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It is alive

1380 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  DavidDymaxion
My first drive was last weekend, 1-22-11. Car is a 1986 Nissan 300ZX. Build time was just short of a year but could have been shorter if I didn't have to wait so long for the batteries. I have put about 22 miles on the car in my neighborhood to test it. Acceleration was acceptable and so far I have gone as fast as 45 miles per hr with no unusual vibration. I am pretty happy with that especially since I built the motor mount. Clutchless shifting was pretty easy and adapter seems to be working well. I am working on my first charge of the SE180s. I only have a 2500W charger and am currently working off a 120v so it will take a while. This is what I want to make sure everything works. Once fully operational I should be able to charge in 3-4 hrs with 220 VAC since my normal work commute is 21 miles round trip. I am also having problems with the voltage divider I purchased for the Zanntrex and the tach is not working. The voltage divider for the Zanntrex should be relatively easy to fix and I will see about the tach. If I can’t get it working it will not be the end of the world. I will probably purchase a fuel gauge/amp meter from EV Works which will utilize the tach as an amp meter anyway. Currently don’t have the hood or nose of car installed but hope to have that complete by 1-30-11 but the car is alive. One more EV is on the road! :D Here is a link to the garage entry with pics of the build.

http://www.diyelectriccar.com/garage/cars/242
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Thanks for letting us know! Congratulations! What are the bottom two photos?
The last two pictures are of the heater I made. Couple of pipe fittings, an electric water heater element and an auxiliary water pump from a Mercedes. Heater element is a 3500W 220VAC which when couple to 144VDC puts out 1580W and heats the water up to about 90F with a moderate fan setting in the car. I have a control circuit to shut the heat off if it gets up to 190F but it doesn’t look like it is necessary. Total cost of the heater was about $100 and it heats the car in about 5-10 minutes. If I did it again I would probably go with a slightly stronger heater element, maybe 4500W but overall I am happy with it and it was relatively easy to build.

Bluefxstc
Thanks for the idea. I might try something similar now that you have got me started.
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