Build Your Own Electric Vehicle

Contents......Page 7
Preface......Page 15
Acknowledgments......Page 20
1 Why Electric Vehicles Are Still Right for Today!......Page 23
Convert That Car!......Page 25
What Is an Electric Vehicle?......Page 29
Electric Motors......Page 30
Controllers......Page 31
Electric Vehicles Make a Difference by Standing Out......Page 32
Electric Vehicles Save Money......Page 34
Safety First......Page 35
Myth #2: Electric Vehicles Have Limited Range......Page 37
Myth #3: Electric Vehicles Are Not Convenient......Page 38
Disadvantages......Page 39
The Force Is with You......Page 40
Why Do Electric Vehicles Save the Environment?......Page 42
Save the Environment and Save Some Money Too!......Page 43
So Who’s to Blame?......Page 44
Waste Heat Due to Inefficiency......Page 47
Electric Utilities Love Electric Vehicles......Page 48
A Proactive Solution......Page 49
3 Electric Vehicle History......Page 51
Timeline of Vehicle History......Page 52
Up Until 1915......Page 53
1940 to 1989......Page 62
After 1973: Phoenix Rising, Quickly......Page 67
Third Wave After 1979: EVs Enter a Black Hole......Page 71
Mid-1960s to 1990s......Page 72
The 1990s–2000s......Page 80
Tesla......Page 87
Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles......Page 89
Near Future Trends For Electric Drive......Page 93
Conversions Save You Money and Time......Page 95
Buying Ready-to-Run......Page 96
Converting a Vehicle......Page 97
Electric Vehicles Built from Plans......Page 98
Converting Existing Vehicles......Page 99
Converting Existing Vans......Page 101
Your Chassis Makes a Difference......Page 106
Your Batteries Make a Difference......Page 108
The Procedure......Page 109
Conversion for Fun and Profit......Page 110
Motor, Controller, Battery Tests—Your Electric Car Will Run Just Fine!......Page 111
Choose the Best Chassis for Your EV......Page 114
Conventions and Formulas......Page 115
Remove All Unessential Weight......Page 117
Weight and Acceleration......Page 118
Weight and Climbing......Page 119
Weight Affects Speed......Page 120
Remove the Weight but Keep Your Balance......Page 121
Remember the 30 Percent Rule......Page 122
Choose the Lowest Coefficient of Drag......Page 123
Relative Wind Contributes to Aerodynamic Drag......Page 125
Shape Rear Airflow......Page 126
Block and/or Shape Front Airflow......Page 127
Pay Attention to Your Tires......Page 128
Brake Drag and Steering Scuff Add to Rolling Resistance......Page 130
Less Is More with Drivetrains......Page 131
Drivetrains......Page 132
Difference in Motor vs. Engine Specifications......Page 133
Going through the Gears......Page 135
Automatic vs. Manual Transmission......Page 136
Heavy vs. Light Drivetrains and Fluids......Page 137
Horsepower, Torque, and Current......Page 138
Calculation Overview......Page 139
Torque Available Worksheet......Page 141
Torque Required and Available Graph......Page 144
Buy Your EV Chassis......Page 146
How to Get the Best Deal......Page 147
Late-Model Used Vehicles (Late 1980s and Onward)......Page 148
Buy or Borrow the Manuals......Page 149
Sell Unused Engine Parts......Page 150
Why an Electric Motor?......Page 152
Horsepower......Page 153
Magnetism and Electricity......Page 154
DC Motors in General......Page 156
DC Motors in the Real World......Page 158
DC Motor Types......Page 159
Series DC Motors......Page 160
Shunt DC Motors......Page 162
Compound DC Motors......Page 164
Brushless DC Motors......Page 165
Universal DC Motors......Page 166
AC Induction Motors......Page 167
Single-Phase AC Induction Motors......Page 168
Polyphase AC Induction Motors......Page 169
Today’s Winner: WarP Motors......Page 172
The Advance FB1-4001......Page 173
Tomorrow’s Best EV Motor Solution......Page 174
Conclusion......Page 177
Controller Overview......Page 178
Solid-State Controller......Page 179
AC Controller......Page 180
