Tag Archives: Contactor

Contactor Switch, Motor, Motor Controller

The Little Car That Couldn’t

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I’ve got a real sense of pride and accomplishment now that the CitiCar is able to drive out on the open road again. I’ve taken it on a few test drives, and I’ve ran into a few issues.

The biggest risk of failure is when there is a change – no matter how small. Hold my beer… I just replaced the entire powertrain with equipment that I was unfamiliar with.

The most notable issue is that the car felt like it lost power quite often. It was a bit annoying having to coast to a safe spot to pull over and diagnose what was happening.

The beginning

Teddy and I went on a test drive into town. We had a great time visiting C&C Frozen Treats, I want Candy, and eating ice cream at the town square. We headed over to McDonalds for a bite to eat and then headed towards home.

It first started where I pressed the throttle and the motor would jolt and turn off. After doing this a few times, I slowly pressed the throttle and was able to continue to drive. I suspected that the motor controller was implementing a fail safe to make sure the throttle high-pedal was off before the resistance changed on the potentiometer, and that there was some kind of race condition. As the CitiCar continued to have trouble a little later, I would keep trying to ease my foot lightly onto the throttle.

No Power

Finally, the motor wouldn’t turn on at all and I ended up coasting into the Knotty Pine restaurants parking lot. I was at a loss. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I had power for everything else. I could hear the contactors activating when shifting between forward and reverse. I pressed the throttle lightly and heard the main contactor activate. “It’s back!” I thought. My next hypothesis was that maybe there was some kind of additional fail safe where the controller would lock me out of operating it for a couple minutes to protect itself.

Paranoia

Continuing on, I was praying I could get home without calling a tow truck. I was going up hill. I decided to play it safe and take a side street, still going up hill and… I lost power again. Here I was, slowing down going up a hill, and someone was behind me. I was almost at a dead stop when the car drove around me. I was a bit paranoid when I recognized the markings of a police car.

I couldn’t go up hill, so I coasted backwards into a driveway and put on the emergency brake. I was trying to figure out the problem in case the officer came back around to check in on how I was doing. I was there for roughly five minutes, certain that I was stranded. It came back alive and I was off, praying I could get back home.

EV at the Gas Station

I didn’t make it far. As soon as I turned onto the main road, I lost power. I coasted into the new gas station parking lot and just barely got into a nice parking spot. I figured if I was going to be there for awhile, I could grab a bite to eat. The person in the vehicle next to me asked if he could take a photo of the car. We talked a bit and I showed him around the car.

I broke out some alligator clips and a multi-meter and started testing connections. I traced the problem down to a loose connection on the throttle high-pedal contact switch. The wire had almost come off. I pushed it back and it was good to go.

I started to approach the exit and realized the speedometer didn’t have any power. I looked over at the fuse block and saw a light was on. I must have blown the fuse when testing connections with the alligator clips. I pulled off, replaced the fuse, and left the gas station.

Final Stretch

I lost power once more on the way home without much of an area to pull off. I pulled as close to the curb as I could, fixed the issue, and continued on my way.

As I pulled into my subdivision, I was relieved to know that the last half mile was just coasting home. That was the roughest trips I’d ever been on in the CitiCar. Taking a closer look, I noticed the switch’s spade was bent a little, and there was no slack on the wire connected to it. I created an extension wire to add some slack. I noticed the connection felt loose, but I thought nothing of it… until I started running into problems with the next drive.

The Actual Problem

The problem was that the contact switch on the potbox is not as wide as my spade terminals. The female spade terminal was loose and kept falling off.

Snug connectors on throttles high-pedal switch
Pairs of 2.8, 4.8, and 6.3mm spade connectors next to an insulated 6.3 spade connector

I ordered an assortment of spade terminals in various sizes. The 4.8mm female connector fit snug onto the switch. I made a few mistakes trying to crimp a non-insulated terminal. I watched a couple of videos and was able to figure it out.

