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[EVDL] Preventing Iota current draw

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E
I have been wondering about this for some time and the recent
discussion on HV relays prompts me to ask.

It is known that the Iota sucks energy from the battery when idle.

As I understand the concepts, some forms of diodes act as a one way
valve.

Is there a reason a diode can not be used to 'disconnect' the battery
from the Iota when the key switch is not in the on position (or at
other times as the used desires)?

John

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E
Interesting thinking John, a Transistor can be used as a switch, but, a
diode is a one way valve and the electricity would go the same direction
from battery to DC/DC converter. if EV is running or not. Therefore a
Transistor or a Relay would need to be used.
Regards,
Dennis Miles
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John O'Connor <[email protected]>wrote:

> I have been wondering about this for some time and the recent
> discussion on HV relays prompts me to ask.
>
> It is known that the Iota sucks energy from the battery when idle.
>
> As I understand the concepts, some forms of diodes act as a one way
> valve.
>
> Is there a reason a diode can not be used to 'disconnect' the battery
> from the Iota when the key switch is not in the on position (or at
> other times as the used desires)?
>
> John
> ______________________________________________
>
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I see I did not explain my issue well.

I have a relay (in positive and negative) that closes the circuit between tha traction pack and the Iota when key switch is on.

I wanted to prevent the iota from draining from my accessory (12v marine) battery when the truck is not in use.

John

Dennis Miles <[email protected]> wrote:

> Interesting thinking John, a Transistor can be used as a switch, but, a
> diode is a one way valve and the electricity would go the same direction
> from battery to DC/DC converter. if EV is running or not. Therefore a
> Transistor or a Relay would need to be used.
> Regards,
> Dennis Miles
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> On Sat, Sep 25, 2010 at 7:17 PM, John O'Connor <[email protected]>wrote:
>
>> I have been wondering about this for some time and the recent
>> discussion on HV relays prompts me to ask.
>>
>> It is known that the Iota sucks energy from the battery when idle.
>>
>> As I understand the concepts, some forms of diodes act as a one way
>> valve.
>>
>> Is there a reason a diode can not be used to 'disconnect' the battery
>> from the Iota when the key switch is not in the on position (or at
>> other times as the used desires)?
>>
>> John
>> ______________________________________________
>>
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Pretty much what I have. Two contactors, one closed by the controller and one by the ignition switch accessory position. .

The Iota has one HV leg wired straight to the pack. The other is wired to the accessory controlled contactor. This way the Iota is only on with the key in acc or run. Also have a 12V battery that is charged when the Iota is on.

Barry Oppenheim
-----Original Message-----
From: John <[email protected]>
Sender: [email protected]
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 08:41:45
To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List<[email protected]>
Reply-To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [EVDL] Preventing Iota current draw

I see I did not explain my issue well.

I have a relay (in positive and negative) that closes the circuit between tha traction pack and the Iota when key switch is on.

I wanted to prevent the iota from draining from my accessory (12v marine) battery when the truck is not in use.

John

Dennis Miles <[email protected]> wrote:

> Interesting thinking John, a Transistor can be used as a switch, but, a
> diode is a one way valve and the electricity would go the same direction
> from battery to DC/DC converter. if EV is running or not. Therefore a
> Transistor or a Relay would need to be used.
> Regards,
> Dennis Miles
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> On Sat, Sep 25, 2010 at 7:17 PM, John O'Connor <[email protected]>wrote:
>
>> I have been wondering about this for some time and the recent
>> discussion on HV relays prompts me to ask.
>>
>> It is known that the Iota sucks energy from the battery when idle.
>>
>> As I understand the concepts, some forms of diodes act as a one way
>> valve.
>>
>> Is there a reason a diode can not be used to 'disconnect' the battery
>> from the Iota when the key switch is not in the on position (or at
>> other times as the used desires)?
>>
>> John
>> ______________________________________________
>>
> -------------- next part --------------
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> | OPTIONS: http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev

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Hello John,

To prevent my 12 volt accessory battery to discharge while the EV is not in
use, I use a onboard Shumaker Smart charger that comes on every time I plug
in the main AC input.

