Yesterday and today I fiddled around some more and as a result got some stuff done...
I found a spot for the EMS computer by the front battery box and installed it and wired it up. I figured out how to get the hazard switch to flash all the lights and wired that up, and reinstalled the dashboard. I recently got an iPad mount from Amazon - it's actually a back seat headrest mount but it was cheap and for that price I figured I'd hack it up to make a dashboard mount. I got it mounted on the dash but it was pretty floppy, so I drilled a couple holes and bent up some sheet metal and made it all stable. Good enough for now.
I stuck the fuse for the EMS in and sure enough, the little LCD came to life. Everything that I do seems to work right the first time - this project just may actually be surprisingly amazing... Gosh, I hope I didn't just jinx the whole thing...
There is not a whole lot left to do:
Fill Zilla coolant system
Build rear battery pack 2/0 cables and connect to front pack and Zilla
Install seat belts
Install cell monitoring boards and connect to EMS computer
That last one looks good on paper but I know that it will take some planning and at least a full day without interruption. It's something that I need to finish once I start, since a partial job will cause uneven discharge of the cells. Perhaps I will take a day off of work.
Once I get the battery pack and EMS system done, I can fire up the PFC-20 for the first time. There's a lot of energy involved so it should be interesting. In a good way I hope.
Still no sign of Mr. Rat.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
My first Plasma Event...
There has to be one. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Kinda like learning to ride a bike - you always get a scrape at some point.
I was in the back seat area of the car last night, removing screws from the battery terminals in preparation for installing the cell monitors later. While I was in there I decided to add the cell pack interconnect straps that I just got on Monday. Since the rear batteries are on their sides, gravity is not my friend. There is a trick to sitting awkwardly scrunched up against the seats whilst grappling with little screws and their washers, trying to hold a screwdriver and the interconnect straps as well.
I got one screw into an interconnect strap and was fumbling with the next one, when good ol' F=gmm over R squared decided to step in. Sparks! I discovered that in a situation like that, my mouth lets something out. I don't even remember what it was, at least it wasn't a bunch of punctuation marks. Something like "GAAAK!!" or "BLEAHHH!!" or some such. I know I must have unscrewed the existing screw and then tossed the partially melted strap out of the open door, but I don't really remember doing it.
Darn it, I said to myself, I know better, I'm a friggin' electronics engineer. I've blown plenty of stuff up in my life. I must have gotten complacent. I hate it when I get complacent.
Anyway, out of curiosity, I got the DVM out and measured the cells involved to see if they were affected at all by this. Nope, both still at 3.305 volts, just like when I got them. So infinite amperage for a second or two doesn't seem to harm them. Good.
What about the rat, you may be thinking... he's still gone. Maybe I should go to the pet store and get another?
I was in the back seat area of the car last night, removing screws from the battery terminals in preparation for installing the cell monitors later. While I was in there I decided to add the cell pack interconnect straps that I just got on Monday. Since the rear batteries are on their sides, gravity is not my friend. There is a trick to sitting awkwardly scrunched up against the seats whilst grappling with little screws and their washers, trying to hold a screwdriver and the interconnect straps as well.
I got one screw into an interconnect strap and was fumbling with the next one, when good ol' F=gmm over R squared decided to step in. Sparks! I discovered that in a situation like that, my mouth lets something out. I don't even remember what it was, at least it wasn't a bunch of punctuation marks. Something like "GAAAK!!" or "BLEAHHH!!" or some such. I know I must have unscrewed the existing screw and then tossed the partially melted strap out of the open door, but I don't really remember doing it.
Darn it, I said to myself, I know better, I'm a friggin' electronics engineer. I've blown plenty of stuff up in my life. I must have gotten complacent. I hate it when I get complacent.
Anyway, out of curiosity, I got the DVM out and measured the cells involved to see if they were affected at all by this. Nope, both still at 3.305 volts, just like when I got them. So infinite amperage for a second or two doesn't seem to harm them. Good.
What about the rat, you may be thinking... he's still gone. Maybe I should go to the pet store and get another?
Friday, July 22, 2011
Not far to go now...
Last night:
Everything works.
Next:
Maybe I should put some food out for Mr. Rat to make him come back? It's just not the same without him.
- Cabled up front battery box fan to 12v DC power supply that comes on when car is plugged in
- Cabled up said power supply AC power to power cord inlet
- Bought extension cord to use as car charging cord, cut end off and attached L5-30 socket
Everything works.