Stalling ICE

I was thinking what would happen if an ICE car did this – and then I realized it does. The first car I owned was a Dodge Colt. My dad matched half of the price. It was a good car, but it was stalling all the time – at stoplights, and even traveling downhill at 90 mph. I was often having trouble trying to start it back up. I knew nothing about cars, but my dad did. I recall he seemed to be close to figuring out the problem. It really stumped him. Eventually the car ended up in a junk yard. I feel as if the CitiCar is much simpler to troubleshoot. Rather than moving parts, vibration, noises, and fumes – it’s just bare-bones simple electronics.

Alltrax Troubleshooting (and story about contactor)

In other news

I’ve changed both diodes on the forwards and reverse shifter from 1 amp (1N4006) to handle 3 amps (1N5408). In addition, it’s legs are thicker and less susceptible to breaking, causing the same experience with no power to the high-pedal – however one direction would still work until the second diode broke.

The new D&D Motor Systems motor is about five miles slower than the stock motor from the manufacturer.

I’m looking into other options to track speed without GPS.

I’m looking into installing small lights to work on the car easier and show it off.

I might setup the solar charging station / EVSE this weekend. It can also serve as a backup power supply for power outages.

I’ve been learning about field weakening as a potential option to increase the speed of the motor. From what I gather – 2/3 of original nichrome resistor between S1 & S2 terminals on the body of the motor, use a solenoid to turn it on.

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Battery, Charger, Contactor Switch, Fuse, Interior Light, Lights, Motor, Motor Controller, Speedometer, Throttle

Powertrain Upgrade

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Quite a bit has happened since the last post where the majority of my nights and weekends were focused on the CitiCar, and a bit exhausted by time I’m done for the day. The videos were still being posted, but I just didn’t have the mental willpower to write up a detailed account of what was done. here is a brief summary of the last two weeks.

Battery cables

2015 Chevy Volt lithium batteries and charger installed into car and connected in parallel with cables from an old EV and a few battery cables that I made myself from materials provided by a local CitiCar enthusiast.

Battery terminal side-brackets installed.

CitiCar battery cables

Main Fuse & Switch

Installed an ANL fuse box to hold the 400 amp ANN fuse. “Sculpted” the cover to make it fit over the thick 2/0 cables and lugs connected to it.

Installed a heavy duty switch to disconnect the power that could handle the large number of amps that the motor will draw from the batteries. Purchased some screws at the hardware store to mount the switch.

Continuing to add cables along the path from the positive battery terminal to a switch, fuse, contactor, etc. Cleaning battery acid from cable lugs donated from another EV.

Main Fuse & Switch

Fuse box mount

Created a backplate to mount a new 12 volt fuse block out of diamond plate aluminum, and mounted it into the car where the accessory battery had previously sat.

Wired up chargers charging wires. Zip-tied the extension cable going to the J1772 adapter along the cars frame. Ran 10 gauge wire to the front of the car, specifically to run the 12 volt DC-to-DC converter and to control the motor controller and contactors from the dashboard.

CitiCar Fuse Box Mount

Installing DC2DC

Wrapped power supply cable to the front of the car with split tubing to protect it.

Installed a 20 amp 12 volt power supply in the CitiCar to convert the batteries 48v power supply to 12v. At most, it can handle 240 watts.

Added a LED light strip with a switch.

Installing DC2DC

Powered Dashboard

Connect the dashboard to the 12v fuse block. Wire up the frame to the 12v negative. The cabin light is unable to get power. The original contactors are still activating.

Powered Dashboard

Wires and Switches

Painting battery cables red. Starting to prepare other cables to paint.

Comparing two separate motor reversing SW202 style switches. Changing from 12v coils to 48v coils to simplify wiring and reduce the need for relays.