To do this, I use a 4 pole -4 wire AC input plug which has two feeder lines
for 240 vac, a neutral and a ground. I connect to 120 vac by connecting to
one of the feeder lines and neutral by using a standard circuit breaker that
pushes on to the standard circuit breaker bus bar holders that a normally in
a circuit breaker panel.

You can get this circuit breaker bus as a chassis mount that can be bolted
to any surface. I use a chassis mount that can hold up to 8 circuit breaker
spaces for either 1-pole or 2-pole breakers. I had this chassis panel
between the main input plug and any AC loads.

Not only that I can perform a accessory battery charge and/or maintainer, I
can with a transfer switch can turn on the electric heating system by using
a on dash 30 amp 2-pole, 3 position selector switch. I have three heaters
that kept as a AC unit, not modified for a DC that I can preheat about 15
minutes before I leave. At -30 F. below I can preheat the EV to up or over
80 F and do not have to use the on board inverter system for up to 5 miles.
Last winter I did not have to use the on board inverter at all for heating.

See this accessory battery installation at:

http://go-ev.net/pics/011.html

Note all the IOTA's that are use. These are all connected in parallel to
provide 180 amp at 14.5 volts. The voltage drops to about 14.2 volts when I
have a 12 volt load of about 100 amps which is only 8 amps from the battery
pack. I use two contactors off the main battery to the IOTA's.

These DC-DC converters are not on all the time while I am driving, because
the roads here in town are like a roller coaster. So when I press the
accelerator, a micro switch controls a 12 volt relays, that in turn turns on
the contactor to the DC-DC converters while I am going up hill. Going down
hill, I release the accelerator which then turns off the converters and
turns the inverter to provide both 14.5 volts DC and 120 VAC 60 hz to the
heating system just by using the inertial of the EV.

This is a safety thing for me, because I do not want the EV to go down
sideways on a glare ice road. One time I was coming down a very large hill
that had a 600 feet drop. It just rain that froze. There were vehicles all
over the place, in the ditches and accidents. When I came down, I did not
dare touch the brakes, let the EV go and got up to 80 mph passing and
missing everything.

Roland




----- Original Message -----
From: "John" <[email protected]>
To: "Electric Vehicle Discussion List" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, September 26, 2010 5:41 AM
Subject: Re: [EVDL] Preventing Iota current draw


I see I did not explain my issue well.

I have a relay (in positive and negative) that closes the circuit between
tha traction pack and the Iota when key switch is on.

I wanted to prevent the iota from draining from my accessory (12v marine)
battery when the truck is not in use.

John





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It is the 55-dls.
I never actually measured the current so is probably just enough to keep that green led blinking and not worth the trouble to do any thing about it.

Sent from my iPhone

Lee Hart <[email protected]> wrote:

> On 9/26/2010 7:41 AM, John wrote:
>> I see I did not explain my issue well. I wanted to prevent the iota
>> from draining from my accessory (12v marine) battery when the truck
>> is not in use.
>
> What model Iota do you have? The Iota DLS-55 I have does not draw
> anything from the 12v battery if its input is off. (OK; it draws a
> little; about 15 microamps which is negligible).
>
> --
> Lee A. Hart | Ring the bells that still can ring
> 814 8th Ave N | Forget the perfect offering
> Sartell MN 56377 | There is a crack in everything
> leeahart earthlink.net | That's how the light gets in -- Leonard Cohen
>
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I have the Iota DLS-55 IQ4 and there is a green led that is always on
or blinking. It indicates it the DLS is charging at 14 or if it has
cut back to float. I believe this functionality can be purchased as
an add-on of some sort, or you can get it already built in. I will
check sometime soon to see what the current draw is.

John

Lee Hart wrote:

> On 9/26/2010 2:29 PM, John wrote:
>> It is the 55-dls.
>> I never actually measured the current so is probably just enough
>> to keep that green led blinking and not worth the trouble to do
>> any thing about it.
>
> What green LED? My DLS-55 has no LEDs.
>
> Lee A. Hart

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I have two contactors. One breaking in the middle of the pack. I don't have to worry about that. Maybe a little arcing though. Lawrence Rhodes.....

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My IOTA wiring went through several drafts before I finally decided on
something (I think) I like. To prevent it from unnecessarily drawing
current from the traction pack, the negative side of the IOTA input is
wired to the switched-side of my negative-side contactor. This way it
can only be powered from the traction pack when the key is in the
"run" position. (The positive side is wired directly to the positive
side of the traction pack.)

