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.