Change the old 120v charger cable into an extension cord by adding a NEMA 5-20R receptacle socket. Added a second charging cable plug to the car so that the batteries can be charged via J1772 in the back, or 120v on the side by changing which cord is plugged into the back of the charger.

Wires and Switches

Painting Battery Cables

Painting battery cables with Plasti Dip to indicate how they are connected to the batteries. Added heat shrink where it was missing. Cut off rubber terminal covers. Wrapped up terminal ends with painters tape.

  • Red – Positive, and motor A1
  • Black – Negative, and motor A2
  • White – Motor Negative
  • Blue – Motor S1
  • Green – Motor S2

Painting battery covers.

Paintiing Battery Cables

Plasti Dip Battery Modules

Continuing painting battery cables and the battery covers on the 2015 Chevy Volt battery modules. Problems with using painting tape to paint two colors of Plasti Dip, as well as an unexpected early morning rain getting things wet. Cleaning up and painting battery modules blue for a more appealing look. Finish painting the battery cables.

Plastic Dip Battery Modules

Finish Battery & Cables Paint

Finish painting the battery volt modules and peel off the painters tape. Clean and neutralize battery acid on battery cable lugs.

Clean and neutralize acid on passenger side battery box floor. Start laying down thermal layer and toolbox liner.

Improve technique to peel painters tape from wet Plasti Dip to have nice hard edges.

Added some corrasion/oxidizing protector to battery cable lugs and battery box floor.

Finish Battery & Cables Paint

Battery Box Liner

Line the battery compartment of the CitiCar with toolbox liner. The liner is preferred because it is non-conductive. The frame of the car is conductive and wired to the battery negative, so this helps prevent a short in case a battery positive wire accidentally touches the frame. The thermal barrier may help with battery temperatures and a little extra padding for bumpy rides.

Drivers side was neutralized. Corrosion protector was removed, as it left an oily residue and wouldn’t be suitable for applying adhesives to keep the toolbox liner attached.

Battery Box Liner

High Voltage Stickers

Created some battery labels to warn about high voltage, and to provide details about the batteries.

Creating High Voltage Stickers

Drivers Side Batteries Installed

Re-installing the drivers side painted batteries, main switch, and fuse after lining the battery box with toolbox liner.

Drivers Side Batteries Installed

Battery Terminal Caps

Cut motor mounting brackets down further with new diamond cutting wheels. More battery cables were installed. Created caps to protect exposed terminals from moldable plastic that melts in warm water. Installed shunt in a different position for easier access to plug in wires.

Battery Terminal Caps

Powertrain Test

Wired up the motor and motor reversing switch. Setup switch and diodes on the front of the car to activate the contactors and let the motor controller know if the vehicle is moving in reverse.

Powertrain Test

CitiCar Runs Again

Troubleshoot contactor activation. Reverse direction of Forward/Reverse diodes. Got the wheels to spin (and in the correct direction). Go on a test drive.

CitiCar Runs Again

Alltrax Troubleshooting

Configure motor controller to accelerate faster, adjust voltage limits, and provide more amps to the motor. Since the motor was just replaced, I topped off the differential fluid. The speedometer wasn’t turning on, so I replaced it with a spare that I had laying around. Drove into town and ran into problems on the way back home with a burnt fuse and a disconnected high-pedal switch on the throttle.

Alltrax Troubleshooting
Battery, Charger, Contactor Switch, Motor, Motor Controller

Motor Wires

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Most of yesterday and the entire day today was full of rain. I wasn’t able to get much done compared to Saturday. Most of the day has been spent planning, researching, and cleaning the garage.

Alltrax Wiring

I’m working in a tight space with the motor controller, contactor, and motor. It’s difficult to bend thick cables, and harder to work with thick terminals overlapping each other.

I was in a tough spot with trying to get two wires connecting to the motor controller, and I was wondering if it was important that the wire from the motor goes to the controller, rather than directly to the contactor. Electrically, it didn’t seem to make much of a difference.

