[bugeyejohn]

Hi all, I'm a new member who has a history of restoring old British sports cars and building street rods. I'm 73 and I thought I was through with this restoration business until I saw this 61 Austin Healey Sprite that was for sale. I bought it last summer and started the restoration process. Got it running and driving and then became interested in converting it to electric. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning all that's involved in going electric. I have been involved in electronics since my early Air Force days. Hoping to keep this low budget I found and purchased a motor from a Hitachi/Caterpillar fork lift. It is an 8 inch motor built very heavy (150 lbs?) I have cleaned it up but can't get it to run. Its a series motor with the 4 connections and I have tried tying together an armature and field connector (both ways) When I apply power, a 12 volt car battery, instead of the shaft turning, it is forcibly held still. The motor has no label on it but is either a 36 or 48 V. motor. I feel like 12 V. should make it turn with no load on it. Any suggestions would be appreciated. My intention is to keep the transmission and clutch so it would still feel like a sports car. Unfortunately I have just discovered that the motor is too long to fit with the tranny. A major front crossmember gets in the way. So if I use this motor I would have to connect directly to the drive shaft. I may wind up buying a shorter AC motor. Has anyone used a ME1616 AC motor? The Bugeye only weighs a little over 1400 lbs. I wonder if the ME1616 is large enough to give reasonable performance. The original ICE engine has only 43 HP. Looking forward to hearing from you. I'll try to attach a few pictures. The motor pics are before clean up.

 

[bugeyejohn]

Thanks for the response. Your wiring recommendation is the same as I have it wired. Maybe it just needs more power. Putting the motor where the tranny would normally reside, is the logical thing to do. It would free up a lot of space for batteries. I'm just afraid it would lose its sports car feel if it didn't have the transmission. I will need about 16kWh to have a range of about 60 miles. Of course we would always like to have more. If you are not familiar with Bugeyes, they have no trunk lid. You access the trunk area from behind the seats in the cockpit area. I may have to cut out the trunk floor and build a battery box that installs from underneath the car.

 

[bugeyejohn]

Still not able to get the DC motor to run. I may have wasted $250. If I couldn't use it in the Sprite maybe I could use it in a future project or sell it. Now I'm considering using an AC motor connected directly to the drive shaft. Ill need the battery room. Hoping not to be too disappointed about losing the tranny.

 

[bugeyejohn]

Thanks for the response. All the ohm readings are good. I get a big arc when I apply power. When I apply power, the normally free turning armature gets held firmly in place by magnetic forces. I'm getting tired of taking it apart and putting it back together!

 

[bugeyejohn]

Thanks for the suggestion. I took pictures before doing anything to the motor and have assembled it just as it was The end with the brushes is held in by 4 bolts so I guess I could rotate it 90 degrees at a time and see if that would make a difference? I think i'll give it a try. Nothing to lose!! Thanks again.

 

[bugeyejohn]

Well I tried all 4 positions. Unfortunately it didn't help. I'm thinking it's time to step away from this motor. Any offers? You would have to pick it up. I'm in Lebanon TN.
Does anyone know if there are any EV events in the south east? I would love to see some converted EVs..

 

[bugeyejohn]

Sorry, Major, I didn't see your reply. I will take some pictures and show you how I have it hooked up. I have tried several options, but always get the same results. I hope you will notice something i'm doing wrong.

 

[bugeyejohn]

The pictures show how the motor is currently hooked up. I have tried it in every available option with the same results. In one of the pictures you can see two black connectors with no wires going to them. I do not know what they are for. Could they be for some kind of starting voltage? The armature, commutator and field coils all look good. The brushes are good and move freely in their cages. the resistance through the armature and field is 0.8 ohms.

 

[bugeyejohn]

Thanks Major for all your input. I tried hooking the motor up "shunt fashion". Un fortunately it gave me the same results. I'm taking your advice and going toward another motor. I'm thinking about an AC50. That is the motor that the"Bugeye Guy" in CT has used in the 2 conversions he has done and he is very pleased with the results. He is planning on offering a kit to help people with their conversions.
Thanks for everyones help.