EVRIC - Electric Car Conversion

This video was filmed in July 2008 and contains an interview with Rod Muller of Goolwa, South Australia, while we see under the bonnet of his car, a Suzuki Alto.
There is also a segment with Rod's car on the road, driving around Goolwa.

INTERVIEW & DRIVE WITH EDWARD BOOTH

This video was filmed in July 2008 and contains an interview with Edward Booth of Goolwa, South Australia while we see under the bonnet of his converted cars: A Subaru Sherpa and a Fiat X1/9.
Edward drives his converted Subaru Sherpa around Goolwa.

UPDATE: Listen to an ABC interview with Edward Booth - MP3
and read the ABC report (08/08/2008) - HERE

UPDATE: Early 2013, Edward has now changed his power source in the Sherpa from Lead Acid batteries to Lithium Iron Phosphate cells.
He has now sold his Fiat X1/9 conversion to another EV enthusiast who is also removing the Lead Acid batteries and replacing them with Lithium Iron Phosphate cells.

WEIGHING THE CAR - "BEFORE WEIGHT"

July 14, 2008: This was performed by Marion Sand & Metal at 917 Marion Rd, Mitchell Park SA. This company is registered as an official Registered Weighbridge. When this video was made I thought I would be using Lead Acid batteries(72V). I have now decided to use Lithium Iron Phosphate cells (120V)

- 740Kg -

I will return to Marion Sand & Metal on completion of the project.

GETTING THE CAR CHECKED AT GMR MOTORS

July 24, 2008: Gordon Rawson of GMR Motors, Cardwell St. Adelaide SA, checked out the car and replaced the minor things that required fixing and advised on others.
The rear wheel brake cylinders needed replacing and one of the front CV joint boots was split and required replacement.

ENGINE FOR SALE

This engine will soon be removed from the car and is now available for purchase.
It is a Holden Barina MB 1.3L engine. Manufactured late 1985.
This engine has only done just over 155,000Km since 1986.
It will come without the gearbox and clutch plate.
All expressions of interest via the contact page, thank you.

Update: The engine has now been taken - thank you.

NO TURNING BACK

September 9, 2008: I have now started to strip the car of all unnecessary bits and pieces. In this video I introduce myself!

So far I have removed 48Kg (107pounds) of stuff with lots more to go.

THE ENGINE IS OUT!

November 5, 2008: I have now removed the engine from the car - ready to remove the transaxle (gearbox).

So far I have removed 80Kg (176 pounds) plus the weight of the engine
Engine weight: 57Kg (126 pounds)
does not include transaxle: 27kg (60 pounds).

Total weight removed so far: 137Kg (302 Pounds)

The engine and other associated parts will go on sale this weekend.

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UPDATE: November 12, 2008: The X91-4001 motor has arrived !! and is already at the engineer's workshop so that work on the adaptor plate and the coupler can commence.

THE ADAPTOR PLATE

December 22, 2008: Ray from Hammat Precision Engineering has completed the adaptor plate which fixes the motor to the gearbox.
It has been made from steel for ease of machining.
A 20Kg (44lb) block of steel was turned into a 6Kg (13lb)work of art.

CERAMIC HEATER ELEMENT

January 16, 2009: This video shows the 120V ceramic element being installed into the heater core of the heater box. This video includes a section where a micro-switch is added to the heater box, for safety reasons, so that there is always air flow through the element when it is on.

THE COUPLER

April 27, 2009: This video shows the making of the coupler which connects the motor shaft to the gearbox input shaft. This coupler makes use of part of the original clutch plate so as to take advantage of the springs. There are 32 high tensile screws holding the modified/reduced clutch plate to the newly manufactured coupler. The coupler is made from high quality steel - the type which crankshafts are made from.

THE MOTOR IS IN!

January 26, 2010: This video shows that the motor (ADC X91-4001) is now installed in the car. Thanks Ron, for the loan of the "engine" hoist.
In the second part of the video the wheels are turning (while the front of the car is on stands).

Final Stages

October 7, 2010: This video shows the final stages of installing the battery frame and finishing the wiring.

Driving the EV

November 16, 2010: Finally driving the EV! With some help from Peter M, I have put this video together from two recent trips. Note: On the left in the engine bay you will see the new ZEVA MC600S controller.

SoundRacer EV V8 Sound Installed.