Alternative wiring proposal

C-Car and one DIY EV conversion owner said their controllers were wired up in this way. I sent an email out out the manufacturer.

Wiring Question

Hello.

I have an SR-72500 Motor Controller.

I am installing this in a CitiCar, which was previously controlled by applying 3 different voltages to the motor.

I’m looking at the Generic Series /w SW202 Reverse wire schematic in the operators manual SR (page 22)

On all diagrams in the manual, I see:
1 wire going from the SW180 contactor to the motor controller B+ terminal
1 wire going from the motor controller B+ terminal to the series motor A1 terminal

I’m working in a tight space and it’s difficult to get two lugs onto the B+ terminal.

Can I have the wire to the motor come directly from the SW180 contactor? These are the changes I am proposing:

keep 1 wire going from the SW180 contactor to the motor controller B+ terminal (no change)
add 1 wire going from the SW180 contactor to the series motor A1 terminal
remove 1 wire going from the motor controller B+ terminal to the series motor A1 terminal

The Answer

Technically speaking it will work, electrically speaking you’re going to cause an issue doing that. If this was a low current system, like a stereo then this would be fine, but since we’re low voltage high current we have to know where current is at all times. So when you put the two wire connection on the solenoid it turns the motor and controller into two separate loads the moment the solenoid closes and both are fighting to get the current coming out. Motor is bigger, it gets the current, and the controller just watches things happen without doing its job.

If you wire it that way, it will operate though, it may just do some weird things randomly.

I was taken back a bit. I half expected a basic answer of something along the lines of – only wire it the way we say to do it. This person went into detail of “WHY” with a simplified explanation. It’s exactly the answer I needed. I actually feel like I learned something.

I posted the manufacturers response on the Facebook post for the other C-Car owners to learn about as well.

Motor Cables

Yesterday I was able to put some cables onto the motor, switches, and controller. I wired up the main contactor solenoid to the motor controller and a small switch as a safety measure to prevent the solenoid from being activated while working on it.

The main contactor was flipped to allow the cable to the controller to be made shorter. The suppression diode was too close to the metal mount for the SW202 switch, so I bent it into a new shape that actually made it a bit more ridged and let me get my hands down into the area much easier.

I also started to setup a couple relays to allow 12 volts to pass to either side of the SW202 switch based on if the car is going in forward or reverse. While I was at it, I started labeling the wires so it would be easier to figure out how to connect everything up once I started running wires from the dashboard.

Cables installed allowing power to transfer between the main contactor, motor controller, motor reversing switch, and the motor.

Search for Parts

I found that out of 10 colors of automotive wire, I didn’t have pink. Pink is used to identify power for “reverse”. I went to a hardware, automotive, and farm supply store and couldn’t find the following:

  • Pink automotive wire
  • Relay with a 12v coil to pass 48v over the switch (actually, I couldn’t find any relays)
  • Battery side wall terminal

I’ve never really looked around an automotive store in the past. Usually I order something online and go to pick it up. I was shocked at how little the store seemed to have.

Gutting Old Parts

I pulled out the 48 volt and 12 volt battery chargers. I started removing all of the loose wires inside the battery compartment under the seat. I’ve got three of the original wires unthreaded from most of the zip ties leading to the front of the car. I was starting to run into a difficult time in the front part of the car.

The vent from the motor to the flap has been removed. I need to determine how to heat and defrost the car now that the motor can not support it.

Lithium Ion

Four battery modules from a 2015
Chevy Volt can fit into the CitiCar

I placed all four lithium battery modules in the car and found that I had enough room to place the battery charger under the seat as well. I’m considering the best placement while considering where the J-1772 inlet can be installed.

The battery modules had little nubs on the side that prevented them from sitting flush against the car. I cut them off and they now sit flush, giving an extra quarter inch to the space available beside them. I also noticed that the two newer chargers are missing the black cable that connects to the battery charger. I’ve been thinking about mounting some small angle brackets to the bottom of the battery box to prevent the modules from moving around while driving.

