Sunday, November 27, 2011

12V Power Supply

A normal car has an alternator to provide 12V power to lights and all the other loads, and to keep the 12V battery charged. This electric car has a DC-DC converter instead. It gets high voltage (~280V) power from the main battery and converts it down to 12V. The first unit wasn't working the way I wanted, so I returned it and Belktronix modified it and sent it back. This is one of the advantages of choosing Made in the USA whenever you can. Here it is installed.

Shocks and Shock-free

While waiting for the rear suspension springs to be modified (~5 weeks), I replaced the shock absorbers with heavier ones.

I also assembled a relay box to ensure that the 120V plug is never energized while the 240V charging power is connected. It's pretty simple. Here's a sketch.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Clean Fuel Plate!

Wow, it arrived even sooner than expected. I'm just about ready to be pulled over by the police for being in the HOV lane!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Electric Registration

The Woodbridge trip went well and the paperwork just came back. This is a unique document. The plates should arrive later this month.


In other news, the rear suspension springs are on their way to Kansas for modifications (stretching?) that will raise the back of the car back up to its original height. The DC-DC converter (12V power supply) is back to the factory for repair since one of the posts came loose. The main battery pack has been balancing for days and is improving quite a bit.