July 2013. SoundRacer EV Shelby V8 sound module from SoundRacer AB in Sweden.
This has been installed with volume control on the dash and a separate amplifier under the dash with the sound coming from a weatherproof speaker under the rear of the car.
The engine sound module is connected to the motor tacho output, so the pitch of the sound is directly related to electric motor revs.
The sound modules are ordered customised to suit your particular requirements and also your taste in engine sounds.
For more info go to www.eveess.com

Problem with ADC Motor Brushes

In May 2014 I had this terrible noise coming from the front of the car, mainly on acceleration. At first I thought it was the constant velocity joints, which I knew were worn, so I had them replaced. The noise was still there...
With help from a friend, I drove very slowly with the bonnet up and it was noticed that the noise was coming from the motor area and also there was a lot of sparking from the commutator area.
I then made access to the motor from the top by removing the controller and its associated mounting plate. With this removed I could remove the commutator external cover and inspect the brushes. The top pair had worn down to about 10mm with the connecting braid rubbing (wearing) the commutator.. All of the three other pairs of brushes were still of a reasonable length.

Why did this pair wear down prematurely?

I then tried to contact the manufacturer (ADC - whatever they are known as now) without success. The motor is an ADC X91-4001. The agent in Sydney was about to go out of business and after checking, had no spare brushes for me anyway. I found that no one in Australia wanted to deal with the manufacturer, because of poor communications and poor supply.

I ended up going to an Australian agent for Helwig; Cortela Carbon in Queensland who made a set of eight brushes for me from my measurements. These were fitted and then came the process of bedding them in. 270hrs later and the equivalent of driving 9,450km at 35km/h the brushes were bedded in.

The original brushes had only done less than 20,000km in less than 4 yrs. They should have lasted 30 - 40 years, according to other EV owners using the same motor.

Morals: - Don't buy an ADC motor...
- At the first sign of an unusual noise, stop the car and don't drive it
until investigated.

Drive with Bruce White - Part 1

May 7, 2009: I had the opportunity to drive with Bruce in his newly completed Suzuki Mighty Boy electric conversion. This car has now been approved and registered for driving on Australian roads.
For more information go to: www.mightyboyev.com

Drive with Bruce White - Part 2

May 7, 2009: ... continuing from Part 1 above.
For more information go to: www.mightyboyev.com

Drive with Bruce White - Part 3

February 8, 2011: ... New LiFePO4 cells installed.
Each Elcon charger can supply 16 Amps at 87.6 volts
For more information go to: www.mightyboyev.com

Solar PV Array on House Roof

January 10, 2010: Two days ago, Eco Green Electrical installed a 1KW PV system on our roof. The job was started at around 3pm and finished at about 7:30pm. The temperature was around 40 degrees C for most of the time. They did a magnificent job. Thanks Dickson, Simmo and Trav.

Note: for those people who worked out each meter reading... yes, each reading was higher than the previous one. The reason for this was - the day was very, very hot and we were using the air-conditioned in the house in between video segments...

Update: January 13, 2010
Today the ambient temperature was around 26 degrees C and I read an output from the PV array of around 935 Watts. This is very good, because our house is not pointing in the ideal direction (North), more like north-west.
I think the solar cells were under a bit of a strain and possibly the inverter as well, when the ambient was in the low 40's on the day the video was done.

2010 AEVA National EV Festival Conference

Friday November 5, 2010: As part of the 2nd Annual AEVA EV Festival, an EV Conference was held in the Old Methodist Meeting Hall in the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. This all day event had many speakers talking about all aspects of Electric Vehicles.

2010 AEVA National EV Festival Expo

Saturday November 6, 2010: As part of the 2nd Annual AEVA EV Festival, an EV Expo was held in Victoria Square in the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. This all day event had all types of Electric Vehicles from the historical 1922 Milburn Light Electric through to the Tesla Roadster Sport, the new electric car introduced by Elon Musk and Tesla Motors.

Mitsubishi i-MiEV Review - Part 1

Thursday, February 17 2011: The EV Review team test drives the
Mitsubishi i-MiEV.

Thanks goes to Bob Gell from Club Assist for the loan of the vehicle.

Mitsubishi i-MiEV Review - Part 2

Thursday, February 17 2011: The EV Review team test drives the
Mitsubishi i-MiEV.
Continued from Part 1
After driving this car for approx. 65km during the day, there was approx. 30km of further distance that we could have travelled.

Thanks goes to Bob Gell from Club Assist for the loan of the vehicle.

Mitsubishi i-MiEV Review - Part 3

Thursday, February 17 2011: The EV Review team test drives the
Mitsubishi i-MiEV.
Bruce and Eric discuss the day's findings after driving the i-MiEV.

Thanks goes to Bob Gell from Club Assist for the loan of the vehicle.

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