I’m still thinking about how to connect the four batteries. Each terminal is difficult to reach with the thick 2/0 wire terminals. I was considering adding a terminal fuse to each battery to have something to bolt onto for easier access. I also saw a copper butt seam flag connector as well that might work, letting me create two large wires rather than 10 smaller ones to connect them all together.

Contactor Switch, Motor Controller

Bend Over Backwards

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Fabricating Mounts

The A311 angle brackets are in the way of the cable in between them

Yesterday I was about to work on running a cable from the main contactor to the Alltrax motor controller B+ terminal. I was using one of the short wires that I received from a local enthusiast of CitiCars. The A311 angles were in the way when trying to bend the wire.

A311 angle brackets bent over to allow cable to pass over them

I spent a great deal of time bending the tops down backwards over the SW202 motor reversing switch. Part of the problem was bending the brackets while they were still in the car. The other part was that I just didn’t have the tools available to do it properly. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t clean, but I got the job done.

Now that the brackets are bent over, they provide an additional surface to mount things to. They seem a bit high in where they are bent. The cable itself is under too much stress. I’m reconsidering how to attach it in the most beneficial way.

Bending the mounting brackets

PlugShare

I’ve been using PlugShare to find charging stations. They let you pick your car from a list, but I had to choose “Other”, which just showed a tarp over a sedan. I sent customer support (Ticket #70359) a request a couple weeks ago to let me choose a custom name other than “Other”, along with my own image of the car.

They got back today and added a “Sebring Vanguard Citicar” option, and asked if it was compatible with J1772 connections, to which I replied:

Stock model from the 70s is only compatible with level 1 chargers. A lot of us CitiCar/Comuta Car owners have been modifying them with J-1772 adapters, lithium battery, and chargers that support up to 240v.

PlugShare app displying Sebring Vanguard CitiCar recognized as a type of electric vehicle

A few others on the C-Car Facebook group confirmed that they too were able to add their CitiCars and got a kick out of it with plenty of excitement. It feels like these little cars are getting a little bit of validation in their place in history.

Fuming Mad

TLDR; gas smells bad

Ramble

I haven’t been to a gas station since February. Partly due to the fact that my primary vehicles were inoperable for awhile. A dead battery due to just not driving the car, and the SUV had problems trying to shift it out of park. Both vehicles are up and running now.

I had an in-person doctors appointment and decided to take the hour-long trip in my car since it gets 45 miles to the gallon compared to my gas guzzling SUV. I only drive the SUV occasionally to keep the battery charged and to pull my RV – but camping is canceled during the pandemic.

Anyhow, I’m running on, getting off topic.

Fumes

So my car had maybe 70 miles left, so I stopped to get some gas. I could smell the gas station! I hadn’t smelled anything like that since I was a kid. I thought the smell went away when everyone switched to unleaded gasoline. And the smell was stuck on my hands afterwards.

So yea… I just found it curious.

Rant

Don’t sit behind a Ford Mustang GT at a drive through. The fumes and loud noises are unbearable. I just kept imagining how much money the driver was spending to get me high. Every drive-through has cars just idling, wasting gasoline. One of the largest parts of a car is dedicated specifically to making the engine quieter. The mustang had two tail pipes and it was still very loud when idling. It makes me wonder how much louder the engine could get without it.

Big Rebuild

Seeing the bare copper in the wire that rubbed against the asphalt has made me rethink things quite a bit. I haven’t driven the CitiCar since then. Given my other vehicles are working now, I’m considering taking that giant leap and start replacing everything, starting with the motor.

The weather is still good for working outside. I also believe that I have everything that I need now. Wire, switches, monitors, batteries, charger, adapter, motor, controller, contactors, etc. I need to push this project forward.

