[BradQuick]

Yes, I can see that the risk would be putting over 5V into the 0-5V input. Other than that, I don't see why it wouldn't work, but I'll see if I can find an alternative method.

I was going to do it this way because I didn't have any pots that go full range with only 90 degrees of rotation. Maybe I can modify a pot. I'll have to take one apart.

[kek_63]

Search through the threads here - there is one guy who built a really cool gear-set driven potbox (his reason was for a very smooth ramped start). He built it with parts from Radio Shack and stuff he had lying around.

I believe he converted a Saturn, but I'll let you look. (Who knows what neat scraps of knowledge you'll uncover)

Keith

[dimitri]

Another idea for DIY potbox is to take any TPS ( Throttle Position Sensor ) from any modern car at the junk yard. Modern TPS is a 5K pot, perfect fit for our purpose, all you need to do is mechanically connect to it. It helps if you get entire throttle body assembly from the junk yard and adapt your throttle cable to it.

Nice build, I always liked Del Sol, pity you stuffed it with Lead, but I'm sure it will live to see Lithium one day

[BradQuick]

Yeah, it's lead today. Eventually, it will be an EEStor ultracapacitor!

I got some wiring done this evening. I finally completed the battery loop without getting bit. I hooked up the charger and am charging the batteries for the first time. I'm not so sure I like the sound of the post by Quickcharger that says this charger won't charge my batteries fully.

I wired up the DC-DC converter and hooked it into the existing 12V circuit. Interior lights, key in the ignition chime, headlights all work.

Now I have to start studying some wiring diagrams to see where I should pull +12V out of the system when the key is turned on.

Oh yeah, I filled the transmission with oil and put the front tires back on.

- Brad

[BradQuick]

I've got it wired and the wheels spin! I'll put the wheels down on the ground tomorrow evening.

I wired the pot using Kelly's 5V output. I only get 0-2.5V output since I'm not turning the pot all that far, but I can program the Kelly to only operate in that range.

The Kelly wiring diagram shows the Kelly pulling one side of the main contactor coil to ground. I couldn't get this to work, so right now the contactor pulls in as soon as the ignition switch is activated. Does anybody have any tricks to getting this to work as Kelly shows?

I had my Quickcharger plugged in for most of the day. I checked the battery voltages when it said it was 88% done and they ranged from 14.3 to 15.6! I could hear some bubbling going on in the batteries. I thought the voltage was a little high, so I unplugged the charger. Should I just let it go and balance? Do I need to separately charge each battery first?

Thanks for the help.

- Brad

[PatricioIN]

two words:

Pictures

Video

[BradQuick]

I made a few laps around my neighborhood. It's about a mile each lap.

I used 2nd and 3rd gear. Shifting wasn't bad without a clutch. If I started too quickly in second gear, I got a shutter from the motor/transmission. My motor mounts may need some work. It created a bucking action, kind of like when you're learning to drive with a clutch and let it out too quickly with the engine running too slowly. Once I got moving, it was fine and if I started off slowly, it was fine.

I don't have my vacuum pump hooked up yet, so I had to push pretty hard to slow it down.

I takes a little effort to steer it when going slowly without the power steering. It's manageable, though. It does feel a lot heavier than it did. The rear end is sagging pretty good. I'll probably have to get stiffer springs for the rear.

My voltage was dropping lower than I was expecting. I could get it down below 120 volts pretty easily under load. It wasn't fully charged when I started, but it should have been close.

Acceleration was pretty good. It was about what I would normally do in a car. I'm not sure I'm getting full acceleration because my pot isn't putting out full voltage. I got it up to 40 to 45 mph. I don't have my speedometer working yet.

The aluminum bars that I have linking the batteries got pretty hot. One of them didn't get as hot as the others, which I can't really explain. It may be that that one bar is getting a better connection to the batteries. The copper bars I made out of 3/4" water pipe didn't get hot, so I'll probably replace the aluminum ones with copper.

I'll see if I can get some video tomorrow.

- Brad

[PatricioIN]

If you watch the first test drive video on my website you'll see that I had the exact same problem in 2nd gear with my car. I still don't know 100% why, but I had to remove the motor (1st one burned up) and replace it after about 1,000 miles, and when I did that, the shudderring went away entirely. Now, no matter how much juice I give it in second gear, it's smooth. I had to incorporate a mount for the passenger 1/2 shaft into my motor mount during the build. I suspect that I either had this slightly misaligned or didn't have the motor mount tightened properly. Either way, when I removed mount and motor and reinstalled, it worked fine and has since... I would recommend you make sure everything it lined up properly and tightened well. Hopefully, it will make it go away like mine did.

[BradQuick]

I watched your video and your shutter is similar to mine, although yours may be a little worse. You say it went away when you changed the motor. Are you pretty sure it was a mechanical problem and not a problem with the motor (brushes?) itself? Did you change anything else when you put in the new motor?

I'm not liking the fact that your first motor burned up.

Did you leave the clutch springs in the system?

Thanks for the input.

- Brad

[PatricioIN]

I installed the motor mount slightly differently the second time. I attached it firmly to motor and tranny, then attached 1/2 shaft and did the tightening of the motor mount bolts last (and probably made them much tighter than the first time around) to the car's original motor mount with the rubber bushings. I did not make any changes to the layout or setup from the first time around - just the way I tightened things, which seemed to make the 1/2 shaft align better.

I am convinced I was just sent a bad motor to begin with as the second one has been much smoother, quieter and more powerful from the moment I first drove it. ADC replaced the original free under warranty and I know of at least one other DIYer who had a similar blowup and was replaced for free, so maybe they just had a bad batch. I believe (though don't know) the brushes weren't seated properly on the first motor.

I am convinced the shuddering was caused by the slight misalignment and not the motor because it ONLY happened in 2nd gear. The entire time I had the original motor I used first to start off.. now I can use 2nd if I like, but I still tend to use 1st as it accelerates faster from a standstill when using 1st.

Oh.. I had a one-piece solid coupler made that connects motor shaft to tranny shaft, no springs or clutch.