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Last Modified:  JUNE.18.2009

EVMAN . . . .
A Fascination with ElectricVehicles(EVs)                

 
Back in the dayz of gas guzzlers,  and gas "shortages"(but before "SUV's"),
Yet, EVs never became popular as a "short commute" alternative.
 Back then, if U wanted an EV,  U had to build it yourself !
 Well, a few folks did, including Yours Truely  ;- )

(Actually, The same is *still* true today! 2009)

Now, over 30+ years later, and, with the DEMAND for gasoline STILL increasing,
And, the COST of gasoline rising and rising and falling and rising,
 still only a tepid interest in Electric Vehicles (EVs).
Here is a scan of an article from 1981 that appeared in The Sacramento Bee.
Take a look at the article here: 1977EVHonda
                                                                                (click to view link)
        After I purchased the Honda Accord as a broken EV conversion, the vehicle sat for almost 10yr.
        I had no place, no time, no knowledge to rebuild/refurbish this retrofitted Electric Vehicle.
        But, once I started working on it,
        it took me a year and half to completely rebuild the drivetrain, battery system, and EV wiring.
        I added my own ideas and improvments to the way the EV was originally configured.
        Then, I drove it for 2 1/2 yrs with no problems whatsoever!  My ideas worked!
        A great, very dependable, little EV!!!    Range was 40miles, top speed was approx 60mph.
        Cost of electricity was about 1CENT/mile!!(Sacramento Municipal Utility District, SMUD).

        I stopped driving it only because I finished rebuilding my larger four door EVTempo.
        Then, I started to rebuild the little EVHonda with ideas that I learned from building the EVTempo. 
        But, after over 5years of very slow progress,
        I decided to eliminate this project & move on.....
****************

This Lil EV WAS SOLD! @ The EV Trading Post.

****************

Here's What I REALLY want to drive:
VORTEX     OR    TRIMAGNUM   OR   MyDesign
(These are called 3-wheelers)

Scroll down for  jpgs of my 1987 EVTempo

This is the ElectricVehicle(EV) that I drive every day for my work commute.
Over 8 years , 3 battery packs, and it's still going strong!!!
The main thing that caught my eye in theEVTempo’s ForSale ad,
and made me purchase it in the first place,
was: It had electric windows!!!!!!!!  (although, only 3 of 4 worked!!)
BTW, I found this EV on The EV Trading Post

I've Never had a car with electric windows!!
Great for those hot Sacramento summer days.
With no A/C available, I rely on the Ol'  "4x40" (that's "four by forty")..
... that's 4 windows down, 40mph.   :-)  LOL!
No A/C in this EV due to the complexity and power usage.
Never mind that the charging system, batteries, battery racks,
pretty much everything, was toasted, or corroded, or broken, or so ugly. . . .
Never mind that, . . . . It had (partially working)electric windows!!

I drive Approx 6000miles/year.
Range: 40+miles;    Top Speed: 65mph
With 8cents/kwh this adds approx $25 per month to my electricity bill.
I get a little over 12K miles in 2years on each set of batteries.
I normally drive between 15 and 30miles per day.
Then plug in to 240VAC at home.
From fully discharged to fully charged in 4hrs.

My Little EV-BLOG
Feb 10, 2002---The new Zivan NG3 charger is working out very well!!
Feb 20, 2004---batteries loosing capacity; charger timed out.
May 15, 2004---charger repaired by Electric Conversions(bad 200V zener)
May 23, 2004---batteries are down to about 18mi/charge.
June 25, 2004---ordering new set of US T125 batteries(18)
July  15, 2004--rear cradle rebuilt; strengthened, and better attached to body
                        18 new batteries installed (US125s---green)
                         misc areas painted w/black latex for corrosion protection.
July 25, 2004--Back on the Road again!!!  Range is back to 40miles+.
August 5, 2004--Added analog voltmeter and ampmeter in trunk on left side of charger.
                         Result:  don't like analog; need more accurate meter.
                         Next up: DIGITAL gauges like dashboard.
                         Had to recalibrate dashboard gauges.
Nov 1, 2004----Think I finaly have the NG3 dialed in.
Dec 5, 2004----Added H2O to batts---18batts, approx 2gal distilled H2O.
April 1, 2005---Added distilled H2O to batts--18batts, approx 2gal.
Aug 20, 2005---Just over 1yr on batts.  Still running strong. Range 40+miles.
Sept 3, 2005  ---2 1/2gal DI water added to batts...looking good.
Jan 20, 2006 ---- No H2O required since Sept.  
                            Doing a Top off charge before taking out in colder weather.
Feb 5, 2006----Added approx 2gal DIwater to 18batts;
                        NG3 charger taking a little longer in the constant-V mode now;
                         batteries are almost 2yrs old but range is still good.
May  22, 2006-Added approx 2gal DIwater to 18batts;
                         NG3 V & I pots turned down(CCW) 1 turn each;
                         Charging now @ 20A instead of 23A;
                          Still seems a "little" longer for full euqalization;
                          No error beeps; solid greens.  Weather warming up;
June 16, 2006-Added approx 2.5gal DIwater to 18batts;
                               Repaired 240VAC connector for NG3 battery charger;
                         Batteries approaching 2yr old;  Range still good: > 35mi.
July 1, 2006----18 US125 Batteries now over 2 years old;
                        Range still decent: > 30mi.
August 1, 2006-Added approx 2gal DIwater to 18batts;
                          Batteries seem to be loosing "punch"; watering more often;
                           weather cooling down a bit; seems like it takes longer to get
                           past the first charging state with the NG3(?) 
                            Batts are over 2yr old.   Mileage = ??
Sept 22, 2006 -- One batt in rear seems to be bubbling more than others (?)