Next:
- Remove dashboard again, figure out how to install EMS LCD where the Link10 used to go
- Cable up motor loop current sensor and connect to Motor Amps meter on dashboard
- Cable up temperature sensors and attach to temp display meter on dashboard
- Figure out Hazard switch wiring
Maybe I should put some food out for Mr. Rat to make him come back? It's just not the same without him.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
The first iPad test
My original plan was to use a Windows PC with a touch-screen monitor to run ZillaView (written by Claudio Natoli down under). The motherboard I got my hands on has four serial ports, and the Link10 and PakTrakr both have serial ports that spew useful data, so my thought was to gather all of this data and make some kind of display for all of this. Exactly how I was going to do this was to be figured out later, as long as I had the PC hardware in the first place.
Well, I still have the Zilla, but it looks like the Link10 is going to be redundant, with its functionality replaced by the Lithium Ion battery EMS display from Elite Power Solutions. And the PakTrakr was designed for lead acid batteries which I am no longer going to use now that I have the LiOns. The whole PC thing started to get unnattractive, especially since there are so many pieces involved. I was impressed by the size, simplicity, and power of my wife's iPad so I wondered if there was a way to use one of those instead. I did some research and found a serial port app that didn't require jailbreaking the iPad, so I bought an iPad, the serial to docking port cable, and the "Get Console" app.
When I installed the wiring harnesses I included a data cable that runs from the Hairball serial port to a DB9 connector behind the dashboard. Last night I decided to power up the Hairball with one of my laptops connected to the serial port to see if I could get it to talk. Although I do have a serial port cable that goes directly from the Hairball to a laptop, I decided to just skip that step and see if my harness serial cable would work. It did! The Zilla configuration menus popped up in HyperTerm. My cable worked fine.
I then went and got my iPad and brought it out to the workbench in the garage. The Get Console cable has an RJ45 connector that is designed for Cisco Router consoles, so a quick google search gave me the pinout. I created an RJ45 to DB9 adapter (with a little help from the oscilloscope), stuck it on the cable, and hooked the iPad up to the car. I fired up the Hairball and - success! Zilla configuration menus on the iPad.
So for now I can at least monitor the controller status with the iPad while driving the car. I'll put the Hairball into DAQ mode, which spits out ten lines per second of hex values, so I'll have to get used to deciphering that, but hey, I'm a nerd. Then maybe I can talk real nice to my wife and convince her to write an app for the iPad that makes a prettier and more friendly display...
Still no sign of Mr. Rat, BTW.
Well, I still have the Zilla, but it looks like the Link10 is going to be redundant, with its functionality replaced by the Lithium Ion battery EMS display from Elite Power Solutions. And the PakTrakr was designed for lead acid batteries which I am no longer going to use now that I have the LiOns. The whole PC thing started to get unnattractive, especially since there are so many pieces involved. I was impressed by the size, simplicity, and power of my wife's iPad so I wondered if there was a way to use one of those instead. I did some research and found a serial port app that didn't require jailbreaking the iPad, so I bought an iPad, the serial to docking port cable, and the "Get Console" app.
When I installed the wiring harnesses I included a data cable that runs from the Hairball serial port to a DB9 connector behind the dashboard. Last night I decided to power up the Hairball with one of my laptops connected to the serial port to see if I could get it to talk. Although I do have a serial port cable that goes directly from the Hairball to a laptop, I decided to just skip that step and see if my harness serial cable would work. It did! The Zilla configuration menus popped up in HyperTerm. My cable worked fine.
I then went and got my iPad and brought it out to the workbench in the garage. The Get Console cable has an RJ45 connector that is designed for Cisco Router consoles, so a quick google search gave me the pinout. I created an RJ45 to DB9 adapter (with a little help from the oscilloscope), stuck it on the cable, and hooked the iPad up to the car. I fired up the Hairball and - success! Zilla configuration menus on the iPad.
So for now I can at least monitor the controller status with the iPad while driving the car. I'll put the Hairball into DAQ mode, which spits out ten lines per second of hex values, so I'll have to get used to deciphering that, but hey, I'm a nerd. Then maybe I can talk real nice to my wife and convince her to write an app for the iPad that makes a prettier and more friendly display...
Still no sign of Mr. Rat, BTW.
Monday, July 18, 2011
The batteries are no longer in the garage
I was messing with the batteries in the garage over the weekend, trying out the inter-battery connection straps to see which ones I was going to use (Rick at EPS sent me a bunch of different ones to try). I wanted to figure out what direction the batteries should face in the boxes so that things fit together nicely and to make sure that the front-to-rear cables didn't tangle up with each other. One thing led to another and I ended up putting the front batteries into the car and cabling them up, completely. Next thing I knew the front battery pack was finished. I came to the realization that the cell monitoring boards have to be installed with the batteries in the car and the interconnects installed, so what the heck, get it over with.
Undeterred by my progress, and finding time on my hands, I got to work on the rear battery pack. As long as the front batteries were already installed, I wanted to get the rear ones in so that they all could sit through day and night under the same environmental conditions so they all age the same. Kind of like bottles of wine...
