Batteries under glass

I went to the plastic store this afternoon and picked up a 1/8" thick smoked plastic sheet. I cut the corner with the dremel to fit around the metal piece that would have covered the gas tank's filler neck, but now covers the wiring to the charge port. Then I used velcro tape to hold it down.

A little rug to cover the bald spot

Had a an hour or so on Sunday and decided to do the carpet in the trunk. I took the stock carpet, marked where the battery rack was with chalk and cut it. Then I used the part I cut out to fill in where the spare tire use to be.

Next I need too get a piece of clear plastic to cover the batteries so I can use the trunk...

First trip behind a tow truck ; (

(EV
Things had been going real well lately, so something was bound to go wrong...

I was on my way to work this morning - I had just shifted into 3rd at 55mph when the battery light went out and the check engine light turned on. This meant the controller had turned itself off with an error. Since I had no power, I coasted to a stop by the curb in a nearly legal parking place.

I tried to start it a couple of times without any luck. I then pulled out my laptop to see the error code from the Zilla, and it indicated the Zilla and the Hairball weren't communicating. I checked the data cable and it was in place and properly seated.

It took about an hour for the tow truck to come.

I contacted the vendor I got the Zilla from (EV Source) and they contacted Cafe Electric who after a few questions sent me an RMA number for the Zilla and Hairball.

Good news is it's not something I did, but the car will be out of commission for a bit.
; (

SFEVA meeting and a few odds and ends.

Saturday I drove the car out to the SFEVA meeting at Luscious Garage. It was a bit misty out, so I had my running lights on and the wipers on occasionally. Showed the car to a couple of people after the meeting and gave a ride to a fellow EVer on the way home.
After an hour the SOC meter showed just under 60% (80%) .

I have a few items left to finish on the car, and decided to tackle them while I had the time.
I hooked up the light in the Ammeter and trimmed the hood over the instrument cluster so that it could be re-installed. Looks pretty good - like a real car instead of a science fair project.
I also hooked up the disconnect switch - one of the things I hadn't got done after reassembling the car.

Full charge and a trip to work - and back

The message I got back on the charging issues from Ken at HotJuice Electric (makers of the BEQ1) indicated that the squealing battery could be ignored - it's either OK or it's toast, but continuing the charge with the voltage it's getting won't change things.

I also found out that my tires were at 40lbs. I thought they were at 50, must have misread my gauge or lost air since I re-inflated them... I noticed the tires say max pressure 50 lbs. - 55 won't hurt them then... and should make them roll a little better.

So Wednesday I decided to push ahead with a full charge. I wasn't able to start the charge until 6:00 pm as I felt I had to babysit it during the charge. I checked on it every 30 minutes (annoying my family no end) until about 11:00 when I figured I was committed anyway and just to let it finish. At 1:43 I heard the faint beep-beep of the Zivan in the garage indicating the charge was complete.

Thursday morning the batteries are all in the 13v range and I'm off to work. I planned a new route with less stops but a short 40 mph section. She does roll better and I did a better job staying off the accelerator. I got to work with an indicated SOC of 43% ( a little less than 75% in reality). I figured this would come up a bit as it sat.

By the way, the building at work set aside a primo parking place for hybrid drivers. You have to fill out a form an enter into a drawing where the winner gets to park there for a month. I filled out the form explaining that my car wasn't a hybrid but full electric and could they stick an outlet in the spot for me. I didn't expect much to happen, but figured it was worth asking. A week later I got a message that I won for the month of May! I must have been the only one to fill out the form... I replied thanking them and again explaining that my car was (still) not a hybrid, but would gladly use the parking spot.

At 12:30 the SOC meter showed 80% (90%). Not bad. Parking security put a nasty gram under my wiper explaining the spot was reserved for hybrids. I showed it to the attendant and explained that it "looks like a miata, but it's battery powered..."

At 5:30 the meter still showed 80% - I was hoping for 100% ; ).
I took the same route back home. I think I annoyed a couple of SUV drivers, but I stayed in the slow lane most of the way. I got home easily enough and after an hour the SOC meter showed 44%.
That's makes for about a 20 mile range with mediocre driving over a few hills and high-rolling-resistance low-profile tires.