Performance Corrections & Wiring Cleanup

I was so enamored by the fact that my creation actually worked, it completely escaped me that it wasn't working as planned.  The acceleration and range were on par with a toy.  I initially suspected the batteries weren't capable of generating the amps needed.  A quick visit to the B-B Battery site shows these 17AH units can do 299A for up to 5 seconds.  Pack voltage seemed plenty high after charging:  78.2V

I knew that any one of the components with temporary connections could be suspect.  First on the list to correct was the main battery disconnect.  Gone is the 30A breaker zip-tied to the wiring panel.  In its place is a real battery disconnect switch, mounted in a new aluminum bracket behind the battery tray.  Since I don't need access to the wiring panel to flip the power on, I could now ride with the tank on.

I also needed to mount the 400A  fuse, rather than suspend it off the contactor terminal.  I know there are mounting blocks for these fuses, but why not take advantage of the acrylic wiring panel, and save myself $20.  Looks cooler too.

Subsequent test rides still showed something not quite right.  Three trips down the street and back later, the bike would barely limp up the driveway, but the pack voltage was still 74V.  The best thing I could think of was to pull some data from the controller while riding.  This would also give me a chance to tweak the controller settings.  Upon connecting the controller to the software, my neglect was evident.  The "Under Voltage" slider was was maxxed out, essentially cripling the controller immediately.  By hitting the "Defaults" button, reasonable starting values were inserted, but I upped the top speed and Max Output Curent a little just to be safe.

Acceleration is much better and the controller logs show almost 180A.  I will need to get some lights wired up ASAP so I can test the range.

Starting to feel like a real motorycyle.

Frankenstein Rides Again

Technically, I've got dozens of things to finish up before El Gixxer is road worthy, but I just can't wait. In EV Motorcycle lingo the first ride has been coined "Frankenstein Mode". Components are are jury rigged and zip tied just good enough to get you down the block. It's not pretty but it works.

Acceleration with my 17AH battery pack is pathetic, and top speed seems to be about 20MPH. Nevertheless, it was just as thrilling as hitting triple digits on any other bike.

After four trips down my street and back (probably 1.5 miles total) the batteries were definately done, but it was enough to put that mile-wide EV grin on my face.

It's Alive

An early morning wiring session got me to the point where I need to fire it up. I connected the negative side of the battery pack for the first time, and cautiously flipped the breaker: No smoke.

The Alltrax had the the LED indicating green, but when I twisted the throttle gently nothing happened. Fully opening the throttle turned the LED red. Panic!

I then realized I hadn't engaged the contactor. A flip of the switch and the contactor clicked closed. Now the rear wheel spins happily in response to my twisting wrist.

Cue Oingo Boingo's song "Weird Science"

Burn Notice

Seems like every EV project has one of these episodes.  I thought I was being real careful with my connections.  But my grip on a connecting cable slipped and the end of it managed to contact the wrong spot.  It immidiately lit up a bright-white arc and proceeded to burn anything close for a fraction of a second.

The damage to the terminal and the nearby finger were minor.  But I think another helping of caution pie will do me some good.

Vanity and Power

As is often the case with a well used bike, many pieces are not quite original or altogether missing.  Such was the case for my mirrors:  missing in action.  Truth be told, I never liked the the Gixxer stock mirrors from the 80's and early 90's.  I went searching for something a little more fashionable.  I found this "blingin" set for a reasonable price at RoaringToyz.com.  The chrome is a little over the top, but matches the fasteners I've been putting on the body work. I'm fairly sure my kids are horrified by my sense (or lack) of style.

I started playing with the battery layout.  The six 17AH units fit with room to spare in the upper battery tray.   The maze of wires is starting to hit home.

The "dedicated charger for each battery" scheme has one serious drawback - cable management.  Where am I supposed to stuff these things?

A Place To Call Home

My AllTrax controller got booted from its home when I mounted the upper battery tray.  So it was high time to re-locate the controller, and a provide some mounting surfaces for the other electrical components. 

I really liked the previous location under the tank. Because it was toward the rear of the steel tank, it shielded the rider from a meltdown.  So my plan is basically put it in the same place, but a little higher to clear the battery tray fasteners.

I found a cool piece of 3/8" thick acrylic in a salvage pile.  It had several holes cut into it, probably to hold or display something.  Perfect for mounting the electrical components, however, not strong enough to hold the controller. But it was so cool looking, so I had to use it.

 I trimmed the Acrylic to fit the front 3/4 of the frame opening. Conveniently a couple of threaded inserts were already located  on the front edge (formerly for some rubber pads to support the tank). I drilled and tapped a few more spots on the frame rail to finish securing the piece.

I trimmed a scrap of 3/8" aluminum plate(leftover from my motor mounts) to span the frame rails and support the controller. Some creative filing and grinding was required to work around the welds. A few drilled and tapped holes later, the controller is mounted.

I even had a little time to mount the Contactor and do a little wiring.  The precharge resistor and main fuse are mounted directly to the contactor.  Color coding the high-current wires (#2 gauge welding cable), keeps me from getting my wires crossed. 

NOTE: much of this wiring layout is only temporary to shakedown the powertrain.

Lost in the Electric Forest

I've been stalled for a while, primarily because I'm not sure of my direction to take with the batteries and chargers.  I follow the Yahoo Thundersky group, and it seems the more I read, the dumber I become.  I know that Lithum Batteries are a must, but the lack of reliable chargers and management systems make me very nervous.  It's bad enough the only way to get lithium batteries is from china, so I hate to source a charger the same way.  I placed inquiries with Schumacher and Deltran and neither has a product for charging Lithium chemistry.

The old saying goes: "hard to see the forest for the trees" (or something like that).  It's now clear to me that I'm getting bogged down in details but not making any progress.  So, I'm going to focus on getting things running without wasting too much money. (wait have I said that before?) 

I have these B&B 17AH SLA batteries sitting in my garage, salvaged from a  Data Center UPS.  From the start, I've wanted to use them to get educated and test things out, but hadn't figured out the charging method that would worlk for them and Lithum. Occasionally I hook them up to my Battery Tender Plus, to keep them in shape, but there is no way I'm putting six of those on the bike, just for short term use.  Fortunately, one of my brethren on El Moto was selling six of the ACI SuperChargers at a reasonable price.

After getting the chargers, I plugged them all in to make sure they are charging properly.  Now I'm taking turns connecting one of the Gixxer's headlamps to each battery for about 30 minutes, then connecting the charger and a volt meter to observe the charging cycle.