Serial Interface for Controller

I finally managed to get a serial interface for the Lenze controller(s) at a good price off eBay. Mine is a bit more scrappy than this one but it works.

Using the free version of the PC application supplied by Lenze (Global Drive Control), I can now fiddle with the 900 or so parameters in the controller more easily than using the keypad. Admittedly I'll probably only use it a half a dozen times but that's why is was good to get cheap.

It will also be useful to try different setups after configuring them in the comfort of the lounge room rather than leaning over the dashboard in the car.

Motor Mounting Frame Test Fitting

I had a nice surprise leaning on the side of the house when I got home last night. Anthony had extended the motor frame by 50mm and taken about 40mm off the rear height.
I didn't take photos the first time we tried the motor frame a few days ago but this time I have some to show.
It's just tacked together and there are no gussets or reinforcing yet. It is made from 50mm angle iron 3mm thick.

The rag stealer was on the scene...

Cardboard motor in position and one pretend battery pack. It should take 3 battery packs as well as the motor. I had to remove the "terminal box" (brown thing) as the "motor" didn't fit with it on.

View from the front of the car. The split level frame is necessary to clear the top of the front cross member. We haven't fitted the steel bits to fit to the front engine mounts yet.

View from under the car at the side looking toward the front. The glossy black cross member is the one in the photo before fitting the motor frame (first photo in this post - with the dog). The motor is sloping down toward the rear of the vehicle by about 20mm over the motor's length so one more adjustment should do it (sorry Anthony).

Restoring Bumper Bars

Not much to report other than I spent about 4 hours in all on the weekend just pulling the bumper bar irons off, polishing and de-rusting everything and getting it ready for a coat of paint (not the chrome, just the mounting irons and rear of the bumpers). (Retrospective addition 9th Sept 2011 - had the rear bumper re-chromed - too many deep scratches.)
I also put the first coat of clear on the new dashboard. Weekends are too short!
I have trouble with painting at the moment as it's a bit cold and frosty in Melbourne so my other half has indicated that it would be OK to bring parts to be painted inside for a day or so then take them outside to paint, then bring them back in. That way the parts will have the chill off them. That's how I did the dash.

A bumper bar from "before" respray. (Got to have a photo - even if it's not much to do with it!)

Motor End-cap Reversal

Just for the record, a few weeks ago I removed both end caps and the rotor and tried reversing them. The end furthest from the terminal box did not fit on the other end of the motor (drive end) because the end cap would not go over the wires. As per advice from an AEVA member, I left the drive-end end cap bearing in place.

The drive-end end cap appears to have been machined out to fit over the bulky section of the stator wiring where the 6 motor wires are terminated. This end didn't fit!

 I elaborate on the AEVA forum here.

More Motor Positioning/Jiggling

With the motor mounting frame under-way I though I'd better try to figure out if I am going to remove the terminal box or stick with it.
I removed the carpet and sound proofing from the transmission "hump" inside the car and removed two of the three access covers. The cardboard motor - now complete with terminal box would not fit it where is has to go. I reversed it so as to get rid of the terminal box and here are some pics of the fit.
The motor here is about 20mm lower than the measurements from which motor frame is being made.

View from the engine bay. The motor is in backwards so the terminal box (brown) should be on the other end.

 
Inside the car - view from the drivers side.

Inside the car from above the transmission hump. You can see here that the hump is not symmetrical. They give the driver a bit more room. I may take a rubber mallet to the right hand side of the hump to make a little more room(from under the car).

This pic just gives an idea of how far back I want the motor. The old gearbox extension housing would have started about where the rear of this motor is now so weight wise I will have more weight toward the rear of the car. You can see that the terminal box really will not fit - it would be about 15mm too high. The rear part of the terminal box would be about halfway through the solid metal between the 2 access holes (60mm from the rear of the motor).

View from under the car. It would be OK at this height but to centre the motor shaft where the old transmission output shaft would have been it should go up another 20mm. At this height the motor is about 20mm above the two lengthwise chassis rails so the motor shouldn't get damaged by speed humps etc.

 My feeling at this stage is to remove the terminal box and replace it with a flat 3mm plate with the motor wires (6 of them) coming through a grommet and air terminated to the 3 motor cables. Heatshrink each of the terminations. Then fudge up a plastic cover from an ABS plastic box and secure that over the wires. The whole lot has to be less than 20mm high at the rear-end of the terminal box and can be 30 to 40mm high at its most-forward point.

Restoration Progress in Little Steps

Someone at work asked me a few days ago whether I had stopped working on the car as the blog hadn't had anything new in about a month. Well, I have been doing lots of stuff but it's all pretty trivial (as compared to the electric bit anyway). Here are some photos of a few things that have been happening.

I have stripped back all the woodwork and applied a few coats of marine clear. I hadn't done the glove box door and my better half said that I should get on and strip that back as well. I had been holding off because the glove box door appeared to be in good condition which makes it harder to get the old varnish off (later I decided this isn't true).
Anyway I did, and it's a different colour walnut to the dash. The dash isn't the one off the car - it's a spare I had. You live and learn.
Shame because I have already made the generator light hole a lot bigger to fit the forward/reverse switch.
(First hole to the left of the steering column cut-out).

So I stripped back the REAL dash and it's a lighter colour - surprise!
Notice that the hole to the left of the steering column is small.

Partially finished glove box door and original car dash with no finish on it.

Painted engine bay - drivers side. The big hole is for the steering column grommet and used to also be for the gear change shaft. The steering box has been checked out and serviced by Mitcham Power Steering. It has been painted and is ready to go back in when I decide what to do about the old rubber grommet (unable to get a new one).

Engine bay passenger side. The big holes here had plates over them. I painted them separately and they have been slightly modified.

Another small bit - the bonnet catch. Stripped, painted and rebuilt with a SMOOTH action. I figure the bonnet will be opened a LOT!













The whole engine bay. The engine bay colour matches the new paint on the roof. I left the original moonstone colour on the little bit above the firewall - slightly less blue...

  You can't see much here but the quarter vent windows have been totally stripped and I'll rebuild them with temporary rubber while I wait for a set of real ones (150 sets being made by a guy in Australia). They are about 6 months away and the car should have been on the road for some time by then (Hmm).