DC Motor Controller—The Lesson of the Jones Switch......Page 181
An Off-the-Shelf Curtis PWM DC Motor Controller......Page 184
AC Controllers......Page 185
Today’s Best Controller Solution......Page 186
Zilla Controller (One of the Best DC Controller for Conversions) ZAPI......Page 187
Metric Mind Engineering......Page 189
AC Propulsion Inc. to the Rescue—Today......Page 190
Tesla......Page 194
Conclusion......Page 195
Battery Overview......Page 196
Active Materials......Page 197
Electrolytes......Page 199
Charging Chemical Reaction......Page 200
Equalizing......Page 201
Basic Electrical Definitions......Page 202
Battery Capacity and Rating......Page 203
The Gentle Art of Battery Recharging......Page 205
Temperature Determines Performance for Lead-Acid Batteries......Page 206
State-of-Charge Measurement—Volts or Specific Gravity......Page 207
Lead-Acid Batteries......Page 208
Battery Types......Page 209
Battery Construction......Page 210
Battery Core Deposit......Page 212
TLC and Maintenance for Your Batteries......Page 213
Today’s Best Battery Solution......Page 214
Five Trojan Battery Solutions......Page 215
Tomorrow’s Best Battery Solution—Today......Page 219
Future Batteries: The Big Picture......Page 220
Batteries and the RAV4 EV Experience......Page 224
Charger Overview......Page 226
What You Can Learn from a Battery Cycle-Life Test......Page 227
Battery Charging Cycle......Page 228
The Ideal Battery Charger......Page 229
The Real-World Battery Charger......Page 232
The Manzita Micro PFC-20......Page 233
Rapid Charging......Page 234
Induction Charging......Page 235
Beyond Tomorrow......Page 236
High-Voltage, High-Current Power System......Page 237
Low-Voltage, Low-Current Instrumentation System......Page 239
Terminal Strip......Page 240
Ammeter......Page 241
Battery Indicator......Page 242
Low-Voltage Interlocks......Page 243
Auxiliary Battery Charger......Page 244
Wiring It All Together......Page 245
Checking......Page 247
Conversion Overview......Page 248
Arrange for Help......Page 250
Arrange for Tools......Page 251
Purchase the Chassis......Page 253
Purchase Other Components......Page 255
Removing Chassis Parts......Page 256
Mounting Your Electric Motor......Page 257
Mounting and Testing Your Electric Motor......Page 262
Fabricating Battery Mounts......Page 263
Additional Mechanical Components......Page 264
High-Current System......Page 265
Low-Voltage System......Page 270
Junction Box......Page 273
Charger System......Page 274
Battery Installation......Page 279
System Checkout on Blocks......Page 282
First Visitor Does a Second Take......Page 284
Improved Cooling......Page 285
Further Improved Cooling......Page 286
Paint, Polish, and Sign......Page 287
Put Yourself in the Picture......Page 288
Getting Licensed......Page 290
Driving and Maintenance Overview......Page 291
Driving Your Electric Vehicle......Page 292
Checking Connections......Page 294
Emergency Kit......Page 295
Electric Auto Association......Page 296
Electric Utilities and Power Associations......Page 306
Manufacturers......Page 307
Conversion Specialists......Page 310
Vehicles and Components......Page 311
Consultants......Page 312
Suppliers......Page 314
Conversion Kits......Page 316
Motors......Page 317
Controllers......Page 318
Batteries......Page 319
Chargers......Page 320
Books......Page 321
Publishers......Page 322
Online Industry Publications......Page 323
Federal Government Sites......Page 325
State- and Community-Related Electric Vehicle Sites......Page 327
General Electric Drive Information Sites......Page 328
Other Related Web Sites......Page 330
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E......Page 338
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I......Page 341
L......Page 342
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P......Page 344
S......Page 345
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V......Page 347
Z......Page 348