The rear battery pack has the batteries on their sides, facing the interior of the car, so they need some kind of securing structure across them to keep them from falling out of the box if you slam on the brakes. I designed and built some confinement bars to do this. Now I am waiting for the next shipment from EPS, with the remaining interconnect straps and the monitoring computer thingey.
I also cleaned up the last of the rat mess in the motor compartment. I miss him.
Undeterred by my progress, and finding time on my hands, I got to work on the rear battery pack. As long as the front batteries were already installed, I wanted to get the rear ones in so that they all could sit through day and night under the same environmental conditions so they all age the same. Kind of like bottles of wine...
The rear battery pack has the batteries on their sides, facing the interior of the car, so they need some kind of securing structure across them to keep them from falling out of the box if you slam on the brakes. I designed and built some confinement bars to do this. Now I am waiting for the next shipment from EPS, with the remaining interconnect straps and the monitoring computer thingey.
I also cleaned up the last of the rat mess in the motor compartment. I miss him.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Waiting for the computer
The batteries came with an EMS (Energy Management System) which is Marketing-speak for a bunch of little circuit boards that mount on each battery cell and are daisy-chained to a little microcontroller (which EPS calls the "computer"). The computer gathers voltage and temperature information from all the cells and drives a little monitor (an automotive backup camera display) to show the stats. It also has outputs for low and high voltage alarms, which is a good thing when you have a pack of Lithium Ion cells.
The installation sequence is as follows:
1. Install and wire up the "computer"
2. Install the cell monitoring boards onto the battery cells
3. Install the batteries
4. Cable up the cell monitoring boards to the computer
5. Install the main battery power cables
6. Drive around
The computer thingey is back-ordered, so you can see how that may affect my first test drive by looking at the list above.
Rat update - no rat. I removed the traps and the sticky pads on Sunday. When Mr. Rat sees that the coast is clear, he may come back, at which point I can pounce into action with whatever new hair-brained trap idea I can come up with. The little devil on my shoulder whispering into my ear tells me that I want to finally see his cold little body. The little angel on my other shoulder whispering into my other ear tells me that Mr. Rat is probably a daddy and has a little rat wife and little rat kids and as long as he's gone from my car the cosmic karma can stay in balance. Darn it, sometimes it's no fun being a Taoist.
The installation sequence is as follows:
1. Install and wire up the "computer"
2. Install the cell monitoring boards onto the battery cells
3. Install the batteries
4. Cable up the cell monitoring boards to the computer
5. Install the main battery power cables
6. Drive around
The computer thingey is back-ordered, so you can see how that may affect my first test drive by looking at the list above.
Rat update - no rat. I removed the traps and the sticky pads on Sunday. When Mr. Rat sees that the coast is clear, he may come back, at which point I can pounce into action with whatever new hair-brained trap idea I can come up with. The little devil on my shoulder whispering into my ear tells me that I want to finally see his cold little body. The little angel on my other shoulder whispering into my other ear tells me that Mr. Rat is probably a daddy and has a little rat wife and little rat kids and as long as he's gone from my car the cosmic karma can stay in balance. Darn it, sometimes it's no fun being a Taoist.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Oops too much coffee I guess.
Ok I admit it, that was a dog toy. I must be getting desperate for an end to my rat problem.
On a more productive note, today I installed the small 12v power supply that comes on when the charging cord is plugged in. This powers the battery box ventilation fans and the AC current meter for the PFC-20 charger. I also installed the backup alarm beeper and wire brushed the rust off of the front disk brake rotors.
And it's my wife's birthday today - happy birthday, honey!
On a more productive note, today I installed the small 12v power supply that comes on when the charging cord is plugged in. This powers the battery box ventilation fans and the AC current meter for the PFC-20 charger. I also installed the backup alarm beeper and wire brushed the rust off of the front disk brake rotors.
And it's my wife's birthday today - happy birthday, honey!
Mission Accomplished.
Today is a day of victory. I have vanquished my foe. My morning started early. I could not sleep any longer, having an epiphany in the last vestiges of a particularly lucid dream state. I had the key - coffee. I know that coffee makes me smarter. I've noticed that when I have several cups within a short period of time (what other people, especially the jealous neurotic ones, would say is "too much") I can drill my way to a brilliant solution to a complex problem easily. As the morning sky gradually blossomed into daylight, I re-positioned the trap to what I finally, through my new insight, knew to be the habitual path of my enemy. I would then wait and check again later.
I got the Sunday paper and read the whole thing. I went into the back yard and skimmed the pool. I went into the garage and built up some brackets for the charger current meter and back-up alarm beeper. I figured that since it had been five minutes, I should go and check the trap.