Other news

My racing switches arrived today along with another tiny radio head unit for Bluetooth and microSD cards. The switches mounting plate looks like it is too high to put it where the stock radio is usually installed.

Switch mounting plate is too tall to put into the area for the radio

Charger, Door, Front Royal Town Square, Motor Controller

Late Night Pizza

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Teddy and I hopped into the CitiCar for some night driving on a pizza run Friday night. With 30 minutes to spare, we headed to the town square to kill some time, only to find it was packed for a major event. Apparently we stumbled upon a political rally. I decided to execute operation “Outlaw of the Squeeze”.

The little CitiCar can fit in most places where other cars can not

The two spots in front of the portable toilets where open. I was able to park the car far enough away so that everyone still had plenty of room.

Door Windows

I took the door windows to Dixie Plate Glass & Mirror. They recommended popping out the panes. They had 50 contract orders, and wouldn’t be able to get to it until after Christmas. I went home and popped out the window panes. Unfortunately the aluminum frames cracked. There was a lot of glue on the panes, and it was difficult removing them.

Door windows with panes separated

I continued on and traced everything. I took a few measurements and brought everything back. Unfortunately they don’t carry anything that is 3/16″ thick. They order the materials in bulk for large contracts. If I could find the material myself, they could cut the parts for me. I’m having a tough time finding acrylic with safety glazing.

CitiCar sliding pane templates laid out on 22″ x 28″ white poster board
CitiCar fixed pane templates laid out on 28″ x 22″ white poster board

The car is much quieter driving without windows. It feels like I’m driving slower. All of the noise seemed to have been amplified with those windows.

I’ll need windows soon. It’s getting colder and I can’t drive in the rain anymore. Locking the vehicle while parked is pointless.

Cup Holder

The Colonel is first in line to test out the new cup holder

Drive-through restaurants weren’t really that big in the 70’s. McDonald’s opened it’s first drive-through in the year prior to my CitiCar being built. That’s why the creature comforts in my car are an ash tray and a cigarette lighter.

I went ahead and ordered some cup holders. I didn’t’ realize how oversized they were. They hang perfectly onto the defroster vents, but I’m often tilting the drink against the window to slide it down into the holder.

Charging Stations

Jack Evans Chevrolet

A CitiCar tucked next to the service center while charging

I went back to Jack Evans Chevrolet while it was staffed during my lunch break. I talked with one of the service men by the other charger to see what the guidelines were on using the charger. They just said pull up and charge.

Being in front of the garage door, it feels like the car is in the way. The charging station is in a fairly odd spot. I pushed the car as close to the wall as I could to keep it out of the way.

A CitiCar packed at a public charging station

TownePlace Suites

A penny for your thoughts

A hotel was just built outside of the city this year. It has a public charging station – but it has a fee. I was curious to walk through the process. I tried it out and was able to test charging. In my four minute experiment, I was charged a penny. I thought it would bill me for the full hour. For now, I’ll stick to the free charging station across the street from it.

I liked how the charger had a screen giving you the current status and statistics during the charging processes.

Being charged by time, rather than the amount of energy consumed seems a bit off. I’m consuming about 20% of the rate that other vehicles can consume – which means I’m paying five times more than everyone else.

100~240 Car Battery Charger

A 12v battery charger arrived that can run on between 100 and 240 volts. At this point, all of my CitiCar onboard chargers now support both standard house power and the voltages found at public chargers. Using the ST-3000 EV charger power converter, I was able to confirm that both chargers were able to charge the car when supplied with 240 volts. At this point, only the J1772 adapter is needed on the converter.

Motor Controller

Fabricating mount for motor controller in CitiCar

Most of the day was spent installing the motor controller and switches. I continued to evaluate multiple aspects of where everything would be located once the powertrain was fully replaced.

Fabricating the mounting hardware was fairly simple. A while back, I picked up four strong-tie A311 A Angles that are usually meant for fastening posts down to concrete. Part of the fun was tracing parts and drilling a mirror image by clamping two fasteners opposing each other.

