Tag Archives: Nut

Tapping The Nut

It seems like I’ve been constantly getting nowhere with replacing the battery terminal nut. Everything I’ve purchased for battery terminals has been too small. I have a variety of nuts on order, but they won’t be here for a few days.

Tapping a nut

While cleaning up the garage over the weekend, I came across a little 24 piece tap and die set. I considered that maybe I had stripped the threading in the nut, and decided to try tapping it. I could get the CitiCar back on the road quicker, and the nut was already useless at this point.

I grabbed a little table vice to hold the nut in place, and opened up the tap and die set. I rolled my eyes as soon as I realized the set was in metric. I probably got this when I was building the Tricolour RepRapPro 3D printer based on plans from the UK. I may eventually end up buying a larger set that also includes both metric and SAE.

I first tried a 9 milometer tap. I could feel the bite as I slowly bit through the metal. Once I was able to freely spin the tap, I tried putting the bolt on the terminal.

Unfortunately, I came up with the same results as every other attempt over the past few days. Too small. I went ahead and tried the 10 millimetre tap. It was much harder, but … success! The bolt slid on the battery terminal just fine. I was able to connect all of the battery cables.

I went ahead and charged all the batteries for our next adventure in the CitiCar. In the meantime, I started looking at how to hook up the EVSE with a transformer that could connect to a public charger and convert the power to 120 volts. From here, the plan was to connect my five individual battery chargers.

EVSE fault

I was quickly blocked as soon as I plugged the EVSE into an outlet. The charger was blinking to indicate that it was protecting from a low/high voltage. I checked that the circuit was wired correctly. I also verified the voltage was in range at 124 volts. I tried outlets around the house on other circuits. I even plugged it into the back of my computers APS power supply to ensure a clean cycle of power.

Chevy Volt battery module cut on side

I cut the bottom edge off of another Chevy volt battery module. Although I had a hiccup with the EVSE, a few things are progressing fairly well today.

I think Teddy and I will be able to visit the park and grab some Ice Cream tomorrow.

Video

EVSE Problems

Other News

Some button cell batteries arrived. I was able to fix Teddy’s talking ball. I replaced the battery in my calipers, but the digital readout wouldn’t turn on. I took a closer look and found that one of the contacts looked as if it would touch both the positive and negative parts of the battery. It looked like it was bent down and curved a little. I thought it was a spring when I first saw it. I flipped it up on its side. It matched the curve of the battery and… it broke off.

I remember it was only a few bucks. It still works manually. Perhaps I should invest in something with more quality the next time I go looking for one.

Products

Irwin Industrial Tools 26313 Metric Tap and Hex Die Set, 24-Piece
Megear Level 1-2 EV Charger(100-240V,16A) Portable EVSE Home Electric Vehicle Charging Station Compatible with Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, Fiat, Ford Fusion (NEMA6-20 with Adapter for NEMA5-15)
EV Charger Power Converter
4A Fully Automatic Microprocessor Controlled Battery Charger/Maintainer
NEW Lithium Ion Chevy Volt 48vdc 2kwh 50ah battery Golf Cart Off Grid Solar EV
DEAL INDUSTRIES INC. 61-501 Receptacle Tester with GFCI, Black
WEN 423DPV 3-Inch Cast Iron Drill Press Vise
Winkeyes 0-6 Inch Digital Vernier Caliper with Inch/MM Conversion Large LCD Screen and Stainless Steel Body Vernier Caliper Tool for Small DIY and Homework, Coin Battery included, 150mm
Pet Qwerks Talking Babble Ball Interactive Pet Toy – Wisecracks & Makes Funny Sounds, Electronic Ball that Talks & Makes Noises – Avoids Boredom & Keeps Your Dog Active
LOOPACELL AG13 LR44 L1154 357 76A A76 Button Cell Battery 10 Pack
RepRapPro Tricolour
Things I’ve purchased, or very close to it.
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Interior Light Assessment

Lights Out!

The under dash courtesy light in the CitiCar is not turning on when the switch is changed from one position to the next.

Open up

The cover was a bit difficult to remove. I slid it back and forth and tried squeezing the dome. Eventually I was able to remove it by putting pressure on the bottom side, pulling it up towards me, and lifting out.

Profile

Looking at the side of the plastic cover, it appeared that one of the tabs had a larger notch than the other.

Twist

The bulb was fairly easy to remove. Push it into the socket, turn counter-clockwise, and pull out.

Part Number

The incandescent bulb had W1003 clearly printed on its base. Being so clear, I suspect it’s not the original bulb.

I’ve been having some trouble finding this part other than vintage old “new” stock. I saw some LED bulbs that mentioned 1003 as well as a few other replacements.

BA15SP21W54-EX63
9393LL9797A
97LL97NA199631
631LL10731073LL1141
1141LL11561156A1156ALL
1156NA115911951295
1295NA239630143497
3497LL75067506L7506LL
753312088
Replacement bulbs for W1003

Test

Just to be certain, I tested the bulb itself to verify if it had burnt out. I placed it on the contacts of a six volt lantern battery. It lit up just fine.

The heat that it produced from such a low voltage is encouraging me to find a different solution that does not transform as much energy into heat.

Accessory

I thought maybe it was on the circuit for accessories, and therefore wasn’t getting any power.

I flipped the ACC switch on the CitiCars’ dashboard, but the light was still unable to turn on.

Disconnected

I started following wires. It was a mess, but I found that the accessory switch had a wire that wasn’t connected to anything.

I plugged two wires into each other, but there still wasn’t any power.

If it runs off of the main battery – this could be a problem.

Terminal Connection

One of the cars batteries to the motor is currently disconnected. I have a nut that refuses to go back onto one of the terminals and seems to be biting into the threads. Other battery nuts look different, and go on the terminal just fine.

Wrong Parts

I didn’t know the size, so I purchased a few battery terminals that I thought I would need once I started installing a few lithium batteries in parallel. Everything was too small.

I also found an old bolt in the garage – and it was too big.

Group 31

I didn’t want to keep buying battery terminals blindly. I started looking up nuts for the batteries group size.

Sure enough, there was a specific type of nut for it. It seemed limited in where you could find them, and a bit pricey.

At this point, I’m testing various connections for continuity. I received a notice that the battery terminal was shipped out this afternoon.

Battery Terminal Nuts

PartFits
Pico 0852PT 3/8″ Stainless Steel Battery Hold Down Stud Nut 2 per PackageUnconfirmed
Road Power 923-2 Top Post Battery Terminal Bolts and Nuts, 2-Pack, Chrome, 6 and 12-VoltToo Small
Positive Insulated Battery Power Junction Post Block 3/8 Lug X 16 thread (Red & Black Set)Too Small
Heart Horse Bus Bar Terminal Block, Power Stud Battery Junction 1/4″ Power Distribution for Truck RV Boat, Heavy Duty Stainless Steel (Red & Black Set)Too Small
Battery Terminals

Bulbs and Batteries

RAYOVAC Heavy Duty Lantern Battery, 6 Volt Screw Terminals, 945R4CCheap battery I had on-hand
Interstate 31-ECL 12v battery Came with the car
SYLVANIA – 1156 ZEVO LED Amber Bulb – Bright LED Bulb, Ideal for Park and Turn Lights (Contains 2 Bulbs)Considering…
(Expensive – Cheap LED bulbs are hit-or-miss)
Other products mentioned