I got the Sunday paper and read the whole thing. I went into the back yard and skimmed the pool. I went into the garage and built up some brackets for the charger current meter and back-up alarm beeper. I figured that since it had been five minutes, I should go and check the trap.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Test Fit of the Batteries
Amy and Shelley had a Basketball game today, they won 20-17. Yay!
After we got home, I moved the batteries into the battery boxes to see how they would fit. Keep in mind that these battery boxes were originally designed for twelve Odyssey PC1500 AGM lead acid batteries, four in the front box and eight in the rear box. The boxes were specifically sized to exactly hold these batteries with very little room to spare.
The GBS 100AH 4-pack Lithium Ion batteries are a bit smaller so I got 14 of them (more voltage = better performance). It turns out that I can fit five in the front box and nine in the rear box, perfectly, with a little room to breath to boot. The GBS dimensions have nothing to do with the AGM battery dimensions, but due to some cosmic serendipity they fit in my boxes as if the boxes were designed around them. I'm sure that there will be some interconnect cable drama ahead, but I know that I will figure it out. I always do :)
Here are some pics:
After we got home, I moved the batteries into the battery boxes to see how they would fit. Keep in mind that these battery boxes were originally designed for twelve Odyssey PC1500 AGM lead acid batteries, four in the front box and eight in the rear box. The boxes were specifically sized to exactly hold these batteries with very little room to spare.
The GBS 100AH 4-pack Lithium Ion batteries are a bit smaller so I got 14 of them (more voltage = better performance). It turns out that I can fit five in the front box and nine in the rear box, perfectly, with a little room to breath to boot. The GBS dimensions have nothing to do with the AGM battery dimensions, but due to some cosmic serendipity they fit in my boxes as if the boxes were designed around them. I'm sure that there will be some interconnect cable drama ahead, but I know that I will figure it out. I always do :)
Here are some pics:
Another Rat-free day.
Next step: figure out where the batteries go.
I don't need to make fake batteries out of foam board to do this, they're light enough that I can use the actual batteries for fit tests. Light is good.
I don't need to make fake batteries out of foam board to do this, they're light enough that I can use the actual batteries for fit tests. Light is good.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Another Rat-Free Day...
The dashboard that I've put in the car is intended to be temporary. I want to install as many electronic control and monitoring devices as I can, so that I can figure out what is important and the best place to put things. I need to wait till the batteries get installed - they come with a battery management system that requires a display monitor, so there's another thing to position somewhere. I also have decided to ditch the XP-based PC hardware computer idea - there are just too many pieces (motherboard, power supply, hard drive, video card, monitor, cables, etc.). I'm going to try something a lot more compact, more simple, more powerful, and way cooler - an iPad 2. I've already bought it. It is so cool.
I have a custom fiberglass dashboard and center console for the '74 SuperBeetle that I (painstakingly) found on the web. That will be my final dashboard, once I've driven the car for a little while.
No acorn mess today. No rat body. The trap is still set. Just one little rat turd.
More pictures:
I have a custom fiberglass dashboard and center console for the '74 SuperBeetle that I (painstakingly) found on the web. That will be my final dashboard, once I've driven the car for a little while.
No acorn mess today. No rat body. The trap is still set. Just one little rat turd.
More pictures:
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Still no Rat.
It's Sunday. No Rat. No Acorns. Been three days. Did he abandon his haven? Did he realize that I was on to him, and that he was no match for me, the very pinnacle of the evolutionary tree? Did he sulk off in dejected surrender forever, never to be seen again? Has he snatched victory from my hands, leaving me with a spiritually unfulfilled vendetta for the rest of my days? Am I taking this too seriously?
More progress - wired up the license plate light on the rear. I took out the dashboard to put on some final coats of stain and clear coat. I've been working on the 2-digit digital tachometer on the workbench with a function generator to check that it will work. I discovered that it will probably need a divide-by-2 circuit at the front end to accommodate the 4-pulses-per-revolution output of the Hairball. All this time I'm thinking that two little digits will not make for a good at-a-glance indication of motor RPM anyway (it's RPM times 100) so I bought an analog tachometer at Pep Boys. I tried it on the workbench with the function generator and it works perfectly. I'm going to add it to the dashboard.
More progress - wired up the license plate light on the rear. I took out the dashboard to put on some final coats of stain and clear coat. I've been working on the 2-digit digital tachometer on the workbench with a function generator to check that it will work. I discovered that it will probably need a divide-by-2 circuit at the front end to accommodate the 4-pulses-per-revolution output of the Hairball. All this time I'm thinking that two little digits will not make for a good at-a-glance indication of motor RPM anyway (it's RPM times 100) so I bought an analog tachometer at Pep Boys. I tried it on the workbench with the function generator and it works perfectly. I'm going to add it to the dashboard.
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