or so. That is a mix of suburban and
80km/h
roads.
Watt Hours/Mile250 watthours/km measured at the meter on
the wall over the first 1000km of
driving. IE including any losses in
charging.
EV Miles
Start:130,000 Miles (209,170 Kilometers)
Current:130,000 Miles (209,170 Kilometers)
Total:0 Miles (0 Kilometers)
Seating Capacity5 adults
Curb Weight2,070 Pounds (940 Kilograms)
940Kg, 150kg over the original mass of
790kg.
Tiresordinary. Will look at low rolling
resistance when these wear
out.
Conversion Time11 months
Completed in May 2009, Still going fine
in November 2009 after 5000 EV km.
Conversion CostAU$20K
Additional FeaturesThe previous owner put in remote locking. I added an
electric windows-kit from ebay.
The air-conditioning is original but now driven by a pulley
on the second motor shaft.
The air con controls required some rewiring by an
autoelectrician to get it to work
without the motor and ECU present.
Gear changes without the clutch work just fine but you
need to push a bit more
slowly into gear to avoid a crunch, not that I have
needed to change much, mostly
stay in 3rd. 2nd for optional quicker take off. I have
used 4th gear when going over
90kph.
I had to have beefier springs and new shocks in the rear.
The rear was ~40mm lower
than at the start and the original shock absorber were
worn out. The replacements
were standard length but heavier duty and restored most
of the original ride height.
The front ended up ~25mm higher than at the start and
still have the original springs
and shocks. Eventually these should be replaced with
slightly shorter springs and
new shocks but the originals are OK for now.
Charging is from accredited 'GreenPower'.
Brake booster vacuum pump is MESdea. After initial pump
down comes on for a few
seconds every 10-15 mins without any vacuum reservoir. It
is quieter than others I
have heard. I have a extra vacuum switch in the line. It
is closed without vacuum and
connected across the brake fluid float switch. At turn
on the brake warning lamp is
tested because the vacuum is absent and the float switch
shorted. The light goes out
as the line is pumped down. The lamp would only comes on
while driving if the
brake fluid were lost or the vacuum had failed; either
would be worth knowing
about!
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