The contactor switches and motor controller were fairly heavy, and caused the angles to wobble. I settled on having two separate mounts.

Forward/Reverse contactors on separate A Angles from motor controller and main contactor.

Charging CitiCar at a paid charging station
Trips

Teddys Day

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Eastham Park

Trail behind dog park at Eastham park in Front Royal, VA

A large part of Sunday was spent walking throughout Eastham park. Although they have a large dog park, the one for large dogs is currently closed. It was a clear day and very enjoyable to walk along the Shenandoah River. With a large number of squirrels darting around, Teddy was alert and ready for the chase.

The next stop was at McDonald’s. Meals are eaten outside, often setting on the curve next to the CitiCar. Teddy is learning not to beg during meals, but he earns a nice reward at the end.

Setting in front of a CitiCar, Teddy is tempted to eat a Big Mac

The trip home from the dog park on Sunday was a bit of a fright. Although there was power, the CitiCar would not supply power to the motor. In town, it’s fairly easy to find a spot to pull over and park to diagnose the issue. It was suspected that the contactor fuse may have blown.

Upon inspection, the main fuse looked fine. The wires from the 12 volt battery were made more secure the other day after a loss of power disconnecting wires from a hard turn. The main power wires from the 12 volt accessory battery looked fine as well. The repairs were holding it in place.

A quick hop into the car to confirm the issue was still present revealed that it went away on its own. As the key turned, the main contactor click could be heard. It is thought that maybe the switch on the brake was stuck in position, preventing the main contactor to be activated when braking.

Shorter Trips

It’s now known that the CitiCar starts to get exhausted around ten miles. Rather than setting destinations to push the limits, rides have become more casual. It’s great knowing that certain destinations are within range. There are many parks, restaurants, and events on main street accessible within just a few miles. Having success at a charging station adds to the freedom to go anywhere… within an extra mile.

The battery chargers have been left connected to the batteries while driving around in the CitiCar. The time to setup for charging has been simplified to connecting the power strip to the main power in a house, or to the J1772 power converter.

Steering Wheel Adjustments

There have been a few problems with the steering wheel alignment since the turn signal switch has been replaced. Each time that it appears to have been fixed, the next trip reveals a little more fine tuning is required. It’s now to the point that the steering wheel is rotated by one or two splines after each trip.

Misaligned steering wheel
Still misaligned steering wheel

In the middle of adjusting the steering wheel, Teddy finally caught a squirrel in his own yard at home. It was difficult to break his concentration. He finally had to be pulled off and go inside to calm down with a treat and let the squirrel get away.

Controller Mounting

The next goal is to get the contactor switch, motor controller, and forward/reverse switches installed under the seat. They don’t need to be wired up just yet. A mounting bracket arrived this morning, and there were a few metal angles purchased at the hardware store to help fasten things into an area in front of the motor. Each step is being worked through and planned out. One of the problems that has popped up is that the bolts with the solenoid mounting hardware are too long.

Layout of motor controller and contact switches on both sides of angle brackets
Angle brackets to bolt down to the battery box floor
Layout of motor controller and contact switches on both sides of angle brackets
Mounting screws are too long to secure solenoid to the mounting bracket

Other News

Tomorrow is Battery Investor Day for Tesla. It was an excuse to take the day off of work. An extra $500 was invested into the company this morning. The unrealized value is roughly half of what is needed for a Cybertruck reservation.

After two repairs by a tow truck driver and a neighbor, the SUV shifter cable has been replaced by the professionals. It was noticed that the rear passenger window is unable to be opened from the front driver-side buttons.

The buttons arrived for the GPS speedometer. Installation continues tomorrow.

There is an issue arising from a battery monitor that I purchased in China at the beginning of August that hasn’t arrived yet. The seller claims it has already been delivered, but the post office claims they haven’t received the package yet.