Knowing that I also wanted to keep the accessory battery charged from
external power, I have the IOTA's input switchable between AC (i.e.
external power) or DC (traction pack). This relay defaults to the "AC
input" position; it switches to the "DC" position only when the key is
in the "run" position and AC power is not present. (There are also
interlocks, of course, to prevent the Curtis's KSI relay and the
negative-side contactor from switching on when AC power is present.)

To doubly-ensure that the IOTA is isolated when the vehicle is just
"sitting" (i.e. no AC power present and key not in "run"), I have an
SW-60 contactor on the positive side of the IOTA's output, which only
switches on with the key in "run" or with AC power present. (As Lee
mentioned, there really shouldn't be any noticeable draw from the
accessory battery back into the IOTA, but at least this way I can be
really sure. :)

I do not have the IOTA with the IQ4 add-on, but, like others I've read
about on this list, I do have a relay that toggles the IOTA between 13
and 14 volt output; it switches to 14 with the key in "run".

Perhaps a little over-complicated, but this setup has served me well
so far... :)

Good luck!
Philip


John O'Connor <[email protected]> wrote:
> I have been wondering about this for some time and the recent
> discussion on HV relays prompts me to ask.
>
> It is known that the Iota sucks energy from the battery when idle.
>
> As I understand the concepts, some forms of diodes act as a one way
> valve.
>
> Is there a reason a diode can not be used to 'disconnect' the battery
> from the Iota when the key switch is not in the on position (or at
> other times as the used desires)?
>
> John
>
> _______________________________________________
> | REPLYING: address your message to [email protected] only.
> | Multiple-address or CCed messages may be rejected.
> | UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub
> | OTHER HELP: http://evdl.org/help/
> | OPTIONS: http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev
>

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Thanks, Lee, Philip and all the others.


Philip Rash wrote:

> My IOTA wiring went through several drafts before I finally decided on
> something (I think) I like. To prevent it from unnecessarily drawing
> current from the traction pack, the negative side of the IOTA input is
> wired to the switched-side of my negative-side contactor. This way it
> can only be powered from the traction pack when the key is in the
> "run" position. (The positive side is wired directly to the positive
> side of the traction pack.)
>
> Knowing that I also wanted to keep the accessory battery charged from
> external power, I have the IOTA's input switchable between AC (i.e.
> external power) or DC (traction pack). This relay defaults to the "AC
> input" position; it switches to the "DC" position only when the key is
> in the "run" position and AC power is not present. (There are also
> interlocks, of course, to prevent the Curtis's KSI relay and the
> negative-side contactor from switching on when AC power is present.)
>
> To doubly-ensure that the IOTA is isolated when the vehicle is just
> "sitting" (i.e. no AC power present and key not in "run"), I have an
> SW-60 contactor on the positive side of the IOTA's output, which only
> switches on with the key in "run" or with AC power present. (As Lee
> mentioned, there really shouldn't be any noticeable draw from the
> accessory battery back into the IOTA, but at least this way I can be
> really sure. :)
>
> I do not have the IOTA with the IQ4 add-on, but, like others I've read
> about on this list, I do have a relay that toggles the IOTA between 13
> and 14 volt output; it switches to 14 with the key in "run".
>
> Perhaps a little over-complicated, but this setup has served me well
> so far... :)
>
> Good luck!
> Philip
>
>
> On Sat, Sep 25, 2010 at 7:17 PM, John O'Connor
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I have been wondering about this for some time and the recent
>> discussion on HV relays prompts me to ask.
>>
>> It is known that the Iota sucks energy from the battery when idle.
>>
>> As I understand the concepts, some forms of diodes act as a one way
>> valve.
>>
>> Is there a reason a diode can not be used to 'disconnect' the battery
>> from the Iota when the key switch is not in the on position (or at
>> other times as the used desires)?
>>
>> John
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> | REPLYING: address your message to [email protected] only.
>> | Multiple-address or CCed messages may be rejected.
>> | UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub
>> | OTHER HELP: http://evdl.org/help/
>> | OPTIONS: http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev
>>
>
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