Oct 15, 2006--Takes longer to fully charge, but range is still 30+ miles.
                            Went out to Florin Road to look at a Tempo for parts.
                            Drove carefully; when I got home, distance was 35miles!
                            Not bad for 2yr 3month old batteries!!  :-) 
Nov 25, 2006--Added DIwater to 18batts; approx 2gal; Range still >30miles.
                             Charging still takes a little longer than when batteries
                              were new, but still good, practical, range!!
December 1, 2006--Weather getting colder;  loosing range on cold days;
                              Put on 25miles yesterday, voltage dropped to 86V;
                              Still charges up and shuts off automatically.

June 5, 2007 -- Large gap.  well, my batteries finally gave up.  About mid April, 2007,
                         I went from 30mi range to an 8mi range within a week. 
                         And several batteries were bubbling quite vigorously after that short
                         run.   Rather than damage anything else, I bought another vehicle as
                         my backup second vehicle and put the EVTempo in the garage       
                         for battery replacement ..... . . . and a few "upgrades".   

                                         First is to remove all old batteries and modify the rear cradle's  
                                         battery hold-down points by moving the threaded holes from the
                                         top  surface of the rear cradle to the insice surface.

                     Then, remove the hot water heater and control unit.  New heater
                       will be all electric!!!  More to come.....  stay tuned !!! ....

             Nov 29, 2007 -- Another large gap.  The EVTempo is almost ready to go back on
                                   the road.   Filled lots of the original Internal Combustion Engine mounting holes,
modified some sheet metal in engine compartment, modified controller/relay brackets,
battery hold-downs modified on front and rear battery cradles. 
This was the biggest, and most time-consuming task!!  
And, finally, new urethane silver paintall around the inside of the old engine compartment.
Let's call it a "motor compartment"; there is NO engine!!

               Unfortunately, this means the EVTempo really looks the same on the outside.
But, open the hood, and it looks much nicer!   To me, anyway :-)

             DEC 05, 2007 --  Powered everything up....nope.....  :-(   RATS!!
                                     12V OK, 108V OK, but 12V (gnd?)
                                     12V not getting to switches and digital readouts under the dash. 
                                     I suspect problem is at the AUX1 relay.....back to troubleshooting....
                                     BINGO....two connectors reversed!!
          April 12, 2008 ---  Almost finished installing new Sony CD/AM/FM player.  Had to bypass
                                      the original speaker wiring because original cassette/AM/AF used separate
                                      power amp in rear.   Ceramic heater is fully installed but not powered up.
                                      Need to "move" 12V battery about 1.5in forward to make room for heater
                                      relay mounting area.  Sounds "simple" but requires a lot of work.
                                      Insurance is due; NonOp will be removed by May1  (I hope).
           April 19, 2008--- Sony CD player is working perfect now.  Needed a chassis gnd to the case
                                      of the player, otherwise, the CD would not work.  Remounted the EV gauges.
                                      Tie-wrapped under-dash wires; Have not reinstalled glove box because the
                                       new ceramic heater wires will have to run behind.  Have removed the 12V
                                       battery to modify its mounting.  Need to move it approx 2inches forward.
                                       This will leave space for the new Heater Relay and constant voltage DC/DC
                                        converter which needs to be designed..................................

                May 10, 2008---Maiden Resurrection Voyage: 7miles.  Everything seems to be working good.

                                                 6V x 18batts = 108V

                                                 6.9V x 18batts = 124V standby 

                                                 7.1V x 18batts = 127.8V

                                                 7.2V x 18batts = 129.6V

                June 13, 2008---Zivan NG3 battery charger going from 23A to 15A during charging.  Airflow seems
                                       restricted on upper fan.   After disassembly and  test, fan is not working.  Replaced 
                                       with generic 3inch fan, which required mounting modification.   Tested: seems OK, 
                                       but need to drive some miles so charger can output full 23A without dropping current.
    August 1, 2008----Zivan died suddenly.  Same 200V zener, but this time one of the MOSFETs died also.

(These are old pictures:)

1987 EVTempo Pictures:

(click on text for link)
RSide   Rear 
 OpenHood  RearCharger 
      OpenHoodTxt     RearChargerTxt
OpenHood(new)    RearCharger(new)
 Charging  EV-Gauges 
FrontGrille(EVman)

*********************************

  I'm a BIG PAiA PhAN...

        L o n g time builder of PAiA Electronics kits!!

    Check out some of my PAiA projects 

       47xxSeries:  MyMonster

       97xxSeries:  My9700 ...still building

                 My_OZ (with the "blue light special mod")
                                                             (Front)     (PwrIN)
                                    Front_With_Retro_Speaker_Grille
                                                  (coming soon)

          MY_Gnome  (with 555clock mod & new ins/outs & pwr supply)

                                                         (FrontTop)      (RearPwr)
FrontTopDetail1   FrontTopDetail2
GnomeMODS:  Schematic Diagram
(coming soon)

 Remember these PAiA classics?
                      "SurfSynthesizer"?  (built from RE article not kit)

"Electronic Wind Chimes"?  (built from RE article not kit)

My PAIA RACK Equipment
(coming soon)


Never heard of PAiA ????
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